A Stitching Odyssey: An epic meet-up!

BREAKING NEWS: You can now see the professional photos from the day, organised by Rachel and taken by Digpal Singh 

Friends, I have just limped back home from what can only be described as an epic meet-up, organised by the beautiful and unflappable Rachel (House of Pinheiro). I reckon there must have been at least 40 and maybe even 50 of us, including sewing friends from as far as Australia and America! Fingers crossed for a full name and blog list from Rachel, because there were a lot of new-to-me faces and way too many people to list without leaving someone out. 

Despite the huge scale of the day it was filled with laughter, sincerity, excitement and...wait for it...sunshine! I loved meeting up with old pals, making new pals with those whose blogs I've admired forever and discovering even more talented people. Too much chatting, shopping and eating prevented me from snapping quality photos, but here's a few that highlight the magnitude of it all!

It all kicked off at the breathtaking Victoria and Albert Museum (my first ever visit!), where we enjoyed the glorious sunshine and had professional photos taken by a friend of Rachel's. I'm sure Rachel will be sharing these soon, so do check her blog for updates.

There were so many of us! And this was taken way before everyone had arrived...

Beautiful ladies wearing their beautiful handmade dresses!

I don't know how Rachel did such a great job at herding us all from the V&A to Goldhawk Road. There was a bit of a high noon moment as we waited on opposite sides of the road for everyone to arrive...hehe!

We literally overwhelmed an entire Lebanese restaurant - yes, the food was delicious!

I didn't get any pictures of the swap, which took place in the basement of the restaurant, but it too was epic. I've literally seen nothing like it before...there were overflowing suitcases and wheelie bags and we even got a goodie bag each...more on what mine contained at a later date ;o) 

I managed to 'get rid of' my four lengths of fabric and two sewing patterns, without being tempted to take anything for myself. I did, however, 'treat' myself to the two lovely prints below (and some plain silk cotton for lining purposes which was too boring to photograph) - my hand's in the pictures for a sense of scale.

Finally, I want to say a massive and heartfelt 'Thank you' to Rachel! She was a charming host and did an excellent job at organising such a large-scale event and looking after us all so well. Having organised a meet-up on a much smaller scale last year, I can only imagine how exhausted she must feel right now. I hope you can put your feet up and relax tomorrow Rachel!x