[null, null, {"document_url": "http://www.jacquithomson.com/2014/03/the-great-british-sewing-bee-2014.html", "unformatted_src": "http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OAUwznWY3PI/Ux0F7JQimDI/AAAAAAAAEio/RpbVhfNTr28/s1600/gbsb2.png", "src": "http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OAUwznWY3PI/Ux0F7JQimDI/AAAAAAAAEio/RpbVhfNTr28/s1600/gbsb2.png", "formatted_filename": "gbsb", "rendered_width": 640, "rendered_height": 282}, null, {"document_url": "http://www.jacquithomson.com/2014/03/the-great-british-sewing-bee-2014.html", "unformatted_src": "http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fVL0IajXzhU/Ux0MZjx5RuI/AAAAAAAAEi4/F4B0nbWb6ps/s1600/front-of-shop-608x250.jpg", "src": "http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fVL0IajXzhU/Ux0MZjx5RuI/AAAAAAAAEi4/F4B0nbWb6ps/s1600/front-of-shop-608x250.jpg", "formatted_filename": "front of shop", "rendered_width": 640, "rendered_height": 262}, null, {"document_url": "http://www.jacquithomson.com/2014/03/the-great-british-sewing-bee-2014.html", "unformatted_src": "http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CqgkLsYazTM/Ux48vAYbzpI/AAAAAAAAEjI/gml1O_4QgcU/s1600/DSC09933.JPG", "src": "http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CqgkLsYazTM/Ux48vAYbzpI/AAAAAAAAEjI/gml1O_4QgcU/s1600/DSC09933.JPG", "formatted_filename": "DSC", "rendered_width": 480, "rendered_height": 640}, null, {"document_url": "http://www.jacquithomson.com/2014/03/the-great-british-sewing-bee-2014.html", "unformatted_src": "http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NHdW15NBb1o/Ux4-jFKS-mI/AAAAAAAAEjk/L8Mn-D0O8Mo/s1600/DSC09934.JPG", "src": "http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NHdW15NBb1o/Ux4-jFKS-mI/AAAAAAAAEjk/L8Mn-D0O8Mo/s1600/DSC09934.JPG", "formatted_filename": "DSC", "rendered_width": 518, "rendered_height": 640}, {"document_url": "http://www.jacquithomson.com/2014/03/the-great-british-sewing-bee-2014.html", "unformatted_src": "http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AET69lSYAzg/Ux4_yamCveI/AAAAAAAAEjw/rycl9V0DEi4/s1600/DSC09942.JPG", "src": "http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AET69lSYAzg/Ux4_yamCveI/AAAAAAAAEjw/rycl9V0DEi4/s1600/DSC09942.JPG", "formatted_filename": "DSC", "rendered_width": 640, "rendered_height": 480}, null, {"document_url": "http://www.jacquithomson.com/2014/03/the-great-british-sewing-bee-2014.html", "unformatted_src": "http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9_NqDJoeUtg/Ux5FXDgwRNI/AAAAAAAAEkA/-g7uSO0RYU4/s1600/DSC09937.JPG", "src": "http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9_NqDJoeUtg/Ux5FXDgwRNI/AAAAAAAAEkA/-g7uSO0RYU4/s1600/DSC09937.JPG", "formatted_filename": "DSC", "rendered_width": 640, "rendered_height": 480}, null, {"document_url": "http://www.jacquithomson.com/2014/03/the-great-british-sewing-bee-2014.html", "unformatted_src": "http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rLbicMVHJ1U/Ux5FoC3P70I/AAAAAAAAEkI/8w1DZtFxHFg/s1600/DSC09931.JPG", "src": "http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rLbicMVHJ1U/Ux5FoC3P70I/AAAAAAAAEkI/8w1DZtFxHFg/s1600/DSC09931.JPG", "formatted_filename": "DSC", "rendered_width": 640, "rendered_height": 552}, null, {"document_url": "http://www.jacquithomson.com/2014/03/the-great-british-sewing-bee-2014.html", "unformatted_src": "http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L0Asoba6Fwk/Ux5F8A8Z4BI/AAAAAAAAEkQ/JbJuUHGlFGo/s1600/DSC09947.JPG", "src": "http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L0Asoba6Fwk/Ux5F8A8Z4BI/AAAAAAAAEkQ/JbJuUHGlFGo/s1600/DSC09947.JPG", "formatted_filename": "DSC", "rendered_width": 480, "rendered_height": 640}, {"document_url": "http://www.jacquithomson.com/2014/03/the-great-british-sewing-bee-2014.html", "unformatted_src": "http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jGCKgreN10Q/Ux49f_ibJqI/AAAAAAAAEjU/AgaCOm4dLQQ/s1600/DSC09932.JPG", "src": "http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jGCKgreN10Q/Ux49f_ibJqI/AAAAAAAAEjU/AgaCOm4dLQQ/s1600/DSC09932.JPG", "formatted_filename": "DSC", "rendered_width": 640, "rendered_height": 480}, {"document_url": "http://www.jacquithomson.com/2014/03/the-great-british-sewing-bee-2014.html", "unformatted_src": "http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qElP02R9dlw/Ux5GOKJFq6I/AAAAAAAAEkY/CEOpIKnm3NE/s1600/DSC09953.JPG", "src": "http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qElP02R9dlw/Ux5GOKJFq6I/AAAAAAAAEkY/CEOpIKnm3NE/s1600/DSC09953.JPG", "formatted_filename": "DSC", "rendered_width": 640, "rendered_height": 480}, null, {"document_url": "http://www.jacquithomson.com/2014/03/the-great-british-sewing-bee-2014.html", "unformatted_src": "http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZEDJBWR-FWA/Ux5Gk7EMrUI/AAAAAAAAEkg/by35fjFcjSs/s1600/DSC00075.JPG", "src": "http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZEDJBWR-FWA/Ux5Gk7EMrUI/AAAAAAAAEkg/by35fjFcjSs/s1600/DSC00075.JPG", "formatted_filename": "DSC", "rendered_width": 480, "rendered_height": 640}, null, null, {"document_url": "http://www.jacquithomson.com/2014/03/the-great-british-sewing-bee-2014.html", "unformatted_src": "//2.bp.blogspot.com/-bHlSOSD1l_o/VgHxLO1eXNI/AAAAAAAAGBE/w77XwLofvDo/s80/2015-05-23%2B14.24.12%2B-%2BCopy.jpg", "src": "http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bHlSOSD1l_o/VgHxLO1eXNI/AAAAAAAAGBE/w77XwLofvDo/s80/2015-05-23%2B14.24.12%2B-%2BCopy.jpg", "alt_text": "My photo", "rendered_width": 66, "rendered_height": 80}, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null]

The Great British Sewing Bee 2014

Well at long last The Great British Sewing Bee is back on our screens again, as popular as ever and has done for sewing what The Great British Bake Off has done for baking. I blogged about TGBSB last year as it's helped to create a whole new generation of sewing enthusiasts and encouraged people who haven't picked up a neeedle in a very long time to get sewing again and start making their own clothes. I also know of a group of delightful young ladies in Moseley who started their own sewing circle after watching the show last year and now meet up regularly in their local pub to sew, knit, chat, take the waters etc. Haberdashery (what a fantastic word that is) has never been so popular with haberdashery shops popping up everywhere, indeed Lauren Guthrie who was a runner up in last years GBSB has opened her very own haberdashery shop with her husband in Moseley, Birmingham called Guthrie & Ghani  stocking the most gorgeous fabrics, yarns and just about anything you might need in the way of sewing notions.   Over the shop there is a specially created studio space where Lauren holds creative workshops such as lampshade making, machine embroidery, felt making and all aspects of learning how to sew. Ashamed to say that although I live not far from Moseley I was a G&G virgin and had been desperate to go for such a long time so it was with much glee and anticipation that my Moseley sewing friends took me along to an event there to celebrate G&G becoming the only place in Birmingham to stock Liberty Art Fabrics.  I have to say that for me going to somewhere like G&G  was akin to a child running amok in a sweet shop, a kind of a Jacqui and the Sewing Factory. What a fabulous place to buy fabric, and just generally be inspired to sew and you can even get a coffee and a cake there too. Liberty art prints fat quarters Great fabrics for cushions and quilts. Rita perusing the knitting patterns. Kerry, Emma and Rita eyeing up the Liberty prints. Lauren on the right with her team and she was just as lovely and friendly off screen as on. Here is my wonderful fabric stash bought from G&G.  I just had to have the retro dial telephone fabric to remind me of my formative years at BT (as if I could ever forget!).  It's destined to cover an ottoman and the woodland fabric will be ideal for a quilt. Lots of projects then hopefully heading my sewing machine's way. Heaven really is a place on earth called Guthrie & Garni and don't forget The Great British Sewing Bee, Tuesday evenings @ 8pm on BBC2.Go Chinello!
Posted by Jacqui Thomson at 23:29