Edinburgh Frocktails 2022

When Judith and Sandy announced the first @SewOver50 Frocktails event was going to be held in Edinburgh in September 2022 I knew I had to be there to celebrate its success with them. SewOver50 has been a big part of our sewing lives for the last four years and I was so excited at the prospect of meeting some of the people I’ve chatted with over that time. As it turns out I wasn’t at home in Hertfordshire just then but on holiday in the North York Moors so I was basically halfway there!

Mr Y dropped me off at Northallerton station on Friday morning and I was on my way!

While I waited for my flatmates Kate and Fiona to arrive I had time to wander over to Princes Street gardens and the Scott monument.

I had booked a 3 bedroom flat for us very close to the Frocktails venue in Leith, not too far to totter in high heels.

But first, pre drinks at Malmaison with some of the gang, Lisa, Janet, Corrie, yours truly, Nic, Elke, Judy, Kate and Lisa. This group of people alone had travelled from England, Wales, Canada and Germany!

Oh well if you insist…there was delicious food later too

We each got to choose a goody bag from the table which was stuffed with generous discounts and gifts and some also contained special spot prizes. I was thrilled and surprised to discover I had won an Advent calendar from Fabric Godmother-I can’t wait to receive it in November to see exactly what it contains.

and ArkDefo were incredibly generous with the sheer quantity of fabrics they donated as gifts. They are new company specialising in ex-designer fabrics at vastly reduced prices, usually waxed cottons in various weights and loads of colours. In fact I ordered two pieces from them before I even got out of bed on Saturday morning!

I definitely need new glasses…#squinting

Lou and Jen chatting, in fact it’s a whole room of people doing the same thing for the whole evening.

Selfie time with Ruth and Fiona

Judith chatting with occasional SewOver50 stand-in editor Janine who had flown all the way from Canada (with Sandy in the background, who had come even further, from Brisbane!)

still gassing…with Margaret this time

There were speeches (not karaoke) from Sandy and Judith

The Granary in Leith was a perfect choice of venue for the Frocktails

Sandy very sweetly thanked me for my contribution of writing the SewOver50 blog, which you’re reading right now!

I was especially happy to finally meet Lou because through a strange quirk of fate we discovered she had been the primary school teacher of my best friend’s two boys.

another daft selfie

getting into place for the group shot. The professional photographer for the evening Chris Scott captured some really lovely candid shots. There was also time for a catwalk where me-made creations were shown off and appreciated, and the evening ended with some Scottish country dancing (the Scots having a distinct advantage over the rest of us when it came to execution!)

Going though the goody bag on Saturday morning in bed

Leith looking beautiful in the sunshine on Saturday morning

On Saturday many of us headed into Edinburgh city centre on the bus to visit first The Dress Fabric Company followed by a glorious walk across the Meadows until we eventually arrived at Edinburgh Fabrics. I’m polishing my halo at this point because I resisted buying any fabric from either shop…others didn’t!

Arthur’s Seat in the distance across the Meadows

Herding cats!

The collective noun for a group of dressmakers? a bobbin of course!

Saturday supper at The Shore with Fiona, Diane, Janet, Corrie and Kate

it involved quite a bit of silliness

a lot of silliness in fact

got there, after a fashion, in the end

Edinburgh Castle from Princes Street

Waiting for the famous One o’clock gun…it doesn’t fire on a Sunday we discovered

Serious tile-action in the loos at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art

Once we arrived at the correct gallery (there’s more than one Scottish National Gallery it turns out) we enjoyed the Barbara Hepworth exhibition

a recreation of Eduardo Paolozzi’s studio

and finally Kate and I headed back to the airport to wend our way home, tired but very happy from a great weekend spent with friends from far and wide.

Going through the goodie bag at home, I may have taken advantage of some of the generosity of the sponsors-Thank You

What a wonderful weekend it was, to be reunited with existing friends and meeting new ones too from all over the country, and the world in fact. Judith and Sandy have created, and sustain, an amazing community which we all get so much from, very real friendships have been made because of SewOver50. Trying to explain this to people who don’t use social media, or have had a bad experience of it, isn’t always easy but being in the room with over 70 people who all came together because of a simple connection-making our own clothes-was all the explanation anyone would need.

Until next time, happy sewing

Sue