Birmingham | english girl at home

September 13, 2020
by Charlotte Leave a comment

SewBrum 2020 – Online

This year would have been the seventh SewBrum sewing meet-up, a free-to-attend sewing meet-up in Birmingham, UK.

I announced a date for this year’s SewBrum before we understood the full impact of coronavirus. After which, it became increasingly clear that a large meet-up wouldn’t be sensible or practically possible (the shops we visit all have social distancing measures in place), so we (me and co-host Lauren Guthrie) decided to take SewBrum online!

SewBrum will take place online on Saturday 17th October, and you can register to receive all of the details below or via the event page.

Full details will be shared with registered attendees as we approach the 17th October, but the day will include:

Video messages & discount codes from local sewing businesses & textile artists;
A live bargello stitch workshop with Birmingham-based textile artist Tina Francis;
A raffle of sewing-themed prizes, with all money raised being donated to Birmingham and Solihull Women’s Aid & Birmingham Mind.

With no need to travel to Birmingham, we hope attendees will be able to join us from across the UK, and beyond.

International attendees – please note that the raffle, and kits for the bargello workshop, will be UK-only due to postage costs/delays. You are still welcome to join the bargello workshop, but will need to purchase supplies locally.

The finalised schedule for the day will be shared soon, but we will be starting with video (and written) messages from indie businesses in Birmingham and the Midlands, which will be shared via the event page and emailed to registered attendees.

Featured business will include SewBrum co-host Guthrie & Ghani, local fabric shops, and textile-artists and makers.

In the afternoon, attendees will get together online for a live bargello stitch workshop with Birmingham-based textile artist Tina Francis. The workshop will be free to attend, and attendees can purchase a supplies kit from Tina to participate (full details to follow).

In the meantime, follow Tina on Instagram and have a look at her recently published book, Modern Bargello.

We will also be hosting a raffle of sewing-themed prizes (a SewBrum favourite), with all money raised being donated to Birmingham and Solihull Women’s Aid & Birmingham Mind. Tickets will be sold online in advance via a JustGiving page (full details to follow). Raffle prize winners will be drawn live, following Tina’s workshop.

I hope SewBrum regulars can join us online, and if you haven’t been able to join us before perhaps this is the year!

March 18, 2020
by Charlotte 2 Comments

SewBrum 2020 – 24th October

I wanted to pop on the blog to send best wishes to everyone who is being affected by Coronavirus, whether through sickness or risk of sickness, impact on your income or business, or stress at the ongoing uncertainty.

It might sound a bit frivolous, but I also wanted to share a save the date for SewBrum 2020.

This year’s meet-up (which will be the seventh!) will take place on Saturday 24th October 2020. It will be an opportunity to get together in person later this year, and to support independent shops in Birmingham. It’s also a free event so can be a cheap day out (dependent on your travel arrangements). Plus, as a free event, if your plans change nearer the date you can cancel your registration at any time (spaces aren’t limited).

You can sign-up on Eventbrite, and find more information on my blog, including accessibility of the venues we visit.

If you haven’t attended before, SewBrum is a free-to-attend meet-up of people who love to sew in Birmingham, UK. Everyone is welcome. We will start the day in Birmingham city centre and then travel to Guthrie & Ghani in Moseley Village, by bus.

Logo by illustrator and sewist Maike Plenzke.

April 1, 2019
by Charlotte Leave a comment

SewBrum 2019 – Hold the Date!

The SewBrum meet-up will be returning for a sixth year on Saturday 05th October 2019.

SewBrum is a free-to-attend meet-up of people who love to sew in Birmingham, UK. Everyone is welcome.

Sign-up is now open (to give us an idea of numbers): Sign Up Here

As in previous years, we’ll start the day in Birmingham city centre and then travel to Guthrie & Ghani in Moseley Village, by bus.

There’s lots of information about the last five SewBrum events on the events page, including my wrap-up posts about the 2017, 2016, 2015, and 2014 meet-ups!

I hope you can join us x

Logo by illustrator and sewist Maike Plenzke.

July 30, 2018
by Charlotte 2 Comments

SewBrum 2018 – Hold the Date

The SewBrum meet-up will be returning for a fifth year on Saturday 27 October!

Sign-up is now open (to give us an idea of numbers to expect): Sign Up Here!

There’s lots of information about the last four SewBrum events on the events page, including my wrap-up posts about the 2017, 2016, 2015, and 2014 meet-ups!

I really hope that lots of you can make it again this year x

♥ What? ♥

A (free-to-attend) meet-up of people who love to sew. Everyone is welcome, just sign-up using the form above/below to give us an idea of numbers.

♥ Itinerary ♥

The planned itinerary for Saturday 27th October is below. Attendees can feel free to dip in and out, or only attend for part of the day.

10:00 – 11:00: Meet at John Lewis Cafe & Haberdashery

We’ll be meeting in John Lewis Cafe (The Place to Eat), where we’ll be able to drink tea and/or eat brunch while everyone arrives. We’ll also be able to shop in the Haberdashery, which is located on the same floor as the cafe (4th floor).

P.S. If you’re arriving by train, John Lewis is located in the same building as New Street Station – and the other stations (Moor Street and Snow Hill) are only a 10-15 minute walk.

P.P.S John Lewis opens at 9am for anyone arriving early.

11:00 – 13:00: Birmingham Rag Market & Fabric Shops

We’ll spend a couple of hours shopping for fabric at the Rag Market and nearby fabric shops Barry’s Fabric & Fancy Silk Store (who are also on Facebook).

13:00 – 13:30: Reconvene and travel to Moseley Village (Guthrie & Ghani) by bus

The journey between the city centre and Moseley only takes 15 minutes by bus, and buses are every 5-10 minutes.

13:30 – 17:00: Guthrie & Ghani / Lunch

At Guthrie & Ghani we’ll have time in the shop which sells a wide range of sewing and knitting supplies, and we’ll have use of the studio above the shop where we will be able to natter, compare purchases, hold a pattern & fabric swap, and take part in a charity raffle.

Attendees can also grab lunch at one of the nearby pubs or cafes. The Village and The Dark Horse bar/restaurant are both a couple of minutes walk from Guthrie & Ghani, and there are lots of other options available within Moseley Village.

♥ Sign-Up Form ♥

If you’re planning to attend the 2018 meet-up let us know by filling in the Sign Up Form.

Everyone will be welcome. Hope you can make it x

Logo by illustrator and sewist Maike Plenzke.

December 30, 2017
by Charlotte 3 Comments

SewBrum 2017 Wrap-Up

Before 2017 is out, a quick post about this year’s SewBrum meet-up!

I’ve posted a short video of the day (and what I bought), which you can view here:

The 2017 meet-up took place on Saturday 28th October. We started the day by taking over the John Lewis Cafe and visiting the haberdashery. From there, we visited the Rag Market, and nearby Barry’s Fabrics and Fancy Silk Store. A new stall in the Indoor Market which specialises in Liberty fabrics, including Liberty jersey, cord and fleece, was particularly popular.

Over 120 of us traveled into Moseley Village in the afternoon to visit Guthrie & Ghani for shopping, chatting, a pattern and fabric swap, and charity raffle. The raffle raised £431.50 for the The Eve Appeal gynaecological cancer charity, and donations for tea and cake raised £80 to twin the toilet at Guthrie & Ghani with a toilet in an African village. Thanks so much for your generous donations!

A huge thank you also to the companies who donated to the raffle – a full list of prizes and a few photos are below.

♥ Adjustoform – Dressform
♥ Adam Ross Fabrics – £30 voucher
♥ Beyond Measure – £20 voucher
♥ Chez Machine – 2 kits
♥ Chinelo Bally Freehand Fashion: Learn to Sew the Perfect Wardrobe x 2
♥ ClothSpot – Prize bundle
♥ Cocowawa – Marshmallow Dress pattern x 2
♥ Colette Patterns – $25 voucher
♥ Cotton Reel Studio – £30 voucher
♥ The Crafty Mastermind – Fabric, pattern and pin bundle
♥ Dashing Tweeds – Fabric bundle
♥ The Draper’s Daughter – 3 metres of fabric
♥ Fabrics Galore – £50 voucher
♥ Girl Charlee – Big fabric bundle
♥ Guthrie & Ghani – Prym mini hamper
♥ The Maker’s Atelier – The Pleat Detail Dress & Top pattern
♥ Minerva Crafts – Quilt making kit
♥ Mollie Makes How to Quilt and Patchwork
♥ Monaluna – Fat quarter bundle
♥ Plush Addict – £50 voucher
♥ Remnant Kings – Coco dress pattern and fabric bundle
♥ Sewbox – £30 gift voucher and Gutermann thread set
♥ Sew Crafty – Bundle of goodies
♥ Sewisfaction – £25 gift voucher
♥ Sew Over It – Choice of online class
♥ Simply Sewing Magazine – 7 patterns
♥ Stuart Hillard Use Scraps, Sew Blocks, Make 100 Quilts: 100 Stash-Busting Scrap Quilts
♥ Stoff and Stil – Raincoat project kit
♥ Suzy Magazine – 2 issues
♥ Tilly and the Buttons – Online workshop and PDF pattern
♥ Ryland Peters and Small Cico Books – 3 books
♥ The Village Haberdashery – Tote bag and voucher

September 11, 2017
by Charlotte 2 Comments

SewBrum 2017 Sign-Up

Sign-up is now open for the SewBrum meet-up on Saturday 28th October: Sign Up Here!

♥ What? ♥

A (free-to-attend) meet-up of people who love to sew. Everyone is welcome, just sign-up using the form above/below to give us an idea of numbers.

♥ Itinerary ♥

The planned itinerary for Saturday 28th October is below. Attendees can feel free to dip in and out, or only attend for part of the day.

10:00 – 11:00: Meet at John Lewis Cafe & Haberdashery

P.S. If you’re arriving by train, John Lewis is located in the same building as New Street Station – and the other stations (Moor Street and Snow Hill) are only a 10-15 minute walk.

P.P.S John Lewis opens at 9am for anyone arriving early.

11:00 – 13:00: Birmingham Rag Market & Fabric Shops

We’ll spend a couple of hours shopping for fabric at the Rag Market and nearby fabric shops, Barry’s Fabric, EU Fabrics & Fancy Silk Store (who are also on Facebook).

13:00 – 13:30: Reconvene and travel to Moseley Village (Guthrie & Ghani) by bus

The journey between the city centre and Moseley only takes 15 minutes by bus, and buses are every 5-10 minutes.

13:30 – 17:00: Guthrie & Ghani / Lunch

♥ Sign-Up Form ♥

If you’re planning to attend the 2017 meet-up let us know by filling in the Sign Up Form.

Everyone will be welcome. Hope you can make it x

Logo by illustrator and sewist Maike Plenzke.

July 5, 2017
by Charlotte 3 Comments

SewBrum 2017 – Hold the Date

Just a quick post to let you know that there will be a #SewBrum meet-up on Saturday 28th October 2017.

As this will be the fourth year running (!) I’m planning a few tweaks, but as in previous years, the meet-up will start in Birmingham City Centre, before moving to Moseley Village to visit Guthrie & Ghani.

Full details to follow. Everyone welcome. Hope you can make it x

In the meantime, read my wrap-up posts about the 2016, 2015, and 2014 meet-ups.

SewBrum logo by illustrator Maike Plenzke.

May 20, 2017
by Charlotte 3 Comments

#fmbham Meet-Up Vlog

Back in March, I attended the #fmbham sewing meet-up in Birmingham City Centre, organised by Samantha and Bianca.

It’s taken a while, but I’ve finally vlogged a few clips of the day, plus what I bought! You can view the vlog here:

October 4, 2016
by Charlotte 8 Comments

SewBrum 2016 Wrap-Up

The 2016 SewBrum meet-up took place on Saturday 24th September.

I’m not planning to publish a weekly vlog, but I am planning to publish one every so often when I have something to share. I filmed a little bit of footage during SewBrum which you can view below:

As in previous years, the day whizzed by! We started the day by taking over the Edwardian Tearooms at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery – and I do mean taking over. From there, we wandered across town to the Rag Market, and nearby Barry’s Fabrics and Fancy Silk Store. Rhiannon introduced me to a stall in the Indoor Market which specialises in wax print, which I hadn’t spotted before, and Charlotte recommended a nearby stall which has a huge selection of cotton and novelty prints.

Over 100 of us traveled into Moseley Village in the afternoon to visit Guthrie & Ghani for shopping, chatting, a pattern and fabric swap, and charity raffle. The raffle, plus donations given for tea and cake, raised £465 for the The Eve Appeal gynaecological cancer charity.

Huge thanks to everyone who came along, I hope you had a good time & managed to meet some new-to-you sewists. It was lovely to meet people I haven’t chatted to before, as well as to catch-up with friends, including some I’ve never met in person before.

There have been some great blog posts, plus a lovely vlog about the day by The Fold Line. Links below!

Steely Seamstress: https://steelyseamstress.wordpress.com/2016/09/26/sew-brum-2016/

Almond Rock: http://almondrock.co.uk/sewbrum-2016/

Thimberlina: https://thimberlina.wordpress.com/2016/10/02/sewbrum-2016/

The Ruined Mother: http://ruinedmother.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/sew-brum.html

Red W Sews: https://redwsews.wordpress.com/2016/10/02/sew-brum-so-good/

The Sewing Directory: https://thesewingdirectory.blogspot.co.uk/2016_09_01_archive.html

Mokshatrim: http://www.mokshatrim.co.uk/single-post/2016/09/27/Sew-we-meet-again-SewBrum

Sew Essential: https://www.sewessential.co.uk/blog/sew-brum-2016/

September 23, 2016
by Charlotte 4 Comments

SewBrum Raffle Prizes!

As in previous years, we’ll be holding a raffle at the SewBrum meet-up this Saturday! Raffle tickets are only on sale to attendees on the day of the meet-up and the raffle will be drawn in the afternoon at Guthrie & Ghani.

All money raised by the raffle, along with donations in exchange for tea and cake at Guthrie & Ghani, will be donated to the Eve Appeal.

Lots of lovely companies have generously donated raffle prizes. I’m demoing a lot of the prizes in this video, or see the full list and photos below. (P.S. I mispronounced a couple of things in the video, but only had a limited window of sunlight yesterday evening after getting home from work, so no retakes!).

The full list of prizes:

♥ Sew Essential have donated an Adjustoform Supafit Standard Dress Form. The dress form comes in four sizes so the winner will be able to select their preferred size.

♥ Minerva Crafts have donated a big fabric bundle worth £100.

♥ The Sewing Directory have donated two beautiful FQ packs: Lewis & Irene Under the Sea and Heather Ross Mendocino.

♥ Prym have donated sewing boxes filled with a range of sewing supplies.

♥ Pavilion are donating five of their recent sewing books: Merchant & Mills Workbook, Freehand Fashion by Chinelo Bally, Cutting & Draping Party and Eveningwear by Dawn Cloake, Ultimate Sewing Bible by Marie Clayton, and The Gentle Art of Quilt-Making by Jane Brocket.

♥ Crafty Sew & So have donated a £25 voucher for their online or bricks & mortar shop, based in Leicester.

♥ The Crafty Mastermind have donated a kit to make Tilly & the Button’s Coco, with plenty of fabric for a dress or top version.

♥ Sew Crafty have donated a selection of goodies including pin badges, crafty pencils, and crafty notebook.

♥ Create Escape have donated a four fat quarter bundle of Lotta Jansdotter’s latest fabric collection.

♥ Remnant Kings have donated a tote bag containing a selection of haberdashery goodies.

♥ Fabric Godmother have donated a beautiful £100 fabric bundle, with a mix of knits and wovens.

♥ Plush Addict have donated an 11 reels selection of Gutermann sew-all thread, and a 9 FQ pack from the Tilda Spring Diaries Collection.

♥ The Draper’s Daughter have donated a lovely Tote Bag kit.

♥ FabricHQ have donated a £20 gift voucher.

♥ Abakhan have donated two Liberty fabric bundles.

♥ Fabrics Galore have donated a £20 gift voucher.

♥ Dragonfly Fabrics have donated a Katha Tunic sewing kit, with all required supplies to sew a tunic in a lovely Japanese cotton.

♥ Bloomsbury Square have donated a fabric bundle, containing 2 metres of crepe, and 1.5 metres of cotton.

♥ FabricPunk have donated a FQ bundle of six Dashwood Studio fabrics.

♥ Village Haberdashery have donated a voucher for their online and bricks-and-mortar store.

♥ Girl Charlee have donated a fabric bundle worth £100 in one of their tote bags. Two metres of each of the following fabrics ar included: Quatrefoil Oxford Blue Cotton Jersey Blend Knit Fabric, Coral Blue & Red Diamond Floral Geo Jersey Rayon Spandex Knit, Plum Grey Rose Floral on Taupe Cotton Jersey Knit Fabric, Heather Burnt Orange Solid Baby Cotton Jersey Knit Fabric, Fawn Silhouette on Rose Cotton Jersey Blend Knit Fabric.

♥ Adam Ross Fabrics have donated a £35 voucher for their (Birmingham-based) online store.

Plus, Simplicity have donated pattern which I’ll be giving away in the morning at the Edwardian Tea Rooms (first come first served), and Crafty Sew & So have given me some flyers for a very exciting event they are planning…

Abakhan Liberty Fabric bundles