Sunday, January 22, 2012

Crafters' Ceilidh OR The Perfect Day


 Crafters' Ceilidh Group Photo, From L to R: Kerry, Karen, Winnie, Rachel L., Kari, Roo, Carolyn, Amanda, So-Ha, Kiran, Rachel, Debi B., Kristen, Franca, Alana, me, Hannah, Katie and Melizza.  Not pictured: Clare, Anneleen, Tom and Cat.

Wow, oh wow! Yesterday was the Crafters' Ceilidh--or the most perfect day ever!  Twenty-three of us met up in Edinburgh, Scotland for a jam-packed day of chatting and shopping.  It was so much fun!

The preparations began last month in earnest when Kristen, Kerry and I met-up and decided it would be great to hold a fabulous meet-up in Scotland!  Full credit for the idea goes to Dibs who's been wanting to come up to Scotland for some time (Dibs, we missed you so much!!!).  We had several planning meetings and after phone calls, emails and even crafting we sat anxiously waiting in Frederick's Coffee House for the first folks to arrive from all over the UK!

 Photos: 1. Kristen, Kerry and I chatting, photo by Roo; 2. Clare, Alana, Debi B. and Anneleen chatting away, 3. Karen and Winnie, photo by Karen.

We started out the day chatting and mingling as folks arrived and grabbing some food and caffeine for what would be a whirlwind trip around Edinburgh!

We walked through Prince's Street Gardens and took a group photo at one of the most picturesque vantage points in the city:
David was our lovely photographer and yes, we did bring a Scottish flag (teehee).


We walked first to the Grassmarket area and had fun at W. Armstrong and Sons vintage store, K1 Yarns Knitting Boutique and Fabhatrix.  We then ventured onto three fabrics stores: Edinburgh Fabrics, Mandors and the Cloth Shop.

Karen looking gleefully at some fabric with Winnie and Amanda contemplating fabric choices.

Rachel and I in the Cloth Shop

1. Rachel explaining what could be made with the fabulous 80's patterns, 2. some of the many goodies up for grabs, 3. Rachel L. showing a really beautiful gown pattern--can you believe no one wanted to take it home...that is except for me..*rubbing hands together*
We then headed to the soon-to-be-opened Sewing Bee Cafe--Edinburgh's first sewing space!  The lovely Kal gave us an introduction to the Cafe and generously hosted us in her space for our pattern/fabric/yarn swap.  We had so much fun and hilarity ensued with a contest for the funniest cover art of patterns in the giveaway.

We then headed to the Voodoo Rooms for a wonderful group dinner where we were joined by Tom and Cat.

It was such a fabulous day! Thank you to everyone for coming and for those that weren't able to come at the last minute due to illness or injury (Kate, Donna, Jane and Dibs), we're hoping to have many more meet-ups!

And did I hear a rumour at my dinner table that there is a desire for our next meet-up to be in Bath???....hmmm...what are the chances?
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31 comments

  1. I agree, Debi - it was THE perfect day. I can't thank you and your co-organisers enough. About to jump on the plane home! I love that photo of me gazingly lovingly at the fabric. I look like I want to marry it!

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  2. I second that! What a fabulous day it was! Again! Again! :)

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  3. Ooh, sounds like you all had a fantabulous time! Loving all the pictures!

    Yes please, next one at Bath, I can get there and back in a day which means I won't need to find a wolf-sitter!

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  4. Thanks for sharing your get together with all of us near and far. It's so wonderful to see sewists getting together to share their love of the craft and of course, fabric! Glad you all had such a wonderful time!

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  5. It sounds like it was amazing! Wish I was over there! Hopefully one day I can make the trip out again. Great post and pics Debi!

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  6. Aw, looks like everyone had a great time. Can't deny that I'm a bit jealous! How fun it'd be to spend a day raving over fabric and patterns with other people who share the same obsession (...there isn't really a high demand for a blogger meet-up in Kentucky, USA). Glad it was a success!

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  7. Great photos Debi! It was such a fun day, I cannot wait for the next meet up :)

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  8. I'm so jealous! Looks like you had a blast!

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  9. Looks absolutely wonderful! Glad to hear that you had such a fantastic time.

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  10. It looks like you all had such a fantastic day, thank you for sharing.

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  11. I agree Debi - it was just amazing - thank you again for all the organising. It was so lovely to meet everyone - friends old & new, & the laughs along the way. Thank you, Kristin & Kerry.

    By the way I hear you for a Bath meet up... ;-)

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  12. What a great day you all had!

    I'm so happy you were able to put it together, and it was great to meet you by the fountain and see all your smiling faces for a few minutes.

    Essays and my dissertation called, so I had to run but I hope to be more involved in the next meet-up!

    I hope everyone enjoyed themselves, and look forward to seeing what you're inspired to do afterward!

    It's really wonderful that you all support one another and can get together outside of cyberspace. May it happen more often!

    Thanks for coming up to Edinburgh!
    Warm regards to all,
    David

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  13. It sounds like you all had the most fabulous day! I love hearing about all these meet-ups around the world. :-)

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  14. I am green with envy! It looks like you all had such a lovely day. I so wish we had shops like that here in Brisbane. Thanks for sharing!

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  15. What a great idea - wish I was nearer to Edinburgh!

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  16. Oh that looks like the most amazing day! Wish I could have been there but I almost feel like I was reading your and Karen's reports. Congrats for organising a brilliant meet up.

    Ooh and thank you for the pattern and the really sweet card :) xx

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  17. Oh man that looks like such a fun day! Sadly there aren't too many stitchers in Australia (that I know of)

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  18. That looks like so much fun! I wish I could've joined you all, but alas, one can't just jet off to Scotland for a day ;)

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  19. My husband and I just booked tickets on Friday to visit Edinburgh for 3 days in May (then 4 days in East Sussex with my family) so I was looking forward to hearing about the stores you visited. The beautiful pictures of Edinburgh are making me so excited for our trip!

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  20. Thank you Debi and Kerry and Kristen for organising! So fun! And you know what? i've been sewing since - that dress I was on about is almost done! Maybe you guys will make a sweist out of me yet!

    also, coffee - yes!

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  21. Thank you so much for co-hosting. It was such a dream! I had a fabulous time chatting with you and all the other fellow crafters. Good times! Hope we meet up again soon!

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  22. Have enjoyed reading all the posts about Saturday - sounds fantastic.

    Janice.

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  23. It looks like you all had an amazing day! Can I put a request in for the next one? Pretty please could there be a longer lead up? Then I can book hubby to have boy and have a chance to save some pennies!

    Bath is a beautiful city and if you plan on staying I really really recommend going to the baths, it's absolute bliss!

    Unfortunately that's a train to London and then another to Bath so I may have to watch from the side lines again!

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  24. Debi, I cannot thank you and the girls for the most AMAZINGLY EPIC sewing adventure EVER ! xx

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  25. You all look so fabulous! What a fantastic day - I'm so glad to see you all having so much fun!

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  26. What a fun gathering! I miss seeing you on Sew Weekly! Looks like you have been up to all kinds of good stuff!

    And a very belated Happy Birthday!

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  27. from all accounts it sounds like the crafter's ceilidh was the most perfect meetup EVER. y'all knocked it out of the park! I WANT TO GO TO BATH!!!

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  28. It truly was a wonderful day wasn't it! I've felt more inspired as a result too, even putting the finishing touches on my first blog post. Thanks so very much for co-organising the event and inspiring me!

    Rachel

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  29. You can tell that everyone was having a fantastic day. Lucky you!

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  30. Yes please to Bath, it's just down the road :-)

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  31. Beads and barnaclesMarch 12, 2012 4:13 PM

    Oh that looked like such a fun day.

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I read each and every comment--thank you so much!

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