Book confessions … and launches!

I had a rare little bit of time off yesterday (6 September) as I’d decided to do a book launch extravaganza. Well, two book launches in one day. Two of my favourite contestants from The Great British Sewing Bee, Lauren Guthrie and Stuart Hillard, were having launch events for their new books on the SAME DAY, both in Birmingham. I couldn’t resist that, could I?

I started off at Guthrie and Ghani, Lauren’s lovely haberdashery and sewing supplies shop (with a lovely training room upstairs) in Moseley. It’s not far from where I live, so I popped up on the bus, met up with my friend Jen, and checked out the shop downstairs (of course) before popping upstairs to see Lauren and have her sign her book, “Learn to Sew with Lauren”.

Lauren Guthrie with her new book, “Learn to Sew with Lauren”

Lauren kindly signed my copy, after we’d browsed through a rail of makes from the book (some lovely bags, pyjama trousers with contrast pockets and a skirt I will customise to be slightly longer for the more mature lady) and oohed and aahed over some new technology to make constructing folding blinds easier – I am SO going on her course on that. Downstairs were some lovely sewing starter kits, too.

Lauren signing her book for me

See how lovely and light the workroom is! There was tea available, and snacks, and it was lovely to see people enjoying their visit and making some attractive items while they were there. I had a photo with Lauren, too …

Liz Dexter and Lauren Guthrie

The lovely workshops were going on all day – a friend of mine made a lovely bow hair slide – and what a good idea for a launch day! You can find the full list of the upcoming workshops here.

Stuart Hillard ready to sign his book “Sew Fabulous”

Then it was time for Launch Number Two! I said goodbye to Jen, and hopped on the bus into town, nipping up to House of Fraser in the city centre to see how Stuart was getting on. I missed the giant poster of him which was displayed somewhere around the building, but zipped (ha) on up to Haberdashery, and found a lovely table of shiny books. And there was Stuart, bounding over, not showing any signs of exhaustion from being in the middle of a fairly comprehensive tour of John Lewises, House of Frasers, independent bookshops and independent sewing shops. The department had laid on drinks and nibbles, and of course there were plenty of enticing items around on sale, too.

Stuart signs my book

I didn’t get a pic of me with Stuart, as he was esconced behind his desk, signing away, but here’s the one I got last year at the Guthrie and Ghani shop launch as an added bonus (if you call seeing two pics of me on one blog post a bonus …):

Liz Dexter and Stuart Hillard 2013

I had to rush back home to put my headphones back on and start transcribing, but what a lovely little trip and two luscious books, both very different with different kinds of project (Stuart’s is all home and garden furnishings and decorations, Lauren’s clothes and accessories, and yes, I perceived NO rivalry between them about their books). Both books seem to have good production values and have been edited well, at first glance, with both Lauren and Stuart confirming they had full control and input all the way through the process. I will be reviewing them soon and will link to the reviews here when I’ve done them.

You can buy Lauren’s book “Learn to Sew with Lauren” from Amazon and from her own online shop. You can buy Stuart’s book from Amazon and his publisher’s website, which also has details of the rest of his tour.

Sew Fabulous and Learn to Sew With Lauren

Note: I bought these books at full price and I’ve written this blog post off my own bat because I like these people and want to support their hard work.

I may have bought other books recently, too – these two jumped into my hands in Poundland and The Works on an innocent trip to the cafe with my husband on Friday …

How’s Your Dad and Vikings

Any confessions from my readers? Did you go to either of these launches? Have you read any of these books?