26 March 2013

Tilly on the Telly!


Soooo… have you heard about the forthcoming BBC2 TV show about sewing from the makers of Bake Off? Well… ooh… eep… arrgghh… yikes… [deep breath] I’m a contestant!!!

If you’ve seen the baking version or one its international equivalents, you’ll know what to expect. A diverse group of amateur sewists are put through a series of sewing challenges, under hot lights, high pressure and crazy timeframes. Their work is scrutinised by expert judges and their spirits boosted by a down-to-earth presenter. Contestants are eliminated each week until one is accorded the title “Britain’s best amateur sewer”. Mercifully, viewers are spared the unsavoury aspects so often associated with reality shows – no sob stories, no divas, no backstabbing, just normal people struggling to sew a dress in 20 minutes while talking to the cameras at the same time, with plenty of good humour and comedy errors.

Thank you so much to the lovely readers who encouraged me to enter the contest in the first place! I felt like I was representing the wonderful sewing bloggers of this community, so I've been bursting to tell you about it for months and months. I’m not the kind of person who dreams of being on the telly (okay, despite spending my childhood rehearsing for a career as a Blue Peter presenter), but we work so hard to spread the sewing bug across the interwebs that the opportunity to share the sewing love with the unconverted via primetime TV is just a dream. If the show can convince a few more people to try their hand at sewing for the first time, to slow down their fast fashion consumption, to experience the pleasure of making, to feel empowered by taking control of what they wear, then that will be a wonderful thing. Plus it’ll just be hilarious TV gold!

No, I can’t believe I got picked. Yes, it was crazy pressure. No, there will be no spoilers here! (Although I will be posting and tweeting after the episodes' first airings, so close you're eyes if you're waiting to catch up on iPlayer/YouTube.) And yes, I will be watching from behind a very large glass of vino... The finished show will be (almost) as much of a surprise for me as it is for you, as I have no idea how it’s been edited. But what I do know is that it's gonna be awesome! Everyone involved in the show is absolutely lovely - not to mention super talented - and we had sooooo much fun filming. I just know you’re gonna love it!