Which is your favourite ‘Great British’ competition? The Great British Bake Off, or The Great British Sewing Bee? It’s a hard call to make. They’ve both inspired people around the country to take up hobbies they might not have otherwise thought of, and make and bake both delicious treats and beautiful home sewn clothes and accessories.

Now, obviously, I love the Bake Off. I wrote a whole YA book around the idea of a national school’s baking competition, filled with my own recipes and bakes passed down from my family. (In case you hadn’t heard, Love, Lies & Lemon Pies is out in May from Stripes!)

But I love sewing too, and while the things we make with a needle and thread might not taste as good as the cakes and biscuits, they last a whole lot longer!

I was delighted to see The Great British Sewing Bee back on our screens last night – especially as it coincided so perfectly with my publishers giving me permission to announce the title of the companion novel to Love, Lies & Lemon Pies, which will be out this time next year. In fact, they even gave me this truly gorgeous image to announce it with!

Secrets, Schemes and Sewing MachinesThat’s right! If you hadn’t guessed already, the next book will focus on the school Sewing Club – although we’ll also be taking plenty of trips back to Bake Club to catch up with everyone there (and learn a few more yummy recipes). I’m not going to say too much about Secrets, Schemes and Sewing Machines just yet – I want you all to have a chance to read Lottie and Mac’s story in Love, Lies and Lemon Pies first! But I will say that the the very talented art department at Stripes have included a couple of clues to what else the second book might be about in the picture above, if you study it closely…

And until I can reveal more, at least we’ve got the Sewing Bee to keep us entertained!