Dear sewing friends, I have just received some very heartbreaking news… My fellow Great British Sewing Bee Season 3 contestant and friend, the wonderfully talented, full of life, stylish and such an amazing lady, Lorna Monje, is no more. I am incredibly shocked and saddened and I feel the sewing community is now poorer for having lost such an amazing seamstress. We are a very close group, the GBSB 3 alumni, and it was so great seeing Lorna whenever she was available from her travels. Last night we were all united in celebrating Lorna and remembering her on and off the programme.
So I wanted to commemorate her but also help her family raise awareness about the disease that has taken her from us much too soon, Aplastic Anaemia. I must confess I hadn’t heard of it before, but you can read more on the Aplastic Anaemia Trust Foundation website.
Lorna’s family have created a JustGive page in her memory to raise awareness and funds for the Trust. If you want, you can make a small donation, but more importantly, please spread the word and maybe other people can make a difference too, so money can be raised to research a cure, support patients and raise awareness.
https://www.justgiving.com/LornaSewingBee/
Lorna, you will be dearly missed! Hope there are amazing fabric and sewing machines where you are.
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So sorry to hear this.
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Thank you :(.
just such sad news, she was such a lovely lady.
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We are all so heartbroken. But maybe we will help the cause by raising awareness.
So sad, I was wishing I’d read this wrong 🙁 She was so full of life…
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I know, we are all so shocked… 😢
Alex, I am so very sorry to hear about Lorna. Such a terrible loss. I thinking of you all. With much love. X
This is so sad. I enjoyed watching her on the GBSB. 🙁
This made me very sad. I didn’t know her personally however, watching her on last years GBSB, she always bought a smile to my face, with her singing and fun spirited antics. It was so obvious that everyone around her thought she was wonderful and she came across as a genuinely lovely person, as did you all… Made me proud to be British, the way you all looked out for each other.
My thoughts go to her family x
Thank you for the post dedicated to Lorna, Alex. I’m so sorry to hear of her passing…
I really loved Lorna — loved as a fan of GBSB, that is — for saying that practicing for new challenges was constrained for her by her fabric budget. I do understand that preparing for upcoming episodes is worth the investment in more fabric… but I really loved Lorna’s frugal, down-to-earth approach. Good fabric isn’t cheap, and I appreciated her saying it.
So sad to hear – she looked like a wonderful lady with a wonderful life!
Incredibly sad indeed.. I am so sorry to hear that. I’ve read about the disease, didn’t know about it either. Thank you for writing about it.
She was a real character, such a crucial part of the series and I copied several of her makes including the red poppy dress.
So sad, really enjoyed watching her on TV, she seemed a lovely genuine person.
That is so terribly sad! My heart goes out to Lorna’s family and you fellow bees!
Lorna was an inspiration to all of us who followed GBSB – a very talented lady, such sad news.
Was so sorry to hear about Lorna. She was so down to earth and fun on GBSB. Thank you for bringing this terrible illness to the attention of many more people, I had vaguely heard of it but had no idea what it was or how deadly. Keep on with the great memories of Lorna! xx
So terribly sad! Thinking of all her friends and family and sending them a big virtual hug. A sad day for the sewing community…
So so sorry
Such a lovely contestant on sewing bee. Very sad news indeed x
How sad to hear such news watched her in the Sewing Bee and realised she was special. How tragic to have gone so soon
So so sorry bless you
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Thank you all for your kind comments. I have passed them all to Lorna’s family!
This afternoon I said goodbye to Lorna, but it was not really a farewell, because she was and is light, it illuminated anywhere trod, it was special and will continue to enlighten from that wonderful place where dwell blue fairy godmothers. Always in my heart and my memory Lorna.
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This is so beautiful Carmen! I saw Annie, our friend from the Bee, yesterday and we were both reminiscing about Lorna and how much we loved knowing her! Only too sorry it wasn’t for longer…
So terribly moved to read of the loss of Lorna an extremely likable lady. I feel so desperately sorry for her family as they were very close. She was a lovely lady and her passing leaves a massive gap in the world.
Such sad news. She was a beautiful, stylish and talented lady.
My heart is sad!
The next series of Gbsb has only just aired in Perth, Western Australia – with the first episode tribute to Lorna at the end of the episode! My heart is sad and heavy, what a wonderful lady Lorna was, even through the screen you could see that! I’m sorry you’ve lost a dear friend Alex. X Claire xx
Just watched it here in Brisbane and saw the dedication to Lorna. We loved watching her, she came across as a really lovely person, RIP lovely lady. 🙁
We have just seen the last episode here in Queensland Australia of dedication to Lorna. We were all deeply saddened. She was so vibrant. She will be sadly missed.
Oh, so sad, just reading this now on my second viewing of ‘SB’, bless you Lorna, rest in exquisite, sewing and creative peace. Just still in shock as afore mentioned she was such a force of beauty, power and elegance before mentioning her incredible talent. I’ve been a ‘tailor ess’ for many many years and Lorna was just stunning….. Life Hey, I believe she is in a wonderful place. my deepest heart felt love to all that shared her presence. Amanda