Vicky’s done sew well...

READY to frock swap: Vicky Sowerby, left, with Heather Leech and Sarah Clayton

AUSTERITY measures took on a new meaning for “Make do not spend” queen Vicky Sowerby.

For not only did she triumph in her challenge to wear a different outfit every day for a year without spending a penny, she netted more than £6,000 for Oldham Cancer Support Centre.

Vicky ended her 365-day challenge with a big Frock Swap event at St Edward’s Church Hall, Lees, which brought in £887 for her fund.

And proud husband Lyndon surprised her with a bottle of champagne and a box of flowers on the morning her challenge ended -— before waving her off to the shops for a big blow out.

“When I came home and he saw my bags he was surprised at how constrained I was,” said Vicky (34).

The couple live in Waterhead with their four-year-old daughter, Isla, and Vicky said she can’t believe how quickly the year passed by.

But it wasn’t without its difficulties. She lost her father, Nick Ford, to cancer in July, but despite her devastation, she never faltered in her daily challenge to wear a fresh outfit.

Vicky’s father was the inspiration behind her challenge, and the reason she chose Oldham Cancer Support Centre to benefit from her efforts.

And she praised the friends who not only helped to get her through the difficult days of her father’s illness and his death, but supported her wholeheartedly as she took on her challenge.

“Over the year my blog has been frivolous and fun to do with a different outfit every day, but there was quite a lot about my dad and what it was like to cope with what we had to go through,” said Vicky.

“I set out to raise £1,000 but I have raised six times that amount, and ultimately it will help other families like ours.

“My friends have been amazingly supportive. They helped me organise a craft fair and the frock swap and helped on the day.

“You can get through anything if you have friends like mine.”

Vicky’s first trip to the shops saw her buy boots, trousers and a couple of tops. “It will be a novelty to wear a new outfit!”

Vicky donated the £50 she would have spent each month on new clothes to get the fund going, then held fundraising events and collected sponsorship.

She is a keen sewer, and allowed herself to use her needlework talents to create new garments.

Alan Vickers, Oldham Cancer Support Centre manager, said: “We are very proud of her. This is the biggest donation we have ever had from a single person.”

Chronicle readers have been able to keep up with her progress by checking out her daily photograph at www.sewabee.co.uk 

Vicky, who works as a team manager at Positive Steps, Oldham, will keep her justgiving page open in the hope of raising a few more pounds to help the Failsworth-based charity.

You can donate at www.justgiving.com/makedonotspend.