It's like 'what a...' in English. What a combination. Often used in an ironic or self-deprecating way, like in the example above. You wouldn't expect a seamstress to be blind.
My friend uses it all the time... She is from the south of Spain. Vaya desastre, vaya ruina, vaya semana etc, when she's sort of complaining about something in a semi-joking way.
También se puede decir 'vaya' sin anteponerlo a un sustantivo, como 'wow' o para expresar que estás sorprendido.