Monday 25 September 2017

Aneela Hoey's Stitched Sewing Organizers Sewalong

Ok, it's been a while, well, over a year, so let's see if I can still remember how to do this.....






Aneela Hoey has written a new book. It's called Stitched Sewing Organizers and is packed with patterns for fantastic pouches, brilliant boxes, wonderful cases and nifty notions.

And what better way to celebrate this new publication than with a sewalong? The Instagram based event will start on 9th October and we have some fabulous Instagram contributors lined up who will each make one of the 15 projects from the book and post on IG on the appropriate Monday. What a great way to start the week!

Now, I know what you're thinking..... "hey, Pennie, 15 weeks from October - there's a certain holiday going to get in the middle of that!" And yes, you'd be right. BUT these projects, quite apart from making excellent gifts also include some that will be perfect for alternative gift wrap. We'll be having a break mid event for the seasonal festivities along with an extra special giveaway in Christmas week.

So, where do you come in?

Well, firstly, you need to get yourself a copy of the book. It's available on Amazon as well as from numerous quilting shops.

Each Monday an inspirational post will appear on Instagram. There may be hints and tips. There may be accompanying blog posts, there may be Facebook posts and tweets. There will not be instructions.

During the week, there may be other posts from other contributors showing their versions of the projects to give you extra inspiration.

Sewalongers (or should that be sewersalong?) will then make their own versions of the projects to be posted on IG using the hashtags given in the button above, and tagging me. All those projects will then go into a random draw to win that week's giveaway prize. The posts will need to be on IG by Midnight GMT on the following Sunday. There will be reminders during the week, don't worry.

Now, I know many of you have got a head start and projects have already been made. And you can post those.... under the following conditions - it must be a NEW photo - it can't be an image you've posted previously.

Also, in order to qualify for the giveaway prizes, the project you post must be as per the pattern. Exactly as per the pattern. I know people love to modify things to suit their own needs, and that's great.... for your second version. But for the purposes of the sewalong the projects need to be as per the book. This 'rule' is a late edition, added after the first week of posts, so for week one only, modifications will be allowed. 


As well as the weekly giveaways, there will be a roundup week before Christmas which will feature a special giveaway. You'll need to post an image of all the projects so far to qualify for this giveaway.

And then in February, when we get to the end of the event, a montage of all your projects will enter you into the grand finale prize draw.

So here we go with the FAQs:

When is it?
The event starts on the 9th October 2017 and runs through to 12th February 2018 with a break for Christmas and New Year.

Who's posting what and when?

9th October - Handy Fold Up Pouches - @stitchingandbacon
16th October - Green Tomato Pincushion - @stitcharmony
23rd October - Project Tote -@lilabellelane
30th October - Fabric boxes - @elisabew
6th November - Fold Up Sewing Folio - @tennjenny
13th November - Boxy Project Pouch - @emilydennis
20th November - See It All Pouch - @heartofcharnwood
27th November - Sliding Box - @lorena_in_syd
4th December - Drawstring Pouch - @amistabaker
11th December - Triple Pouch - @imstudiolou
18th December - Round Up So Far & Christmas giveaway - @tuppencehapennyquilts
BREAK
3rd January - Welcome Back! - @tuppencehapennyquilts
8th January - Two In One Case - @willowbeckdesigns
15th January - Big Zip Pouch - @annamariegalvin
22nd January - Covered Tape Measure - @kitkabbit
29th January - Needle Book Plus - @guicy_guice
5th February - Book and Tool Folio - @modernhandcraft
12th February - Final Round Up and Grand Prize Draw - @tuppencehapennyquilts

Where can I buy the book?
Amongst other places.......

Owl and Drum | amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com | Search Press | C&T Publishing

Where can I get supplies?
Our contributors have recommended several suppliers where they have bought their interfacing, vinyl, zips etc from. PLEASE NOTE: for some of these projects, their success depends on using the exact products Aneela specifies in the patterns. Using other products may result in a less satisfying end result.

For fabrics, you can either raid your stash, or if you feel like splashing out on some new choices, don't forget to check out our sponsors and their lovely fabric shops: Sew Hot, Sew Stitching Happy, Pink Door Fabrics, Owl and Drum, Fabric HQ, Crimson Confection, Sunny Day Supply, Stash Fabrics, Simply Solids, Olive+Flo Handcraft, The Village Haberdashery....

In the US most interfacing, vinyl and notions supplies can be found at JoAnn, plus Zipit on Etsy for zippers
In Canada, Emmaline Bags and Funkymonkeyfabrics were recommended.
In Australia we had recommendations for Handbag Hardware Australia's on Etsy, along with Fabric.com, Spotlight and Lincraft on Etsy.
In the U.K., sewhot.co.uk were recommended for all the Pellon products, and Dunelm for interesting vinyls.

A quick Google search should help you find alternative suppliers.

What's the skill level required?
The projects range in skill level, but each project has a detailed and precise set of pattern instructions, and over the course of the sewalong, even beginners should be able to tackle all the projects with growing confidence.

What will the prizes be?
We've been very fortunate to secure prizes from a number of organisations, including Cloud 9 Fabrics, Sew Hot, Aurifil, Make Modern Magazine, Love Patchwork and Quilting, Dritz, C&T Publishing, Fabric HQ, Stash Fabrics, Simply Solids, Olive+Flo Handcraft, Sunny Day Supply, Zipit, Crimson Confection, Owl and Drum, Pink Door Fabrics, The Village Haberdashery, and Sew Stitching Happy.

What hashtag do I need? Who do I need to tag?
You need to use the following hashtags on your project posts - #stitchedsewingorganizerssal, #stitchedsewingorganizers, #aneelahoey. You should also make sure you tag me - @tuppencehapennyquilts

There is now a Facebook group too -

StitchedSewingOrganizersSewalong@groups.facebook.com

I missed the start, can I still join in?
You can join in at any time, but you can only win the weekly giveaways by posting the correct project on the appropriate week, and for entry to the final draw you will need to have made all 15 projects.