Once upon a time, I had another blog…due to a tremendously annoying mix-up, I lost access to that blog and decided to start a new one. However, in looking back, there were some really good posts in my https://renaissancesandi.blogspot.com/ and I thought it might be fun to revisit a few of them. So, the following is an edited version of a previous post.

What’s so great about a Sew Along?”  Well, here’s my experience:  Girl sees pattern.  (I use the term “girl” very loosely here! and, technically, it could be Boy sees pattern)  Girl thinks, “Wow! I really want to make that!” Girl buys pattern.  Girl may even start the project, but then finds that it is tedious, time consuming, or just plain difficult.  Girl loses her mojo and doesn’t finish said project. 

Has this ever happened to you?  I hate to admit it has happened to me many times.  Case in point…Gypsy Wife.  Fancy Forrest.  Tula Pink’s City Sampler.  Hmmmm….are these sounding at all familiar?    Enter the Sew Along.  Nothing motivates me like having friends working on the same project and being able to talk it over, share progress, and encourage one another to the finish line.  I started thinking about that and wondering how I could manage to get a group together that would be interested in working on some of these projects that I wanted to finish myself.  There are lots of quilting friends in my circle of friends, but we don’t all have the same tastes.  I could probably have gone out on the internet or instagram and searched for groups already doing these projects, and found larger groups.  But, I wanted it to be more personal.  I wanted to share with friends that I knew, or at least with friends of friends.  My Facebook page: Sewing with Sandi was born out of that desire.   https://www.facebook.com/groups/1896306293975332/ 

 I started my Sew Alongs with projects that I wanted to finish myself.  I had started Gypsy Wife three years ago.  My Fancy Forest pattern had been languishing on a shelf since right after it had come out.  Tula’s 100 Block City Sampler had been waiting even longer than that.  I loved making Gypsy Wife so much, and some people didn’t finish their first one, so I decided to make a second Gypsy starting in January, (and have since abandoned it for other projects) A simultaneous project is going right now and that is Welcome to the North Pole with several people working on that one.    (That Sew Along is over, but I am still working on blanket stitching and embellishments for mine)

So, to answer the question, “Why do a Sew Along?”  It’s for the motivation and the encouragement to keep going until you actually finish!  If not for the Sew Along, I probably would not have finished Fancy Forrest.  Not gonna lie…that quilt was a pain to make!  I might have done what I often do when I get tired of making something and figured out a way to make it smaller just to be done with it.  Because of the Sew Along, I stuck it out all the way to the end, and I am so glad I did!  I love it!  Sewing with others is the reason I finished my first Gypsy Wife and will be the reason I finish a second.  It will be the reason that after wanting to make Welcome to the North Pole for years and years, I will have it hanging on my wall next Christmas!  (or not…maybe this year!) That is so exciting!  If you have never done a Sew Along, please consider joining one!  You will not regret it.  It’s sew much fun!

Due to the current Corona virus scare going on, there are a lot of choices on Facebook and the internet for Sew Alongs. If you aren’t currently involved in one of the Sew Alongs going on with Sewing with Sandi, I would encourage you to find one that you would enjoy. Just a few that I recommend are with Bonnie Hunter, Edyta Sitar, or Scott Alan Flannagan. A Google search for Sew Alongs or a Facebook search should give you lots of options.

Happy Sewing and See the Beauty in every day!