At last!!  Back for a THIRD year–can you believe it??–the Sewing Buddy Project is OPEN for 2012!  Sewing Buddies began back in early 2010 from suggestions I got from readers who said they felt that the best motivation they could have to learn more and do more sewing would be to have a friend who would encourage them and support them and inspire them and keep them accountable for meeting their sewing goals.  I devised an intensely scientific matching system that utilizes here-to-fore unknown technology to pair up the perfect buddies, some of whom are still going strong.  It has been so much fun to watch these folks–who really are sewing pen pals, of a sort–get to know one another better and meet in person and participate in charity sewing and inspire one another and make me laugh.

This year, I’m looking to mix things up a bit.  Not because it hasn’t been awesome the past two years, but because I want to make the Sewing Buddies a bit more participatory than in years past.  It’s easy to enter into a group and either lose focus or steam, or simply not know what comes next after the initial getting-to-know-yous are past, including for me–and while I think a lot of our Buddies have had some amazing ideas and deep connections, this year I want to make sure ALL of us do!

This year, Sewing Buddies will all be eligible for participation in quarterly sewing challenges, centered around a theme.  Every three months for the rest of the year, all you Sewing Buddies will have the chance to win prizes, showcase your sewing here on the blog, and grow your own sewing skills by working together to create something awesome!  All the challenges are designed to take TWO people to complete–but also to account for the fact that you’re pen pals and not next door neighbors.  They’re optional, but why not take advantage of a chance to do some new sewing, get to know another stitcher better, and win fantastic prizes at the same time??  There are THREE challenges in 2012, and each of them has some really delicious prizes–I’ll be rolling those out over the coming weeks to get you motivated to step up to the plate, as it were.

Additionally, the Sewing Inspiration e-mails I’ve been sending are becoming the Sewing Buddy Inspiration e-mails!  That’s right: all my 2012 Sewing Buddies will be added to the list of folks who helped me launch my Sewing Inspiration emails, and will receive a monthly message of stitchy motivation, right in their inbox, complete with ideas and techniques to help you really bring your A-game to the current quarter’s sewing challenge.

Sweet!!

As in the past, it all begins with you throwing your name in the hat, so let’s get started!

Guidelines for 2012 Sewing Buddy Project participation:

• Agree that you will leave no email from your Sewing Buddy un-answered.  Simply replying to each message as they go back and forth will build your commitment and resolve.  If your Sewing Buddy-ness goes no further than encouraging emails once a week, that’s awesome!  It will keep you on-track to meet some goals or to challenge yourself in a way you might not have otherwise.  If you both decide to start your own Flickr group or joint blog or do some mail exchanges, even better.  At a minimum, though, resolve to always answer your Buddy’s emails–any other participation in challenges or contests is completely voluntary.
• Branch out and get a new Sewing Buddy, even if you’ve already been rocking it with your 2010 or 2011 Buddy.  You can never have too many friends who sew!  You can keep your other Buddies and learn great stuff from a new one.  Isn’t friendship awesome?
• Sewing Buddies can be from anywhere in the world, as long as you’re willing to communicate in English.  We’ve had folks from Britain, Australia, Denmark, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Canada, Austria and a host of other nations participate, and you can, too!  I can’t promise you’ll get a Buddy who is geographically near to you, but isn’t that part of the fun, that discovery?  Hooray for international diplomacy!
• Be on the lookout for contests, challenges, secret passwords, and even (gasp!) meet-ups designed just for Sewing Buddies!  We’ll have our quarterly sewing challenge, but there is plenty more that we can do–and I’ve taken suggestions and comments from past Sewing Buddies very seriously as I work to make this the coolest pen pal experience you’ve ever had!

That’s it!  I’ll begin matching names in the magic whirly-bin of Sewing Buddy Science on March 25, 2012.  Sign-ups will close April 1, 2012 at midnight.  Pairs will be notified no later than April 2, 2012 and the first challenge will be announced the same day!

To participate in the 2012 Sewing Buddy Project:

• To add your name to the list to be matched with a Buddy, simply leave a comment below–that’s it!  Include a working email address that you check (this will be captured when you leave your name, so it isn’t necessary to leave it in the body of your comment).
• You’ll receive an email from me asking you to (1) confirm your participation and (2) name a favorite color and a number between 1 and 10.  These emails will go out in batches beginning March 23; Buddies will be matched from within each batch.
• I’ll use the responses to the emails I receive along with a super-scientific system here at the Whipstitch Labs to match you to the PERFECT Sewing Buddy based on a four-fold formula that’s much too complicated to write about here but that is really awesome and space-y.
• I’ll send an email to the both of you giving introductions in proper Victorian style (a lady never spends time with someone to whom she has not been properly introduced), and then like a mother whose chicks are leaving the nest, I’ll step back and watch as the friendship flourishes.
• You and your buddy will make the initial contact and see where it leads you!  Contests?  Maybe.  Inspiration?  Certainly.  Life-long friendship?  Golly, I hope so.

That’s it!  I’m really looking forward to hearing more from all of you this year, can am so pleased so many of you are looking to continue the Sewing Buddy love.  Hooray!

It’s time!!  Today, we open up the list to add names to the Sewing Buddy Project for 2011.  I had SUCH fun hearing all the stories from last year and seeing what all you got up to with your buddies–it’s so cool to think about what two people can encourage one another to achieve in the space of just a few months.  For background on the Project, see the original post here.

Just this past weekend, I heard stories of international sewing cooperation!  bi-coastal inspiration!  photographic motivation! and way more, all from Sewing Buddies who had used the project as a way to light a fire under their behinds and get moving on some plans and hopes and dreams they’d been nursing along for…who knows how long.  Like a pen pal, but for sewing, a Sewing Buddy can be part drill sergeant and part bestest friend, cheering you along as you tackle each sewing challenge in your path.  It doesn’t matter if you’re still learning or if you’re an old hand–sometimes the best pairs are the ones who seem to have so little skill in common!

This year, I’m hoping for even greater things from the Sewing Buddy pairs.  My one disappointment from 2010 was hearing that some of the Buddies had gone AWOL part way through, and hadn’t been following through.  Obviously, that was the exception rather than the rule, but I wanted to bring it up because it really did bum me out and spoil some of the fun for others who were all set to ascend to new sewing heights with their Buddies.  This year, then, I’d like to ask that each of us really go into the Sewing Buddy Project as a way to connect to another stitcher, to reach out further than our immediate sphere of influence, to build relationships beyond the local, and to find a like-minded soul with whom we can share ideas and inspiration.  It’s not a huge time commitment, and it can have a giant impact, if you let it.

There are no real rules for the Sewing Buddy Project.  It’s a pretty free-form gig, a way to introduce you to someone else who shares your passion for fabric and sewing, regardless of your skill level or nationality.  Beginners welcome!  International may apply!  Last year’s participants: come get another Buddy!  I’d love to see lots and lots and lots of folks matched up and stitching happily with one another, no matter where they start or where they’re going.  I did develop a handful of guidelines this year, though, so that no one ends up disappointed.

Guidelines for 2011 Sewing Buddy Project participation:

• Agree that you’ll commit for eight weeks.  If, after eight weeks, you find that you and your Buddy aren’t a match, we’ll re-match you with a NEW Buddy.  A year might sound like a long time, but anyone can do eight weeks.  If you put some heart into it, I just know we can find you Your People.
• Agree that you will leave no email from your Sewing Buddy un-answered.  Simply replying to each message as they go back and forth will build your commitment and resolve.  If your Sewing Buddy-ness goes no further than encouraging emails once a week, that’s awesome!  It will keep you on-track to meet some goals or to challenge yourself in a way you might not have otherwise.  If you both decide to start your own Flickr group or joint blog or do some mail exchanges, even better.  At a minimum, though, resolve to always answer your Buddy’s emails.
• Be on the lookout for contests, challenges, secret passwords, and even (gasp!) meet-ups designed just for Sewing Buddies!  I’m working on scheduling one or more of these each month in 2011, and hope that you and your Buddy will participate in ALL of them–they’re golden chances to really ignite the fire of sewing in new ways.

That’s it!  I’ll begin matching names in the magic whirly-bin of Sewing Buddy Science on January 21, 2011.

To participate in the 2011 Sewing Buddy Project:

• To add your name to the list to be matched with a Buddy, simply leave a comment below–that’s it!  Include a working email address that you check.
• You’ll receive an email from me asking you to (1) confirm your participation and (2) name a favorite color and a number between 1 and 10.
• I’ll use the responses to the emails I receive along with a super-scientific system here at the Whipstitch Labs to match you to the PERFECT Sewing Buddy based on a four-fold formula that’s much too complicated to write about here but that is really awesome and space-y
• I’ll send an email to the both of you giving introductions in proper Victorian style (a lady never spends time with someone to whom she has not been properly introduced), and then like a mother whose chicks are leaving the nest, I’ll step back and watch as the friendship flourishes.
• You and your buddy will make the initial contact and see where it leads you!

Happy New Year, y’all, and welcome to the Sewing Buddy party!

Originally, I thought this would be a fun activity for Sewing Buddies to do together, but the more I mulled it over, the more I wanted to open it up to everyone! So, for your Monday evening enjoyment, a QUIZ. Sewing Buddies: you have extra incentive to participate–read on for details!

I should let you know: I am a raging nerd. This is likely no surprise to the vast majority of you. As a nerd, I love to challenge myself. Jeopardy? Huge competitive sport in my house. Trivial Pursuit? We actually have family rules and individual handicaps (like: my mother and I are no longer allowed to be on the same team–too many sore losers, I say). So a quiz a la Pioneer Woman? I am all kinds of down with that.

To Enter & Win

The rules are pretty simple: first response with all the correct answers wins! To open it up to as many folks as possible, I’m actually choosing THREE winners (again, similar to how the Pioneer Woman does her quizzes): first response with ALL the correct answers wins; first PAIR of Sewing Buddies who BOTH give all correct answers wins (Buddies must each answer individually; I’ll keep track of who belongs with whom); and one response will be randomly selected from ALL responses for a wild card win. If you’re keeping track, that makes FOUR winners total. (And: This is not a math quiz.)

Answers should be left in the comments.  Please, only ONE entry per contestant.  You will be able to see your own answers, but everyone else’s will be hidden from view until after the quiz is completed and the winners announced (keeps it more interesting, you know).  Quiz is open until Tuesday evening at 7 pm EST; winners will be announced Wednesday here on the blog.

The Prizes

I may have mentioned my book.  It comes out in a scant four weeks (jubilee!), and I am anxiously awaiting a shipment of copies from the warehouse as we speak.  These are my baby, and I won’t be handing them out all willy-nilly.  Gracious, no.  But I WILL bestow them upon the worthy, which is to say, upon winners!

The first response with all correct answers wins a copy of Stitch by Stitch. The randomly selected response with all correct answers wins a grab bag of fat quarters from my very own stash–8 fat quarters in all.  The Sewing Buddy pair who both answer correctly first will each win BOTH–one copy of the book plus a bundle of fat quarters.  Woot!  Go, Sewing Buddies!

OK, y’all.  This is going to be seriously fun.  Ready?  Go!

The Questions

1. Tim Gunn, the marvelous man who most of us know through Project Runway, is most famous for what phrase, frequently uttered to contestants on the show whose designs are struggling?
2. The picture below is of what TYPE of sewing machine (not brand, but type)?
3. Name the Big 4 sewing pattern companies (y’know, the ones that are available at the big box stores, not independent pattern brands).
4. Most of us buy fabric off a bolt, where the fabric has been folded in half before being rolled on the cardboard.  What is the OTHER main way fabric is available, ie NOT double-rolled on a bolt?
5. In a quilt, there are usually three layers: the patchwork layer, the backing, and the layer in the middle that provides the loft.  What is that middle layer called?
6. What animal body part(s) do archaeologists recognize as the earliest hand sewing needles?  Name any and all you can think of.
7. What is the standard seam allowance measurement in American sewing?
8. What rule of thumb tells you when it’s time to change your sewing machine needle?
9. On a sewing machine, what is the name of the machine part that holds the fabric down against the feed dogs?
10. Name one way to prevent the edge of fabric from unraveling.
11. True or False:  Basting stitches are your longest straight stitch, and are temporary stitches used to hold a sewing project together before the permanent stitches are put in place.
12. Who is credited as the inventor of the modern sewing machine?
13. What type of stitch is pictured below?
14. True or False:  Bias tape is a heat-activated adhesive used to hold a hem in place while stitching.  It is removed either by laundering or with a spray bottle of water.
15. The project below, an example of a traditional pattern called Grandma’s Flower Garden, was created using what patchwork technique?

Good luck, everyone!

We’re away at the beach this weekend, and it’s GLORIOUS.  I brought some embroidery to do in the car, and some English paper piecing to do in the evenings while the babies are asleep and my after-sun lotion works its magic.  Slow work, sewing that takes so long, the process is as important as the product.  I love the downtime–no TV, no phone, just our family, all together and getting obnoxious amounts of fresh air.  With three new babies in four years, this is the first trip we’ve taken to the beach in quite some time, and I am really, really excited.  During the day, all that hand work gets left inside as we enjoy the sun and the sand and each other.

The long drive is a great chance to get back in touch with my husband, to meet one another in conversation when we’re feeling relaxed and less pressured by work.  Sitting still, we let our words wander and we meander back closer to one another.  Having my fingers busy while we talk and the trees whiz past, I can feel stress float away from me.  Mile by mile, I can feel myself stitching a memory.

I’ve been keeping him updated on the Sewing Buddy Project–he’s totally into it, by the way.  He’s curious to hear how many people have signed up, and if there are some men as well as women, and what countries they’re all from.  We talked as we drove about how Buddies are going to work–how do you sew together if you never see one another?  I thought it was a fair question, and made me re-evaluate some of the ideas I’d had about how a sewing pen pal could look.

So today, some ideas for how to sew with your Sewing Buddy.  All of these are suggestions that can be done at a distance, most of them require very little or no sewing experience, and very few are at all time consuming. They’re ideas for ways to get on track with your own sewing goals, ways to share projects and split work with your Buddy, and new projects that you two can take on together.  Take pictures and write, y’all–I am so excited to see what turns up at the other end, and my husband is anxiously waiting for news.

Things to Do with Your Sewing Buddy

• Make a list of your own sewing priorities. Trade lists with your Buddy and put each others list in order based on which should be done first.  This allows each of you to detail what you’d like to accomplish, but allows someone with a little more objectivity to help you order your work.
• Set deadlines for one another and check each others “homework” when the deadline arrives.  Keeps you on task and accountable!
• Start your own Flickr pool just for the two of you to post images of your works in progress as you go.  This gives you some instant gratification as you work so you won’t get bogged down by the feeling that you “haven’t done anything yet.”
• Email one another a weekly pep talk, but don’t send them to one another on the same day–maybe one of you peps on Monday, and the other on Thursday.  Seems like most of the time the compliments we pass on to others are for things we’d like to have said about ourselves, so giving each other a little positive encouragement works for them and for us!
• Make a joint list of goals that both of you would like to achieve, and work through it one goal at a time, together.  This way, any snags you hit you’ll have someone in the same boat right there to support you.
• Decide on prizes to give one another when you each complete a particular task or project, or when you master a new skill.  Can be something small, like sending a gift of fabric, or something larger, like sewing your Buddy something they wouldn’t sew for themselves.
• Split a complicated project into stages and mail it back and forth, so that you each take turns on different phases of the construction.  Maybe one of you is really great at cutting out, but hates the stitching, and the other feels the opposite.  Or maybe one of you loves to embroider and hand quilt, and the other loves to do patchwork–why not make TWO embroidered quilts, with each of you contributing the skills you have to the project?
• Choose a skill that each of you really wants to master and work on the same project at the same time to perfect that skill.  You can share research and tips and discoveries as you go!
• Make a list of skills you’ve mastered and skills you want to master, and trade lists.  Odds are, at least one skill you want to master appears on your Buddy’s list, and vice versa.  Agree to a “skills exchange” and teach one another!
• Start a two-author blog a la Mason-Dixon Knitting and keep one another updated on your progress.  This keeps you from falling into the trap of believing you only have something to share when a project is completed, instead of recognizing that it’s the journey that helps us to grow.
• Use a universal Wish List function to “shop” together virtually for fabric & supplies.
• Choose a sewing charity and complete a project together for those in need.
• Sew for your Buddy’s family to give her the time to work on projects for herself, then let her return the favor down the road.  Like paying it forward with your needle!

Have suggestions to add?  I’d LOVE to hear about them in the comments, and add them to this list!  (Additional ideas will naturally be credited to you!)

It’s totally not too late to get your very own Sewing Buddy! Round 2 of matching is going on NOW. Skip on over to the original post and leave a comment to join in the fun!  I’ll close out Round 2 Sunday, August 1 and send out matches next Monday.

When I originally put out the Sewing Goals 2010 survey, I guess I knew that folks felt inspired by seeing what others accomplish in their sewing–that seems natural.  I don’t think I was at all surprised to see how many of the responses indicated that having someone to keep us accountable would help most of us stay on track and meet our goals.  So putting together the Sewing Buddy Project made sense: like a pen pal, but with sewing!

Reading the emails and comments and responses, though, has been so much funner than I expected, for reals.  I am SO enjoying seeing how excited y’all are and watching as Buddies get started with this new project–I’m hearing about how much you guys have in common, and how invigorated you feel, and how many of you don’t know ANYONE near you who sews, so this is a whole new thing for you.  I had no idea that so many of us were sewing in isolation!  Sewing Buddies to the rescue!

Now that Round 1 has all been matched up, it’s time to get to know one another.  I think some basic background info is necessary, like where you grew up and how you like your eggs cooked.  Y’know, the essentials.  And then some sewing background: how long, how often, what type, what techniques you use to disguise your stash so your kids/spouse/folks/neighbors won’t think it’s taking over the house.  Right now, we’re not even really setting goals, not yet.  Step One is really about doing a lap and finding some handholds in common.

I’ve developed a PDF guide for Sewing Buddies to use with one another as a jumping off point.  Do I think you ought to rely on this as the sole way to introduce yourselves?  Heck, no!  In fact, I’ve already seen some of you jump in with both feet and send emails with some or all of this info (which I think is really awesome) and others who have given totally different details and asked one another questions (also awesome).  I think that I benefit from some structure, though, and I want to make sure that if you, too, like a framework, that you have one right at hand.

I should mention: I’m working on some Sewing Buddy quizzes for down the road, and I can’t promise I won’t ask you questions about one another.  There will almost certainly be prizes.  Just putting that out there.

So off you go, my stitching darlings!  Meet your new best sewing friend, and I’ll see you soon with ideas of where to go next!