{Sew} Get Started!! Launch & Giveaway

I am delighted to launch my {Sew} Get Started: Beginner Sewing Tutorials series! I hope that you enjoy all the projects and learn lots along the way! I posted some background to this series in Tuesday's post so if you want to find out a little bit more, pop over and have a look.

This series of tutorial is aimed at people who want to learn to sew and to make beautiful things with gorgeous, modern fabrics - who are new to sewing or who sewed in school but haven't done anything since. It will also have lots of nice projects for people who have a little (or a lot) sewing experience - I am really looking forward to trying some of the tutorials myself!

There will be quite a few posts this week and next to get us kicked off and then they will generally be posted on a Thursday although some weeks there may be an extra post for particular things.

I have a fantastic, super talented group of ladies who kindly agreed to write a tutorial each for this series - go and check out their blogs for lots of sewing and quilting inspiration! The tutorials list is:

1.  05/01/12  - Project Launch, Giveaway & Master List - Sarah @ FairyFace Designs
2.  07/01/12  - Resources & Supplies - Sarah @ FairyFace Designs
3.  10/01/12  - Sewing Classes - Fiona @ The Sewing Directory
4.  12/01/12  - Sewing Basics Part 1 - Sarah @ FairyFace Designs
5.  14/01/12  - Sewing Basics Part 2 - Sarah @ FairyFace Designs
6.  19/01/12  - Pincushion & Needlebook - Sarah @ FairyFace Designs
7.  26/01/12  - Simple Napkins - Jennifer @ Ellison Lane Quilts
8.  02/02/12  - Baby Burp Cloths - Irina @ El Petit Taller
9.  09/02/12  - Simple Pram Blanket - Sarah @ FairyFace Designs
10. 16/02/12 - Scrappy Cushion/Pillow - Karen @ Lisnaweary Quilts
11. 23/02/12 - Notebook Cover - Cindy @ Fluffy Sheep Quilting
12. 01/03/12  - Tote Bag - Leanne @ She Can Quilt
13. 08/03/12 - Stencils with Freezer paper - Lindsay @ Craft Buds & Lindsay Sews
14. 15/03/12 - Zip Back Cushion/Pillow - Judith @ Rags to Bags
15. 22/03/12 - Simple Girl's Skirt - Ceri @ Inspired by Felix
16. 26/03/12 - Introduction to Quilting - Easy Mug Rug - Sarah @ FairyFace Designs
17. 29/03/12 - Patchwork Potholder - Sheila @ BluePatch Quilter
18. 05/04/12 - Fabric Wallet - Sarah @ Narcoleptic in a Cupboard
19. 12/04/12 - Round (Wonky) Potholders - Felicity @ Felicity Quilts
20. 19/04/12 - Zipped Wristlet/Pouch - Jenna @ SewHappyGeek
21. 26/04/12 - Quilted Table Runner - Susan @ Canadian Abroad
22. 03/05/12 - Garment Making Basics - Sara @ Sew Sweetness
23. 10/05/12 - Mini Quilt - Kirsten @ Gemini Stitches
24. 17/05/12 - Applique & Machine Embroidery - Sarah @ FairyFace Designs

What do you think? Some really great projects in there! I hope you will find lots to interest you. I may add some further tutes as we go along depending on how it progress and who else I might persuade to join in the fun!

I know that many people who read blogs and who may follow these tutorials will not have a blog - so I have set up a group on Flickr where you can upload photos of projects you make from these tutorials. Joining Flickr is free and it's a great resource for sewing and quilting people. The group is here - pop over and join. There is also a discussion forum in the group where questions can be asked or general chat. It would be so much fun to see what you make from these tutes and how people interpret each project with their fabric choices.

To kick-start your sewing fun, I have a little giveaway.  Yes, a giveaway!

One of the big problems I had when I started sewing first was gathering enough of a selection of scrap fabrics to play with. My first few projects were quite limited until I bought a couple of scrap bags from Ebay and then once I started to make things, I generated quite the selection of scraps! So, I have put together 3 little scrap packs to giveaway today from my overflowing scrap baskets. All are roughly the same, content wise and contain a mixture of sizes, colours and shapes of cotton fabrics (mostly quilting weight, some poplins), along with some felt scraps for the needle book project and some varied size scraps of batting too, for when we move onto quilting. There should be enough there to get you started and to help out with some of the projects which might require a selection of fabrics. I am happy to send these anywhere - international entries are welcome!

I am giving away 2 packs from this post - just leave a comment on the post to enter. Any comment will do - tell me why you want to get started sewing or why you love sewing! You do not have to have a blog to comment - if you don't, just click the "anonymous" option in the comment box and anyone can leave one. Please make sure to leave your email address in your comment in the following format: fairyfacedesigns (at) gmail (dot) com. The giveaway will remain open until Monday 9th January at 9pm (Irish time). I will announce the winners next week using Random number generator.  If I can't get in touch with you by email I will have to redraw.

The 3rd pack I will give away from my Facebook page. Head over there for details of how to enter. You can enter on both competitions to maximise your chances but there will only be 1 pack per winner, so if the same person wins in 2 places, I will redraw for one of the prizes.

I do hope that you will join us and have some fun while you learn. Please feel free to leave questions or comments on the posts as we go and I or the guest poster will do our best to answer.

Enjoy!

*** This giveaway is now closed.***