Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

As the Winter Mystery Project Sew Along comes to an end, I cannot help but feel grateful for the joy and excitement it brought to me over the last three weeks. From the very start, my dear friend and co-host Irina and I wanted to share some happiness and mystery with all of you. We wanted to create a special experience that would leave you feeling intrigued and uplifted, would help you learn new skills in an easy way, and hopefully would help you make new friends along the way and so the idea of the Mystery Project Sew Along was born. This Sew Along was planned for the autumn of the last year, and even though the prototype of the basket was made, we had to postpone it till winter due to many personal reasons and the challenges of this design as we were not convinced it was suitable for the beginner sewists.

Last year, I took the longest break from sewing and social media in years to spend some much-needed quality time with my family. While it was wonderful to reconnect with my loved ones, I must admit that returning to sewing and posting afterwards was hard. I was filled with self-doubt and was sure I lost the creative spark. On top of that it was the middle of the summer here in Australia and the end of the school holidays that made it even more challenging to be fully dedicated to this event.

Irina and I were in constant communication for this project, jumping on video calls, sending each other emails and messages, and exchanging sketches of every little detail. We had some failed ideas and moment where we felt stuck and completely blank, to the point where we even doubted whether we were ready to move forward with this event at all. It was a rollercoaster journey, but we found a way to make it happen and support and encourage each other. It is amazing to see what can be done when you don't give up and especially when you have someone by your side who believes in you and supports you every step of the way.

Irina is amazing, and I cannot thank her enough for her incredible dedication, passion, and commitment to this project and the Sip Tea and EPP party. Her talent, creativity, and superb organisation skills always blow me away. I feel very grateful to work with her. Without Irina, this event would never have come to life. Thank you, dear Irina, for being YOU, for your support and for making this project come true.

As we brainstormed ideas, we knew we wanted to create something special and useful for all of you who decided to sew along with us, and it's been an absolute joy to watch this project come to life. The #wintermysteryproject hashtag on Instagram has now almost 800 posts! Yay! And we can see more and more people wanting to sew the basket. We understand that the mystery element is not for everyone and some people had to wait for the big reveal. 😊 

This truly feels like a miracle! Your trust in us to deliver on our promise, your willingness to sew alongside us, and your kind words and feedback throughout the Sew Along have made this experience amazing. I cannot thank you all enough for the creativity and passion that you brought to this project. Your enthusiasm ignited my love for sewing once again and inspired me, and I am so grateful to you for that!

Organising and delivering this event was a huge task that required a lot of time, energy and effort. Living in different parts of the world (Irina lives in Finland and I live in Australia) did not help at all, but we had to make sure that the instructions we were giving were presented in an easy and understandable way. We had to take lots of videos to show you our ways of doing things so you could pick the techniques that worked for you. We re-read and corrected the instructions many times, sometimes even the last minute before posting them just to be sure that there won't be any confusion and everyone could sew with us. My family had to put up with me constantly calling out "Quiet! I am filming!" and seeing my phone in my hand day after day. There were moments of stress and uncertainty, but we pulled through, and the end result is truly amazing.

Looking back on this experience, I am filled with gratitude for the community we have built. The anticipation and excitement leading up to the big reveal, the shared joy of learning and the sense of closeness and support have truly been a highlight of this event. I am humbled to have been a part of this experience. Thank you for being a part of this journey with us! Your trust, belief, and support have meant the world to us. We feel incredibly lucky to be a part of this beautiful and inspiring community.

Thank you for reminding us that even in the midst of our busy lives, there is always time for the things that bring us joy. Together, we can create something truly beautiful and magical!

Please go over to Irina's blog to read her reflections on this experience.

With love, Larisa  and Irina xo