Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Precious/WIP Challenge

For those of you who attended last Saturday's meeting, you heard me (Laurie) talk about the guild Precious/WIP Challenge.  This guild activity has two purposes: to encourage guild members to use their favorite fabrics they haven't dared to cut into and to get everyone to start finishing all of those works-in-progress or unfinished objects (UFO's) that we all have lying around (okay, there is one BMQG member who has no WIP's - but she's definitely the exception!). 

The rallying of sewers to use their favorite fabrics is an idea taken from Kelly at KelbySews, who inspired lots of people to cut into their Mendocino, Tula Pink, and Katie Jump Rope (to name a few).  The "precious" is in reference to the unforgettable Gollum and his obsession with the ring, from The Lord of the Rings series.  You can check out the flickr group Kelly setup and see what people made from their hoarded fabrics.  It's definitely inspiring.

I know there are guild members who are so scared to cut into their Full Moon Forest, Flea Market Fancy, Melody Miller, Heather Ross, and Neptune fabrics.  For me, I definitely have some of those kind of fabrics in mind, but it is high time I finally cut into one of my favorite collections of all time: City Weekend.
 You definitely don't just have to stick to collections and specific designers, here's a photo of a few fabrics that I just love and I am just waiting for the "perfect" project.  Obviously, we are all have different tastes and it doesn't really matter if your precious fabrics are long out of print or desirable to everyone - they just have to be "precious" to you!
 Finally, here's the other half of the activity: I want to encourage everyone to finish up those unfinished projects you have lying around.  I dug in drawers and piles to unearth no less than nine unfinished quilts.  Ugh.  It's almost embarrassing to reveal this picture but I wanted to encourage everyone - you are not alone!  Let's finish these projects!
We always have a "show and tell" at every meeting, so from now through April, let's dig into our precious fabrics, finish our WIPs, and bring them to BMQG show and tell.  For every item you bring, you will receive one entry into a drawing that will happen at the April meeting.  (I originially said we'd wrap this activity up in March, but I am extending it a little bit so that people can work on these projects at the March retreat).  Prizes will include fabric gift certificates but I would also like to encourage guild members to donate fabrics and/or items they have made to the cause.  I am going to throw in my "Girl on a Swing" mini

Thanks for getting through this long post!  I encourage everyone to blog about this challenge and share your plans with how you will participate - maybe add some pictures to the BMQG flickr group to show us what you are daring to cut into.  I can't wait to see what people will do in this activity!  Feel free to comment with any questions.

P.S.  I almost forgot: it's okay if you decide to make something other than a quilt for this activity.  Additionally, to get a drawing entry for the "precious" portion of this challenge, if you make a quilt - it just has to be a top to get an entry into the drawing.

3 comments:

  1. I may need to psych myself up to dig into my Full Moon Forest. EEK!

    I'm a total dork and keep a spreadsheet of the fabric I have, my UFOs and completed projects. Based on that spreadsheet, I have, wait for it, 25 UFOs! Now that's scary!!!

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  2. I have so many beautiful fabrics which I'm hoarding. Not sure, which one to pick! And about 4-5 UFOs.

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  3. Alright, I finally took inventory of my WIPs!
    http://www.goddessinprogressblog.com/quilts/2012/11/boston-modern-quilt-guild-wip-challenge/

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