Hello Everyone! I'm hoping that everyone had a wonderful holiday season and is now looking forward to the upcoming New Year!
This thread will serve as the official thread forum for Group #7 (Our Name - Yet To Be Determined) for the Row Robin 2011. I am your Group Leader, The Creative Seamstress.
Now that most of the craziness and chaos of the season is mostly behind us - it's time for us fellow quilters to start (finally, LOL) having an opportunity to work on some projects for ourselves and/or break in those new machines/notions you may have recieved for XMAS! Hooray! I'm very glad to virtually meet all of you and work with each of you on this wonderful project! I'm really looking forward to this Row Robin, and it will be exciting to see how both our individual and collective vision and creativity culminate into a finalized project for each of us by the time 2011 draws to a close. It will be really fun!
While I realize that some of you may be experienced in these types of activities either through online groups or within real life guilds, others in the group may not - so we're just going to cover a few things of interest to us all (whether newbie or veteran and regardless of skill level)... so let's get started!
*First things first, let's take a quick moment to outline a few relevant things/points of fact regarding this Group activity:
1) Our group needs a name! I'm asking everyone to throw out some of their ideas and provide their two cents below this posting... and we'll each take/post up a vote on the suggested names by posting a vote to this thread by 1/4/2011. On that day, which ever name recieves the most votes will become our official name, and the "Thread Topic" will begin to reflect the same. Try to be as creative and fun as possible with your suggestions! Once we have a name - it is our name for the duration of the project and won't be changed, so let's make it one that is truly unique and memorable!
2) This is really #1. Remember, we are all here to have fun, to enjoy this experience and do the very best work that is possible for everyone's respective levels of experience/ability. No one is perfect and mistakes can happen. Don't beat yourself up over it or lose your inspiration. This is supposed to be both a fun and memorable experience. Don't forget that fact.
3) Don't allow anything about the process to stress you out, EVER. If at any point it does, take a rest from the project for a day or a few days if necessary, but in the end always remember to finish your assigned portion as each phase progresses and to do so in a timely manner. Pre-planning is crucial, procrastination only hurts you and everyone else. No one wants nor deserves to end up without a finished quilt at the end of the year. Everyone knows the terms and conditions of joining in on these activities when we each signed up, and we all want to continue to enjoy the privies of being able to have them. I wouldn't like to see anyone jeopardize their respective standings on this board (or to be banned) for failing to keep up their end of the activity. NO BROKEN HEARTS PLEASE!
4) Devote your time and efforts equally. Make sure to keep track of and write down the mailing dates and the expectations of your projects and stay organized. If you (like me) - belong to more than one swap/activity on this and/or any other online quilting forum and/or sewing/quilting guild, you will want to ensure that you remain aware of your multiple deadlines and project expectations without falling behind or becoming confused to the detriment of yourself and others. Treat your fellow group members the way you would like to be treated: with both consideration and respect. Treat each project and obligation with equal importance, time and effort.
5) If for some reason either a significant and overwhelming life event occurs and you must for some reason drop out of the Row Robin and/or there will be some legitimate reason/(s) for a delay in the mailing date/completion deadlines - it is imperative that you please let us as a collective know (whether the circumstances are foreseen or unforeseen) - so that adjustments can be made in as timely a fashion possible and so as to cause the least amount of interruptions to the project. Ideally, such notifications should be posted to this thread for all of us to see, however - if it remains something of a very personal/sensitive nature which you do not wish to be referenced on these boards in general (and you wish to privatize the matter) then please feel free (and be sure) to send a PM to me and I will notify your fellow Group members of the situation accordingly, both reasonable and necessary.
6) I will be serving as your Group Leader for this project and am most happy to answer any questions/concerns that you may have to the best of my abilities. I'm honest, straight-forward and don't pull any punches, and am fully aware that I am not "all-knowing" (or else I'd have won the Lotto by now)... so that means that if for some reason you ask me a question about something and I don't honestly know the answer - I'm willing to admit that to you/everyone else. Afterwhich, I will then make every effort to find out an answer for You and the benefit of all other Group members who may benefit from that wisdom. So please don't be shy - I don't bite! Also, in the interests of full disclosure, please also be kind enough to allow for a (12-36) hour response time if you PM me (or post a question to this thread directed towards me) - as I check my e-mails, websites etc periodically and as often as I possibly can when I'm working. I travel for a living - so my hours can be very whacky sometimes depending on where I am in the world and the time zone that I am in. Thankfully internet access is accessible almost everywhere, however I don't want anyone to feel that because they did not recieve a quick/rapid response that they are being ignored in any way... so I appreciate your understanding in advance.
7) Please endeavor to make it a priority to check this thread at least every (2-3) days at a minimum or however frequently you are able. Remember, this thread will be both our individual and collective primary mode of communication(s) between us - so it is important that we all stay "in-the-know" of each others statements, comments and project progressions. This will serve as our online home for the next year, so lets also make sure to keep everything as organized as possible and on topic/related to this project.
8) Just do your best. That's all that it expected of you. And again, never stop having fun!
Now that the formalities are all through - let the inspiration take over and the fun begin! I'm super excited to share this experience with you all and can't wait to begin!
Explosive blessings, abundance and inspiration to you all!
- The Creative Seamstress