You mentioned that there are various skills in your group. I've been enjoying Donna Jordan's tutorials. She has had some very interesting designs to share and talks about color selection and all. You might find something there. My only "complaint" on what I've seen of Donna's presentations is that all of her quilts have been finished on the longarm. I like my quilting to highlight the piecing that I've spent hours doing. To me, longarm pantograph is like an artist spending hours on a beautiful painting and then scribbling all over it.
Personally, I'm not a fan of group projects though. I have so many ideas on my own bucket list that I'm glad that all of us have our own projects at our weekly group. I want to do my own thing. And, yes, we are still learning from the others' projects. On occasion we see what another is working on and decide to make that one, too, but it's a choice, not a planned project. Round Robins don't take into account that "too many cooks spoil the broth". Your 1/4" seam and mine may not be the same. Now what do I do with this if the person ahead of me has left a problem? Do I take out her work and risk offending her or do I simply move on and make the best of things--and how?