Let Us Begin...

Welcome Everyone to the 2012 Crazy Quilt Journal Project!

 

We are excited to begin this great crazy adventure with you! We should all see loads of crazy quilt blocks to inspire us throughout the year! 

The Committee extends a warm welcome to all Registrants!

The blog has some pages that are important for you to review. The “Rules” and “Q&A” are reminders so you’ll be able to keep on track. The Registration Page will be removed after the closure date of 27 December 2011

 The Blog is for your photos, your questions, and whatever information the committee needs to share as the year progresses. Please look at the right hand margin and click on the “FOLLOWERS” button so that you will see the CQJP 2012 Blog in your blogger dashboard and be reminded to read any recent posts.

The rules are simple…please read them again. Basically…you make your own blocks. Each month you make a new block…and it has to be at least 6” by 6”. It doesn’t have to be square…just at least that total size (36 square inches). Challenge yourself to try new embellishment ideas and improve your technical skills. Submit photos of your completed blocks to the committee for inclusion on the blog (send email to: chairperson@cqjp.org).

There are no rules on how to piece your blocks or how you should embellish them. There are plenty of websites and blogs that will offer you free advice on techniques…this is not the place for that. Here, you are getting a challenge…and inspirational pictures and encouragement throughout the year to keep you going!

Links to participant’s blogs are posted on the side bar and you will have a great time browsing through all of them for sure!

The only competition in the CQJP is yourself striving to improve your skills. You are the only person that is measuring what you knew and did yesterday against what you’re able to accomplish today. So, each and every block is acceptable…regardless of the individual’s personal level of experience or development. Each and every block is an accomplishment for that participant!

So, as you view the photos, remember that each participant is at a different place in their journey…and perhaps even on a different road than the one you might be traveling on yourself!

Please be supportive, encourage each participant and do not be judgmental in your view. And, remember to be easy on yourself too! Look at your own work kindly…and celebrate the effort you have put into the project. You are not trying to do the best work in the challenge...as this is not a competition…but you should be trying to do the work the best YOU can do.

Inspiration is a key element to growth. We need to see our peer’s work to measure our own skill levels…and that helps us to keep striving to learn different techniques and to perfect the techniques we already attempt. So, please share your photos.

However, if you prefer to work in solitude and not share…that’s fine. There are no photo police! You don’t have to submit pictures for posting. You do not have to report to anybody that you finished your block each month. Although we encourage you to do one block per month, so you don’t let them “pile up” on you…and then get discouraged and stop creating…it is perfectly okay for you to skip a month, do two in the same month, whatever your creative muse dictates. Just keep stitching to reach your goal of completion in 12 months. Those that do complete their 12 blocks can be posted on the CQJP Website for 2012...and will retain that spot through the following years...as this will be an annual challenge.

Don’t complicate the project too much. It is a good thing to set some goals…you might try to incorporate at least one new stitch in each monthly block, or to learn a new technique each month…but, if you can’t follow through on these goals every month…don’t become discouraged and stop. Continue on and finish your blocks. The end result will be a set of wonderful blocks that can be transitioned into a journal, multiple gifts, or a quilt. Set some goals…but be flexible too!

You can participate in the Project whether or not you have an individual personal blog or website. You don’t even have to take pictures of your finished blocks. All of that is voluntary. However, blogging is simple, usually free (assuming you already have internet access) and provides a great opportunity for immediate feedback and collaboration with fellow crazy quilters. It can also improve your computer skills!

So, although having a blog or website is optional…the committee does encourage you to give it a try! You might just like it as much as we enjoy the process. And, posting about your Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2012 progress is a wonderful way to chart your own journey and have that path documented for posterity. It would be very fulfilling to look back at the end of the twelve months and see where you began and how you advanced your skills through the year.

The CQJP Blog is a key place for information and inspiration. Check back often!