I am so excited to share with you a new monthly event that will begin this month! I've been scheming this up for quite a while now, and I'm excited that it's finally coming together! Before it officially begins, I want to tell you how it came about and share some details!
Over the course of this year I've thought a lot about what it is exactly that I love so much about quilting and running my business. As I set new goals, I want to make sure that I set ones that I am passionate about, will enjoy working towards, and ones that hopefully you will enjoy the end results of!
I found that some questions are more difficult to answer. What is it that I have to offer this amazing quilting community? What is it about me that is worth sharing with the world? I still don't understand how others would answer this question about me, but after long contemplation, it became clear to me. Two words that have been a part of my soul my entire life!
Exploring & Creativity
So here it is: my place and personality in this quilting community is a "Creative Explorer". And my purpose is to share that journey of exploration through the patterns that I create.
As a partially self-taught quilter, I do not claim to be a perfect quilter or follow all the rules, and I'm ok with that. I am still learning, as we all are!
What I can do, however, is design. And create patterns that stimulate creativity and open the doors of exploration. Exploring color schemes, design possibilities, and more. Designs that can be made with as little or as much creativity as you want to give them! I feel blessed to have found this perfect niche where I can feel like I have something I can contribute to this ever growing community of talented men and women!
And this is how I found my goal, to use patterns as the vehicle of creative exploration, with the end result of finding my own unique style and create my most beautiful work! And my goal is to help you to do the same as you join me, if you will, through the on going process of learning new techniques and lessons that will carry over from one pattern to the next, that can be gained from one project to influence many projects to come! A journey where we together can discover our own unique styles, and build upon them to create our most beautiful work!
And thus an event was born!
Exploring Creativity
One pattern at a time
One month at a time!
One pattern at a time
One month at a time!
Each month, at the beginning of the month, I will announce a pattern that I will be exploring during that month. Most of the time this will be a pattern that is currently available, which I will be improving and updating prior to the beginning of the month. If you have previously purchased the pattern, you will be able to receive the updated pattern. If you haven't purchased it yet, there will be a short flash sale when the pattern is announced. Then throughout the month, I will share my creative process with you, including tips, tricks, shortcuts, ideas, answer questions, share my progress and finished projects with you.
Throughout the month, I will invite you to join me and share your creative process as you explore the specified pattern, and share what you make, ask questions, share what you've learned, your frustrations, your successes, etc. I will be by your side as you create your most beautiful work through your own unique style!
By the end of the month, we'll hopefully both have learned something new, experienced success and fulfillment, and have at least one new beautiful project!
AND.... to make it extra fun! At the end of the month, I will share one of your finished projects in my newsletter. The creator of the chosen project will win a $10 store credit to my shop as well as a $25 credit to a specified fabric shop! Both sponsored by me, as my gift to you!
Here are a few more details for the giveaway:
- The finished project must contain the spotlight pattern for that month, but may also contain other patterns as well.
- The finished project can be old or new, but must be shared (or reshared) during the specified month.
- Project can be any size or shape or product. i.e., a bag, pillow, pouch, mug rug, pincushion, quilt, mini quilt, notebook cover, basket, etc. If you make it, and it's finished, it counts.
- Projects can be made for swaps or other purposes. The end destination does not matter, only that you made it.
- Project must be linked up or shared some place where I can find it. If you blog about it, link your exact blog post to my blog linky (Which will be contained in the announcement post for that month). You can also share it on Instagram using the specified hashtag(s), or in my Facebook group. (All of this information will be found in the announcement post.)
- Store credit is only valid in specified shops.
- Winner will be announced in my newsletter only (so be sure to sign up, and tell your friends to sign up).
- Winner must contact me to claim prize. If prize is not claimed before the winner for the following month is announced, prize is forfeit, and can no longer be claimed after that time.
- AND just to be clear. You can participate as much or as little as you want during the month. This is low commitment. To enter the giveaway, all you need to do is share a finished project during the month. If you made it a year ago, that's fine, just make sure you reshare it so it is a fresh image. :)
I realize that in the process of self-exploration, which is required when exploring our own creativity, the process can be intimidating and scary. That as we experiment and through trial and error, we might create ugly things, and we might create amazing things! But to say just one thing on this matter, I want to let you know that above all, I want my blog and this creative space to be a safe space! A place where we can share our beauties and our uglies. And we need not fear judgement or criticism. Where we can laugh and cry together over our successes and failures! I won't hesitate to share my mistakes, and I hope you won't be afraid to as well. Because through our mistakes we learn the greatest lessons of all!
So enough rambling. Let's begin the party! I will announce this months pattern in a following post.
Updated to add:
I'll add a running list of each months patterns, so you can follow along.
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