New Year's Action, Excitement & A Challenge!

EDIT: The One Project A Month Challenge (OPAM) CLOSED on January 31!! The number of participants just got too big to keep it open! If you've missed out SORRY! - but why not play along at home and tackle your WISP pile, taking inspiration from the blogs in the partisipants' list in the sidebar. Happy Stitching and Bear Hugs! KRIS


Well, here we are in 2009 - barely! And already there's action and excitement here at Tag Along Teddies!! And YOU are invited to join in the fun! Interested? Read on!!

It all started innocently enough (as these things often do!!) with May Britt and I commenting to each other that we want to finish some of our WISP's (Works In Slow Progress - that sounds so much softer than UFO's, doesn't it? Tee! Hee! Hee!). We decided to have a little challenge between May Britt, her friend Hanne and I to finish at least one project each month. And then ... we thought ... why not invite others to join us? So the result is that May Britt and I are hosting the:



Now, some parts of this, May Britt and I are still sorting and finalising, but here are the basic guidelines for our challenge.

1. Participants will try (we know life interferes sometimes!) to complete at least ONE craft project by the end of each month. This can be something you've had partly done for a while (a WISP!), a pattern you bought ages ago that you finally get around to making, or a completely new project - it's entirely up to you.

Hmmm ... that's actually the main guideline!!! This is meant to be a VERY low pressure, fun, encouraging challenge. The journey of crafting should be as enjoyable and important as the destination of having a finished project! We're hoping that the challenge will just give us all a little motivation, or as May Britt said, a kick in the BUTT! Tee! Hee! Hee!

But wait ... there's more!! If you'd like to join our little challenge, all you have to do is email me at: kris@tagalongteddies.com or May Britt at abyquilt@hotmail.com and let us know so we can add you to our list. Then, pop our little badge (kindly designed by my beloved Geek Boy!) onto your sidebar with a link back to either this blog, or May Britt's blog where we've posted the guidelines for the challenge. Then, each time you finish a project (big or small, all types of craft, it doesn't matter!) post a photo of your completed project on your blog and email either me or May Britt so we can update our list. If you don't have a blog - DON'T WORRY! You can still join in the fun - just email a photo to me or May Britt and we'll pop them on our blogs and add it to our list.

If you DO have a blog, you might like to pop a list of your completed projects for each month on your sidebar - to help May Britt and I keep track, but also so you can see just how much progress you've made throughout the year. Won't it be nice to look back in December (EEK! But it's only January 2!! Tee! Hee! Hee!) and be reminded of your achievements?

Now ... to give us all a little bit of incentive, May Britt and I are also going to hold a prize draw on the last day of each month. Everyone who has registered a completed project with us for THAT MONTH will go into the draw - if you've completed more than one project, you get an entry for EACH finish, so have more chances of winning some yummy gifties!! May Britt and I will take it in turn to do the draw and provide the little prize (I'm up first for January!), so there'll be plenty of surprises and variety to keep us all motivated. Then, on Christmas Eve, we'll have a super-size prize draw where ALL of the entries will go back into the draw for a special prize drawing - but details of this will be worked out closer to the time. After all, it's January and December is a loooooong way off - right?! Tee! Hee! Hee!

There are also other bloggers out there who have decided to challenge themselves, including one at http://crazyforprimitivequiltsandgardens.blogspot.com/ so if you come across more in blogland, let us know so we can all visit and encourage each other - isn't it great to have such a HUGE cheer squad on our side!!

May Britt and I will both put a list of Challenge Participants on our sidebars, with links to people's blogs so we can all visit each other and admire finished projects - not to mention make new friends along the way! OH!! And very importantly ... you can join us at ANY TIME - there is no cut off or deadline, you just have more chances of winning some fun prizes the sooner you join us! May Britt's friend Hanne and our mutual blogging buddy Stina have already signed up, so why not join us for some stitching good fun!! :0)

WHEW!! I think that's it ... at least enough to get us all jump-started!! If you have any questions, just email me or May Britt and we'll try to give you an answer that makes sense! Tee! Hee! Hee! I am SOOOOOOOOO excited by this challenge and co-ordinating with May Britt! So excited, in fact, that I hardly slept last night cos I had so many thoughts and ideas running around in my head! Tee! Hee! Hee! Well, I think that's it from me for now. I'm off to pop the Challenge Badge etc on my sidebar and then lock myself in my sewing room to get going on my first finish for the year! Happy stitching - Bear Hugs!

CHEERS!
KRIS