on challenges {blogmas day nine}

This week has been a busy one; after a long couple of weeks of real life being revoltingly lifeish, everything had fallen by the wayside. There were chores to be caught up on and washing baskets to empty and lessons to be wrapped up. And being December, there was a bigger problem.

Those sixteen challenges.

Aside from Vlogmas, almost everything else has been left to the side while I was in duck mode (trying to keep calm on the surface while paddling madly and trying to keep it together under the surface). Progress is being made though. Yesterday, I caught up on my gnome class and made a start on catch up blog posts and Stitching Towards Christmas. Today, I’ve been working on my cross stitch, plus have gotten my bible up to date. I missed a few install but am still on track to fill my album, and I’m only half a book behind my read along. December Daily is yet to be started, though I do have photos for each day. I’ve even managed to prep some frankenbatting for my Quiltmas quilt.

I was on a video call with The Minister For Crafty Shenanigans a day or two ago, and we were talking about how we’ve shifted from jumping on every challenge that passed our way, and doing something every long weekend, to mostly doing personal challenges. We also discussed how we tend to jump in on group projects in a busy season, which sometimes feels counterintuitive. It’s those group projects though, that I think are core to remaining grounding in our making, and connected in our friendships, when the real world is manic and pulling us in a million different directions.

Right now, the main group project is diamond dots. It’s a trend I never really got on board with, but you know what I HAVE gotten on board with?

Gnomes

So when Car found gnomish dots at The Reject Shop for $5, I decided that this was the project that would finally get me to try it. And I will confess, I hate it. Car & Alley both swear by it, and seem to find zen in the process. Me? Nope. Just bored. At this point, I’m doing it just to get it done and be finished.

But even not overly loving the craft, it does serve a purpose. It gives us a common connection point to come back and check in with. For me, someone who thrives on accountability and deadlines and competition? It’s tailor made to tickle all the dopamine receptors. Until, of course, Someone Who Shall Remain Nameless got it finished while I was still languishing at the half way mark.

Group projects, and the commonality they provide, make for an easy way to work through a busy season. But have just marked five years since our last quilt camp, group projects also offer sharing space in a way we can’t, physically.

At quilt camp, we all work on our own things for the most part. But we are working together in the same space, much like the parallel play concept in toddlers and early childhood education. Now we aren’t sharing that physical space, instead we share mental and creative space, and even when not actively chatting, just by working on a project that three other friends are working on? It’s a little moment to think of them and mentally share space with them. I think that’s a big part of why we’ve come full circle, to our early days of chatting while nursing babies and chasing toddlers.

We can’t be together, but we can craft together.

And so I’ll keep dotting away, even as it drives me batty. I’ll chat with my friends and compare our progress and get the flippin’ thing finished, and right now, any finish is a win.