Thursday, January 01, 2009

This year's adventure

Dear Donk,

Before we get ahead of ourselves with the new adventure, let's announce our fabulous 2008 Grand Prize winner with 43% of the votes:

May/June: Wrap Skirt, Julia of denverbrunette

Congratulations Julia! Your project was so grand that 39 people voted for you out of all 90 votes. You're very popular. Although, I hope you're the nice kind of "popular" instead of that kind of popular that makes people want to hit you with their cars in the high school parking lot, but whatever - you still win!

Ah, and for the prize. Please send your mailing address to me at finnyknits AT gmail DOT com so that I may send you a year's subscription to CRAFT: magazine.

We do love our CRAFT: so much and hope that you will, too. All year.

Funny thing about CRAFT: magazine though, I love it so much that I also follow their blog. You know, the craftzine blog? The very same blog that posts, like, 20 amazing projects from around the web every day. The very same blog that distracted me from a lot of my 2008 sew~along projects so that all of a sudden I was working into the night to get my ~along projects finished because I diverted so much of my time to making drop neck shirts from my old ugly Tshirts.

Yes, that blog. The one that's one of the very first I click on in my Reader to see what project shall snake my attention this weekend.

That blog that will be our 2009 ~along "book".

What? No real book? Oh yes, people, we've done away with the book this year. Because the economy is in the tank and our craft shelves are full of books and no one likes clutter and also there's inspiration to be found elsewhere.

Specifically, on The Internets. (So glad this grammatical phenomenon will be gone soon.)

This year we're taking our ~along online. All the way online. We're going to do what we know while still being creative and while keeping our credit cards in our wallets (or in the wall safe, depending on who you are).

We are going to ~along with a blog.

OH YES.

But not just any blog. The craftzine blog.

But, but, but that blog isn't just sewing! It's got all kinds of other stuff that doesn't involve getting out my fancy new machine or threading a bobbin or slicing my thumb off with the rotary cutter!

We know. BUT DO NOT PANIC.

The plan is this:

Every month Kelli and I will choose 1 sewing project and 1 other project from the craftzine blog's previous month for the current month's challenge.

Everyone will scatter to their respective corners and craft an amazing project and post it to our 2009 CRAFT:along pool, the CRAFT Flickr pool and/or their personal blogs.

At the end of the month, we'll choose a winner, award a prize and announce the next month's project from the previous month's craftzine postings.

Sound like something a crazy person might say? Well, yeah.

But for example - take the January projects: (Yes - that's this month. These are your projects.)

Sewing project: Men's Hoodie
Other project: Baking!
Lemon Drop Cookies

When you've decided which you'll do (or do both!), go ahead and make them awesome, post photos to the two pools (you want extra exposure for your awesomeness, do you not?) and maybe blog about it ALL BY 1/31/08 and then await the monthly contest winner and next month's project announcement.

COULD IT BE EASIER?

Perhaps, but whatever - this seems fun. And we hope you agree. We hope you're ready for a new year and a new ~along and maybe ready to make something other than an apron with your skilled hands.

Join us, won't you?

xo
Finny

PS. We have a new badge for 2009. No book, but we have a badge. Go fig.


16 comments:

  1. Oh, that's fantastic. I've always wanted to do one of your ~alongs, but didn't really love either of the books enough to buy them. I love Craftzine, though. Which is free and awesome.

    Genius idea, girls. I'm in.

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  2. You mean I can bake something? I can do that! Finally, a craft I can do! I can't do no sew. No knit. No "look at this beautiful thing I'd actually wear out of the house (and not just to get the newspaper) which I made from two old dish towels, a box of mis-matched shoelaces, and this line drawing by Leonardo da Vinci."

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  3. Oh holy crap! I am looking at that Lemon Drop Cookie recipe right here on my desk, because I totally wanted to try it once the baked goods start to dwindle around here. A good omen, perhaps? Think so!
    This sounds fun, Ladies -- nicely done!

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  4. Oh I like this. Lemon drops sound good to me.

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  5. Baking!?!?! AwRIIIIGHT.

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  6. Awesome idea to use the website! I am totally in with this one...even if I did go nuts asking Santa for all the new craft books in anticipation! LOL! Love the idea of a mix of crafts to choose from.

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  7. woot woot!
    I'm flattered and quite excited about the new mag. Something I'll treasure and share with all my crafty friends here in the Rockies. Thank you very much.
    Julia

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  8. Baking is CLOSER to something I might actually do, but still . . . no, probably not. I'll just cheer you on from the sidelines.

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  9. Brilliant choice! I always bookmark projects from the CRAFT blog but never get around to actually doing them. Maybe this high-stakes flickr pool will help me get my shit together!

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  10. This sounds like fun. I do appreciate the use of online resources instead of running out to purchase yet another craft book. Plus, I love the idea that if you don't (or can't) sew, there's an alternative project. Great idea--I'd like to participate, too.

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  11. look at all the peeps who will play along! woo hoo!

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  12. I would like to selflessly offer to judge all lemon-based entries as impartially as I possibly can.

    I know -- I'm a giver taking one for the team like this and all.

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  13. Great idea, great plan!
    I'm in and will shoot for doing both projects each time 'cause we like baked goods along with the stitchin' around here.

    BTW, the hoodie choice is fantastic!!!

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  14. This is awesome on so many levels. Free online stuff. Choices of what to do each month. Various crafty opportunities. I love it! I may or may not attempt January's sewing project, but you can bet your bippy I'll be making the cookies.

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  15. I realized today that it was 2009 and the awesome along is starting! I'm very excited, especially with the baking part. How fun!

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  16. OK, I made those cookies today and they are very nice. I think I ate five of them. Oops-did I just admit that on the World Wide Web? I am super excited about this ~along. I found your blog in late summer, so I didn't manage to do anything from the 2008 ~along. And I can't try the men's hoodie because my sewing machine is being an asshole right now.

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[2013 update: You can't comment as an anonymous person anymore. Too many douchebags were leaving bullshit SPAM comments and my inbox was getting flooded, but if you're here to comment in a real way like a real person, go to it.]

Look at you commenting, that's fun.

So, here's the thing with commenting, unless you have an email address associated with your own profile, your comment will still post, but I won't have an email address with which to reply to you personally.

Sucks, right?

Anyway, to remedy this, I usually come back to my posts and post replies in the comment field with you.

But, if you ever want to email me directly to talk about pumpkins or shoes or what it's like to spend a good part of your day Swiffering - shoot me an email to finnyknitsATgmailDOTcom.

Cheers.