Monday, January 9, 2012

Failure Is Okay

This is a story of failure. And failure is okay. It happens. It's an inevitable part of life. But, especially in my crafty life, I prefer to be a "glass is half full" kind of gal. About a year ago I decided to participate in a round robin for charity hosted by the amazing Julie (Jewel) of the Intrepid Thread. (On a side note, if you haven't seen her online fabric shop you really need to check it out. She always has the most amazing fabrics available!) I had never been in a round robin before, nor had I really ever heard of one before this so I was excited to try it out.

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The plan was simple. Each participant would create a quilt center and then send it to the next person on the list, along with some fabric. That person would add to the quilt center and send it to the next person until it was returned to me. We were supposed to have the completed quilt tops in May for us to finish and the plan was to donate the completed quilts to Quilt Hope In. They would sell the quilts on their Etsy site and the proceeds were to be donated to Haiti relief efforts. Unfortunately it didn't work out that way.

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Somewhere a long the way people dropped the ball. It happens. That's life. And I honestly don't harbor any ill will against anyone. I had completely written this quilt off until a package arrived at my doorstep on Saturday. Julie had managed to track down my quilt center and was even so kind enough as to add her round to it. She was so sweet and apologetic (unnecessarily so since none of this was her fault) and included some amazing Ty Pennington fabric for me. I know that this project has caused her a lot of stress and I feel so badly for her trying to track down missing persons in places unknown. Her heart was in the right place, organizing this round robin, and the problems we encountered were not her fault. What just adds more salt to the wound; I don't think she was able to recover her own quilt in this mess. Since I was never expecting to see this project again, it was actually a welcome surprise that made me smile. See - glass half full. My only regret from the experience is that I believe Julie has been soured on round robins, and that's a shame, because she's very talented and I would love to work with her again. Hopefully we can find another project in the future to collaborate on together.

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What's the moral of the story? You've got to get out there and try new things. Sometimes they succeed and sometimes they end in failure but just let go and enjoy the ride no matter the outcome. I go into every new endeavor, crafty or not, with joy and minimal expectations. Life is too short. Shit happens and even if I never received my quilt top back at least I learned some stuff from this experience. But since I have it back in my possession I think I'm still going to finish the quilt and donate it, so I am sure you will see this quilt again in the future.

10 comments:

  1. Aww, such a shame some were lost, hopefully they'll make their way to a charity somewhere anyway, once they're done. Love how yours has turned out though!

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  2. I am auctioning off my failed silent auction quilt to benefit operation smile. I am hoping to raise enough money in raffle and bake sale items to pay for 1 surgery (about 250 dollars). It's a really pretty quilt center!

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  3. What a shame, but a great attitude and i am glad you got your quilt back :)

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  4. I am very happy you got your quilt back. Too often, people sign up for too many swap projects and just get overwhelmed, or they get busy and forget. Julie is such a wonderful person, and I am sure she felt really bad, even though it was totally out of her control. I have been thinking about this very subject today because of a swap I was involved in that I may or may not get anything in return for what I sent out. I think your attitude is wonderful. I have come to the conclusion that if I join in a swap, I will continue to do the best I can and hope that the other swappers will as well. Every one of them is a learning experience. If you need a place to donate this quilt, BASICs in New York can always use quilts. You can find out more at http://bumblebeansbasics.com/.

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  5. I'm happy you got your quilt back, it's beautiful. And I love the idea of the round robin. What a shame it didn't work out as expected. You have a better attitude than me. I try and hold myself to high standards and I get really frustrated when others don't. I hope the other quilts turn up!

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  6. Julie is truly amazing and your quilt looks beautiful. I'm glad she was able to find it for you and you were reunited. I haven't tried a round robin before, but maybe with the right people it could work!

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  7. I love the quilt. It will look fabulous when done. Unfortunately, people commit to things and then can't fulfill their promises and don't know how to wiggle out of it. Glad you got yours back : )

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  8. So glad you recovered your quilt, but too bad to hear that Julie didn't get hers back. I love the IDEA of round robin bees, but I have yet to be in a bee where each member actually followed through, so I would be scared to try this because so much more is at stake. Good for you for trying, though. The quilt top looks great. I know someone will really enjoy it once you get it all finished.

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  9. What a great blog, and attitude. Look forward to reading your blog.

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  10. Your quilt looks great. Sorry that you had such a rough time with it. IF you're interested in trying a round robin again check out the new group I'm starting... it's a twist from the traditional round robin. http://www.flickr.com/groups/modernbeerobin/ You'd only be responsible to one partner, and you'd swap pieces several times between the two of you. :) We're just about ready to start up though so join up soon if you'd like. We're encouraging people to partner up with people local to them too - save on shipping! :) I see you're in the PTS7 too - maybe we'll be partners since we have similar styles!

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