I’m so happy to have others interested in doing a WIP Along with me here. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how this will work and will discuss the game plan below. Things may change. If you have suggestions that may work better, whether it’s now, halfway through the year, Thanksgiving, 2023 . . just share them and we’ll take it from there.
This is supposed to be fun. No stress. No guilt. No dread. If you’ve committed to working on WIPs the last 5 days of the month but there’s a SAL you want to start or something you need to finish . . go for it. You can make up the 5 days during the month or you can skip it! Whatever works for you!
What Counts as a WIP?
In my opinion, a WIP is a “work in progress”. For the WIP Along, I tend to think of my projects more as the projects I need to dig out and get finished . . projects that haven’t seen the light of day for a while. Technically, if I start a new project on January 1, from that day forward, it’s a work in progress.
You set your own goals.
If you’re not a cross stitcher but need some motivation to do other things, feel free to work on quilts, knitting projects, spinning yarn. It’s ok if the ongoing projects you need to do involve cleaning out the pantry, organizing the cabinets, straightening out the closets. WIP days can also be for fully finishing pieces you’re already stitched. I’ll probably do some of that. I have several pillows that need to be finished and at least a dozen things that need to be framed. It’s the stitching I love!
Really .. do whatever it is that’s been nagging at you to get it done but most of all, do whatever makes you happy.
Your Plan:
I’ll say it again – do whatever makes you happy. If you want to work weekends on WIPs, that’s fine. If you want to work every Monday on WIPs, that’s fine. If you want to work the last five days of each month, or the first five days of each month on WIPs, that’s fine.
Reporting:
You don’t have to share your progress but here’s what you need to do if you want to be included in my monthly WIP report, which will be posted on the last day of each month.
- Take a before and after picture (before is what your WIP looked like on the first day of the month and the after photo is after you finished your progress on it). You can either send me the picture (email me) and please include the info you want me to post. For sure I need the name of the chart and the designer. I’ll also need the name you want me to associate with you. Whatever name you want me to show is good.
- You can also comment on WIP report post and leave a link if you have a blog or picture sharing site that others can see. I have to approve comments with links and I will do that as soon as I see them.
- Please send your report to me within a few day before or after the last day of the month. I’ll keep updating the report to add new submissions. I will not add new submissions after the 5th day of the following month so get that info to me by the 5th of the next month please.
My Personal Plan:
I plan to work on WIPs the first 5 days of each month and the last five days of each month. It will probably be two different WIPs but it could be the same project . . it all depends on how much I’m loving it and how close I am to finishing it and what else is calling my name.
On the months that we’re doing stitch alongs, I’ll spend the first five days of the month working on both projects and then the last five days will be spent totally working on the WIP.
I am not making a list ahead of time. On the first day of the month, I’ll go through my WIP bin and pick something that speaks to me that day. Same with the project for the last five days of the month.
As time goes on, depending on how many WIPs I finish, I may cut back to working on WIPs only the last five days of the month. There are plenty to keep me busy so I’m pretty sure at least in 2023 and maybe 2024 I’ll stick with twice a month.
In Conclusion . .
Please make sure you don’t feel stressed about any of this. If you start out and participate in January, February and March, then don’t, for whatever reason, for a few months, then do it again, then stop again . . that’s ok. I’m not keeping a list. I don’t remember anything any more so I’ll never wake up in the morning and say “Hey! What happened to Liz? She didn’t report last month.”
Maybe it’s my age. Maybe it’s the state of the world. Maybe it’s because I’m so happy to be living back in Missouri but I kinda feel like if what I’m doing isn’t fun . . why am I doing it? That includes cooking cleaning, which probably means I’ve taken this attitude a bit too far! 🙂