Planning ahead

[blackmageheart]

Just having some thoughts about the challenges this year. Got some good ideas and looking forward to them.

At the minute, my main puzzle is "should we have a big swap this year?" I know people like the swaps but there are so many people sending ridiculously late or not at all that I'm considering having the big swap every other year, maybe replaced by stitch-a-longs in the non swap years. Of course, if you all want to do the big swap again this year then that's fine, we can have it!

What do you all think?

[Eliste]

As someone who isn't particularly interested in doing swaps, I'd be more interested in something else. A Stitch-A-Long sounds like more fun.

[starrley]

I love doing swaps, and would hate to see them go. But the swaps of late have been ridiculous. There must be some way that we can preserve the basic concept of the swap without adding a bunch of elitist rules that would leave people out. I wouldn't want to be too exclusionary, but maybe we have been a little too open. Maybe there could be a Tiny swap leading up to the Big swap. By tiny I mean smaller than the Mini swap. Like, "Everyone who wants to participate in the Big swap has to make something for the Tiny swap to prove that they really will be sending something and on time." The Tiny swap item could be something you could stitch or bead in the course of a day. Just an idea. I'll keep thinking about it.

[blackmageheart]

Not saying they would go altogether, just that the big one can be every other year, while keeping the mini swap at every year. I know you're not a fan of swaps Eliste, and I'm pretty sure that there are other people who aren't as well - that's why I thought to have a stitch-a-long when it's not big swap time. To mix it up a bit! Stitch-a-longs are just as fun as swaps in my opinion. Perhaps I can find some way to add an incentive to it as well...

But yeah, my thinking was because with so many people sending late (and I do understand some people's reasons) and some not at all then by the time we make extra gifts etc it's almost mini swap time, then it happens again in the mini swap so we make more make up gifts and it's almost big swap time, etc etc - I'm sure you can all see my point.
I intend to add new rules to the next swap, nothing too harsh. I also need a way of encouraging people to stick to the swap's time frame and I am looking into things for that. I will also be looking for ways to help people send their parcels tracked so there aren't any losses.


So...if we had a stitch-a-long in April this year, mini swap as usual in September, then a big swap next April and so on, would people be OK with that?

[Knittenkitten]

I kinda like that plan. I've never participated in any of the swaps before mainly because I'm so unsure of what I would make for my swapee even if I did have the time to make something. Going to school full time and then going to visit the boyfriend's elderly grandparents every other weekend kinda cuts into the crafting time available.

[funkymonkey]

Alternating a stitch-a-long and big swap sounds good to me!

[starrley]

Yes, I think it is a good plan. The Big Swap and Mini Swap were really close together this year. I've never done a stitch-a-long, but it sounds fun. I'm on board.

[Miss Clawful]

What's a stitch-a-long involve?

Just added some more ideas for challenges:

Dragons (if it hasn't been done already I'm surprised, dragons are awesome and so abundant in video games)

Statues (there are all kinds of beautiful, awesome statues in games from gargoyles to angels to fountain kinds, humans, beasts, dragons and gods, sure its a lot of grey most of the time, but I'm sure even with drab colors because of the variety of shapes statues can take it could be interesting, even moreso if you can add something around it such as a park, garden, a simple tree, moss growing on it, a bird or other animal sitting on or nearby)

Robots (don't have to be just man-like in form, just like dragons, plenty of robots of all types in games, and these even more varied than dragons in size and shape and function)

What's your sign - Zodiac signs (pick any one you want, or maybe all of them: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces - I'm not into the whole zodiac thing, but one day looking for possible cross-stitching project ideas for the upcoming year this is one idea that came to me with the game Solomon's Key, could be interesting and fun trying to find game characters to fit each of these signs)

Chinese Zodiac (cross-stitch piece strictly using animals from video games: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat/ram, monkey, chicken, dog, pig - can be just a single one, perhaps one that your birthdate fell on, or perhaps do more than one or even all of them, and these should be real to life looking animals as there are plenty of them in games either as generic fill a town stock to enemies [the dragon obviously is not real but thinking it should stay true in design to the classic Chinese kind])

Knight in shining armor - an act of heroism (can be either the typical rescue the damsel in distress kind or slaying the dragon or fending off a horde of orcs, or something more real, down to earth, the kind that doesn't get as much appreciation in video games, the normal everyday hero like the kind we have in real life, plenty here for the imagination from your average joe helping someone up from falling, to coming to the aid of another being picked on by bullies, to simply calling for help when help is required for another in danger, to those within a profession that requires deeds of heroics such as firefighters putting out a fire)

Someone doing something ordinary - natural every day habits we do in real life (a game character, probably better one that is a typical human looking like he/she is doing something we'd see someone doing in our everyday lives, such as eating, jogging, shopping, sitting in a park, farming, playing a game, talking with another character, sharing a cup of tea, trying on a piece of jewelry, whatever, or maybe even an animal acting out an everyday habit)

Bling - Ooh, shiny!! (make something that shines, gleams, glitters, any item from a game such as coins, jewelry, a crystal, even the gleam on the blade of a sword; doesn't have to actually be shiny physically, just be a representation of something that would be, though if able you can use whatever material you can to bring out the shine of that object for all to see here in the real world, such as using metallic floss for cross-stitching instead of just plain floss)

Toybox (toys from within video games, they are in there, some being ordinary playthings, others being enemies that look like toys [Mecha-Koopas], some few may actually be allies [looking at F7], this could be fun to play with)

Tragedies (your home village burned down, a death of an ally or dear friend, a good character going over to the dark side of evil, any kind of scene that made you sad or even brought you to heart-wrenching tears, there's always something terrible happening in the game world, just like real life)

Space, the final frontier (anything in space or on another planet, Star Trek, Star Wars, or from any of the numerous space shooters and action games that exist from something simple as a sprite of a spaceship or alien from a video game, to something as grand as a space battle, so long as it shows something futuristic sci-fi)

Your home is your castle (this could be anything from the whole outside of a house in a game to an actual castle, or even just a room from some obode in a game that when you visit this place you tend to stay a little longer than usual, admiring the decor from the nick-nacks, to funiture, pictures on the walls, even the carpetting or tiles on the floor, you think, if I were living in this game, this would be my home!)

[blackmageheart]

Thanks everyone so far for your input, you all know how much I like to get everyone's thoughts on these things. So a stitch-a-long it will be!

What's a stitch-a-long involve?

Well, basically we'll choose a theme and all stitch projects based on that theme. We'll decide what it will be nearer the time.
We can share our ideas and things, show WIPs and then completed pictures. It's fun and quite motivational! We did it a few years ago with a Final Fantasy theme. It was very enjoyable!

Obviously, the aim is to have your project(s) completed by the time the stitch-a-long is over. Since it will be from April to June, that should give everyone plenty of time to get something done. I will see about having a stitch-a-long badge made up for the people that complete their project. (Anyone with any badge ideas for that, get 'em to me!) And we might still have a vote for the favourite project of the challenge. And I may see what else I can add to the event!

Also, thank you so much for your ideas, they are very good and I have pasted them into a .txt in my Challenges folder (thing is getting bigger all the time!) to use in the future. I know the people around here will come up with some awesome things for them

[Miss Clawful]

Ah, okay, I think I get it. It'd be like we were all there together in the same room stitching stitching for the same theme, but each our own, being able to see each other's work as we progress and sharing ideas as we go. Does sound like fun, well so long as its something familiar, I guess it would kinda have to be so that more can participate, as you said final Fantasy was done.