In the Q-Niverse: Project QUILTING, Season 3

A good friend of ours, Elaine Wong Haselhuhn, turned us onto this wonderful challenge that promises to send your creativity to new heights.

Project QUILTING, an online challenge created by Kim Lapacek of Kim’s Crafty Apple, just began its third season. Kim is a major Etsy crafter with a special love for jewelry making and small sewn projects. She started her free 12-week challenge about two years ago with her mother-in-law’s encouragement.

The way it works is participants check in every other week for six weeks. Each check-in issues another design challenge and participants have one week to complete their challenge, post the results on Kim’s Flickr site and sit back for the judging. This first week is all about architecture.

Kim has a small posse of judges who write critiques about that week’s work, but only if the work is posted on Kim’s Flickr site. Each week’s participants’ names are written on a slip of paper and placed in a hat. (Yes, a real hat.) At the end of that week’s challenges, prizes are given by a random drawing. Everyone who participates has a chance to win, and her two young daughters are the Vanna White’s of Kim’s challenge, drawing the random winners each week. (Kim had a third daughter in-between seasons, which is why it took awhile for Season 3 to launch. Gosh, some people have all of the excuses!)

Kim's Baby Pip

Prizes include fabric packs, books, small accessories, patterns and even a coupon for a discount on long arm quilting services.

“The first season I only had eight to 10 participants,” Kim says. “And then the second season I was getting upwards of 20. The biggest thing is having enough time for the judges to critique.”

At the end of the season, around April, a grand prize will be awarded. Each time you participate, you earn a chance for the grand prize (still unknown) so the more you enter, the more chances you have to win.

Elaine's entries in Project QUILTING Season 2.

Elaine participated in Season 2. She says the first assignment’s critique was harsh, and she wondered if she’d have the chops to try again. But she did and quickly improved from there. She didn’t have high or even mid-level hopes of winning anything; she was a newer quilter and just wanted to stretch herself creatively. A phone call with Kim enlightened Elaine to her natural talent for design because she ended up winning the third and fourth challenges and came in second place overall for Season 2.

“Even though I got critical comments, they were all really helpful because they made me a better quilter,” Elaine says. “It’s fun to see how people interpret things in different ways. I really enjoy it and if I can, I’ll do it again.”

Let us know if you are going to play. We’d like to keep track of how you’re doing and cheer you all on!