WIPS-B-GONE 2023

Do you want to end 2023 with some long-awaited finishes? Me, too! That's why I'm hosting the WIPS-B-GONE challenge again this year 😊 I have been earmarking projects for this year's challenge ever since last year's challenge ended (we won't talk about how many of the projects on last year's lists are still waiting to be finished...).

WIPS-B-GONE is my annual challenge to help us finish up lingering works in progress so we can free up space (physical and mental) for new things. Those newly finished projects can then be used, displayed, gifted, donated, or sold - any of which is better than sitting unfinished in a cupboard or closet.

The challenge runs for two months, from October 1st to November 30th, giving us 61 days to make progress on our WIPs. What that looks like is entirely up to you. Will you work on one project until it's finished before moving on to the next one, or will you switch between projects whenever you want? Will you set a minimum amount of time you want to spend working on WIPs each day, or will one stitch a day be enough to count? Will you choose to work on your oldest WIP, or the one that interests you the most (even if you only started it last week)? You decide!

My intention is for this to be a fun, motivating time to finish projects you really want to finish, but have set aside for one reason or another, and it's hard to get going on them again. There's no right or wrong way to participate in the challenge. 

To help keep us motivated, I have designed some fun daily trackers. I still can't explain it, but there's something so compelling about colouring in each day's icon to show that I worked on my projects! I love seeing the tracker get filled in as the challenge goes on just as much as I love seeing the progress I'm making on my quilts. This year there are 4 different trackers for you to choose from: there are sewing machines, yarn and knitting needles, embroidery floss, and flowers. You may be thinking, "Flowers? That doesn't seem to fit the theme!" I'll grant you that, but I wanted to create a tracker that wasn't specific to a craft for people who don't fit the crafts I chose, or for anyone who may be switching between mediums. Or anyone who just really likes flowers! To be honest, I haven't decided yet if I'll be using the flowers myself 😄

For another dose of motivation, I'll be sending Monday Motivation emails again this year, too. These weekly emails will include suggestions for getting past common points where we get stuck with our projects, to help you move even more projects to the finish line, and maybe keep future projects from getting stuck at all.

How many projects could you finish in two months? Join WIPS-B-GONE 2023 below to find out!