I DARE YOU! The beauty of the Challenge.

It's the beginning of July and I saw a fellow Instagrammer posted she was starting a July challenge started by "the Reset Girl". Perfect timing... the start of a month for the start of something new. The theme of resetting seemed appropriate for me since I'm restarting my mindset after a freelance stint that just ended and it's time to refocus on some other projects. 

I realized today that I have been in the mood for challenges. I saw that blogger Gnome Angel had started the #100days100blocks2017 sew-along using Tula Pink's 100 Modern Quilt Blocks book and designs. But I realized they were already at Day 34. Bummer. As I scrolled through the feeds of wonderfully varied solutions I kept thinking I wanted to jump in the fun too! I decided to start at the beginning with Day 1 and just be a slow-poke. Maybe one block a week was all I could do and then, well, at the end of two years I'd have a quilt! Not ideal but better than never starting. So I got going and soon realized that I could do one a day...and I decided to just jump in with everyone else who was on Day 39 and go from there along with doing my catch-up from the beginning. I love being a part of this IG activity! 

The theme of challenges continues with one of my quilt guilds. At the LA Modern Quilt Guild they challenged us to work with new materials and to push ourselves. The theme for our anniversary year is linen so I've bought some and will take the challenge of working with a new material. I'm also taking a class in bias tape quilting given by the talented Latifah Saafir and that is also a completely new method for me.  I signed up for Quiltcon 2018 and selected two workshops I wanted to do. Both of them are a challenge and new stretch for me. One is reverse appliqué, which I have never done. The other is advanced photography of your quilts. This means I need to get my good camera fixed and get more comfortable with it before the class begins. Which means stretching out of the comfort zone some more.

This all makes me realize I am the type of person who responds to groups and being accountable to others. I like having assignments and other people to interact with (online and in person- yes!) as well as the challenge of learning new things and pushing myself beyond what I already know. And the other wonderful thing about challenges is that they are often for a set period of time where you can sustain your momentum and enthusiasm. David DiSalvo, in an article he wrote for Forbes ("Kill Your Resolutions And Replace Them With One Little Thing" from Jan 12, 2015) says "Small habits get you in the backdoor of behavior change." This is my way of small daily actions and tasks helping me accomplish something bigger and create positive behaviors and habits in my life. 

What are you challenging yourself with? For the Reset Girl Self-Care Challenge I want to work on time/life balance and diet and health. After the 100 Days100Blocks Challenge I want to find a group to do Jen Kingwell's Long Time Gone sampler. Do you look for a group to push you on to new activities and learn fresh things too? There is a wonderfully creative and evolving person deep within you and may the right challenge find you!!