How do I close this can of worms?
A person who opens a can of worms tries to solve a problem, but in doing so creates a lot of new unanticipated complications.
I was afraid I had done just that with my What If blog post . . . and was sure of it when I read Janet’s reaction to the discussion on her blog, Renaissance Living.
It broke my heart to think that I could be discouraging anyone, or that anyone could be worried that they’ve been making “problem blocks” that no one wants.
When I talk about changing how the block lotto works or asking how we might do something better, it’s not because there are BIG problems. It’s about tweaking the well-oiled machine just a little so that it will continue to be better and better.
For example, I get feedback about “bad” blocks–which is almost always expressed as concern and a desire to help the quilter who made them–only once or twice during a WHOLE year.
I know that many people have learned a lot and upped their quilting game by being a part of the Block Lotto. I still have a vivid memory of one of the winners from January 2006 telling me about how receiving a bunch of well pressed, beautifully made blocks taught her the importance of pressing seams as she sews.
I am truly sorry if my post or any of the discussion that followed became upsetting for folks. In my effort to be transparent with you about the things I think about for the Block Lotto, I simply shared too much information . . . and made some very small things seem HUGE.
I DO have a genuine concern that we could outgrow the limits of blogger in terms of their hard and fast limit on the number of authors. Did you notice today that TWO newbies posted blocks for the first time? Two more newbies have joined in December already. Six people joined in November. Not everyone will make blocks, but . . . we’re still growing in numbers at a faster than ever rate and getting closer and closer to the maximum allowed.
I AM curious about whether many of us are spending a lot of time on Facebook and whether it would make sense to have a presence there.
I WAS thrilled to find out that there’s interest in organizing some charity quilts next year and to LEARN that I was misunderstanding about Picasa–I think we will be fine for photo space for a long, long time.
The question about how to ensure we are making blocks that every winner will be thrilled to win 100% of the time, is probably more of my personal fantasy than anything else and, again, it’s really a very, very infrequent problem. I truly do appreciate everyone’s feedback and suggestions–it has me thinking about how to redesign the tabs (pages) linked at the top of the blog to make them more useful to everyone and to make the information more findable for newcomers.
After seeing the open can of worms above and the negative connotation, doesn’t it make you wonder why ANYONE would title a quilting book with that particular turn of phrase? Imagine my surprise when I was searching for an image of a can of worms (there are thousands of them) and this quilt book cover popped up.The image is linked to Amazon, if you’re curious. A “worm” in this context is a 2.5″ wide strip of fabric 😉
If you want to read more about the origins of a “can of worms,” check out the Word Blog post where I found the disgusting photo)