A Stitch in...?

I'm working on something and it's taking longer than anticipated. Still, I'm into it and I look forward to sharing it when I'm a little further...or finished. I had the opportunity to craft with some women from my church the other night and, given the supplies, it was fun coming up with something of my own. I kind of like forcing myself to make something with just what's on hand. I had brought a bag of bits and bobs and combined that with what was there waiting for me. Sometimes I feel like I have too many options at home...or I'm overwhelmed (underwhelmed?) by the same-old same-old that's in my supply closet. The same thing happens with my clothing wardrobe, but that's another story for another time. This is why it's fun for me to craft with others, to push me out of my box (of supplies).

Group crafting can be a challenge, you know? How do you pick a project that everybody will like? How can you account for different budgets, different available amounts of time, different styles, abilities, and levels of creativity? You could say, "bring your own project (BYOP)", but what about the people who WANT to be creative, but just feel like they don't know HOW? or that they're not 'creative enough'? A BYOP type of gathering seems exclusive to them. Shoot, I can feel that way just looking at other blogs from the comfort of my home, but what if I were in a room with them all? (oh wait, I'm going to a blogger conference, ha...) Seriously though, this is something I think about from time to time. How to encourage and enable others in their creativity? Deep thoughts, I know.

Most of you are rather creatively oriented, so what are your thoughts on this? It's pretty open-ended, I'll admit, but I'm kinda in the mood for a chat.