This past week a Bev over at 44th Street Fabrics has been showing off her lovely UFO's. I say showing off because Bev loves brights. It reminded me how every January my plan is finishing my growing pile of projects.
They almost become a dirty little secret I hide in the back of a cabinet or closet. My fear is someday the pile will grow so large I'll need a larger storage space for them. Clutter about the house really bothers me so the attic would be my only option, making them my "Flowers in the Attic". And what would happen if I die suddenly in some tragic event? They say when a person has unfinished business their spirit is trapped here, wandering the earth. Now how scary is that, a ghost with rotary cutter?!
I need ideas on how to stop my lovelies from becoming "Petals in the Wind" and saving my soul from Podunk Purgatory!
So I did an inventory count of...
15 UFO's
16 tops to be quilted
4 WIP's(currently scattered about the studio)
1 on the frame
Now finding a way to convince me, myself and I that this really needs to stop. We can't go on like this any longer. So I told MYSELF if we keep them out where they could be seen it would be a reminder to finish them. But that's not okay with ME because they'll be clutter and get dusty. Maybe a clear storage tote would do the trick, they'd be visible, protected from dust and most of all TIDY. Or maybe the kind on wheels with drawers. WE all agreed to the new plan. Mostly because it means WE get to go shopping! After setting the new plan in action I should set up a meeting with MYSELF to talk about not starting new projects. To bad my schedule is all booked up till New Years!
How many UFO's do you keep stored away?
Do you have a plan for finishing them?
~ Lea Anne ~
today's freebie from Landauer Publishing
I think my count would be very similar to yours and I have the same thoughts of what would happen to it all if something were to happen to me...but, I still find new projects that I just really want to do. I am trying to keep new projects small till I actually finish the big ones though. I get stuck at the quilting part and I refuse to pay someone else to do it for me. We'll get there only to add more because it is something we enjoy doing.
ReplyDeleteThose UFOs are so lovely! You should do something with them!
ReplyDeleteI have few UFOs but the ones I have are huge. I keep a list of To Dos on my phone for all the stuff I haven't finished. The list seems to never move. Lol
My problem isn't starting things and not finishing them... usually. My problem is buying the fabric and pattern for a quilt and not starting it. I have all of these grandiose ideas... but don't we all? I need to make a schedule, too, and stick to it. The best laid plans....
ReplyDeleteI got the bright idea to hang my ufo's with those plastic hangers that have metal clips for pants. I decided to use the door to the sewing room so that they would be visible. I used one of those long hangers with like 10 places to hang stuff to hand the other hangers on. I'll have to put it on the blog so you can see. Well, I have so many projects hanging there that I can't get into the room if I add any more. I call it the "Door of Shame". I also found these neato canvas totes with a place to insert a label for what's inside. I could get 3 or so ufo's in each one. I have I have 16 of those that are full of ufo's. I also have 2 large drawers full. Sigh... Maybe we should get together and have a UFO blog sale or something. I would say swap but then we'd all just have new UFO's. It's an issue! I have to say that I'm grateful that I'm not the only one, but I am afraid I'm the worst one!
ReplyDeleteAll I'll say is that I have more than one UFO!
ReplyDeleteI've been hanging them on a clothesline my husband strung up for me in my sewing room, a constant reminder that way!
ReplyDeleteYou had me laughing so hard reading this. Thank you!!! I have only one UFO that is older than dirt. And that is only because of a move a little over a year ago when I decided to share all UFO's and all unloved fabric with other quilters.
ReplyDeletehaving so many projects on the go means you will be got bored working on the same one as you have so many to swap around with. I fear there will be hundreds of ghosts with rotary cutters!!
ReplyDeleteYou have some gorgeous UFOs there. But playing with new fabric is such fun.
ReplyDeleteA few years ago I had a pile of 20 UFOs. I whittle that down to less than 10, but now I'm back up to 20 again. One thing that worked for me was to use Bonnie Hunter's leaders and enders method to work on pieced blocks that I found tedious. It's not fast, but it was the best way to approach those projects that required piecing blocks I was really sick of.
Good luck with your plan.