Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Committing To My Goals


When I wrote out my goals for 2016, goal #2 was tackling my pile of UFO's.  The goal is to finish one UFO a quarter.  So this brings about the question...at what point do you label something a UFO?  I guess it's a personal preference for each of us.  Does it start at the point of a purchased quilt kit or a pattern with fabric that goes into a plastic bin and then sits for more than six months?  Maybe UFO status only starts at the point where piecing has occurred but it has been abandoned for a new project.

For me I tend to consider something a UFO after it's been pieced and moved to the shelf.  Once I start piecing something, I usually (I said usually) see it through until it is a completed top.  So the mystery quilts or BOM's that sit around, I consider to be WIP's.  Most likely I have not got all of the instructions to finish it yet and that's not my fault, right?  However, if I have completed piecing the object and I sit it aside for more than two months, I consider it a UFO.  Chances are I have already been distracted by a small mini quilt I'm dying to finish or something else.  So, my friends, that means if you have been hanging around my blog at all the past year, chances are you have watched me create a few UFO's...oops.


This is a picture of a bookcase in my back room that holds most of my quilting stuff.  On the very top lives a stack of UFO's (by my definition).  If you look closely on the last shelf in the picture, you can see Gypsy Queen neatly folded...I have't quite given her UFO status yet, but she is dangerously close...yikes!  On the shelf above it are two smaller containers (on the right under the pillow) containing un-pieced UFO's.  A Strawberry Social quilt kit I put together (pattern from Fat Quarter Shop and fabric from LQS) and two panels that need quilted.  The panels were purchased to be gifts for my dad, but well, that didn't work out.  Lesson:  Do no put a gift off, you may not get a chance to give them.

So I decided last night to pick two of my pieced tops as possible candidates for a first quarter finish.  In a perfect world, I would finish both of them.  I do have till the end of March, right?  These are my choices.


Candidate #1 is a lap/wall hanging size version of  Labyrinth by Debbie Maddy.  I have my Aurifil thread to quilt this one and probably enough batting.  Since I just need backing fabric, it is probably the front runner.


Candidate #2 is a smallish quilt called Four Squared by Polly Monica that I found on Moda Bakeshop.  This one may take a bit more work.  I need to answer the age ol' question of to add borders or not add borders.  I used Moda's Flirt fabric line and have 2 yards of the blue left plus a yard of matching filler fabric.


To get myself headed in the correct mind set, I pulled a few books from my shelf looking for inspiration.


So the next phase to completing my goal, will be to calculate borders for Flirty Four Squared and auditioning designs for both quilts.


So back to UFO's...I would love to know what you think qualifies a project to have this title.  The line behind WIP and UFO can be incredibly thin...kind of like the line between genius and crazy.



13 comments:

Anonymous said...

You have such neat UFO/WIP piles! I am rather untidy, unfortunately. For me a UFO is a project that I've set aside with no clear time frame to finish it -- either the event for which I was making it has passed and I went with another option OR I lost interest/motivation in the project and have moved on to something else. I am not very good at working on more than one sewing project at a time, but I have a number of projects started that I consider all WIPs as opposed to UFOs because they're still living in my brain and I circle around to them from time to time.

andrea @ tideline quilts said...

Because I am relatively anal about finishing the projects I begin, I usually don't have more than two on the go at any one time...but I do have one UFO which (Aaaahhhh!) has been sitting around since late 2014. I have no idea why I haven't finished it, except that out-of-sight became out-of-mind. Thanks for getting me started back on it! P.S. Love how tidy your UFO piles are!

Stitchin At Home said...

I don't like UFO's so I tend to only work on a couple at a time.

Anonymous said...

I think once you have at least cut fabric it's a UFO. I just went through a purge in my sewing room last week and gave myself permission to donate stuff that has been a WIP for 10 years. I know I won't finish it now. I lost interest for a reason. You have quite a daunting pile in front of you!

Lisa J. said...

In my world a UFO and a WIP are the same thing. Work In Progress does sound more positive though doesn't it. I have loads of whatever you want to call them, myself and I think I would only call them an Unfinished project if I was shipping them off to Good Will. Good luck finishing whichever one you choose.

Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl said...

For me, something moves to a UFO status when it has been moved out of site for a long time and fallen off of my WiP list. That sounds vague, but basically the rule is if I fall out of love with a project and it is in a timeout, then it is a UFO. LOL.

Anja @ Anja Quilts said...

I agree with Lisa...a UFO and a WIP are the same thing. If you've cut fabric, it's a WIP. If I have a container of fabric and a pattern, it's on my WIP list, but if I haven't cut fabric, I can always change my mind. Your books look interesting.

Val's Quilting Studio said...

I have two of those three books...great inspiration! I'm so glad to be following as I jump around between so many projects too. I'm most content having three projects going at once...maybe four! LOL!!

Jaye said...

I think I am in the camp that you describe as "the point where piecing has occurred but it has been abandoned for a new project". Though I do think that rather than a new project I have just stopped working on or gotten stuck on the project. I don't have a specific timeframe and new projects are definitely involved.

A few years ago I counted up my UFOs and decided that 26 was too many so I spent the next few years finishing most of them. You can see them and my progress by using / clicking on the tag called 26 projects. It was fun and rewarding. I didn’t limit myself to only working on UFOs and I did abandon some.

Lorna McMahon said...

As a finisher.... I can't really answer that question, Tish. Sorry! When I started quilting, I made myself a promise to always finish before starting another project. And I know how tempting it is to finisha top and go on to something else. I really do love the designing and piecing. Probably why I have fallen into the wavy organic lines for quilting for a fast finish!

Cheryl said...

That is a great plan! For me a WIP is usually anything that has been cut or started to be pieced. Once I finish a top it rarely stays unquilted long.

Shelina (formerly known as Shasta) said...

The difference between a UFO and a WIP has to do with where it is in my heart and mind. If I still remember it fondly and an anxious to find time to work on it, then it is a WIP. If I have forgotten it, or if it feels like a burden, then it has become a UFO. This usually has to do with where it is physically too. If it is still on my sewing table, then it is a WIP. Once it gets stored (even when cleaning for company), it tends to quickly fall into the UFO status.

Sandra Walker said...

What an interesting subject, and worthy of discussion for sure. UFO is a quilt, for me, that is not yet a flimsy. This could be blocks, a partially finished flimsy, or even a stack of fabric with a pattern waiting to grow up...gosh I have a ton of UFOs.... I love that MBS one!!! I did not know Judi Madsen had a book...now I'm off to buy it! wry grin...

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