THE LIST… LOVE it or LIST it?
As quilters we have many projects tossed aside for many reasons. For me it usually is because something more pressing (i.e. a deadline) came along. The newness of the fabric or pattern has worn off and we find another more exciting project to jump into only to find another and another. Soon we have many UFO’s (UnFinished prOjects) sitting around on shelves, the floor, or in bins. I have bins. Lots and lots of bins.
I was inspired by a friend who was trying to finish some projects instead of going out and looking for inspiration and purchasing whole new fabric line for a new one, AND I am an HGTV addict. I thought “ do I LOVE it? Or should I LIST it?” I dove into the bins (literally sometimes!) and sorted all the UFO’s. I wrote them all down and you do not want to see this!! It includes knitting projects too. I have at least 100 UFO’s!
Feeling very overwhelmed and guilty I began a process…do I LOVE it or LIST it? (Sounds like an HGTV show?) If I loved it and still felt I wanted to finish it I put it in one pile. If I didn’t think I would every finish this project or just hated it I separated the pattern and fabric to refile into my stash or some of the patterns or projects also were put in a bin to be listed for sale online.
Thus I came up with THE LIST… instead of looking at the list of 100, I decided what could I really accomplish in a season (i.e. summer). So the THE LIST has small projects, and large projects. Projects that can be finished in a day and projects that may take a month. It is important to mix them up so that you don’t get bogged down by your UFO’s! Once I did this I felt a little better about all the projects I have stashed in the basement!
Are there any rules to this? Only what you feel you need. First ask yourself what are your reasons for doing this? To curb spending (as one fried needed to do), to FINISH stuff, or to get motivated? My reason was mainly to FINISH stuff. I really wanted to have these items done so I could move on to new stuff without guilt, and I since I will be moving I would rather move finished items than the bins of UFO’s! I also needed to watch my spending on fabric (& yarn!). Then once UFO’s are done, all on the list or some (your choice!) you can purchase a new pattern or project to begin! Just be sure to add it to THE LIST!
On the list I also included why I have not finished the project, & what was needed to finish it. Then I bought a cute little notebook (because I love cute stationary!) from the dollar store and made a page for each project. Each page included snippets of the fabric, maybe a photo if I couldn’t snip fabric, and the specs of the project. (when started, what is needed to purchase to finish etc…) When the project is finished I took another picture and added this to the page.
WOW! Is this ever motivating! I take this little notebook with me whenever I may be shopping for fabric or yarn so that I have focus in those evil quilt and yarn shops!
So there you go… THE LIST… if you need motivation to finish projects this may help (for now…)
Happy Quilting!
Wenda
