Giving UFO New Meaning – The “Unfinished Finally Over”!

We all have them … in bags in the bottom of the cupboard, or neatly packed into clear boxes on our shelves (guilty as charged), silently calling to us … “finish me, finish me!”   Taking up not only physical space in our homes but mental space in our minds.  The dreaded “UFO’s” or “Unfinished Objects”.

 

 

A number of years ago, at my local quilt guild meeting, the speaker that month talked about a woman who brought a quilt for show and tell to a guild meeting she was speaking at.  The woman told the story about how her daughter had wanted to redecorate her bedroom.  As a single mom on a very tight budget, they went off to Goodwill.  What they found there was a large bag that contained everything necessary to complete a quilt: fabric, pattern, batting and backing.   She expressed her gratitude to the silent angel who had donated it and proudly showed the finished quilt she and her daughter had made.

 

The speaker at our meeting went on to talk about how quilters love to take classes and with great enthusiasm buy everything to complete the class project, however sometimes these projects become UFO’s for good reason … because we have learned the technique or method, which is the whole point of the class and there is no longer a need for the project!  It is okay to let go of “the project” concept.  The person who had donated all of those supplies had done just that and blessed someone else in the process.

 

Over the weeks following that meeting I went through my UFO’s.  If I had fallen out of love with the project fabric it went in the donation pile with the pattern and necessary pieces.  If I still loved the fabric, I refiled it in my stash.  I took all of the blocks from all of the classes where I had learned what I needed to learn and put them in one container … I have a plan for them.

 

 

What a relief!  I have never looked back and thought “Gee, wish I had followed through on making x, y or z.”   As Martha Stewart would say … it is a good thing!

 

Now my UFO pile has three quilts and the crazy part is that they are soooooo close to being done. My WIP (works in progress) pile has about 8 projects all poking along at their own rate.  Now you might ask how is a WIP different from a UFO? A WIP remains top of mind and progress is being made on it regularly.  My biggest pile is my WFQ (waiting for quilting) …

 

 

I think it is time to call my machine quilting friends!

 

My plan for completing my UFO’s … basic personal organizing 101 tip 1 … make a date with myself in my calendar.  I am blocking off 2 hours in my calendar this week and next specifically for UFO’s.  This lovely red and white is first up.

 

 

Where do you stash your UFO’s and how many do you have?

 

Have a great week

&

Happy Stitching!

COMMENTS

  1. felice says...

    Wow! I would love to see a picture of all your completed UFO’s! Really amazing!

    • mekinch says...

      Thank you Felice. Stay tuned!

  2. I have 122 UFOs. I have been trying to finish some every month by joining in on a monthly challenge on Karen’s UFO group on Quilt With Us. She directed me to your blog and I need to lose the project concept as you described it and try to reduce the number of UFOs to a more manageable number.

    • mekinch says...

      Elizabeth, I have to admit I took a small gasp when I read 122! Good for you for joining Karen’s UFO group! She is such a sweetie! Go for it on losing the “project concept”!

  3. I’m a afraid to admit (to myself, mainly) that I must have at least 30 UFO’s. And they are everywhere, and some I can’t find! I really need to get organized and get them figured out. I’m sure there are some that are nearly done, and wouldn’t take but a day or two to finish! Sheesh! But I’m way too busy on my WIP’s (9 of those!) to even think about the others. And then there are the WFQ……another dozen or so! Oy! Where to begin!?! I need to live to be 138, or I’m never going to get these (or the 100 or so quilts I still WANT to make) done in my lifetime! Tick Tock! :o)

    • mekinch says...

      Regan … I hear you! While I currently have my UFO pile under control (and that can be oh, so short lived!), I need about 400 years to complete all the quilt ideas I have in my head!

  4. barb says...

    impressive! What a great stack of quilt tops.
    I was really drawn to your applique with the blueberries! – wonderful

    • mekinch says...

      Thank you Barb. That applique was done just after I got back from my first quilt retreat with Gwen Marston on Beaver Island. I walked by a berry bush each morning on my way to the classroom, so I just had to make it as a memory moment keeper!

  5. Michelle says...

    If only I knew how to machine quilt, I wouldn’t have so many works in progress. Oh, and if I didn’t like to applique by hand… If I didn’t like to buy fabric… I could go on and on!

    • mekinch says...

      Michelle, I had a hearty laugh and smile of agreement when I read your words. Thank you!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*