There comes a time in each quilter's life when she needs to face up to the UFO situation. Are you organized? Do you even know what unfinished projects are hidden away in your sewing room? If you went back in time, how many years old are some of your abandoned projects? 2012 was the oldest one I found that I was still interested in.
Pat Sloan had a YouTube video this week where she talked about UFOs and how to organize them. We tend to stash them away out of sight and ignore them for years on end. She urged us to confront them and make a list of our UFOs and make a plan on how to deal with them. I highly recommend that you watch her video. I was inspired to get out a notebook and go have a good look at the project bins I have full of almost completed or half-finished quilt projects.
Worse than the pile of unfinished projects was the list of future projects I had purchased fabric for and planned to make, but never even began the project.
Pat was super realistic about her UFOs. She said you have to just face the fact that you may have lost interest in a project and no matter what, you will never be inspired to pick it up and complete it. In that case, donate it to a quilt guild or someone who might like to pick it up and complete it. If you are like me, you have a stack of finished tops you have never bothered to have quilted. (That is a post subject for another time). In the case that you have a finished top that you know you will never use, donate it to a group that quilts flimsies (unquilted tops) and gives them to charitable groups. Pat lists several organizations that do this sort of thing. If your local community has a quilt guild, they could be a great resource to you if you want to pass on some of your UFOs.
So I worked on my lists today, mostly from memory. I am sure there are more UFOs in my closets, but these are the ones that stuck in my mind that I'd actually like to complete. 2021 was the worst year I have ever had for starting projects and not seeing them through to a finish. I have a great excuse what with homeschooling my granddaughter during the week and caring for my dad on weekends, but still, it's a lot. I made three lists:
UFOs from 2021 that I'd like to complete in 2022
Older UFOs
Projects I bought fabric for but never started
So you see, I have my work cut out for me. It feels good to face up to these projects, however, and try to make a plan to prioritize them for finishing.
Do you have piles of UFOs? At what point do you say "Forget it, I am never going to finish that" or "Gosh, I still really like that fabric/project and want to finish it". Personally, I see nothing wrong with letting something go if it no longer brings you joy. I don't believe in drowning in guilt over wasted time and money. It may have been fun to work on those 600 half square triangles when you were making them, but now you have lost that loving feeling. Let it go. It's ok.
What do you think? What is your UFO situation?