Posted on Monday, March 30, 2009 | By Cate Tallman-Evans | 3 Comments

Getting Control of your UFO’s

Hello and Welcome to my blog! I’m excited to communicate with Quilt’s readers in words instead of my usual medium–fabric. To help us get acquainted, I thought it might be nice to share some less flattering information about myself in addition to my official bio.

My Vital Statistics:

Spouses/ Children/ Dogs: 0

Cats: 5 (4 living)

Sewing Machines: 7 including one serger and one longarm

Number of Unfinished Quilt Projects (aka UFO’s): 93 (down from an all-time high of 141)

Favorite Mistake: Sending emails before attaching the attachments

Favorite Guilty Pleasure: Vande Walle’s Wrapped Caramels (forget cheese, this candy is Wisconsin’s true claim to fame)

About Those Unfinished Projects:

If you have been quilting for any period of time, you probably have unfinished projects. If you are a beginner, you can look forward to having unfinished projects. My best advice is to quit feeling guilty about them. Since you probably have fewer than my 93, you should be feeling better already.

The truth is that quilting in the 21st century is more about an entertainment experience than a finished product. If you really needed another quilt you could buy one for less money than making one will cost. As long as you had fun generating your UFO’s, I would call it money well spent.

That being said, it is still a good idea to whittle down the number of dead projects on your roster–if for no other reason than giving you more storage space to fill with cool, new, unfinished projects you like better. Here is some advice for getting control of your UFO’s.

First, go through all of your unfinished projects and record them in a list. Don’t spend much time on this, we’re just recording here. We are not: pondering, problem-solving or calling ourselves bad names like Quiltzilla, Cotton Hog, Can’t Finish Connie, Lazy Bones Quilt Babe or Gluttonous Gilda. Don’t think, just write.

Second, walk away from the sorting area and have a snack or a cup of coffee while you look over your list. Doing this step-away from the intoxicating influence of all that fabric will help you keep a clear head and make better decisions. For each project on your list ask yourself this question: Would I want to own this if it were finished? Mark a yes or no next to each project on your list.

Third, get rid of the dead wood. Remember you do not have to feel guilty about this because the point was to have fun, not to make another quilt. Sometimes the best way to enjoy a quilt project is to get rid of it. Trust me, if you hate it now, you are still going to hate it 20 years from now even if that ugly paisley does come back into style.

Place the “no” projects from step 2 into a pile. Harvest anything you cannot live without–like that great pink fabric with the little drab olive leaves, etc. If you have finished tops, tops missing borders or sets of finished blocks you no longer want, they can easily be donated to charities like Project Linus or your local quilt guild. There, they can be finished into an item that will bring warmth and comfort to someone who truly needs it. 

Projects that are just a mish-mash of parts can be donated too. Your local quilt shop or quilt guild probably knows of a great person or two who would love to relieve you of your unwanted stuff. One quilter’s trash is another’s treasure!

Fourth, carefully examine each of your “yes” projects from step 2. If you can, put into words why the project has remained unfinished. Does it require a technique you haven’t had time to learn? Do you love everything about it except that ugly blue fabric? Did you get started and discover that the result is lovely but the construction process is less fun than cleaning the cat box? Do you avoid a project you love because you think you will make a mistake and ruin it?

Every problem has a solution so don’t be afraid. Just do your best to identify what the roadblocks are for each project you chose to keep and record your thoughts on your list or another piece of paper. Once you have that information, you can pack up the projects.

Fifth, identify solutions for each of the problems recorded in step 4. If you can think of anything specific that would reignite your passion for the project, be sure to write that down. Maybe you will not be able to finish a project until you have time to take a machine appliqué class next summer? That is fine. Write it down. Maybe you can multitask to get a tedious project done? Can you take it with you to liven up boring meetings? How about listening to an audio book while you work on it? You can make a guilt free trip to the quilt store when you get it done!

When I went through my unfinished projects, I found most of them had broken down because I came up against a design problem I could not solve. When I examined those projects with fresh eyes and four years of full time design experience, I was able to find satisfying solutions for each project. 

Maybe your skills have improved since you gave up on a specific project? If they have, give it another try. If you still don’t have a solution and you want to finish the project, try asking others for help. For design problems, ask others or look for ideas in quilt magazines and books. If you would like to play Stump the Designer with me, I invite you to attach pictures of your “problem project” to your blog comment.

Until next week, happy quilting! 

Cate & Cats