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nhweaver 05-30-2012 12:05 PM

UFO driving me crazy!!!
 
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I have committed to at least making all the blocks for a UFO that I have had for years. I have cut out tons of 1" strips, and am half way through making 80 tiny log cabin type blocks, and they are getting on my nerves. I didn't realize just how small 1" really is. All the pieces of thread from cut edges and the mindless sewing!!! UGH!!!! ARG!!!!!
Here is a pic of the quilt - at one time when I first started this the angel applique spoke to me - and now, I need some encouragement. Am I losing it? There are other projects that I have lost the desire to do too!!! I have a block of the month (from a pile of 12 another UFO) done through April, have the Craftsy BOM done through April, and have no desire to do more on these too!!! What do you'all do when the crazies hit???

lakekids 05-30-2012 12:21 PM

I'm the type of quilter who would probably quit with these blocks and use them in something else. I quilt for the fun of it (and the love of creation and fabric). Years ago I started some blocks to make matching twin size quilts for my son's bed. I needed 56 blocks for each quilt. Each block was taking me more than an hour to complete. After about 25 blocks, I was sick of the fabric and the design. I also decided that an hour per block was too much time. So I came up with a new plan and ended up using those blocks as accents on the final design.

patricej 05-30-2012 12:26 PM

that's hard for me to answer because i am always crazy. LOL

your problem is not at all unusual. that's why so many quilters have so many UFOs in their collections.
maybe you're just putting too much pressure on yourself. when quilting starts to feel like work ... the fun goes out the window.

just a suggestion ... try doing a bit on one of them; then a bit on another; and so on. rotate your time between the UFOs instead of trying to pick one to slog through to the end.

make sure you get the instructions for each month of those BsOM as soon as they're available. that way you'll have them when you are in the mood to work on them. :)

sweetana3 05-30-2012 12:28 PM

I love those little log cabin blocks. Just did a bunch for a Country Threads pattern where they were 4 inches and alternated with little pieced houses. I am going to make a second one for me since the first one is for my mother in law.

QuilterMomma 05-30-2012 12:34 PM

I just finished a log cabin quilt I started in 2006 and I understand completely about the undergoing they are. I so wanted to give up. I did like patrice said, just sat them there and worked on a couple rounds at a time. It took me just a couple months to get them done once I started the discipline to do a little at a time. This way I did not get totally bonkers over them. Keep at it girl, you will get there. It is good advice from Patrice.

Shelbie 05-30-2012 12:40 PM

If the project no longer "speaks" to you and is driving you crazy, then I would give it away! There may be someone in your local guild who would be delighted to finish this. If donating it is not an option, try turning the parts you have done it into something (bag, purse, tiny wall hanging) and use any left over fabric in another project. Sometimes in spite of our best intentions, a project just doesn't get finished. Every quilter has a few of those. I have just recently finished the blocks for a quilt top that were cut out when I was 16. I was going to tip all of those unstitched bits into the trash when I realized that they were a direct link to home and were pieces of my childhood. I've framed each block and will make two quilts, one for my sister and one for me!

nhweaver 05-30-2012 12:44 PM

I am going to put this aside for awhile, it has become an obsession - not enjoyment by any means. I have become like a pieceworker in a factory (remember the little guy on the Dunkin Donuts commercial "gotta make the donuts?"). So into a clear baggie, and into the UFO tub it goes for now. I need a break - and needed you guys to tell me that. Thank you!!!

stillclock 05-30-2012 01:36 PM

i have a spiderweb project that isn't ever going to get finished.

sometimes you let it drift and maybe it becomes something else.

sometimes i wonder if a ufo exchange wouldn't be a great idea. get a bunch of quilters together and trade our abandoned projects!

but working away at something like that over the course of an unlimited amount of time makes sense to me too. eventually even the snail gets to the other side of the garden, right?

aileen

Tartan 05-30-2012 02:08 PM

Sometimes I like to do a little mindless sewing. Work on something small and new that interests you. Keep your Log Cabin blocks and strips out and do 1 block when you feel like it. I have a Spiderweb scrap quilt that I do that with. I really enjoy just doing a couple of triangle blocks when I am between projects.

MadQuilter 05-30-2012 02:15 PM

I have 6 projects going on concurrently. My goal is to FINISH them all and none of them really blow my skirt up. So there they sit and as I get bored out of my skull with one, I move to the next one that (at least temporarily) seems less tedious.

With all of the blocks done so far, can you cut the size of the project down? Instead of finishing it to the size given, make it smaller. That way you can enjoy the patter and you'll be done faster.


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