UFOs
I admit, I have a lot of UFOs. Sometimes I abandon a project because I see another pattern I just have to make right now. Or I suddenly need a birthday, Christmas, baby or wedding gift. Or I just get bored with what I'm working on. Anyway, I have a lot and I'm not even counting those I have fabric and plans for but haven't started yet.
In the past 6 months or so I have been asked 3 times to longarm a quilt for the family of a quilter who died and left it unfinished. The first was brought to me by a friend; I didn't know the quilter. She had started to hand quilt it and the family couldn't find anyone to finish it. I tried to save her hand stitching, but it just wasn't working. It wasn't heirloom quality, so I didn't feel too bad about unstitching and starting over. The second had all the pieces cut and the pattern was in the box. Her sister was able to finish it and it turned out beautiful. The third quilter had some of the pieces cut and some blocks done but no pattern. Her sister finally figured out what was going on and kept going until she ran out of fabric. She doesn't know if the finished quilt is what her sister had in mind, but it is done. I don't mind finishing these quilts. For the last 2, it gave me an opportunity to think about these women who I knew and reflect on some good memories of them.
But it got me thinking about all those UFOs I have and will someday leave behind. My daughter is a quilter, but will she be able to figure out what I was doing and finish them? Will she even want to? So, I have resolved to finish 2 UFOs for every new quilt I start and try to pare down that pile. And I am going to have a talk with my daughter and tell her not to feel guilty for not finishing my stuff.