WMU and Lena - Last year, I joined the UFO challenge group at our guild (they call it PHD = Projects Half-Done). It was great - very welcoming and I was really motivated to get a few things finished up and out of the house and I met my goals. However, I decided to take a break this year because life got a lot more chaotic and most of my UFOs are now bigger projects and while I don't mind being challenged, I do like to have at least a slim chance of success! I do enjoy lurking on the UFO thread and I loved the chats/comments around the "number of the month" mystery.
Petthefabric - I live that "how to make these fabrics work together" tension every time I want to start a new project and I really enjoy it (most of the time). You're right, though - sometimes a fabric is just not worth including in a quilt because it's of poor quality or absolutely refuses to play nicely with anything else. This year I tried to use the latter fabrics in placemats - most of the time I could get enough together to make a single placemat and that works for Meals on Wheels donations.
You also mentioned what can be a serious drawback to the "adoption" method of fabric acquisition that I struggle with - there is definitely some pressure there to keep fabrics longer in hopes some congenial playmates will eventually come along! I don't find it really limits my creativity, however; on the contrary, having to make do with what I have has often pushed me to stretch my creative energy in new directions and I've had more successes than failures in my final projects. :-) I do love it when everything comes together into a cohesive whole and knowing this is possible keeps me happy with my eclectic stash.
I do want to encourage you for being so intentional and thoughtful about your needs right now - you are in a time of transition and this change is hard. This season can also be really challenging. Good for you for identifying what will give you the support, satisfaction, and comfort you need and crave right now and also for continuing to put one foot in front of the other (whether that's the foot at the end of your leg or the one attached to your sewing machine!). Be gentle with yourself.