Frozen! Can't seem to start...
 

Has this happened to you? And, what did you do about it?

I have a new project (A wall hanging) that I've been pretty excited about. Bought all the fabrics and fuseable, the backing, the thread, just about everything...But I just can't bring my self to START.

This will be a variation on a stained glass window design and will have lots of pieces and I just can't seem to find a good place to begin.

Any tips for someone feeling daunted by the project before them?

Maybe I've bitten off more than I can chew?

Watson

When I feel like this I go to youtube and watch quilting how to videos. Watching a few of those help me begin to feel "I can do this!" and I'm off and running. It doesn't matter what type of how to's I watch. That seems to help me get over that hurdle.

I think I would put that spectacular project aside and just do some "no-brainer" sewing for a bit - like making 9-patches - although from what I've seen of your work, that might seem to be a punishment for you instead of relaxation.

I sometimes get 'analysis paralysis'. Maybe I should use this fabric instead of that. Maybe a pieced sashing. Maybe draft a PP version of the block. I obsess and never seem to start. What I've found is if I just start cutting one of the fabrics (usually my least favorite) , then everything starts rolling along. For some reason it breaks the log jam for me.
Just grab a fabric & start cutting. Maybe the one with the fewest number of pieces?

I always find when I can't seem to get started is because I don't have a plan what I want it to look like. So go back to your thought when you first bought the material. Look online for ideas and make a plan, it will excite you again to get it done.

when i get like that i clean my sewing room a little bit clear off my tables fold and stack my stash i have laying around i don't do a lot just enough so it looks neat then i put the project out on my nice clean uncluttered table and glance over the project i don't do anything else LOL! I walk away let it there and pretty much when i walk in my sewing room the next day i'm ready to start, I don't have the backround clutter to overwhelm me. But thats just me . your project will be done before you know once you do start i love stain glass i'm sure it will be beautiful

I never look at a project as a whole thing. Break it down into steps. List what needs to be done first , second, third, etc.

Most patterns have some sort of organized system and you can expand on it. For example I love Pam Bonos' patterns but they can be hard to follow with many small and odd shaped pieces. Each part of a quilt as parts or sections and breaking them down into units makes each task simpler.

Wish I knew what pattern you are challenged by! It might not be as bad as you imagine.
peace

Yes, I do feel that way. In fact, I have a Toni Whitney Blue Heron wall hanging kit that is making me feel that way. Lately, I try telling myself it's just for practice. Kind of like giving myself permission to make mistakes along the way. Not sure if it will help with this one!

I have gotten that.. I usually just set it aside. Sometimes if I work on something else that will get my mojo going for the original project.... or may be I just do nothing. Sometimes I need a break

I kind of do like Mandyrose.

I also put out a statute of limitations on my hesitation (unless there's a pin external deadline). In this case, For example, I might give myself till Wednesday, "you won't finish unless you start. You won't start if your space is a mess. So put everything else where it goes, dust off the cutting mat, change the needle, oil the machine, press and starch the fabric, then start Wednesday, cutting the biggest pieces." I have to write those steps down and cross them off as I do them. That motivates me. By the end of the statute of limitations, I'm usually ready to launch.

Yes, I've been there when working on art quilts that I have designed myself. It's usually a result of having too many ideas in my head about what direction I want to go in with a particular project.

I find that setting some kind of limits helps. So for example, I might decide to limit the number of different fabrics I'm going to start with. Then I will put away everything else so I'm not distracted by possibilities, until I get going with the limited selection and then if I want to add other things in I will shop my stash. Don't know if there is some way you could do something similar with your project.

Rob

Thanks for all the hints and tips. Very helpful.
This piece is a real stretch for me and I guess I'm afraid I can't do it. But I have to keep telling myself, it's only fabric, right?
I watched a video of a woman who does animal portraits and she said you always have to start with the eye...which is where I'm stumped! I just really need to make a start and see what happens.

Watson

Starting with the eye seems to me like that would be pretty hard. If it's to be mainly appliqué, can you start with just general shapes and refine as you go???

Rob

This is where I am right now. Only I am not starting a project, I am smack dab in the middle and suddenly frozen. My sewing room is now all straightened (not totally - but a lot more than it was, the closet still needs work), even straightened the dresser in my bedroom, the bills are paid (and taken to the post office) and I have ordered birthday gifts for my DH and DD. Oh and instead of making a quick turkey sandwich I decided to make tuna salad instead. I just can't make myself start the next step on the quilt even though it is all upset It will be done today though! Its a baby quilt for my DD's friend and needs to be done by 11/4 when they all return to CA from living in TX.

I think we've all been there; just follow some of the very good suggestions given you here. Good luck in finding a way to break the log jam. I know it will be beautiful.

I am right there with you, Watson. Sometimes I wait so long to do a project that I end up finding it years later and wonder what was I thinking and decide that I don't like it after all. I find that I get overwhelmed rather easily and if I can't figure out where to start, I don't.

I have come to the conclusion that it is my perfectionism that keeps me from starting a complicated project. I don't want to disappoint myself so I don't start. I don't know if that makes sense, but now that I am getting older I can see that is what has happened. When I was younger, I sort of just shot from the hip, as they say and just jumped in raring to go no matter what. Done was done. Now that I know a thing or two about quilting, I want to make sure that I do a really good job and I pride myself on doing a good job, but I think that that is what freezes me into doing nothing. I guess putting it another way is to say that I have fear of failure.

What I have learned to do is to start in a small area that I think looks like fun. Sort of like dipping your toe into the water to get a hint of what it is like. After doing this very small section, I sort of find my rhythm and I get curious on how the next section is going to look like. Without realizing it I am really into the project and want to see it finished and that is what keeps me going once I have dipped my toe into the water.

Good luck and do what Nike says, "Just do it."

Thanks again for the gentle "push".
I went into my sewing room and cut out his eye shape and stuck it in place, added a little fleck of white for a highlight and I think I'm ready to start!
Thanks again for the words of encouragement!

Watson

Yeah, way to go, Watson. Let us see what your project looks like when you finish.
Mary Ann

I did a stained glass quilt (got the pattern from a stained glass website...asked for permission & she now has a pic on her site).

Not sure what your pattern looks like...I had just a picture to go by...had to enlarge the pieces and decide colors, etc. What I did was Draw out the pattern full size on freezer paper I pasted a snippet of fabric to each section, using the picture as my guide... Next, I marked the pattern with a number and letter. Red batik was A1, A2, etc. There was 32 colors needed...so some ended up AA1, AA2, etc. I then traced all the lines with a sharpie...turned the paper over and put on my glass top coffee table with a light underneath the table. I then traced all of the lines onto fusible (note that if the design is symmetrical, you don't have to trace reversed). I then cut out the pieces and put into a baggie marked with their letters...all the A's in one bag, all the B's in one bag. I then put the original on my ironing surface and ironed it to keep it in place. Then I laid the foundation fabric over that and used blue painter's tape to hold it in place...Fused all the A's first, then the B's, etc. This worked for me, since I was using black bias tape as the "leading." I think there is a pic on this group somewhere of the cross quilt...has my little dog (shizu mix) sitting on the quilt.

There is probably an easier way, but it was my first stained glass quilt & since the pattern had tons of small pieces...and was meant to be cut from glass and leaded... this worked for me.

If I had it to do over again..I'd probably use a black foundation, and leave a small space between the pieces...letting the foundation be my leading.

Marge....you and I discovered the same thing on our first stained glass quilts....That we would have been better off to let the background show through rather than to do all that leading!
This one is going to be slightly different in that I am going to satin stitch all the seams with a variegated King Tut. (Yes, I'm crazy.)I THINK it will look cool when it's done. Time will tell. (Lots and lots of time.)

Watson

Yes, I'm stuck now. I just have to wait it out. My mother used to say "time heals all things" and in this case, she's right.