I always struggle to finish projects. Last fall I counted all my UFOs and came up with 25 (or so!) I promised myself that I would finish some of them before starting something new. I've done really good so far. I've been working on handquilting something that was pieced and appliqued years ago. It feels great to be getting close to done with it. There are several other quilts started that are gifts and need to get finished soon. But, I am itching to start something new!!! I have the fabric (imagine that!) and the pattern.....ohh no, I can't!! Please talk me out of it! How do all of you ladies keep focused on finishing?

Can't help you there ~ to be honest, I keep about 3 - 4 projects going at once. I will work on one for a few days, then switch to another for a few days. I guess that's why the baby quilts I'm about to finish are for babies that will soon be 6 months :shock: :shock:

Piedmont Quilter
Rebecca

I think I'm weird. I hate starting new projects.

Nope, sorry, cannot talk you out of it.
Only thing I can say is...start it, then take a break from it. Finish off a smaller project that needs finishing. Go back to original.
Hmm...I'm thinking that might not work.
So sorry....can't help you

I am a very orderly, obsessive person- I can't start a project with one unfinished. But I have lost interest in my current project and think I am about to set it aside for a bit. I am sick of the colors, the piecing, everything. I say you should start something new. I should too, lol.

I'm not a good one to talk you out of starting a new project, but I might be able to help you finish the old ones. I find that I sometimes need a little pressure (from myself) to finish projects.

Sometimes it helps to tell someone else that you plan to finish this or that project by a certain time for a gift for someone. Then you feel obligated to get it done because someone is expecting to hear about the recipient receiving the gift. Really spurns me on to getting things done.

Lynette

I know someone like you. She ended up giving me her stash and still has some to give me. I am using it well.I have always been focused on finishing projects after watching a dear aunt work on a rug hooking project for decades. I sure hated that thing! I just want to do something creative with the beautiful fabrics I buy and then share the finished project (or enjoy it).

judee

Why don't you find the WIP or UFO thread on this forum and commit to finishing something. I have multiple projects going at once also, and I just started a new one. HOWEVER, two of the "almost finished" have deadlines coming up and I have to have them done (or look stupid :oops: ).

I also participated in some group projects and although the contribution was small, it felt good to send something out UNDONE yet complete for my part.

Another option I use, is to make a deal with myself that I MAY NOT start something new until something existing is done. I think of it this way: Quilting is an art that is best appreciated DONE. 25 quilt tops won't keep anyone warm. :wink:

I'm finding more and more UFO's accumulating around my house. I'm afraid I am no help.

Sorry, can't help you.

No help here, after all "misery loves company"....come on in, sit down, take your shoes off...... :wink:

I'll get the wine!

The best motivation for completing a project is a deadline.
If I don't really have one, I make one up; "this will be great for somebody's gift next Christmas or my guestroom for when in-laws come for the holiday".

How I accomplish this and still satisfy my itch for a new project too is this:
---I make the big WIP a priority, and allowing plenty of time, stay committed to the deadline.
---After awhile, if I'm craving starting a new project, I choose a small one with no deadline although I may have an idea for it's use in the far future.
---I keep the big WIP the priority. When I'm really losing interest, I use the smaller one as a reward for time spent on the big one.
---I do not start another small project until the first small one is done.
---I keep the big project the priority.
---By the time my larger WIP is finally done... and on time... I also have 1-many smaller ones done.
---If the smaller projects were BOM, then it's time to make a big sampler and that becomes the big priority.

I have met every deadline for special occasions or personal enjoyment by starting way in advance. By the time the bigger WIP is done, I also have finished smaller gifts that are separates or make up a set ie pillows, or the parts of a larger one ie blocks for a sampler quilt.

Having the one large project and alternating with small ones during the process works for me. I suggest you select one of your 25 incomplete projects and alternate with a new but smaller one, never starting another large or small one until you finished the first ones. Eventually, your 25 will get done and you will have many smaller ones all done too. And you will have a plan that will keep you from having too many UFOs lying around frustrating you.

Quilting is supposed to be fun, not frustrating or embarrassing.
You want to show up to the special occasion (birthday, wedding, anniversary, graduation, baby shower, holiday) then at the party, like everybody else, present your quilt gift, not a note about it. People, including you and your own house should be getting use out of your quilting. And, like somebody before me said, an unfinished quilt top will not keep anyone warm.

Having said all that, I also have a completely different suggestion.
If you absolutely just love making the pieced tops, pay somebody else to do the rest, per your fabric selections and sizings. Don't be embarrassed about it, just acknowledge that it is your strength and preference. Your family and friends will still love them and admire the work you did do. Ask around, maybe somebody you know hates the piecing part and loves to do the quilting and binding. You could "pay" her by giving her a finished project now and then.

Dang, Terri! I was going to offer to provide the wine. Well, I'll bring the steins...er, the wine glasses....yeah, that's it.

I made a vow that I would not start a new project until I finished the one I was work on. So far I have done it. Nine years.

I would be terrible trying to talk you out of it. I have on a average 6-8 different projects going at a time. I get bored easily and switch back and forth between projects. I really need to get my butt in gear and finish one or 2 of them now though.

Sorry I am of no help I have at least a dozen new projects lined up to start and have not counted unfinished ones however in 5 months I have finished 5 things Good Luck

Aren't we all so diverse! I fall into the camp of one project at a time. What's interesting is that when I was garment sewing a lot, I always had a bunch of UFO's. With quilting, I work well with deadlines, but feel equally serene just plugging away on a non-essential project.

Make yourself a deal. You can cut the new fabric but then you have to finish one old project before you can do any more on the new. After that, you can piece 5 new blocks but then you have to finish another old project before you can go on with the new. And so on and so on.

i'm like everyone else i have a running 3-4 projects at a time.

then when they're done i start another 3-4 projects.

i like to work like an assembly line.

So sorry I'm no help either! I have about 4or 5 that I am currently working on, always have been that way. I see a pretty block, and I just have to try one.


Just come on over to the dark side with the rest of us. It'll be alright Hee Hee.








Ninnie

I'll bring the cheese and crackers.

Linda D MI

I don't think I can count as high as the UFO's I have floating around here. I had to go to the LQS to get a fabric for a new project I will be starting tomorrow and I saw the most beautiful gold fabric I have ever seen. I litterally had to RUN out of the store so i would not be tempted.

I have to be careful, bc in theory, this sounds like a good technique for me, but depending on the circumstances, and who the person is, telling somebody about a project for them, makes me feel like running the other way. i don't know why. I just freeze up sometimes under pressure, so I have learned, NOT to tell somebody i'm working on something of theirs. When I am done, i'm done, and then they are surprised.
Just thought, I would give you the advantage of seeing both sides of a coin.
Telling is what I call, throwing your hat over the fence...now I have to go get it. It really works...sometimes. I am a conundrum. It may work for you! :D

Yep I think your on the wrong board......:-)

I find my NEW project my incouragement to get the old done.....I'd do one or two and then a NEW project...

I would forget how the project went if I put it done.....that's my reason for finishing......:-)

Good luck in what ever you do and try to get some finished.....you'll feel so much better when you do!

Ummm, can't help you....I think that my projects need to "age" properly for them to finish up properly. Also...sometimes if I put them aside at different stages and think about them..I change my plan of action and the quilt comes out better......well...thats my story and I'm stickin' to it! :lol:

I too only work on one project at a time....problem is, I have a couple of those going at once :D :lol:!! I have a few long term UFOs that I work on every once in a while, then my backlog of quilts that need to get done.

One thing that I have found helpful is if I know I am going to have some chunk of time to sew (which is rare), then I commit to working about 15 minutes on a UFO, even it means that all I do is piece together one star or trace a handful of applique pieces.....before you know it, that little bit of time has finished a project!

Isn't it nice how we're all different :lol: I usually can't make myself start on a new project until I finish the one I'm doing - for example, I have to finish the black and white blocks for the exchange before I start anything else :!: :!: :!: Sometimes, this is VERY frustrating, because I get bogged down and can't see my way out of a problem on a quilt. Now THAT'S when I SHOULD start a new project :? and give myself a break. It could be just the thing to get the creative juices started subconsciously. Funny thing is, I do have some WIPs despite my obsessive need to FINISH :lol: :lol:

if you use all the quilt tops at once they'd keep someONE warm :)

Why don't we just look at these wonderful ideas and see what we can do with this stash???

Oh sorry that's no help either!!!!

Well that's true too, and you can change the look really easily.

This popped up on my email and I thought it was great for this topic thread!
Celia's Words of Wisdom
from Janet Wickell
Celia's tip is so true. The fun of quilting is in the doing and the sharing.

Quilting Tip of the Day
From Celia Hirschenhofer: My favorite quilting tip is this quote:
Finished is better than perfect.

When I first started quilting, I worried the poor quilt to death trying to get a perfect quarter inch on every seam, and to make every point so sharp it could hurt you. I created lots and lots of UFOs and missed out on the fun of making something for someone I love. I printed the quote and put it over the sewing machine. Now I have quilts that are beautiful and loved instead of UFOs that are sad and lonely.


from me
good tip... I still think it's ok to have 2-4 projects going at the same time, or assembly line style of same block (I like to do that, especially good for learning something new). The discipline is to limit it to that and keep finishing one before starting a new one. That quote really is a good reminder.
Cathy

it sounds so trite, but really, I have learned, everybody has to find their own 'wiring groove' or what works for them.
For me, I have found that having 4-5 smaller projects, and maybe one big one, and just working on whichever one, floats my boat at the time, and keep moving around on all of them, is a good way for me, to keep making progress on all of them, without the burnout.
It's funny, but my grandma suggested this about three years ago, and until I finally quit worrying about what I wasn't getting done, and tried this, I wasn't very happy.
worry and guilt is not the way to go for me, and the real upside is, i do eventually finish something, and can happyily, guilt free, jump on a new project. It gives me choices, and keeps me out of the ruts. :wink:

Not much help here, either.... I have several project going and work on what makes me happy at the time and what I feel like doing...

We seem to be a bunch of enablers (or maybe pushers ???) :D :D

I just have to pop in to say a BIG thank you to all of you who responded. You help me so much even if you just say you can't give advise because you also have my problem. I don't feel so alone. My next question for those of you who work on more than one pieced project at a time is, how do you keep everything together at the machine? Do you work on one thing and then pack it up and pull something else out, and go back and forth? I usually have a machine pieced project, a hand applique, and maybe a hand quilting project going at the same time, but I'm not sure I could keep more than one machine project going. Thanks again everyone!!

Roselady, about your latest question.... I'm lucky enough to have a cutting table set up at all times. It is up against the wall under my workboard. When I have multiple projects in progress, I separate them either on the board or in stacks off the cutting mat. I use notes to remind me if that fabric is color #1 or whatever and I put the pattern instructions on top. I never have so many projects going that I put any away, out of sight. When the pieces are cut, I use square cardboards to lay them out ready to assemble. I can put those anywhere, like an open drawer. By then, I don't need any notes ... it's obvious what to sew to what. I just pick up cardboard and bring it over to my machine table and begin. I keep putting it back onto the cardboard until I stop working on it for the day. If I want to stop that block and go onto another project, it's so easy to move because it's lightweight (and free and clean).

I can't help, though it isn't so much the quilts I have a problem finishing, it is some of the sewing projects. The quilts usually have somewhere to go. THe biggest thing is finding your own rythm that works for you the best.

If I am working on more than one thing, and it happens, I have a parts bin stand with a lot of the bins on it, I put all the pieces for the square in one with the name etc on a sticky. I keep a binder where I plan my quilts in it that I just go there for directions if I get lost how it goes together.