I prefer to finish a quilt before I start another. I am also a very impatient person...impatient with myself, I mean, so maybe that has something to do with it. I do find a great deal of satisfaction in getting a quilt completed though.

But, now that I think about it, I think I may have the "why" for me. It started back when I didn't have a lot of money and only got paid once a month (teacher). I had a rule that if I bought fabric, I had to make it into something before the next pay day (I made my own clothes), or I should not have spent my money on it.

Hmmmm, guess that isn't true anymore, as I look at my stash here in my sewing room...

Bottom line, do what you want...one project at a time or many. :) No one cares, but you. :)

Wish I could help but I have no idea why I have 3 or 4 books going at one time, a dozen quilt projects going and housework never caught up. :)

Nope, don't even feel guilty about that. I didn't rebel as a teenager so guess I am making up for lost time. :)

I understand completely. Until my hubs died everything in my life was compartmented. There were "rules" for everything - I mean, even the toilet paper had to hang a certain way. Now I know better! life is so short and you cant live thinking things can be put off, or youll do things in order, or anything of the sort.
live in the moment - start a million things if you feel the urge, and if you drop dead in the middle, so what - you had the fun of starting them. (I made eggsalad sandwiches for breakfast 2 mornings ago, and had popcorn for supper tonite- lol hubs#2 doesnt care, I fix him whatever he would like, too)
try it on something little, make a mugrug or wallhanging - you'll feel like you did something just wicked ;} - and you'll love it! You'll be suprised how much more creative you'll be once you go with the flow of your mind and heart sharet

Embrace who you are!! I too need to finish before starting another .. .but I am greatful .. those guilt feelings keep me from having LOTS of unfinished projects.
I do know if I give in to the"just go ahead and start another" it will result in me never finishing anything.

I always finish a quilt before starting another one -now if I could do this with cleaning the house -never mind sounds like to much work :lol:

You are who you are. I am the same way. Sometimes I feel it's deblitating because I would love to do a BOM or a swap, but that would mean I would be doing two projects at once. I'm really torn. I think if I do baby steps, maybe try a BOM, maybe I can do it.

you would be doing 2 projects at a time, but a BOM isn't going to keep you busy, it truly is about the process--- you would know that you can't finish it before the next project. So, convince yourself that your other project is a filler between BOM blocks.
Or... maybe that's just my tired brain thinking...

Perhaps you could do more than one project at a time if you thought of the projects as having different purposes. You could have a quilt that you worked on in your sewing room. You could have a quilting project - perhaps hand sewing some blocks or hand quilting a quilt-as-you-go block-that was strickly done when you were waiting in a doctor's office and/or riding in a car, sitting/visiting in the hospital, etc. Or think of one project as at home and one as away from home. Later you could try two projects at home.
I think you could do 2 or more projects at a time if you can mentally compartmentalize them differently.

I don't have that problem at all !!!

Right now, I am working on quite a few different projects......I get to the hand work and put them aside until later.

I am going to be putting my machine in for it's annual check-up and maintenance, and this way I can continue right on sewing with no lack of projects to work upon.

Can't stand to just sit and watch TV..like to keep the fingers going at all times.