newbie question
 

I've only been quilting for about a year and a half, but I think I already have a few UFO's. Is there a time limit to get a quilt completely finished , quilted and bound before it becomes a UFO? It seems when I'm piecing, I wish I were shopping and when I'm shoppin, I think I should be at home working!!! Is this normal?...not that any of us know what normal is lol!

If it attracts cobwebs, it's a UFO.:eek:

sounds normal to me, well, that is what I do also, what you do. Don't think there is a time limit on these, I'm working on one now I did 5 years ago. AND have a couple older than that one.

delma

Ack!! You've been peeking in my sewing room!!

I have quilts that are all cut out, some that are all the blocks are finished, some that the fabric and pattern are picked out, some that I've made quarter square triangles for, lots that just need the binding. All of these have been sitting around for a long time. I always find something new that excites me more than those and I can't wait to start my new project. Then I find another "new" project.

Agree with others, there is no time limit. Finally made a quilt from blocks I won at our guild from 2005 - kinda sad but now that it's done I love it and there was a reason they were hiding in my closet (had to have the right time).

I figure as soon as I start something else, the piece I was working on and it's not finished, it became a UFO. And as to how long it will sit there being a UFO, who knows:D

for me there is a difference between a 'WIP' and a 'UFO'--- A WIP is a 'work in progress- it may take a year or more- but i stay actively working on it.
a UFO is an 'unfinished object' it is no longer being worked on- has been put away- (or hid away in the back of a closet) and i do not know if i will ever finish it---for what ever reason i have 'moved on'
it is normal for me to work on a number of projects at the same time- i think i have 5 right now- none of which are UFO's- those i do sometimes dig out (or simply come across again) & think about working on them sometimes---and sometimes i even finish one- but they are definitly different from my WIP's. :thumbup:

There is absolutely no rule that says everything has to be finished within a certain time period...or ever for that matter. Some quilts simply do not merit the time and energy it would take to complete them. Others are like fine wine or cheese...they need time to mature before the final stitches are added. There should be no guilt in quilting, it stiffles creativity.

Some projects end up being like math homework. Hopefully, one learned something in the process - but the project itself is no longer 'useful' or wanted.

(Getting rid of it does become a bit of a problem. Old homework one can dump easily - getting rid of anything with fabric involved is very difficult for me)

For ME, things are Works in Progress until the New Year. Then, even if they were started on 12/31, they become UFO's and can be counted for the UFO Challenge on another online group I belong to. I still have a couple that are, oh, I don't know, 25 years old or so ... and yes, I'm still interested in them ... just not today.

I don't think there is a time limit. I have about 12 UFO's: some need backing, some need blocks finished, and some have been forgotten. I don't remember what needs to be done on them. I will finish them all sometime--I just don't know when--but I won't allow myself to start another project until some of them are finished. You notice I said some of them, not ALL of them. I also have fabric bought for several projects that I want to make. I am pitiful I know.
Sue

Think I'm starting to scare myself.. I have no UFO's.. I'm working on a major project, and it's been going for almost a year.. I'm working on four quilts that are the same, and working on them together.. I must really be nuts.. The last time I made two denim quilts, and promised myself I wouldn't do that again.. Ughhh..

Quilts that get put on a "back burner" get to be UFO's. I think most of us have them. But often we will pick it up years later and finish it.

Hilarious!!!

Who cares as long as you are working on something and enjoying yourself! Up and until you have to walk through the paths around your stacks of WIP/UFO's to get to the kitchen. Then you have a problem. Nope, we're not there yet but I'm working on it! :)

Does it count if you look at it every couple months???? then it's not a UFO, yet????????????

No partially completed knitting projects, either? Or crochet projects? or half done drapes for the dining room?

The time limit on a quilt from selecting pattern and fabric to finishing the binding is......Start to Finish! There is no real time limit. It's all up to you. If you put it aside to work on something else then it is technically a UFO, or it's a "quilt in waiting." Why burden yourself with names....just enjoy the process and work on whatever you are in the mood to do.

I'm with you - in fact I've more than scared myself! I think I'm becoming obsessed about UFOs to point of illness :eek:. The only UFO I have is a Cathedral Windows runner from a class that I got sucked into unwittingly (didn't realise how much HAND SEWING there was). I carry it from class to class like a pet. It lurks in the deepest recesses of my bag, waiting to see the light of day (NEVER going to happen).
In fact, has become my security UFO - as long as I have it, I finish all my new projects before starting a new one...

(PS Before you start congratulating (or committing) me I should perhaps mention that I am/was a knitter and that is a whole different story......)

I have one that I started in 1983...

That makes me laugh! I just finished a quilt I started when I was pregnant with my first son. That was 1979!! My "baby" is 33 years old now. :)

I made a quilt for my sister and brother in law, sandwiched and ready to quilt, it's been under the bed over 4 years. I think it might be an MIA. They got a big dog that sleeps on the bed and she does want to put the quilt on the bed yet, thank goodness. So hurry up and wait. It will get done.

I don't worry about a time limit unless it's something for a gift that has to be done. I try to allow plenty extra time even when it's a gift because sometimes I just get tired of a project, and want to do something quick and easy like a rag quilt or pillowcases, or bibs. These small quick projects give instant gratification!

I don't have UFO's. That makes them seem like a lost cause. I call them "WIP" -works in progress ! Ive had projects for several years or more that were unfinished for one reason or another and I have picked up some again and finished them. So I say - no time limit. If you really hate them, pass them on to your quilt guild. I'm sure someone would love to have your project to work on! And if you are just frustrated or tired of it for the time being - just bag it up. Your skills will get better and your patience will increase and you may finish it at some point.

it is when you put it aside and hope to get back to it... but usually move on to other things.. then forget exactly what it was going to be.... keep at it... you will love it...smile

I try to go ahead and finish what I have going while planning the next one in my head. Do have one UFO hiding out in a box, but i still hear it nagging me!

I hope there are no fines or penalties on UFOs. Some of us could land in Debtors Prison--Do you think they'll let us take them with us ?? At least if we were confined we get caught up : )

I still have an unfinished hand quilted queen size quilt from 1989. I WIN!

OF course its normal. I do it all the time. I go anywhere and wish I could be home quiltingl!!!

I have evolved over the past 20 years (I am 45) that I have been quilting from: hand piecing and scissor-cut templates..to machine piecing and rotary cutting...to needle turn applique by hand...to art quilts and fusing...to hand dyeing, fusing and thread painting. As we learn as quilters, sometimes a project is worked on just to master a skill before you apply that skill to a pattern that might be more complex that you really want to make. Just because it is a UFO does NOT mean you need to finish it. If you learned something from the project, it is ok to move on. HOWEVER, if you do not finish anything you start, I think you are kidding yourself that you enjoy the shopping part more that the creating part. Maybe try smaller projects: fabric postcards, placements, IPAD covers, wall hangings etc. These can be completed more quickly. I always have 3 or 4 projects going at once because when I am sick of one, I need to go to the other, and then come back...but I always finish.

I have several that are 15-20 years old. Since I am now 76 years old, I am trying this year finish up those oldies. So, no there is no time limit on your UFO's. Have fun making everything you want and then, at your leisure, finish them up.

If it's put away and not being worked on, it's a UFO. I think my oldest UFO is about 22 years old.

You've got it "The Dreaded Quilter's Virus" it's incurable!!You'll fit in here just fine!! I think there's group therapy for you're kind! LOL.

I think that this is the trick for me. I've got several going on at once and as long as I keep working on it, or at least thinking about it, then it is a WIP.

Technically, I guess I'm always creating new UFOs by some definitions, as well since I try to use my leftover blocks, etc. For example, I accidentally made an extra flip flop block when making this quilt. http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...g-t193449.html
I'm not throwing it away, but want to include it in my "leftover blocks/scraps" quilt that I'm working on. So, as I've been collecting these leftover blocks, pieces of blocks, paper piecing learning squares, etc., I've "technically" been collecting a UFO, by some people's definition. However, to me, it doesn't involve guilt, but since I am trying to get a handle on my scraps (it's been a work for over a year now), I'm trying to also use my leftover blocks now by combining scraps into 8" squares, then putting 4 - 8" squares together to make 15.5" blocks--all different and scrappy/leftover.

So, since I'm usually putting together 2-4 tops at once, I'm constantly collecting extra leftover blocks--I never completely get away from UFOs or scraps. They are constantly being evolved.

I've finished almost all of the ones I've started. (I also don't call them a UFO if it is a quilt top waiting to be quilted as that is what I tend to do--do a bunch of quilt tops and then finish them all, but I suppose it technically is. In that case I think I have 60+, however I'm getting ready to finish up a bunch of tops into both charity and 'noncharity/personal" quilts.)

Yep, that's the evolution around my sewing room, too. But what do you call it when you pull a project out & only very, very vaguely remember even working on it? LOL! I hope there isn't a time limit on UFO's because I have some that are probably older than some of you! LOL! I call them my "fine wine" projects... they're aging to perfection before I break them out to work on them... LOL! I will sew no quilt before it's time!

There is no time limit. That's what so nice about quilting. No rush, no time clock to punch, no deadlines! Ah, wonderful!

There is no time limit - I always have a couple of 'irons in the fire'. That is, several different projects in different stages of completion. I sometimes get bored with a particular pattern/color, so I just hop from one quilt to another to keep it always fresh and new in my crazy brain!!

I think I have more quilt tops ready to be quilted than UFO's or WIP's. I just have to find the time when my schedule meshes with the woman's who runs the long arm rental area! I'd prefer early mornings and she doesn't have a set schedule. Welcome to the wonderful world of quilting! Glad you are here!