quilter's dilemma
 

i have a quilt that needs two borders quilted and the binding completed.

i have an ongoing handquilting project that's not going to be completed through good thoughts.

i have a basted quilt that can wait.

but...i designed a quilt last night and all i want to do is start working on it! i have everything i need to do it too, but it's gorgeous outside and retreating to the dark basement to quilt seems like a waste of a tremendously beautiful day.

so many sad stories...we should all be so sad!

aileen

Yep, i feel your pain. I have VOWED not to start another project till i finish the 4 i have going. Now once i have top, back and binding made its"finished " to me. Waiting to be quilted doesn't count for me....maybe that's why i have 8 quilts in the quilting queue!

We had such beautiful weather this week and I felt to guilty to enjoy it. All I could think about were all those suffering on the East coast. My prayers are with them all.

I'm in a similar situation!! I'm in a block swap and I have ONE more block to finish but I need to get fabric for it. I have other things I *can* do ... but none of them are "speaking" to me today. I keep wandering into the sewing room, picking a project up and putting it down for lack of inspiration. All I can think of is the block for the swap that I want to complete - and the fabric is on it's way in the mail.

So instead I gave my dog a bath. :(

I'm on a two-for-one (self-imposed) schedule right now. I have to finish two UFOs before starting another new. It's working! I've already picked out 10 or 20 different patterns for my next one.....talk about motivation to finish up those UFOs! ROFL

well that was inevitable. it clouded over.

i am in the basement cutting, not quilting....

:)

aileen

My delemma today is to buy or not to buy, I have an opportunity to buy an APQS Ultima II, 12". It will end up in my living room. Will I use it as much as I think? I've never owned a long arm.

Sigh -- isn't this why we all have UFOs. I keep telling myself to finish a UFO (its been sitting around too long to be a project) and I have something else I want to make now -- and did I mention I have my eye on another project... Hmmm.. my problem is I get an idea, design it and then want to get going on it but in the mean time another idea comes to mind. No wonder I have a hard time finishing projects.

Life is short...do what makes you happy!

go for it ---enjoy

I had the same dilemma! Today instead of quilting a top loaded on my long arm machine, and working on two other projects, I enjoyed a lovely day. I visited 5 shops on a mini shop hop that was going on in the local area. I took my sister and we had a very enjoyable day together. I figure I can quilt tomorrow and do some of my projects then, or later in the month. By the way we had a great day.

I can make quilts or quilt no matter what the weather is like. I only go outside for short periods, not an outdoorsy person.

I only work on one quilt at a time. This causes me to work steady. When one quilt is totally finished I start another. I have made 14 totally finished quilt for this year, about half finished with #15. I hope to start quilting it next week. I work a couple hours in the evenings and most of the weekends while doing my housework and laundry.

Not only does work interfere with my quilting life, but the "next" quilt is always there in my head while I'm working on the current one, so I procrastinate a lot. I'm reading three great books at the same time, have some vegetables in the fridge that I should do something with before they're wilted, my kitchen should be picked up, I don't think I've dusted the living room in weeks, but I spent the entire day today adding the binding to a quilt and handsewing it so that I could start that "next" quilt tomorrow. Never mind the dusting.

LOL We are all the same, no matter where we are from!

Yes, we are all alike except for a few exceptional people. I have two quilts that need binding, all the blocks are finished for a quilt and I'm putting the rows together, I need to work on the Just Takes Two (on Dear Jane website), I need to finish up a project case for my cousin, I signed up for a 12 wk "Color My World" pastel quilt and have only made stars and one block, another quilt has been laid out, the blocks have been trimmed and the rows just need to be put together, and now I'm stressing about making Christmas presents. What'a a girl to do?! Yiiiiiikes!

Bring your fabric outside and do your cutting outside.

I can so feel your pain! I'm constantly going from one project to another, as it breaks up the ...uh....boredom?

Haha....I just realised that I'm not alone! I think most quilters face the same dilemma, jumping from one project to the next. I do however try to stick to one big project at a time. For example, I may be working on a bed quilt while working on a few other smaller ones. It makes me feel really frustrated when I have too many big projects lying around waiting to be completed. It's just human nature to be distracted sometimes....I face frustration coping with one project, then feel tempted to start piecing a new gorgeous project I see. The problem with me is I enjoy piecing but get really iffy when it's time to bast and machine quilt!

I play outside whenever possible.

I'm new to quilting - I have a double irish chain and it's pieced back waiting for me to take a deep breath and do my first quilt sandwich and quilting - I'm almost done with a quilt top based on Hopi Indian basketry/weaving. My DH asked me yesterday if I was ever going to finish a quilt or just make tops and bottoms - dear dear man. I told him I was waiting for the quilt to tell me when IT was ready to be finished:-)

Forestquilter, get it. I've had one sitting[new] upstairs for 5 yrs. I finally started to want to quilt. I love it. You can use it or sell it later. There will always be a person wanting one. Husband quilts after I put the quilt on the frame.ha.

What's the worst that can happen if you just do what you feel like doing at the moment? If nobody is paying you to do this, then why not do exactly as you please? I consider myself retired and intend to enjoy my hobbies. I usually get back to the things I started - eventually - but meanwhile I refuse to feel guilty about going with the flow. I think that in general most people do their very best work when they are feeling enthusiastic.

OHOHOHOH I LIKE this idea, might have to give it a try. Thanks for sharing it with us! :)

I have never met the Quilt Police and I never will. Unless you quilt for a living, I feel it's our outlet and just go for it. If I have lot's of UFO in the future, and I think that I will never finish, I take them to a local thrift shop. I make sure that I have direction to the project and maybe fabric if it's precut.

I find that I can only work on something if I really want to. If I'm trying to make myself finish one project when all I can do is think about another one, I AM going to mess up. It's not a matter of if, but when! This is fun. Do whatever you want to do on your own schedule!