Is There Help For Me?
 

I love making quilt blocks and binding quilts. My problem is, after the blocks are done, I really dislike adding sashing and sewing the blocks together. I get bored after the rush of doing the blocks, and get really excited about starting a new project. I now have about 12quilts in the finishing stages and can't get motivated to put them together. Does anyone have a suggestion on how to cure this problem?? All suggestions welcome. Thanks.

it really takes *self-discipline* .... one way that might work is.... place each of your 12 quilts into it's own large ziplock and number them- 1-12...stack them up in order...then, when that extreme urge to start a new quilt hits pick up the one on top of the stack and tell yourself...as soon as I have this together I can start this new quilt....sit down & get it done. it may go quickly, easily just because you are inspired *looking forward* to the next new one.
or, set aside one day each week that you only work on the *stacked quilts*
or, when you enter your sewing room decide you will spend your first hour working on a stacked quilt- before you start working on the new current project.
so, there are 3 ideas -one may work for you :thumbup:

My suggestion: do what you enjoy! quilting is not a chore and is supposed to be fun and a hobby in my opinion.

If the 12 quilts in the finishing stages are bothering you, bring them to a guild or give them to somebody who will finish them. If you have a local quilting shop they might know somebody interested.

the last solution that I can think of is, if it is starting to bug you, wait a little bit longer and one of two things might happen:
1) you will forget about them, or
2) you will get the motivation, the determination, the patience etc and whatever it takes, to have 12 finished quilts loll
good luck.

I'm having the same problem. I love getting the pattern, fabric, etc ready and sewn. However, when it comes time to finish the project, my interest zero's out.

I don't necessarily have this issue with sewing/quilting but certainly do with household paperwork! I had such a pile of stuff going that I was totally overwhelmed and getting absolutely nothing done. I finally decided I was going to spend 1 hr./day working on those things. Let me tell you, after 2 weeks, I had most of it totally under control. You could apply the same principal to your ufos. After you get them organized as ckcowl suggests, you could spend a preset amount of time working on the finishing baggie #1 and so on.

When I get in my procrastinating mood about much of anything, I'll eventually make myself do x amount of 'work' before I allow myself any 'fun' things (i.e. - fold laundry, then I can sew). Just what I have to do or my life would be a disaster.

Do you have a "quilting friend"? Maybe y'all could partner and finish one or two together. Like you, I have more fun thinking up and creating the quilt top. But I figure this is suppose to be fun.

One lady in our quilting group reports at least 12 tops that need finishing. She laughed the other day and said, "When I die someone will have to finish them!" :eek:

we often have UFO challenges here on the QB, or sometimes a virtual quilting weekend. you might join one of these to get inspired to finish,.

Yup...been there, done that, have the t-shirt to prove it!

I am a piecer but not a finisher, too. I have at least a dozen tops ready to be sandwiched and quilted. That's the part I hate! I know, I know...maybe I like to sew and NOT quilt??? Naw, I like making the blocks, stitching them into a top, then the brakes get applied. Part of my problem is that I don't have the room to put a quilt together. Taking them to a guild meeting to use their tables seems to be too much of a chore. Ah well...off to make more blocks!

I feel your pain, SandyG! Welcome to the "non-finishers but awesome starters" group! ;)

Anita

I know what you mean, putting them together is not the fun part of quilting. Maybe if you take a class on quilting techniques or free motion, it will help get you over the hump of not putting them together. If the end process is interesting too, you will be more likely to work on them.

Keep one project out on your sewing table. Sew two blocks together, every day. Then go do the stuff that's fun to you. Pretty soon you will have a row of blocks. Then sew two rows together, every day. It's like eating an elephant, one bite at a time.

Early on, I found myself in the same boat. If I am comfortable with how the rows look on my design wall, I make a row of blocks, and then sew that row together. Then I make a subsequent row. That way when the blocks are complete, my quilt is almost complete. I hated thinking about the UFO's I had, so last year, I finished all of them before we moved. I only have one left to do, and it has taken a back seat to one I need to make for my son's wedding.

Why not try patterns like double wedding ring or one of the stars, where little if anything is outside of a block? Then there's no boring sashing to do, and you don't really see the pattern until everything goes together.

This describes me perfectly. I am so happy I'm not the only one who does this. Last year I set a goal to finish 12 quilts during the year, one a month. I finished 14 quilts. 8 of these were UFO quilts. It was a great feeling to get them finished and given away. This year my goal is to finish 14 more quilts. That will finish my UFO pile. Most of these are from Block of the Month projects. I love doing the monthly blocks, but hate finishing. Organizing them into bags helped. Now I can just pick one and get to work. I have finished 2 this year and am ready to quilt a lap quilt today. It's kind of fun to work on them this way. Thanks for all the good tips, and thanks for starting this thread.

I have found I have this problem. I bought some project boxes thinking I did not have enough to fill them all. Well, I was shocked to have so many projects in various stages of completion. I have not found a cure yet. I tell myself I will not start anything new until I finish some. This just gets me in a funk and I don't do anything but look at magazines and dream of the next project.

Make your self a promise for 1/2 hour a day you will sew blocks together. Breaking it up into smaller units of time.. can help. I am much like you and putting together blocks is not my favorite quilting task. I do find if I just do small units of time mixed with other parts I like , is like creating a reward system... a few hours of my favorite things .. and always some of the stuff that's not a favorite. I have even taken to rewarding myself with fabric... if I get this top completed I get to purchase a few yards of whatever fabric I want , without regard for price.

If I find a block or pattern that I'm really excited about but don't want to make a whole quilt, I make a mini version and turn it into a tote bag or table topper or "sack sock", etc. You don't have to make quilts to enjoy quilting. Start small and see what happens. I just made a tote using one large block that I wanted to try, and I'm really happy with it and I got that block "out of my system". :)

I have several $5 quilt block sets which will probably never become a quilt. The blocks all measure 12" finished. So I am making table runners and placemats. Placemats are 2 blocks each (12x24) and the table runner is 4 blocks (12x48) plus a simple border. That way, I will use all 12 blocks and will have a matching set.

My quilt guild recently had Marguerita McManus present for our program. She does a QAYG method thatis very easy to do. She showed some of her quilts where she bought the blocks on ebay, or such, reset them and then did QAYG with her method. We all laughed with her. The quilts were very nice looking.

She has YouTube videos that explain it all. Just type in "Marguerita Mcmanus youtube" and you will get there. There are 8 consecutive videos in the main one you look at.

I stall at the pinning it together stage -- then when I get that done it takes me forever to figure out how to quilt it. That is the part I'm the newest at. But I do like to sew the binding on! Right n ow I have to finish quilting the border on one quilt; have another quilt pinned and ready to quilt. Third quilt has the back pieced and is ready to pin, the quilt. Fourth quilt needs to have the back pieced, then pinned and quilted.

I have to tell myself that I am making it for someone else. If it is just for me, I seem to lose interest a lot, unless it is a fairly small project. I got motivated by telling myself that the last one was for my favorite news correspondent. Now...I am actually going to send it to him.

This is EXACTLY what I do when the UFOs start stacking up. The other suggestion is to give them up to a local group that makes quilts for charity.

I am so glad to hear I am not the only one like this. The breaks come on as soon as it is time to sandwich and finish. Right now I have one laying over the back of a chair and one on a table waiting for me. Several more on the shelf. I love the piecing and making the rows then stop. I look at it this way. Some day someone will have a head start with all my tops ready to finish.
I have heard that there are places that auction off quilt tops. Maybe that is a option for us.

Sometimes, even though your quilt isn't finished, you are finished with your quilt.
Even great artists and composers left work unfinished and no one denies *their* genius.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it. ;)

Jan in VA

Do you have a local QS in your area that offers open sews? The local shop in my area has open sews 3 days a week, which I can never go to because I am working, but then they do the 2nd Saturday and the 3rd Friday of each month from 4-Midnight. This is my UFO time, unless I am working on a quilt that is for someone else. I do work for others as a side business. So far I have completed two UFO quilts that way and am working on my 3rd one right now.

I don't make quilts just to make quilts. It has to be for a special occasion. Well the time has come. My DS b-day is in March and so is his oldest, 4 days apart. Also at nineteen she has decided to take up sewing. Today I sent a few things I had promised a couple weeks ago. That was the motivation I needed. I started cutting the pieces needed for his quilt (Duck Dynasty fabric) Hunter's star. Put that one aside and will cut DGD tomorrow. Have another DGD b-day first of April. That one will be smaller but will cut on Saturday. I put the due dates which I marked 4 day ahead of b-days. I have some gift boxes (shirt size) to put the blocks in. Pizza shop wants $5.00 a box!!! We order from them often and tip well. Will work on the blocks maybe Sunday. One box at a time. I have an appt. book scheduling time to spend on each quilt. And when each needs to be completed. Only way I can do it.

That's so funny because yesterday I found 40 blocks completely finished, sitting in a drawer. The pattern isn't there, nor any extra fabric, but I had sewn two together, so apparently there is no sashing for me, I don't think, unless it's between the rows. I'm going to spend tomorrow looking to see if I can find anymore of that fabric because I'm sure it's suppose to have a border or two. That's the problem with not following through. When you find it, all the fabric and pattern might have disappeared.

The UFO challenge here on the Boards has helped me tremendously!

Same story here. I love the piecing. Wrestling with all those layers on my DSM is *not* relaxing! But ... since I started basting my quilt sandwiches with Elmer's glue, I have found that I'm more inclined to just suck it up and get the quilting part DONE & over with. My FMQ skills are really really crappy, so I stick to lines, usually diagonal.

I don't mind the binding part either, but I have to give all credit for the quilting part to Elmer. If he didn't make it easier & faster I probably wouldn't finish any quilts at all. Ever.

I say be very honest with yourself. Ask these questions of the real you:

1. Even with good suggestions on here as to HOW to finish, them, do I want to badly enough to buckle down?
2. Does finishing a quilt give me enough satisfaction to motivate me?
3. Does it really matter if the joy is in doing only tops ? Some people like to cook but not bake. Same principle
4. Am I more likely to finish quilt if I'm giving it away?

Like you, I love to start new projects and try new blocks but haven't finished a big one . Being okay with my personality and my skill level, but also wanting to finish to bless someone, I have decided to make lots of doll quilts for my favorite charity. Small, manageable quilts that I can practice new skills on and determine how much I really like or don' t like making certain block=w/o commiting to a huge quilt. Works for me

My excuse for not finishing projects (of any kind) is undiagnosed ADD (attention deficit disorder). My 86 year old mother calls it, "lazy." LOL

I personally don't think there is a solution to "our" problem. I have two full boxes of quilt tops finished, but the batting and backing are still on the shelves waiting for me to assemble them and the quilting done. I, too, love the process of cutting and piecing the blocks together. It may take me a while to get the tops assembled, but I will eventually get there. I DO NOT enjoy the quilting process, however, and finding a long-arm quilter has been a chore for me. So, in the meantime, the tops just remain folded in their boxes with their cousins, brothers, and sisters, hoping that one day they will become "real" quilts. Sigh!!! [If you find a magic spell which will assist us, please send it my way.]

One thing that gets me going to finish quilts is a bundle of finished squares I found in several boxes of left over quilt stuff from a quilter who had died. Our club had had this stuff at meeting for several months (I was out of the country at that time, so I didn't get to see them then), and no one wanted anything more so all the boxes were headed for the dumpster. I grabbed them and found lots of usable fabric, some heavy stuff to make walker bags, some stuff to send to the missions, and this bundle of squares. I put the squares together; they made the cutest wall hanging.

Another thing or two: If you are putting quilting into plastic bags, do not close them completely. They need a little air.
And be sure to add the pattern and fabric needed to finish it.

Boy, I didn't know there were so many of us. I have at least 12 tops waiting for batting and backing and another 12-20 cases containing quilts "almost" ready to sew together. I don't have the accurate number (I'm afraid to total them). The sad thing is I have batting and backing for a lot of them. I will continue to follow this post, and maybe will find the inspiration to finish some of these UFO's. I thought they were beautiful before I started them and I still think they are beautiful. It would be a shame to wait until I don't like them anymore. lol
Sue

I have a similar problem, after putting the top together, adding the back, quilting, binding and label are boring. Quilts of Valor are my solution. I give the completed top, prepared binding and backing to the long arm quilter that finishes these for QOV. We all win, I get to piece and they get a quilt to finish and donate.

This is exactly what I'm currently doing. I'm just taking baby steps until all blocks are sewn together. Right now I'm on row 3 of my postage stamp quilt. :thumbup:

When I read your post I thought, GEE when did I post this...
It really sounds just like me.
QUOTE=susie-susie-susie;6587722]Boy, I didn't know there were so many of us. I have at least 12 tops waiting for batting and backing and another 12-20 cases containing quilts "almost" ready to sew together. I don't have the accurate number (I'm afraid to total them). The sad thing is I have batting and backing for a lot of them. I will continue to follow this post, and maybe will find the inspiration to finish some of these UFO's. I thought they were beautiful before I started them and I still think they are beautiful. It would be a shame to wait until I don't like them anymore. lol
Sue[/QUOTE]

I'm in the same boat (Ii believe it's bigger than we realized)! I love the whole process until it comes to sandwiching and quilting. I know it's because my FMQ skills are poor, but I'm trying to improve. Right now I'm in the process of unquilting a throw I've been making for my MIL. I was more than half-way finished with the quilting when I decided it wasn't up to my standard, partly because the top was developing puckers. So I'm starting all over with the quilting. I had already shown it to her at Christmas and the whole family knows about it so I HAVE to get it done ASAP. Meanwhile, I've started a Valentine's Day wall hanging and am anxious to start a scrappy to keep.

That being said, I am in possession of three quilt tops my MIL gave me that were made in probably the thirties or forties, which she was given a long time ago. I don't know who made them or the stories, but they are mine now. One is a waste, though, because it's gotten mildew on it which won't wash out. The other two are in great shape and I feel obligated to finish them. I'm thinking I'll just practice FMQ on them.

Just yesterday I bought a new quilting book that I think has some really great info. It's called Machine Quilting: Basics and Beyond by Lynn Witzenburg. She does start with basics and has some good practice ideas and really good advice. Sometimes I'm inspired to get moving on something after reading or watching a video about the process while visualizing my project finished.

Be patient with yourself and relax. As others have suggested, take baby steps for short periods. And let us know how it goes!

try to get one UFO done every three months at least. I have some years old! I'm trying now, but every once in awhile I just must make something else "new" that grabs my mind.

Ebay them...you have had your fun and someone out there will grab them up.

I have found that putting the blocks together to make a top is my least favorite part of the quilt making process. sandwiching is the second least favorite. I have three quilt tops that are partly put together and eight tops waiting to be sandwiched. I'm so glad I found out I am not alone.