I love this saying! I almost got sidetracked by a squirrel moment this morning. When a friend's daughter went through my stash in a trade, I saw some 6" blocks that have appliqued Scottie pictures. If I were going to my friend's house today, I would get black fabric from her to work on those Scotties. Good thing the weather is supposed to turn nasty so I'm staying home! I suppose that's a UFO I didnt count on Jan 1, since it slipped my mind...

Mary, lol!!!

I have found my tribe! I have a few reasons why I don’t finish projects: most often, it’s just because I lost interest in the project; sometimes I run into a design problem that I don’t know how to resolve so I set the project aside until I can figure it out; also, I enjoy the planning, color and fabric selection and seeing the idea come to life much more than the tedious parts like cutting and basting; since I quilt on my regular machine, it is getting more difficult to wrangle the bulk of a large quilt now that I am getting older and have more physical challenges as well. Here’s hoping I can muster up the enthusiasm to complete a few UFOs this year!

SusieQ, it's a UV light for setting gel nails. I work in health care, hand sanitizer and lots of hand washing, which result in dey cracked and bleeding cuticles. I used to get manicures to combat this. Then Covid came along. I found my light on Amazon, along with the supplies, and voila, I am able to still get gel manicures, just at home now. You have to buy UV light polish. Regular polish doesn't last for me due to the hand sanitizer and washing, it would chip within a day, UV light gel last 2-3 weeks. It works for me, even doing my nails at home, no cracked bleeding cuticles.

Thanks for the info, QM! :)

If you make tops you are a topper, if you quilt them you are a quilter.

Our guild sponsors classes which I love to attend. I start out enthusiastic and enjoy learning new techniques. After the class, I go home and sometimes my class project ends up in the closet. I have a Fall art quilt and 4 blocks for a quilt to name a few.

Magpie, I told you you would love it here...ther is also a 2021 UFO thread if you haven’t already discovered it. Good luck.

Don't like making backs!

I think some of the reason I have such a large amount of ufo's is because I forget about them. I forget to get a backing or a batting or just plain forget they are ready to be finished. During the summer my sewing room is hot and in the winter it is cold. I could go on all day with my excuses really. That is beside the fact I also don't have a maid, cook or a delivery person on hand to do all of those things for me.

Deborah, I have heard a lot of ladies worry about these issues...how to afford fabric post retirement and also what happens to your stash if you die. First of all, I love having a big stash. It gets my creative juices flowing. I get a lot of joy out of collecting the fabrics, too. I do a lot of improv so a big stash really helps there.

Many guilds donate the stashes of members who have passed on to the younger quilters who cannot afford fabric. Last year in one local guild a young woman got up and thanked members for putting fabric out on the free table at meetings as free was all she could afford. She was making really lovely quilts from these cast-offs. So your fabric will find another home.

On the subject of UFO's...I am totally guilty of being a starter and not a finisher. There are three reasons why I keep generating tops and filling my UFO cupboard:

1. I get really jazzed by something I see or dream up and just have to start it right away! I actually like having a few projects on the go as I tend to get bored with only one. I like to switch it up.

2. I find I start a project, often in a workshop to learn a new technique and find I do not like the class work I bring home. I have learned to walk away from projects like that...ones I do not enjoy. Pieced work unfinished goes into an orphan block basket. It's big...

3. I got my piecing skills refined wayyyyyy before I learned to free motion quilt. Quilting is a completely separate skill set, and I did not want my really beautifully made tops being quilted up badly. So I am now refining my free motion skills so I can get the work done from start to finish. But...that means I have a lot of tops waiting.

I call mine WIPs (works in progress), instead of UFOs because that way I can console myself that I'm still working on it. I also work small so I don't have a big investment in my projects so a lot of the time I just consider them a learning experience and move on. Life is too short to spend your time working on something you don't like.

Well, I have more UFOs than know what to do with, but I can't blame sandwiching, basting or quilting because I take my completed tops (with pieced backs) to a long armer.

My excuse is a short attention span and the glitter of the new. Why keep working on the same old project when there are so many other patterns/techniques/colors to explore? I am guilty, but feel no guilt (quilt guilt?) This is my hobby and I make the rules! (Actually, there are no rules.)

I am relatively new to quilting so I don't have UFO's. I have pieced 5 quilts in the past year and a half but sent them to my cousin to quilt them, so I am not doing the whole process. I recently made a lap quilt for a Christmas present and did the entire process so that was a first for me. My problem is that I have fabric and pattern for a quilt for my grandson waiting for me to start. I have made 3 quilts since I purchased it. Now I refuse to start anything else until I make this one. For the past week I have had plenty of time to start it but nope! I have read the directions, watched You tubes for similar patterns, ready to start but nope! I guess I don't have UFO's, I have UTB - Unwillingness To Begin!