quiltedsunshine

I read Don Asslett's book, "Is There Life After Housework?" and he says having several things going at the same time is a good way to get things done. You work one one thing until you need a break from it, then go to the next, and the next... Then when you come back to the first project, you're fresh and ready to do it again.

I decided (about 20 years ago) to catalog all of my started projects. I had 75 and decided I was sick and had to change my ways. LOL!

Now, all I get done are samples for the store. I think I have 4, and just brought another one home today, so 5.

Doggramma

I often start something because the pattern is appealing or the fabrics are cute. A lot of times I don’t have a certain person in mind for a project or any particular deadline for finishing. That leads to multiple projects going at the same time because things get started, I get bored with it, it’s not as fun as I thought it would be, something new catches my eye, or something seems beyond my current capability. So on I go to something else. It’s been my style since I started quilting. It used to really bother me to have so many unfinished things, but now I just want to do what makes me happy. Some eventually get finished. And if I suddenly need a gift, one might get finished as a gift.

JJBlaine

I like having a few WIPs, (which are completely different from UFOs). They are usually at different stages, or they are different techniques. I cannot imagine just working on one project at a time, start to finish.

My WIPs always include several projects to work on by machine--one that is being quilted, one being pieced and a Leader/Ender project. My L/E is usually stitching crumbs or scrappy 4Ps with no particular plan in mind. Now that I have an embroidery machine, I might add another project I can set to work when I am doing something else in the same room.There might also be a BOM or mystery quilt in the works, but other than the 365 challenge, I am trying to avoid those until the UFOs are under control.

I also have a "quiet -time" project I can do by hand (quilting or applique) if my hand is cooperating and I want to just sit quietly in front of the TV.

In addition, I have "on the go" projects in a bag that I can just pick up and leave the house with. I keep my handstitching supplies, patterns and fabrics for a few blocks and in the bag. Right now, it is a Dear Jane Quilt, which is my long term project that I am hand piecing and hand quilting. It's great to have something to keep me busy while I sit in the waiting room when I take my mother to the doctor.

I take a no-sew day every week, where I clean up my sewing area, cut scraps and decide what my WIPs for the week will be. Sometimes they stay the same, but if I am at roadblock on a particular project, it gives me "permission" to set it aside in favor of something else. Sometimes my WIPs overlap--my stack of crumb blocks was getting tall, so this week my crumbs are my L/E and my piecing block. Last week, my go-bag project was also my "quiet-time" project.

I guess it is a lot of projects to work on at one time, but having a plan is helping me make progress on my UFOs and keeping me from starting new projects.

ube quilting

I have way too many UFOs on my plate, way too much fabric accumulated over the years. One of the best tips I have learned over the years that I could pass on to new quilters is to buy what you need for each project as you start. Over twenty years of collecting and my style and likes have changed over the years and I don't even like a lot of my stash anymore.

Go slow, Buy what you love and use it rather than accumulate it.

peace

jmoore

I usually have two WIPs, one that I take to sewing group which is usually a scrappy project that allows me to visit with friends and something more challenging to work on at home that requires to be in the zone. That way there is always room to squeeze in a simple project like placemats or a baby quilt when needed.

I am pretty diligent about not having UFO’s. I had one a few of years ago that carried over for nearly two years. My son had chosen the pattern Tumbling Blocks and batiks for it but it was more of an intermediate project which I was not ready for. I finally worked my way through it and ever since then I have been pretty disciplined.

rosiewell

I do have several UFO and WIP, although I have chipped away my UFOs the past 2 years, I guess I need to work on different projects since I like to machine and also hand quilt and I get easily bored.

Friday1961

I do only one project at a time, too -- in theory, anyway. I have far too many large unquilted tops because quilting of very large projects is difficult to impossible, due to lack of space and equipment.

It's OCD, I think, that drives me to work like this, and I also don't have a dedicated sewing room. But I may have many more projects in my head while working on the current one. I can see that cutting and/or sewing several projects at once could be efficient, especially if you chain sewed strips or pieces. But that would be too assembly line for me, I think, and I wouldn't enjoy it. I want a beginning, middle, and end to everything I do -- well, with the exception of the actual quilting, which does lag behind, as I said.

Moira in N.E. England

Thank you for all your informative messages - I’ve enjoyed reading them!

Moira in N.E. England

Yes, the same word can mean different things in different countries.
In the UK a cushion goes on a seat or sofa, a pillow goes on a bed!

osewme

When I first started quilting I vowed (sort of) to not start on another project until I had the one I was working on finished. The lady that got me into machine quilting had lots of tops made but they just hung around like that....tops only. My thought was why make tops if you never complete them. I have had to put aside something I'm working on if I needed to whip out a baby quilt or wedding gift in the middle of my incomplete project. Right now I have only one WIP which is blocks for a king size quilt for our bed. I do put that on the back burner since it's been going on for about 3 years now. It is my 2019 goal to get it finished this year but if a gift is needed in the meantime I will set it aside for making the gift.