There is a laundry basket beside my sewing table that holds about 30 UFOs. Last year I numbered them and drew two numbers each month and tried to complete them during the month. It worked pretty well and I finished quite a few projects. During my annual cleaning I pulled a number of additional UFOs and added them to the depleted basket, wrote up a new list of numbers and pulled out two for January.
The projects this month have just been overwhelming and frustrating. The first number was a Kansas Trouble charm pack project. It was abandoned because of this:
The border is too short. When I realized I didn’t have enough fabric, I re-measured and checked my receipt. Sure enough, it was 1/4 yard less than what I had asked (and paid) for. I bought it on an out of town trip so wasn’t worth it to go back and get the right amount.
I don’t like to piece outer borders but I will have to on this one….when I find the fabric again. That’s right, I can find THREE border strips and that’s it. The fourth border strip and remaining hunk of fabric has gone MIA. I searched all the logical places it could be hiding, but so far haven’t found it. This one goes back in the pile until the fabric shows up. If I get down to my very last UFO and it still hasn’t appeared, I have a substitute fabric, but it’s not quite as good as the original.
The second number drawn was Folk Art Fancies. I didn’t even remember what that was, but once I found it, realized it would be more than a one month project. It was a block of the month and ONE block was finished. I pulled out the picture and pattern sheets and decided the one block would become a Halloween pillow. I’m just not into folk art like I once was and calendar projects like this strike a little discord in me. When do you display them? I don’t really want to see a Christmas block in July. Only background and a few other fabrics were in the bag so those went to stash and scraps.
With the first project on hold and the second an easy finish, I pulled another number. This was a table runner kit and the bag contained the pattern and fabric cut for the runner, along with scraps from a previous table runner I made from the same pattern. This was another easy decision. I don’t need another Christmas table runner so all the fabric went into the scrap bin. With 83 years worth of UFOs (see my 2016 year end review post here), I can be selective about the projects I work on.
So, onto the next number. It is a braid project I started two or three years ago. It will be a donation quilt and I have four braids complete. After auditioning a number of fabrics, I found a pea soup colored green stripe that works well. Naively, I thought I could just sew sashing strips between the four pieced braids and call it good. But nooooo, I decided the braids should go in opposite directions so in order to have symmetry, I need another braid. I KNOW I cut enough pieces to make about 10 braids, but again, can’t locate the box they are in. This is what happens when I clean my sewing room and move things around. I can picture the box with all the little strips neatly stacked inside, but have no idea where the box could be. So frustrating!
It would be much easier and so soothing to just pull out some fabrics and start a new project, but I won’t. I’m going down to my sewing room, load a top on the frame and quilt for awhile. Then I’ll cross my fingers and draw a new number.
my Ufo list is playing out pretty much the same as yours. sigh. I wish you great luck – your finishes last year were great.
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE YOUR IDEA for managing UFOs! Awesome! If i had the fabric for your border I would send it to you. You know, you could post a picture of it on Instagram with the #quiltywishes. It’s a way to get a wish granted. You can search the hashtag and perhaps be someone else’s fairy godmother! Great idea about the pillow for your Halloween block!
Your determination is to be admired. You’ve greatly encouraged me as I, too, am working my way through UFOs this year! Thank you for sharing!