How do you solve a problem like Maria 88 UFOs? Have a dramatic tantrum complete with sobbing and flailing about followed by locking yourself in your quilting room for days on end? Or just throw up your hands and lock yourself OUT of your quilting room?
My plan works like this. For every 5 UFO finishes I get to pick a reward from my Quilting Wish List. Right now it is full of books & patterns because I recently bought fabric after I finished Snowy Stars.
And, after 10 UFO finishes I get to start a NEW project. WOO! That is super motivating for me. Since I'm not there yet I don't have a list started, but I have a few in mind. A few... Lol. That is funny.
Of course I will be keeping a UFO Countdown and blogging about my progress. 2013 will be The Year of The UFOs for me.
I was lucky enough to win not one but two blog give-aways recently! Cindy at Tops to Treasures had a give-away to celebrate reaching the 100 follower mark and drew my number on her father's birthday. Read here about the amazing quilt she designed using Cuzco candy charms that is featured on Moda Bake Shop. An adorable Mary Engelbreit book marker and some turkey sticky notes were a surprise bonus!
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| Pink, White & Black Strings |
What a great quilt! Well done for knocking a UFO off your list and thanks for linking up to TGIFF! Currently I'm just trying to sew things I love and not stressing about UFOs but oddly I seem to be finishing more since I've taken the pressure off :)
ReplyDeleteI love the quilt, really bright, and black and pink is a great contrast! I dont know one quilter/sewer that stays UFO free, ther eis always something unfinished, maybe you just need to set yourself an upper limit and never go over that, once you have managed to wrestle them all into submission that is! Great idea to incentivise yourself to get the numbers down. Ange : )
ReplyDeletebeautiful quilt! i have 2 that i need to get done but i am working on 5 now so?
ReplyDeleteLOL!! You are *my* kind of person. :D I put myself on a very similar UFO-busting strategy two Januaries ago. Works really well. It's also why I started my BOMs Away linkies, because maybe 18 of those UFOs were block-of-the-month projects. So, now my actually-started-work-on UFO list is down from 48 to 30, and there are (dare I say it) 75 untouched kits/project sets in my quilt storage room.
ReplyDeleteYour P.I.T.A. is amazing. :) I am not a pink person, but that quilt really calls to me. So if it turns up missing, just mosey on over to my place. ;D (just kidding)
I love your UFO idea, I might just have to join you on that one. Your quilt is so stunning, I can only imagine what P.I.T.A stands for.
ReplyDeleteSeriously Deb you are a on a roll with the finishes! The pink quilt is absolutely wonderful. And I am seriously loving your reward idea. Off to write my reward list now.
ReplyDeleteLove the Friday Finish quilt. Both the colors and design. I have a bunch of UFOs and when they get to be overwhelming I have a "quilting binge" day. Here is a post I did about this very subject a while ago....check it out. http://kwiltypleasures.blogspot.com/2012/01/binge-kwilting.html
ReplyDeleteThnx
You post made me smile. I too have a lot of UFO's. But I am not sure that I want to try and count them all, I might be able to beat you 88! I did just finish Sea Garden and am pulling another ufo out to work on.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I recently was able to cross of my UFO list a quilt top. A lady at curves wanted to purchase a different quilt top of mine to have quilted and then use in a fundraiser but she didn't have the $$ and was going to have to raise that. So instead, I GAVE her another quilt top from my pile that I had no interest in finishing or had any attachment to. She was thrilled as someone else donated a backing. So I can cross that off my UFO list, I did a good deed and made someone's day!
What a beautiful quilt! You're finishing those UFO's at an admirable speed, that's for sure. I like your 'reward plan' - it's a win-win situation! :)
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your wins! I have two Monster Bash mini charm packs. They are just the right size (for me, at least) for hexagons.
I know I'm a no-reply blogger, but can't seem to figure out how to change that...
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Another beautiful finish, Deb! Love the colour combination - it's so pretty!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your wins, too!
Awesome job on another finish! I do have grand plans to reward myself when I finish ufos, but it never really works for me. So now I'm just trying to focus on completing things to clear out my studio so 2013 can be a year of stretching out of my creative comfort zone.
ReplyDeleteI am not UFO-free, but I have less than 10. I am very motivated by finishes, so they don't tend to pile up. But, I do keep a list and having them in front of my eyes regularly makes it harder to ignore them.
ReplyDeleteYay! Only 87! And what a lovely quilt #88 was, even if it's nickname is PITA. :)
ReplyDeleteI have a strict no-counting policy with my UFOs. I'm pretty sure the number would be scary ;) I tried giving myself a deadline to finish them all, but that didn't work. Now I have a rough 'finish 3, start 1' rule, which seems to be better. Also, I have decided some UFOs will be finished much smaller than originally intended, and some will be abandoned as long as the fabric gets used for something else. I recently finished a 72x90 quilt backed entirely with fabric from abandoned projects. And the top was all scraps. Good luck with your UFO goals! and thanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteI like this quilt. Nice choice in the colors and pattern. I keep my UFO count pretty low these days but my history has one that lasted decades. Before I really knew about quilting I took on a project of making one out of my dads handkerchiefs after he died. I got frustrated with the project and it sat in my closet for 20 years. Finally I got it finished. Now years later and much wiser to the ways of quilting I find that I want to redo it!
ReplyDeleteThe pink string quilt is great. So pretty! And your giveaway fabric is yummy! I have been working hard on UFO projects two. It is good to set some goals like you have.
ReplyDeleteWow, stunning quilt! I'm working on one that is ALL hand sewn...the graddaughter will be one in February...maybe I'll have it done by then, lol. Stopping by from Sew Many Ways Blog Hop.
ReplyDeleteYour quilt looks great! We linked up thru Find a Friend Friday at Sew Many Ways. Happy, happy!
ReplyDeleteOmgosh! 88!!! Did I read that right!? I have two right now! Lol I try to always finish a project before starting another. If there is something I REALLY want to make, I force myself to finish what I'm working on first, or no sewing at all!
ReplyDeleteI love that pink quilt, it's beautiful!
I motivate myself to finish UFOs by creating a list that I post in the sidebar of my blog. This forces me to see it frequently. It works well enough. I usually don't stress too much over them - of course, I don't have 88 of them, either!!
ReplyDeleteLove the string quilt, and good for you for knocking out a UFO, especially a PITA one! I like your motivational strategy. Hope you get everything on your list!
ReplyDeletehere from TGIFF - your finish is really lovely!
ReplyDeleteDeb, I laughed as I read your post, as I had just decided to do the same thing myself, except that I was going to use DVD's as a reward as I have so much already to use up!! Your string quilt has turned out beautifully.
ReplyDeleteYour string quilt is gorgeous! I was never a huge bright/hot pink fan and now I LOVE it!!
ReplyDeleteMaria did have quite a few problems. :) I'm impressed with your strategy. Good luck!! And your string quilt is beautiful! Love the color combinations.
ReplyDeleteYour P.I.T.A. is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteI love the reward system too. I have been procrastinating quilting a twister quilt, that's how I came across your blog :) Going to add you to my reader and then get at my quilting! You have inspired me to finish it up!