I really enjoyed finishing this trio of batik quilts for Project Linus this week. I was definitely in the mood to try new things quilting wise on these 40" by 40" quilts and I like the results of my experiments. Simple pattern + fun fabrics + wavy quilting = good finishes!
Batik Noodle Recipe 3 has the prettiest assortment of batik blocks I think - I love the purples, blues and greens in this quilt. It is my 50th UFO Finish in 2013... I am confident that I will finish out the year ahead of my goal for one UFO Finish a week. That's exciting!
This was the first one that I quilted... kind of a warm-up for my play on the other two I guess. I used bright teal Connecting Threads Essential thread which doesn't really show well on my pictures but looks great in real life.
I used the same backing and binding batiks as I did on Batik Noodle Recipe 1. That binding fabric worked out nicely on all 3 of these quilts.
Next up on my UFO list for quilting is Cool Sparkles. I'm planning to quilt along both sides of the diagonal lines of the HSTs.
I've been doing a lot of thinking about UFOs lately in relation to 2014. After pushing on them hard for the last 13 months I'm trying to decide if it would be better to keep at them through the winter and really pare my UFO Collection down to the "It's OK to be a UFO" Collection or to consider 15 months (by year end) long enough and scale back my focus.
I'm hoping it will become clearer to me over the next 2 months. I don't want to burn out on quilting... but on the other hand it would feel so great to clear the deck and start fresh. While you are on a roll do you stay with it? Would another 3 months of UFO Busting be 3 too many? Which way would you go - I'm quite interested to hear your thoughts!
I think you will know when to say "enough" with keeping your focus on the UFOs. It brings you a lot of satisfaction, but so does starting a new project. Project Linus is going to love you when you deliver all of the cute quilts for the kiddos.
ReplyDeleteI think it will become clear to you when you need a change of pace. It might be best to finish as many as you can before the end of the year and start fresh. Maybe the goal is one UFO a month and then work on new projects. My goal for 2014 is to make new quilts, but do one UFO of mine and one of mom's per month. I've really finished up a lot this year and most of the UFO's are bigger quilts, so I have put them off until I get the frame bigger which will be next year. I also have a lot of project kits that aren't started yet and I would like to work on those next year, because they will be "new" projects to start.
ReplyDeleteI think it would all depend on how big my UFO pile was. Some projects are destined to stay unfinishd, or reimagined, others are just waiting for my skill set to catch up with my inspiration.
ReplyDeleteUFO Busting - my thought on this subject...
ReplyDeleteStick with it for as long as you want. If it is feeling right to keep going - Keep Going!!! Love the process, enjoy the thrill of 'another one is done' (sung to the theme of 'bites the dust'!! ;-) ), and keep up the pace as long as it is still being fun and enjoyable!!
If the 'fun' is gone, then you are now wearing out yourself for what??? Punishment?? Uh, this 'hobby' is to create a break from "have-to's'", not create more of them. So, you keep going on the UFO`s until you just need a break - and you have done an absolutely fantastic job on your goal - you are amazing!!!! If you want to keep busting up the pile and keep going - Keep GOING!!!! But do not do it if it is making you sad or feeling like the magic is leaving... then you need to listen to your feeling and do what is right.
By the way, I LOVE the wavy lines you used to quilt those Linus projects!!! They looked fantastic and now I want to (bite the bullet!!) and learn to do my own quilting and these lines,, well, they look BEAUTIFUL!! on these projects and so they have inspired me to use it on my things too!! Thank-you for that.
You will know when it is time to stop your challenge. And, if you want to keep going, yet want to do something `new`, stick the new in between your UFO`s!!! And watch your battery`s re-charge with every project in 2014!! :-)
Having fallen way short of my own goals for finishing UFOs and WiPs during 2013, I, too, am considering what I want to do next year. I want to focus on learning new techniques but I also want to get some of the UFOs out of the way, so I'm considering "Something Old, Something New" as my theme for 2014! You should stick at it for as long as it continues to inspire you and you can be sure there will be several Linky parties around encouraging you to do just that!
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