Calling Our Shots for the UFO Challenge

We are less than a month away from our UFO Challenge! 

Have you been working on your UFOs yet?  If so…awesome!  We can’t wait to see what you’ve done.  If not…you still have time to get started!  You can finish as much as you like, but minimally one thing.  We can manage one thing, right?  

Don’t know about our UFO Challenge?  Check out the original post here: https://keizercottonpatch.blogspot.com/2022/03/coming-august-2022-ufo-challenge.html

Being about a month out, it's getting to be about time to call our shots.  I thought it might be good to share the projects we’re planning to have done – we aren’t just walking the walk, you know?  We have skin in the game (no prizes for us though…those are all yours!) But in going through my UFOs and choosing what I want have ready for our UFO Challenge, I started to observe a couple undeniable trends.

I don’t have any projects that haven’t been started.  All of my UFOs have been started in some fashion, and only a couple are in the block assembly phase.  Don’t worry – that’s not a brag.  My slice(s) of humble pie are coming.  While I am pretty good at not compiling TBD projects and pretty good about getting blocks done…it’s clear I struggle in two key areas: 

1. Once the quilt top is done…I’m done.  It appears once I finish a quilt top it goes into the Bin of Shame with the (many) other finished quilt tops, and there they stay into perpetuity. 
2. When I do manage to get a quilt quilted…apparently unless it’s a shop sample we need done now, it goes into the Pile of Shame to enter the war of attrition.      

As you go through your UFOs, what trends do you notice?  Maybe you really enjoy choosing fabrics and getting things pre-cut, but struggle getting started.  It could be you have no problem getting started, but if it’s a big project your enthusiasm fizzles after your 400th HST.  You might be great at getting projects done but have a hard time getting them through quilting.  Or maybe, you too loathe doing bindings.   

Whatever the case is, knowing where in the process your projects go from projects to UFOs is really helpful because then you can figure out how to avoid the pitfalls that make you set a project aside.  If big projects get overwhelming in a hurry, break it down into manageable chunks.  Sometimes a quilt is a marathon instead of a sprint, but that doesn’t mean you have to do all the blocks at once!  Mete them out in a way that makes sense and feels good to you.  If you also dislike doing binding, try another method.  Now that I have the hang of it (because WOW my first few were rooooough), I am more likely to finish a quilt if I do machine binding versus binding by hand.  Do I prefer the look of hand binding?  Yes. Do I hate doing hand binding?  Also yes. So why fight it? Machine binding it is, and I have found I am finishing more of those fast.  If you struggle to get started, consider pre-cutting so it’s easier just to sit down and sew when you can.  Just because you’ve approached your process a certain way for a long time, doesn’t mean you can’t change tack if there’s a part of the process you don’t enjoy as much.  Like I said in the first UFO Challenge post (linked above), just because you started a project a certain way, doesn’t mean you are locked into finishing it according to that plan.  It’s just fine to change your mind. 

So, all that considered, what does it mean for the UFO Challenge?  Whelp, for me it means there’s a lot of low hanging fruit sitting there in the Pile of Shame waiting for bindings.  I looked, and a few of those are YEARS old.  (Have I mentioned I don’t like to do bindings?)  So let me call those shots…I have NINE UFOs that just need their stupid bindings put on and sewn down.  So I will stop being a whiny baby, and get those bindings done.  I also have seven pillowcases on the Shelf of Shame that need to be done.  One pair is for the bed quilt I made for us…TEN YEARS AGO.  So, I think I can manage to eek out those pillowcases.  The plan had been to use the French seam method, but I think I’m more willing to whip these out on the serger.  And, while I can’t call her shots for her, I know Mom is finishing the quilting on her Swamp Star to have ready, and has another star quilt following that.  She too mentioned several unfinished bindings but I don’t think I can commit her to those just yet (believe me, I’m trying).

UFO Challenge at The Cotton Patch

August 13, 2022, 10:30am

Finish your UFOs - as many as you want - and bring them for Show and Tell! 

Let's celebrate our creativity, ingenuity, and resourcefulness in reimaging our UFOs with some good eats and prizes (not more fabric, Promise!  Think tools and useful notions to help get through that Stash)!  

Coming August 2022: UFO Challenge!

We're not talking about that kind of UFO sighting (if so, we have some questions)

If you're a quilter, odds are good you have some UFOs (Un-Finished Objects) lurking around your sewing space somewhere.  Diane was in her sewing room recently and observed an unfinished project that is so old the fabrics are being reprinted.  Heck, I have some UFOs from WELL before I graduated college...in 2010...UFOs.  All the cool kids have them, and beginners will have them eventually.  

But why though?  Why do we stop working on projects we once started with gusto?  Maybe we fall out of love with the colors or prints.  Maybe we bit off more than we could chew at the time.  Maybe life got busy or weird and we had no choice but to set it aside.  Maybe we got the top done but lose motivation when it comes to getting it quilted and bound. There's as many reasons as there are leaves on trees.  

So what happens then when we get a pile/box/cabinet of stuff we haven't finished?  Designate it as someone's inheritance?  Probably not.  But what we can do is reimagine it.  Just because you start a project a certain way or with certain fabrics doesn't mean it has to stay that way until you get the will to finish it. Consider changing it up - consider swapping the pieces you're not wild about with something you like more, changing how you arrange your blocks, and changing the finished size.  Start a California King and lost your want to?  Finish it as a lap quilt.  Don't like the fabrics anymore and wonder what on earth you were thinking?  There's no shame at all in breaking that project apart and putting the fabric back into your stash to live another day.  

2022 is all about making use of what we have and taking new approaches to familiar things.  So here's our  challenge to you (yes, you!):

UFO Challenge at The Cotton Patch

August 13, 2022

Finish your UFOs - as many as you want - and bring them for Show and Tell! 

Let's celebrate our creativity, ingenuity, and resourcefulness in reimaging our UFOs with some good eats and prizes (not more fabric, Promise!  Think tools and useful notions to help get through that Stash)!  

Don't worry - we'll be walking our talk too...Diane and Lauren will be working on their own UFOs to share! 

No Sewing Mojo? No Problem!

While we live and breath everything quilting, even the most avid quilter gets a case of the blahs and loses their sewing mojo.  Nothing sounds appealing to make.  Inspiration? *shrug*. Want-to?  Nada.  So does that mean it's time to pack it up and call it a day on quilting?  Nope.  It just means we need to have a look at what stole our mojo, and see what it takes to get excited for sewing again.  Here's a few things to consider:

Take a Break
Yes, it's allowed.  Sometimes we have cranked out too many projects too fast and we're just kind of sick of sewing for a bit and need a little space to get the want-to back.  Sometimes the brain needs a little refresh and it's hard to do when you haven't taken the time.  And, I get it.  It's hard to make the time (what even is spare time)?  Life is...chaotic.  I'm not sure anyone has made it through the last couple years totally unscathed.  We're all  t i r e d and there's no sense in adding pressure by beating yourself up for not having the energy to do the thing.  Take the time to rest.  Get some good sleep.  If you're not getting good sleep, get that checked out.  Feeling low about everything that's gone on and can't shake it?  Maybe get that checked out too.  There's no shame in the self-care game.  It's hard to do the stuff you want to do if you're not doing well to start with. Pick it back up when you're feeling better - it's not like your sewing machine will grow feet and walk away in the mean time (if it does, that's a story I'd LOVE to hear more about).  What does a "break" look like?  That's totally up to you and what you need.  Maybe it's a week.  Maybe it's a year.  Regardless, taking the time you need to rejuvenate is time very well spent.  

Clean Up/Rearrange Your Sewing Area
Neeeeeat...who doesn't just love choreing. But as unappealing as cleaning your sewing area might sound, it can be a good way to break out of the sewing rut. I know that for one, I find it overwhelming to try create something when I have stuff all over the place getting in my way (literally or visually), so I mean, that's one benefit.  But really, you get to rediscover some cool stuff you maybe forgot you had.  I can't even tell you how many neat books I've reacquainted with while cleaning, and then got jazzed about something I saw while I leafed through (while yeah, I "should" have been cleaning).  When we rearrange things a bit sometimes we find a piece of fabric in the stash that just calls out and inspires after a second look.  When tidying up notions, you might find a ruler you bought and thought was cool at one point, but put away and forgot about it.  Maybe pulling that ruler out again might spark an idea, or a desire to give it another try.  

Go Through Your UFOs
We have allll been there.  We start a thing, see some shiny new fabric or book, and start a new thing. What happens to Thing 1?  Into the UFO bin never to see the light of day again until ???.  If you're already not feeling like sewing, going through old projects you lost time for or interest in may seem counterintuitive.  But taking a dive into the ol' UFO stack might as well be a trip through the cupboard to Narnia.  Sure, we may not meet Mr. Tumnus, but we will certainly meet some oldies but goodies that are worth revisiting.  Just because something ended up in the UFO pile never meant it was a bad project - maybe we got sidetracked, or had to switch tasks and forgot about it, or maybe even bit off more than we could chew at the time.  You may find a project that inspires you to finish it.  

Get Real About Time Management
Well, if that isn't some gross office lingo.  But time management is everything whether we consciously think about it or not.  Time is a commodity that, like money, for some weird reason simply refuses to grow on trees.  We all only get twenty-four measly hours and we have to spend a good chunk of that time on sleeping, eating, and working (whatever it is that "work" means for you).  I don't know where this idea came from, but we don't have to spend hours sewing.  We may want to, but it's not required.  If you have been feeling like "Well, since I don't have hours to commit, I might as well not bother"...it might be time to look at time management sideways.   Maybe we can't make a sew day work, but what if we can make an hour work?  Or fifteen minutes spent pre-cutting a project so you can just sit and sew later when you have more time?  It doesn't have to be a large time expenditure, especially if you don't have large pockets of time.  Any time spent sewing is time well spent.  And if you don't feel like you can make it work, refer to Item #1.  

Change It Up
As much as this feels like blasphemy to say on a quilt shop's quilt blog...if you have the itch to make something but simply can't get motivated to make a quilt...make something else.  There's a plethora of sewing projects that yield something practical - bags, rice heat packs, little wallets, stuff for our pets, notebook covers, soft books, fidget "quilts" (they're more like little lap mats), etc.  Pinterest is your friend! Have you ever tried embroidery or cross stitch?  Maybe now's the time to try it.  What about knitting or crochet?  There's TONS of videos out there showing you how (for real, this kid is AMAZING - Jonah's Hands).  Maybe now's the time to dust off the ol' Bob Ross tapes and try painting a little happy something.  There's all kinds of stuff old and new to try. 

Visit Your Local Quilt Shop
That's not a sales pitch!  Nothing feels quite as crappy as feeling obligated ot buy something when you're not in the mindset to do the thing.  But what taking a walk through your LQS can do for you is fill your eyes with beautiful colors and patterns - the fabrics, the samples, and the atmosphere of being with people who have a passion for quilting.   You don't have to buy a single thing, but the love of quilting is infectious.  You may well walk out wanting to get back into your sewing space to try out something you saw there, or just to look at and enjoy the fabrics you have at home.  

These are certainly not hard and fast rules, or even the only things you can do to get that spark back.  This looks different for everyone!  What has helped you get back at it?  Let us know in the comments below.