2023 Final Countdown, Task Three
Posted on December 31, 2023 by prairiemoonquilts in The Final CountdownHere we are, already at the final day of The 15th Annual Final Countdown! If you’re just now finding this, it’s not too late to join in. You can start right HERE and catch up with us!
I hope you’ve accomplished a lot with the first two tasks to give yourself a good start on the new year, which, by the way, starts TOMORROW!
We have one final task to tackle. I usually make this task a “thinking” task, just to give us a break from the hard labor of the first two tasks (giggle). This is a task that will make us take stock of what we have going on, what we need to do, and what we plan to do going forward with this fresh new year.
And, due to popular demand, we are doing this again!
Our third and final task is:
Perform a Project Assessment
We did this one back in 2018, and you can get some ideas from that previous post HERE, but here’s some more stuff to think about as you do this one . . .
• Do you even have a list of what projects you have going on? If not, do you need one? If yes, does it need to be updated?
• Do you need to reorganize your list(s) to make it easier to use and decipher? I have my lists divided into categories: large quilts, small quilts, tops that need to be quilted, vintage projects, and business projects for others. You may not need this many categories, or you may not have a very large list, so you can keep them all on one list.
• The projects on the list: Do you need to get rid of some of them? Change your plans about some of them? Are there any that would be quick to finish so you can mark them completely off the list?
• Go through and prioritize the list. If there are some with deadlines, some you want to gift away sooner rather than later, some you want to finish so you can start using them right away, some that are true long-term labors of love that you are slowly working on over time, some that are simply leader/enders with no set time frame for finishing — list them in order of finishing importance.
• Do some scheduling. If you find you need to make some appointments with a longarm quilter, make a trip to the quilt store for some supplies, or plan out a project to meet a deadline, get those things on your calendar so you don’t forget to do them.
This past week, I went through my to-be-quilted bins (yes, there are two large ones) and pulled out all the quilts that I want to quilt up quickly to donate to my guild for their Comfort Quilt stash. They are running low, so if I can finish these soon, they will be gone from my house (before we move). After that, I will go back and pull out all the smallest and easiest ones just to make the list go down faster. Then, I’ll move on to the larger and more custom ones that will take longer. I will have to fit these in between customer quilts on my longarm, and any quilts I’m making that have deadlines, but hopefully, I can whittle down the number this year. (I consider myself lucky that it only went up by 2 over the last year!)
I’m also going through my UFOs little by little. Choosing the quickest-to-finish ones first, and taking stock of the others to see what I will do with them. Some get downsized, some get taken off the list altogether, and the others will be getting prioritized as I work my way through this project assessment task.
Some of you have said you finished so many projects last year, and have really been tackling the UFOs, and I’m so proud of you for that! I know it feels good to finish things and have the projects more under control. Frankly, I’m not sure how I let mine get so out of control, but it’s time to rein it in!
And I love making lists, so this task is always right up my alley! I’m off to look them over and get them updated!
Here’s to a fresh start for all of us beginning tomorrow! (You DO know I’ll be in bed well before 10:00 tonight, right?)
Happy New Year!
This one is easy for me. I keep a running list of projects and patterns I want to complete. It had 75 on it from 2023, adding as I see something I want to create. I completed 24 projects this year so the list is down considerably. Fifteen of the completed were UFOs and the rest were start to finish. So I will work on the scraps.
I have updated the UFO/WIP page on my blog.
https://shesstitchinagain.blogspot.com/p/project-list_60.html
And progress was made on the scraps.
Yes i like lists even if i don’t follow it! I really want to do this one so can take stock of commitments, gifts, and just want to do. Have finished the other 2 tasks so since i don’t feel good – will take it slow & enjoy (😉).
I will make the list….. I find I doing every thing except what is on the list.!!!!
Randy
I have completed task number 3!
I’m SEW glad this was the third task. I always need to do it for my two guilds and hadn’t tackled it yet. However, this task prompted me to not only list everything out as I usually do, but to prioritize them into high/medium/low for the first time. I also noted a few that I probably need to drop and made a note to check a couple of places where I think I also have some kits I haven’t listed/prioritized yet.
I’ve done the 350 block challenge for several years, but this was the first time I’ve done The Final Countdown. Very helpful – forcing me to actually accomplish these tasks. Onward to 2024!!!
This is something I have been working on in my head, but it will be good to list them out, so I can actually see them and see how much is getting accomplished. I have so much that I want to do. Clean out my sewing room by finishing the UFO’s and cleaning out the fabric.
I love to make lists too! Most of my projects are reasonably under control, but I do have those older projects that I didn’t even know I have, or I need a bit of motivation to finish them up. So I decided to list those and join the Chookshed Stitchers 2024 Challenge. I blogged today, so my list is ‘out there’ for all the world to see. I really would like to see these done and out of the sewing studio and off any list! That ought to do it! Right?! 🙂
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I really need this. I like your idea of different types of lists. I have an old one that needs updating so I think i will try lists by types. BTW it was very helpful to go through my string bin (task one). I still have a long way to go but I did some sorting, pitching and researching ideas to use the strips.
I, too, am a list-lover. They keep me focused and include the great pleasure of marking things off.
Here is my report: https://weddingdressblue.wordpress.com/2024/01/01/2023-final-countdown-task-three/
My list may need to go to categories, since it is very long. Tackled this last year and got a good start of what was in progress & worked on at least one UFO if not more a month.
Looking back over last years list, I started only 12 new projects, completed 5 tops and one baby quilt. This tells me it’s time to focus on finishing projects. One thought I had was to check into a local hotel and sew-sew-sew with no distractions!
When I started quilting about four years ago I was determined to only work on one project at a time. Well, that didn’t last very long. I now have numerous projects in varying stages of completion. I do not want a list because that puts pressure on me to complete them. This is supposed to be relaxing. The only list I make is COMPLETED projects, so that is what I will work on.
Do you know where i can download the 2024 project list and the monthly block count list?
Well I cleared the ironing surface for task #2 and since that was piled up with Christmas projects and UFOs it moved me right into task #3. I continued thru another lower cabinet and the tv cabinet. I found the pineapple quilt I had cut out but never started and so much more! I’ve disassembled several “kits” and the fabric is piling up so I will have to do task #1 over again. 😱 I still have the bookcase behind my design wall where many more “kits” and UFOs and fabric is stored to go thru next. Lots of decisions but I find myself keeping much more than than my good intentions to be ruthless.
Have all ready been making lists. One of my quilting friends and I have decided to make a list of one small project for each month. We hope that by doing this, those months where we are having problems getting to our machines we still get a small project done. Some of my list comprises of table runners that need to be quilted. I am also getting a list together of projects (BOM and Kits) that are here.
This is my favorite task! I feel such closer when I get my lists all complete. I got my updates written in! Now to get it updated on the computer and printed it off.
I took pictures of the projects I hadn’t and printed out all of those out. I keep physical photo albums of each project I’ve done. I LOVE looking back at what I’ve done. And I love checking off things on my list that I’ve completed.
My list of “to do’s” is getting smaller!
I make lists and change them often Should I say update? lol
I already did my list on New Years Eve. It is my annual ritual as I wait up for the clock to tick over. So I will once again check over the previous years tasks and choose one of those instead. Most likely one involving putting away paper, pattern and magazine clutter. I have some of it in pretty much every room! Tsk …
Yay I finished a mostly accounting of projects for task #3. Thanks for the project list page. Now all 3 tasks are done and i hope i can follow and stay on task!
So I pulled out my lists and decided to just jot down 12 of the easiest things to complete, to start with. Last year, I made a list of accomplishments over the year, and was surprised at what I’d got done, so I’ll be doing that as well this year. Good luck to everyone. Hope it’s a productive year for us all!
I’m glad you did this prompt. A friend of mine coincidentally asked me if I was going to do a reckoning for the year and I told her I sometimes do and don’t but thought I should check my lists when I did I realize there were a lot of things that were not written out, so I wrote them on a separate sheet, and was really happy with all the things I had accomplished this year.
Because I saw your prompt I decided to go ahead and make my lists for 2024, so I’m ready to face the new year. Thank you.
I keeps lots of lists. I updated the lists and printed new pages. Thanks for the encouragement.