Studio Organizing, Week 13

Posted on March 26, 2015 by prairiemoonquilts in Studio Organizing Challenge

I love the feeling of having cleaned out and organized a drawer!

Now I know exactly what’s in there, I got rid of a few things I don’t need, and I organized the things I’m keeping.

drawer2

There are still 4 more drawers in just this one cabinet, and they all need to be cleaned out at some point, so I may repeat this one yet again. You realize, by the time I get through them all, it’ll be time to start over — ugh!

But for now, 2 of the drawers are clean, and it’s time to move on to this week’s task:

Work on your one UFO that is closest to finished

This may not be your oldest UFO, but it should be the one that is so close to done, it’ll only take you a little bit of concentrated effort to finish it up.

Get one more project off your unfinished list and onto the done pile.

Do you have a project that only needs the binding put on? Perhaps only just needs the binding whipped down? A top that only needs the borders to be called ready to quilt? A tote bag that needs its handles? A pillow that needs a form? A piece of embroidery that just needs a few final stitches? You get the idea . . .

My project for this task is this wool penny rug. My friend, Joy, cut all the circles for me with her die cutter, and I drug it around to work on for a long time, and still don’t have it finished.

pennyrug

I found it last week, while doing some other organizing, and frankly, wondered why I don’t have it done yet. Really! Why? It’s so close. I just need to finish putting the backs on all the circles and tack them together. Why did I quit so close to the finish line?

pennyrug2

How about you?

What project have you stopped working on just as you approached the finish line?

What item do you have laying around just needing the few final stitches to call it done?

What will you work on this week?

I’d also like to know, just out of curiosity, what made you stop so close to the end? I’m seriously trying to figure out why I do that — get so close to done and then put it away and forget about it? I could have had it done and been using it all this time already. Instead, it’s still taking up room in the unfinished pile.

Is it because the final step is difficult?

Is it because we get bored with it, now that we know what it’s going to look like?

Is it simply the pull of another new shiny project instead? Look, Squirrel!

0 responses to “Studio Organizing, Week 13”

  1. Kathy says:

    Oh my. I have a lot of ufo’s. I have one that just needs to be trimmed then the binding and done. Queen size. But between having daughter in the hospital for kidney stones and taking hubby to the VA an hour and a half away, I don’t have the energy. But maybe this weekend? Nope, that’s taken up also. Church event and then Sunday church again, then Sunday afternoon I just relax and veg out. Maybe Monday??? Who knows. Carpenter still coming every afternoon getting floors done upstairs. Sigh! Too doggone busy.

  2. Rose Marie says:

    I threw a UFO on my to-be-quilted pile this week. It was really all done. The original artist had added some personalized embroidery around the outer border and I really didn’t like it. But I laid my project aside thinking that I would personalize mine sometime in the oh so nebulous future. Looking at it now with new eyes, I realized it didn’t have to have that embroidery to be a happy wall quilt. So now to just quilt it. But first I have to quilt a great grandbaby panel quilt.

  3. Barb B says:

    I actually have two active UFO projects:
    1. A take-along–whipping down binding.
    2. Setting 1 1/2″ half-square triangles together. Only 20 more sets to sew and trim, then I’ll put them all together.

    Why did I stop working on it?
    Because I was sewing them together as “leaders/enders” for another project that I put away. The next few projects I finished didn’t require a “leader/ender”, so I didn’t do any more on it. It is hanging on my design wall, just staring at me.

    I’d say, overall, that I stop on projects because of the following:
    1. Distraction (a.k.a. “Squirrel Syndrome”) Something better/newer/shinier/faster comes along.
    2. Boredom (I’m tired of making 200 of this block…)
    3. I’ve already “completed” the project in my head. Sometimes I will plan the entire project from start to finish and then I’m really “done” with it. It takes a lot of energy and effort to actually execute the project.

    So, those are my excuses. Time to trim and get crackin’ on those half-square triangles!

  4. Pam in KC says:

    Reasons for a project becoming a UFO

    #1 something else needs to take priority – that graduation quilt I’ve been putting off, a new baby quilt, etc.

    #2 block sets I don’t know what to do with. I was in a bunch of swaps when I first started quilting, some have made it into tops, others are still waiting for inspiration.

    #3 ran into an issue and I need to think about it. Although now I can’t remember which quilt it was, I through one in the corner and it kept getting moved around for over a year. I finally sat down and fixed the issue and wondered what I was thinking.

    #4 it’s taking too long to finish and I want to work on something else – happens most frequently with projects that don’t have a destination.

    #5 it was a long term project anyway– now it’s just a longer term project

    #6 I need more fabric to finish the project – usually borders.

    The above typically only apply to a quilt before it get’s to the top stage. My tops are just that tops waiting to be quilted. They have their own set of issues.

    #1 my vision and quilting skills aren’t aligning. I’m doing my best to get over this.

    #2 money – especially if I don’t know what I’m going to do with the quilt. If it has a destination, I generally can find the money/resources to get the backing, batting and quilting time. I’m ok w/pieced backing and “Frankenbatts”.

    So what project is closest to being finished? Can I count the one I finished last night? A pre-printed baby quilt just needed the satin blanket binding attached. I was given the sack just after Christmas. Of course I think she had been trying to get it to me for 3 years.

    I’m not sure what my next closet finish is, but I was looking for the backing for Orca Bay when I tripped over the baby quilt and decided to get it done to get it outa here!

  5. Cindy says:

    I was thinking about pulling out a quilt to finish up, and then remembered the table runner(s) that I found a couple of days ago while straightening up my bins of smaller pieces of fabric I have sorted by color.

    I actually think there are three in various stages of completion. Why they got set aside, I have no idea. I don’t even remember starting them. I think I made some, and I gave one away as a gift, and then got tired of them. It was the ones made from the border fabric.

  6. Meloney says:

    What made me stop so close to the end? I think it is timing. This quilt does not want to be finished. It has been around since 2008. I didn’t have backing. Now I’m not sure about it, but I think I’m using it NOW. LOL

  7. Emma says:

    I can actually say I’ve been doing this all this week! I just had shoulder surgery and pulled out an old cross stitch project for some friends – advent calendar ornaments for their two kids. Now to find good backings/cut out scrap batting and use up my scrap bindings on them…

  8. Karen says:

    Your drawer looks great! I emptied two bins this past week; feels good! http://fortheloveofneedleandthread.blogspot.ca/2015/03/a-spring-mug-rug.html
    As for why I stop projects so close to the end, all your reasons pertain to me too. Also, that I’m not happy with it for some reason, so why finish it? Now I’m trying to push through those feelings and continue on, and tell myself no one will know the mistakes likely, but me. But it doesn’t always work!

  9. Sue H says:

    I took a 2 week hiatus from organizing – now I am back.

    I do not have a lot of UFO’s – my problem is I buy things I want to make and then never start. Maybe that is a project you can cover one week. I do have two quilts that are in various stages of completion. Both were BOM. One just needs borders and the other is still just blocks. I have had problems finishing because the one that needs borders did not fit together right and I had to take apart and fix then sew back together – I am so done with this quilt. The other BOM I did not get a pattern to set blocks so I had to find pattern and figure material that I needed. Then it took so long the shop sold out all of the fabric in the blocks. So I have found pattern and material just need to focus.

    Mostly my UFO’s are in the quilting pile and they get stuck there as that is my least favorite part of quilt making.

    I think I will pick the Women of the Bible quilt to complete as it only needs borders – should be able to complete before Thursday – quilting will come later. The other BOM I have decided to give as a wedding gift – wedding is in June – should keep me on track.

    By the way – your drawer looks great. Some days I wish I had more drawers but I am sure they would become collectors and I would never find anything so I don’t get any.

  10. melfunk says:

    MY UFO that I just finished is my batik 9-patch beauty. check my blog at http://melsquiltingblog.blogspot.com/2015/03/finished-batik-9-patch.html
    to see the finished product.

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