I love your decision-making process. I recently had 72 orphan blocks that I donated to my quilt guild. They were able to make 3 quilts for donation. That made me feel good.
So whenever I've taken a class that results in blocks or have won a pile of blocks from a guild raffle I don't plan on making anything with them. The class blocks were for learning skills and the raffle blocks generally are not in my color scheme. So what I do with these leftovers are whipping them into the size of a small baby quilt and then use them to practice new free motion quilting designs I've wanted to try. I then give them to my cat or dog and they are thrilled with a new quilt. No harm, no foul. And the best part is that they are not sitting in a box taking up valuable space. 😉
Glad you didn't give up on your friend's hidden quilt top!! So nice. You are a good friend to her to do that..also, love the monster quilt with all those eyes peering about!! (Is there a pattern to make the eyes for the monster quilt? I'm kinda obsessing on that now!?).
What resonated with me is that those projects gave you huge value already because of the skills developed working on them. I’m looking at my less than wonderful ones with a new smile and love. There is lot of emotion invested in them, and it takes courage to release and give up on guilt.
❤I am not a quitter!!! My Zoom lesson didn’t happen, then I trod on my glasses in the dark. Now I’m waiting for the new glasses to arrive in another week. Just must be patient.❤❤❤
I recently finished a UFO that was 20 years old. I was hand-quilting a design based on a historic Celtic cross but ran into trouble with parts of the drafting so I stalled out. When I pulled it out recently, I realized that I could machine quilt a border around the finished part, and call it "Fragment of Aberlemno." It's hanging on my wall instead of weighing on my mind, and I'm using the parts I cut off to practice and test machine-quilting designs. Figuring out what to do with the parts I'm not going to use/keep is my biggest challenge in letting projects go. It's so hard to throw fabric away.
I made a promise to myself to finish a project before start cutting out another. Made the mistake and started another before one was bound, it just kept staring at me. So I decided to get busy, I bound it, a weight off my shoulders. Finished the quilt I was working on, it's done. Now a couple of easy quick projects then off to my next fun project.😊
I haven’t been able to do much sewing or quilting for several months. I looked through my “planned projects” box and can’t recall what patterns some of the projects are supposed to be. For now I’m leaving them alone. I’m not well enough to do a lot of reorganizing so I’m content to leave them where they are. It’s so good to know plenty of other folks also rework projects in a different direction or flat out pass them on. I’ve got some rather interesting fabric choices from 3yrs ago when I had no idea what I was doing, what I liked, or how colors work. Some of those will be happily passed on to others who will make beautiful things from them.
So glad you found a way to rescue the vintage quilt and gift it to its original family. These old tops deserve their place of honor whenever possible. You’ve encouraged me to go through my heaving mount of UFOs. I’m considering paying a friend to finish piecing a couple of the projects that I still love and want to gift. There is no rule that says I need to bee the one who pieces it. It’s more important to me that’s is finished and gifted. So paying someone takes. It off my plate and still gets the patchwork done. Plus my friend gets to earn some extra money. Win-win.
This was interesting to see your process and how re-imagining some projects resulted in rewarding project completions, and others were able to be put up for adoption with no regrets. A lot of us have projects like these where we feel little connection to them any longer, and it can be satisfying to get them done or move them on!
I enjoyed this video a lot. I like that it was a bit longer and that it showed a lot of your thinking and sewing. I enjoy videos where we actually see you sew and manipulate fabric. Those monster eyes are so interesting, and I LOVE your decision to frame your Mary Fons blocks.
Thank you so much for the 30 minute timer trick. I set my timer and sewed for 30 minutes and I feel more accomplished than I have for the last 6 months. Thanks for all your tutorials.
I have worked with several single blocks. One, a very old crazy quilt, is framed. A couple of blocks from an aunt or grandmother are added to canvas tote bags, as well a couple of my own when making one block was enough. Oh, pillows. One time I took four blocks from a quilt club activity. I did not like these blocks. They were well made but in colors I didn't like. I went into my stash and found sashing and binding and backing material that worked! So someone else's "hell no" became my challenge.
Great idea to asses UFOs. I have many in different techniques, embroidery, crochet, knitting, and im a beginner quilter, so i dont have that much time. i guess its time is use my upcoming vacations to do this and declutter, and redirect my energy to project that i really want to finish
Wow! You have no idea how much your videos and ideas have helped me!! I have had the idea if you don’t enough time to just sit and sew, then why even get started?! The timer has helped me over that idea… so I set it don’t worry about the time. I just sew for the time allotted! I am ashamed to say that I have so many projects in boxes that have never even been cut.. life has been in the way and illness.. but I love it all so I am going to choose my favorite and get busy!!! Thank you so much!! By the way, has anyone used fleece instead of batting? I love in the south. We do not need heavy quilts.
I'd cut up those 'Life is Good' pieces and use them as crumb pieces. I believe you've saved bits in a bin for adding tape crumb piecing as I recall. The Halloween quilt do some big swiggles over the appliqued pieces to nail those down and give to a charity. It's cute, but doesn't look like you want to keep it either. Some little kid will love it as a snuggly blanket. Because your skills have improved vastly since you began is one reason why is never a good idea to wait to quilt something 'til you get better' because when one is better you won't want to waste your time on such a seeming amateurish looking project. :))
I had a quilt I made, loved the colours, loved the size, but for some reason couldn't summon the energy to finish it. So I made it into a wall hanging where it hung with no backing and just rough borders to frame it for 6 months, until one day I got it down, washed it (inside a pillowcase) and ironed it. Added new borders, added batting and backing, quilted it.................. it looked so nice, it had to be prized out of my fingers to go to it's new recipient! So glad it's gone to loving home......... but I replaced it with another donkey quilt, which I'm waiting for inspiration to arrive as to what to do with it lol. Wish I could put a pic here for you all to laugh at. It's single bed size, in 5o shades of red !
Thank you for that wonderful example of 1) giving examples of processing 2) giving ourselves permission to honor our inner voices of letting go, quitting, or the ideas that pop up when something does not work any longer, changing gears 3) examples of honoring ourselves in change and growth. That was wonderful! And I was able incorporate these things in other areas of my life of new chapters!
I really enjoyed watching as you looked at each project and hearing your decision-making process. I’ll try using your questions when I look at my own UFOs.
Thank you for this! I watched your reboot video and did just the same thing! I gifted a few quilty friends projects I no longer was excited about and it freed up my muse! Thank you for the permission to let go!
I love using blocks for shopping bags. Reinforce the blocks with a heavier denim. You can easily use several blocks...making a matching set of two bags . Very good use of those ugly blocks and they are finally useful and have a place. God bless....love the tips.
Hi Karen. I hope you're feeling better. You are always an inspiration to me. Thank you for your encouraging and sympathic videos. I have several UFO's I'm battling--mostly they need binding which I don't do well at all. Please stay well. ~~ Lynne
This is the first time I could watch your video within one hour of uploading to you tube!! It felt like talking with you in person!! We all have such UFOs and your suggestions will definitely help us! It was interesting to see how a project travelled from a definite ' no ' to a definite ' yes ' ( and vice versa )! Great suggestion about timer !!
I love this! I am brand new to quilting and I already have a couple of projects I’m no longer in love with. Perhaps I should use your questions before purchasing items for a project? Or maybe there is a better set of questions I should ask myself before diving in? Probably one question for me is around skill level. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Do you have a video or questions on contemplating projects?
I feel a bit like a odd bod! I don’t have UFOs if I start it, I work through the steps until it is finished. When it is bound and washed if I don’t love it, I donate it. I have always been this way, it’s why I taught myself to FMQ. I need to finish what I start! 🤔 maybe I’m strange 😂😂. Love your tutorials Karen.
This was very fun to watch your process and to find you saying No to some of them. I need to do this for me too and maybe once the grandkids are back in school will start digging some out. I just buy more when on shop hops so need to stop to finish some old ones!
Great video. I find it difficult to give myself permission to “Let It Go”. Thanks for helping me thru this. I’ll have to put on the music from Frozen to “Let it Go” ☺️👍🏼👏
My oldest UFO s are from 2021, a quilt top I am not in love with and a block exchange. Neither has a purpose. I can donate the top. The block exchnge has me stumped.
Am I weird that I've never had a UFO in my sewing room? I always finish a quilt before I start a new one. I have had one that might sit for a few weeks or months before I finish it because life gets too busy. I do have a few fabrics that I don't love, but zero unfinished projects.
@@JustGetitDoneQuilts good to know. I am a quilter, cross stitcher and knitter so I’ll work on those simultaneously but I never start another project in a genre before starting another. Love your videos. They are so well done and helpful.
Framing is a great idea! I turned two special blocks into quilted potholders and appliquéd them over a printed logo on a shop bought tote bag. It's easier to appliqué the quilted and bound blocks onto the bag than to do the quilting on an assembled bag. Now I love my memory totebag that used to be an advertisement. Fun fact: It's harder to see imperfections on a totebag than in a frame. 💖🌞🌵😷
@@magistramccarty1 as a quilter I never really thought about it until a cashier said to me, "l really like your bags because they are insulated!" ... But I'm sure the quilted bags form some sort of insulation, but I just like quilting! 💖🌞🌵😷
This video could not have come at a more appropriate time. Just two days ago I pulled out one shelf of UFO's, put them all in a box that overflowed and decided I needed to do something about them. I sorted what was there into small and large projects and yesterday began the process of going through them. I gathered one with all its parts, the book and everything, called a friend I know who loves applique, she wants it. One gone! I found two more to pass on, and have only saved one so far. Many more to go through and I'm now going to use your list of questions as I go through the rest. After 18 years of teaching quilting, I have a lot of UFOs, one or two from every semester for all the projects started with my classes. I'm pretty sure most of them will be passed on, but I will find a few I love that will be finished. Thank you so much for this and all your videos. I find them so inspiring and have passed many links on to my students, although I don't have students anymore since I retired from teaching. Always looking forward to your next video. Thank you.
Thank you! I’m not a quilter but I knit, crochet, sew, do crewl, needlepoint tatting, scrapbook, make cards and about a dozen other crafts and I have plenty of UFO’s in each category. I’m going to go through them and use your technique! Maybe I’ll actually get some done or quit some!
Loved this video! I was following your process for deciding a Hell yes, or a got to go. BTW, I ordered your timer and have put it to good use on my to-do list. It is amazing how much I can accomplish in 30 minutes. Of course, in the grand scheme of things 30 minutes is not a long time and always feels do-able. Thank you for the gift of this idea and strategy. I also love how cute that timer is!
Thank you for sharing your thought process on each one. I'm inspired to go through my UFOs in the same way. I have a unhelpful tendency to want to start new projects (Squirrel!) instead of finishing old ones. I may have to watch this again to keep me on track.
Big life changes have meant that I’m finally looking at my stash and seriously asking questions of the projects/fabrics I own. I was able to take 2 large boxes to my guild for charity quilts, alongside those orphan blocks I had fallen out of love with. Just clearing my stash yielded enough fabric for a pattern I adored - and I finally used those treasured prints! The final result was worth the hard work to get there. It’s worth enquiring at your local guild as to whether they will accept fabric/orphan blocks. You can also phone your local school and ask if the textiles (sewing) department needs them. There’s also sure to be a community group who will take your donation and put it to good use. Just remember to donate goods of quality - and making a list of the contents/yardage is a small act that will mean a great deal to the person processing them on the donation end.
I am the person who deals with donated orphan blocks for our quilt guilds Care Quilt program (making charity quilts) and I really appreciate when I am given the number and size dimension for the blocks. It saves me that first step and helps me figure out how best to use them. I also appreciate it if they are clean, ironed and well constructed. Being given a bag of crumpled, musty smelling scraps or blocks is not fun. I do, however, love making other people’s orphan blocks live a new life. We also make Teddy Bear quilts and placemats for Meals on Wheels so even blocks that don’t play nicely with others find a new home.
Fun to see you turn a UFO sorry mess into a Yess, Gurl! before our very eyes...and time the event. Put off for years, finish in a day, an hour. Procrastination is the thief of time. Nice job.
This is a great process for MANY projects we take on. I just finished a uilt top, and I'm debating what I want for the backing. Before I jump right into my next quilt project, I'm going to get out my timer and go through the pile of mending and items I set aside for alterations and see if they're all worth my time and energy. Thank you for continuing to inspire us to challenge ourselves.
This is probably what I need to do next. Sort through my UFO's and work through the process of elimination. I like that you took us through your process, and I love that you worked on some tasks with immediacy to determine if the project was worth taking to completion. A very good video! Thank you.
I think this may be one of my favorite videos that you have ever made! First I love thinking process videos, I find them fascinating, validating and informative. Second this topic needs some honest attention. Delving into the psychology of quilting is a good process as a first step towards problem solving. Lastly it’s very satisfying to see your countenance be lifted by both the unburdening of your conscience by saying I’m done with this and the joy you received by seeing the UFO closer to completion. Thanks 😊👍
I just went through a similar process. I felt mature and wise when I was able to let go of projects. 😻. One was a completed quilt top that I thought I would love and really disliked once it was done. I am curious what you did with your Halloween appliqué project? Thanks so much for your great videos!
3:20 since you already have the layout and you are sick of the project instead of muscling through, set this up as a leader and ender quilt top. Work on something that brings you joy and sew two if these blocks together whenever you end a row of stitching. 💖🌞🌵😷
I love how you can just say no. That has been my motto this year and I am so much happier in my quilt room because there isn't a pile that I feel is staring at me and I feel guilty for not finishing.
I’m echoing what others have said already, but I loved seeing you move through these projects in such a methodical way! It was inspiring to think about letting go of some of my own unfinished projects towards which I don’t feel a “hell yes!”, but inspiring, too, to see the way you added in a pomodoro-method racing-the-clock incentive to focus and see what could be accomplished in just 30 minutes. I liked that your moving a project from a “time-to-quit” into enthusiasm was just as welcome an outcome as letting a project go; I liked that movement was the goal. Thanks so much for this very relatable and inspiring video!
Oh my goodness, it’s like you’re reading my mind! Not long ago I decided to give away a large box of materials that I have used in several quilts and I am literally tired of using them (& seeing them). It makes the room tidier, helps me to not feel so guilty of having bought them in the first place. I always love your thought processes and honesty, I know that I am not alone. Well done Karen
Must be the time for finishing projects. Just 9:15 completed a 20 yr old tapestry and framed and embroidered and crocheted the edge of a doily my mum had purchased pre decimal currency in australia so that’s pre 1966 and now finishing off an embroidery that I started 30 yrs ago, that will be 3 off the list. Phew🎉
Your videos are so well done, and I always learn a lot. I sew garments, but I am working on finishing my first quilt. However, I love your videos so much that I watch them, even though I am not a quilter. You have such a practical and calming approach. Thank you for sharing your wisdom and personality with us!
This video helped me so mych. I have been quilting for 5 years since retirement. I am 70 and have difficulty going upstairs so my sewing time is precious. I am working my goal of a quilt for each family member. I have quilt tops I made for (10) for a guild that stopped meeting due to covid. I have 2 scraps projects, a box of orphan blocks and 2 sets of swap blocks. What fabric I don't use from a quilt goes into a box for donation. I have so much guilt about what I spent on projects that never even got started (BOM) I couldn't even look at them. You helped me accept I need to move on. One project is still way beyond my skill set and the other I don't care for the fabric, so I am just putting the fabric into my stash to make something I like or I will use what I don't care for as linings for bags. Thanks for helping me get that burden off my mind.😊
Ahhh! I absolutely love the framing idea! (And that story made me laugh out loud -- only because I could really relate!) Wonder ideas, enjoyable video -- as usual! Thanks so much, Karen. Really enjoy your channel.
Blocks I'm not fond of, blocks that are wonky or pieces like your "life is good" that I don't see a project for I have worked into the backings of quilts and wall hangings. They challenge me to find a happy placement and make the backings super interesting.
Thanks for this, I need to do the same. I need to Thank you for the tip on dicing up my left over small pieces of batting. To think about all that I tossed in the past. This past year I made pumpkins for our Guild Boutique. I stuffed about twenty pumpkins with my salvaged batting. Saved me money and time. They all sold too. Thanks again. You are an inspiration to me on many things. 😊
Thank you for the insights into your thought process. A year ago, our guild had a program called “Best Intentions”. Two quilters had rescued quilt blocks - some 60 years old - and they FINISHED the quilts. The idea of people finding all of my unfinished projects … scared the living daylights out of me. My UFOs are now neatly organized but I still have a long way to go before I can buy new fabric or patterns. Applying your decision making process to my 20+ project boxes - I may be able to cut my UFOs into a more manageable number.
Thank you for showing work getting done. It’s very satisfying to see after watching several pattern and fabric haul videos but not getting to see the finished products.
Love it! This is not really discussed on many of the quilting YT channels. I am in declutter mode this year. I contacted my local Project Linus chapter, asked what sizes they want, and have been focused on making 40"x50" quilts. It's an incredibly therapeutic process for me, and I know they will be donated to a good cause.
Great video, gives me courage to keep paring down stuff I don't really like or need. My room is only so big and is shared with 2 large dog crates which I disguise by putting a table on bed risers over the top. The top of the dog crates then become storage for mats etc when I am using top for sandwiching. A win! I organized my fabric by color ( I do not precut anymore) in the drawer bins and I have 2 Arrow tables with drop downs to fit my machines. I have now only 2 machines. One for travel which is small an one with large space for free motion. It all works pretty well for me now. The clothes closet is very utilitarian for storing my books, notions, batting and planned projects in boxes and yes those projects are the ones I actually want to do. So all is better! Thsnks for all your inspirational declutteting videos. They have been valuable to me!
Oooh. The monster eyes is a great quilt. I picture it with some funny mouths and funky striped or dotty binding. Then I see a young boy using it-- all the time not just for Halloween. Please show us the finished project!
This was so insightful, Karen. Thanks for sharing your thought process. I generally don't have UFO's, but those that are out there, they haunt me sometimes. I'll have to give them some real thought, and maybe it is time to be honest with myself. Time to quit is a viable option!
Love this! I have done several reboots myself, over the years, and you can kind of see if you trace back my history of purging. :) Each reboot brought into clearer focus which projects were important and which could be passed on or repurposed. I'm definitely an 'idea person', so I can convince myself that any project is awesome, but finding the time and energy to actually see it through... well, yeah. Or no, as is often the case. One thing I find really eye opening is how much I can learn about myself during this process. For instance, I bought a bunch of kits from Craftsy when they would have big sales, but I realized when I looked at the finished tops that they were exactly like everyone else's who bought the kit, and I had nothing invested in it except time and money. I learned that if I don't have a hand in choosing the fabrics, I have very little emotional investment in the project. I donated all those quilt tops to a longarmer who donates quilts to a childrens charity, and I've reassessed my collection of kits and now have a stack of them to list on eBay or something. I love the space I gained, both in my sewing space and in my brain.
☕️ I LOVE drinking coffee in the morning and watching your videos! ❤ Again, THANK YOU for giving me permission to quit SOME things! 😂! But better, how to sort and decide which ones to bite the bullet and tackle!😂😂 On a personal note, I can tell you are losing weight! It's apparent when you are doing the head shots😊 Bravo!🎉
I really enjoyed this video. It’s so nice to give myself permission to quit a project because I don’t care for it anymore. I went through some UFOs lately. One was hanging over my head for a while. On evaluation, all I had to do was put on a border and the top was done! It hardly took me any time at all. Why Didn’t I finish it in the first place?
The Halloween Eye quilt is adorable. You should use fluorescent thread to quilt it so it will glow in the dark❗
I love the eyeballs!
Love that idea
I love your decision-making process. I recently had 72 orphan blocks that I donated to my quilt guild. They were able to make 3 quilts for donation. That made me feel good.
Margaret here. I really appreciate setting a timer to work on a UFO before making the final decision
So whenever I've taken a class that results in blocks or have won a pile of blocks from a guild raffle I don't plan on making anything with them. The class blocks were for learning skills and the raffle blocks generally are not in my color scheme.
So what I do with these leftovers are whipping them into the size of a small baby quilt and then use them to practice new free motion quilting designs I've wanted to try.
I then give them to my cat or dog and they are thrilled with a new quilt. No harm, no foul. And the best part is that they are not sitting in a box taking up valuable space. 😉
Glad you didn't give up on your friend's hidden quilt top!! So nice. You are a good friend to her to do that..also, love the monster quilt with all those eyes peering about!! (Is there a pattern to make the eyes for the monster quilt? I'm kinda obsessing on that now!?).
What resonated with me is that those projects gave you huge value already because of the skills developed working on them. I’m looking at my less than wonderful ones with a new smile and love. There is lot of emotion invested in them, and it takes courage to release and give up on guilt.
Well said
❤I am not a quitter!!! My Zoom lesson didn’t happen, then I trod on my glasses in the dark. Now I’m waiting for the new glasses to arrive in another week. Just must be patient.❤❤❤
I recently finished a UFO that was 20 years old. I was hand-quilting a design based on a historic Celtic cross but ran into trouble with parts of the drafting so I stalled out. When I pulled it out recently, I realized that I could machine quilt a border around the finished part, and call it "Fragment of Aberlemno." It's hanging on my wall instead of weighing on my mind, and I'm using the parts I cut off to practice and test machine-quilting designs. Figuring out what to do with the parts I'm not going to use/keep is my biggest challenge in letting projects go. It's so hard to throw fabric away.
Love that idea. Well done
Too many times - we get the message "never quit!" - but sometimes quitting frees that mental space and allows you to move forward with other things
👏👏👏
So true. If we want to change our mind its perfectly fine.
Watching in April on 15th.😊
I finished/abandoned ALL my UFOs during the first year of Covid. Boy did that feel good to get done.
I made a promise to myself to finish a project before start cutting out another. Made the mistake and started another before one was bound, it just kept staring at me. So I decided to get busy, I bound it, a weight off my shoulders. Finished the quilt I was working on, it's done. Now a couple of easy quick projects then off to my next fun project.😊
I haven’t been able to do much sewing or quilting for several months. I looked through my “planned projects” box and can’t recall what patterns some of the projects are supposed to be. For now I’m leaving them alone. I’m not well enough to do a lot of reorganizing so I’m content to leave them where they are.
It’s so good to know plenty of other folks also rework projects in a different direction or flat out pass them on. I’ve got some rather interesting fabric choices from 3yrs ago when I had no idea what I was doing, what I liked, or how colors work. Some of those will be happily passed on to others who will make beautiful things from them.
So glad you found a way to rescue the vintage quilt and gift it to its original family. These old tops deserve their place of honor whenever possible. You’ve encouraged me to go through my heaving mount of UFOs. I’m considering paying a friend to finish piecing a couple of the projects that I still love and want to gift. There is no rule that says I need to bee the one who pieces it. It’s more important to me that’s is finished and gifted. So paying someone takes. It off my plate and still gets the patchwork done. Plus my friend gets to earn some extra money. Win-win.
This was interesting to see your process and how re-imagining some projects resulted in rewarding project completions, and others were able to be put up for adoption with no regrets. A lot of us have projects like these where we feel little connection to them any longer, and it can be satisfying to get them done or move them on!
Very true
I enjoyed this video a lot. I like that it was a bit longer and that it showed a lot of your thinking and sewing. I enjoy videos where we actually see you sew and manipulate fabric. Those monster eyes are so interesting, and I LOVE your decision to frame your Mary Fons blocks.
Thank you so much!
Thank you so much for the 30 minute timer trick. I set my timer and sewed for 30 minutes and I feel more accomplished than I have for the last 6 months. Thanks for all your tutorials.
I have worked with several single blocks. One, a very old crazy quilt, is framed. A couple of blocks from an aunt or grandmother are added to canvas tote bags, as well a couple of my own when making one block was enough. Oh, pillows. One time I took four blocks from a quilt club activity. I did not like these blocks. They were well made but in colors I didn't like. I went into my stash and found sashing and binding and backing material that worked! So someone else's "hell no" became my challenge.
Great idea to asses UFOs. I have many in different techniques, embroidery, crochet, knitting, and im a beginner quilter, so i dont have that much time. i guess its time is use my upcoming vacations to do this and declutter, and redirect my energy to project that i really want to finish
I’ve passed this along to two other friends so far. It’s so good.
Wow! You have no idea how much your videos and ideas have helped me!! I have had the idea if you don’t enough time to just sit and sew, then why even get started?! The timer has helped me over that idea… so I set it don’t worry about the time. I just sew for the time allotted! I am ashamed to say that I have so many projects in boxes that have never even been cut.. life has been in the way and illness.. but I love it all so I am going to choose my favorite and get busy!!! Thank you so much!!
By the way, has anyone used fleece instead of batting? I love in the south. We do not need heavy quilts.
I'd cut up those 'Life is Good' pieces and use them as crumb pieces. I believe you've saved bits in a bin for adding tape crumb piecing as I recall. The Halloween quilt do some big swiggles over the appliqued pieces to nail those down and give to a charity. It's cute, but doesn't look like you want to keep it either. Some little kid will love it as a snuggly blanket. Because your skills have improved vastly since you began is one reason why is never a good idea to wait to quilt something 'til you get better' because when one is better you won't want to waste your time on such a seeming amateurish looking project. :))
I had a quilt I made, loved the colours, loved the size, but for some reason couldn't summon the energy to finish it. So I made it into a wall hanging where it hung with no backing and just rough borders to frame it for 6 months, until one day I got it down, washed it (inside a pillowcase) and ironed it. Added new borders, added batting and backing, quilted it.................. it looked so nice, it had to be prized out of my fingers to go to it's new recipient! So glad it's gone to loving home......... but I replaced it with another donkey quilt, which I'm waiting for inspiration to arrive as to what to do with it lol. Wish I could put a pic here for you all to laugh at. It's single bed size, in 5o shades of red !
Thank you for that wonderful example of
1) giving examples of processing
2) giving ourselves permission to honor our inner voices of letting go, quitting, or the ideas that pop up when something does not work any longer, changing gears
3) examples of honoring ourselves in change and growth.
That was wonderful! And I was able incorporate these things in other areas of my life of new chapters!
I have a ufo that’s 20+ years old. It’s taken until now to know what to do with it… it’s getting turned into a puff quilt, 😊
Nice
Beautiful blues and 3 baby quilts, great!
I really enjoyed watching as you looked at each project and hearing your decision-making process.
I’ll try using your questions when I look at my own UFOs.
Thank you for this! I watched your reboot video and did just the same thing! I gifted a few quilty friends projects I no longer was excited about and it freed up my muse! Thank you for the permission to let go!
I love using blocks for shopping bags. Reinforce the blocks with a heavier denim. You can easily use several blocks...making a matching set of two bags . Very good use of those ugly blocks and they are finally useful and have a place. God bless....love the tips.
Hi Karen. I hope you're feeling better. You are always an inspiration to me. Thank you for your encouraging and sympathic videos. I have several UFO's I'm battling--mostly they need binding which I don't do well at all. Please stay well. ~~ Lynne
This is the first time I could watch your video within one hour of uploading to you tube!! It felt like talking with you in person!! We all have such UFOs and your suggestions will definitely help us! It was interesting to see how a project travelled from a definite ' no ' to a definite ' yes ' ( and vice versa )! Great suggestion about timer !!
It was surprising. It’s interesting how the brain works
I love this! I am brand new to quilting and I already have a couple of projects I’m no longer in love with. Perhaps I should use your questions before purchasing items for a project? Or maybe there is a better set of questions I should ask myself before diving in? Probably one question for me is around skill level. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Do you have a video or questions on contemplating projects?
Love the first one! Ordering the book now!
I enjoyed seeing your creative process. You have so many great ideas.
Good advice. I would just quilt the eyes quilt with an overall design and be done with it. Some brave elementary-age (probably) boy would love it.
Fantastic video.. especially hearing your thoughts process for your decisions. Thanks a lot!!
Great rationale and inspiration! I have to go through my own UFOs with the same scrutiny.
I feel a bit like a odd bod! I don’t have UFOs if I start it, I work through the steps until it is finished. When it is bound and washed if I don’t love it, I donate it. I have always been this way, it’s why I taught myself to FMQ. I need to finish what I start! 🤔 maybe I’m strange 😂😂. Love your tutorials Karen.
So many great learning tips for me- I have been struggling with this as we speak. Thanks for inspiration to deal with these UFOs
This was very fun to watch your process and to find you saying No to some of them. I need to do this for me too and maybe once the grandkids are back in school will start digging some out. I just buy more when on shop hops so need to stop to finish some old ones!
Love the first quilt for starters.
I love the Monster Quilt! So cute!
Terrific video - I need to do the same with my own wips and watching this has given me such useful tools for the process. Thank you, Karen 💖
I needed this video. We get so hung up on finishing UFOs but there’s usually a good reason it’s a UFO.
I love your videos! 😂 You have just reinforced why I NEVER have UFOs.... well not more than one at a time! 😂😂
Karen good job. I need to do this also. But will come back to it when I'm in a better place. Thank you.💖💖
Great video. I find it difficult to give myself permission to “Let It Go”. Thanks for helping me thru this. I’ll have to put on the music from Frozen to “Let it Go” ☺️👍🏼👏
Those are beautiful blocks
My oldest UFO s are from 2021, a quilt top I am not in love with and a block exchange. Neither has a purpose. I can donate the top. The block exchnge has me stumped.
Hello, i saw someone in Germany they Put an airballoon into the hexi Ball for Kids Birthday pRties
What is the quilt pattern in your background? Love your videos
I ❤ the ball.
Am I weird that I've never had a UFO in my sewing room? I always finish a quilt before I start a new one. I have had one that might sit for a few weeks or months before I finish it because life gets too busy. I do have a few fabrics that I don't love, but zero unfinished projects.
Nope. My husband is also a serial maker. One project at a time. It’s just the way your brain works
@@JustGetitDoneQuilts good to know. I am a quilter, cross stitcher and knitter so I’ll work on those simultaneously but I never start another project in a genre before starting another. Love your videos. They are so well done and helpful.
You inspire me!
Love this video -I have 6 unfinished tops and 3 projects in the works.
So what do you do with the Halloween quilt when you quit & it is unfinished?
Im donating it
❤
Framing is a great idea! I turned two special blocks into quilted potholders and appliquéd them over a printed logo on a shop bought tote bag. It's easier to appliqué the quilted and bound blocks onto the bag than to do the quilting on an assembled bag. Now I love my memory totebag that used to be an advertisement. Fun fact: It's harder to see imperfections on a totebag than in a frame. 💖🌞🌵😷
Great tip!
I’ve done this on SO many tote bags! Try backing the block and sewing it on as a pocket!
@@magistramccarty1 as a quilter I never really thought about it until a cashier said to me, "l really like your bags because they are insulated!" ... But I'm sure the quilted bags form some sort of insulation, but I just like quilting! 💖🌞🌵😷
This video could not have come at a more appropriate time. Just two days ago I pulled out one shelf of UFO's, put them all in a box that overflowed and decided I needed to do something about them. I sorted what was there into small and large projects and yesterday began the process of going through them. I gathered one with all its parts, the book and everything, called a friend I know who loves applique, she wants it. One gone! I found two more to pass on, and have only saved one so far. Many more to go through and I'm now going to use your list of questions as I go through the rest. After 18 years of teaching quilting, I have a lot of UFOs, one or two from every semester for all the projects started with my classes. I'm pretty sure most of them will be passed on, but I will find a few I love that will be finished. Thank you so much for this and all your videos. I find them so inspiring and have passed many links on to my students, although I don't have students anymore since I retired from teaching. Always looking forward to your next video. Thank you.
This is so much like my story!
Thank you! I’m not a quilter but I knit, crochet, sew, do crewl, needlepoint tatting, scrapbook, make cards and about a dozen other crafts and I have plenty of UFO’s in each category. I’m going to go through them and use your technique! Maybe I’ll actually get some done or quit some!
Excellent
Loved this video! I was following your process for deciding a Hell yes, or a got to go. BTW, I ordered your timer and have put it to good use on my to-do list. It is amazing how much I can accomplish in 30 minutes. Of course, in the grand scheme of things 30 minutes is not a long time and always feels do-able. Thank you for the gift of this idea and strategy. I also love how cute that timer is!
Thank you for sharing your thought process on each one. I'm inspired to go through my UFOs in the same way.
I have a unhelpful tendency to want to start new projects (Squirrel!) instead of finishing old ones. I may have to watch this again to keep me on track.
I love hearing your thinking and how you ran through the process of making your decisions! Just what I needed. Thank you so much!
Big life changes have meant that I’m finally looking at my stash and seriously asking questions of the projects/fabrics I own. I was able to take 2 large boxes to my guild for charity quilts, alongside those orphan blocks I had fallen out of love with.
Just clearing my stash yielded enough fabric for a pattern I adored - and I finally used those treasured prints! The final result was worth the hard work to get there.
It’s worth enquiring at your local guild as to whether they will accept fabric/orphan blocks. You can also phone your local school and ask if the textiles (sewing) department needs them. There’s also sure to be a community group who will take your donation and put it to good use. Just remember to donate goods of quality - and making a list of the contents/yardage is a small act that will mean a great deal to the person processing them on the donation end.
Good tips
I am the person who deals with donated orphan blocks for our quilt guilds Care Quilt program (making charity quilts) and I really appreciate when I am given the number and size dimension for the blocks. It saves me that first step and helps me figure out how best to use them. I also appreciate it if they are clean, ironed and well constructed. Being given a bag of crumpled, musty smelling scraps or blocks is not fun. I do, however, love making other people’s orphan blocks live a new life. We also make Teddy Bear quilts and placemats for Meals on Wheels so even blocks that don’t play nicely with others find a new home.
I was thinking placemats, mug rugs, plant mats etc for those Mary Fons blocks @5:45. Might also make good pockets for an apron or tote bag.
Fun to see you turn a UFO sorry mess into a Yess, Gurl! before our very eyes...and time the event. Put off for years, finish in a day, an hour. Procrastination is the thief of time. Nice job.
This is a great process for MANY projects we take on. I just finished a uilt top, and I'm debating what I want for the backing. Before I jump right into my next quilt project, I'm going to get out my timer and go through the pile of mending and items I set aside for alterations and see if they're all worth my time and energy. Thank you for continuing to inspire us to challenge ourselves.
I often look for the project that takes up the most space 😎
This is probably what I need to do next. Sort through my UFO's and work through the process of elimination. I like that you took us through your process, and I love that you worked on some tasks with immediacy to determine if the project was worth taking to completion. A very good video! Thank you.
The ball is adorable! Great baby gift to go along with one of the baby quilts. ❤
I liked the ball also, is there a pattern? Or sizes of the shapes?
For some reason I felt productive just watching you get through these!! 😂
😎
hahaha! me to!!
I just can’t say no. So I finish the quilt top and have it quilted. I then donate it to charity for a fund raiser.
I think this may be one of my favorite videos that you have ever made! First I love thinking process videos, I find them fascinating, validating and informative. Second this topic needs some honest attention. Delving into the psychology of quilting is a good process as a first step towards problem solving. Lastly it’s very satisfying to see your countenance be lifted by both the unburdening of your conscience by saying I’m done with this and the joy you received by seeing the UFO closer to completion. Thanks 😊👍
I just went through a similar process. I felt mature and wise when I was able to let go of projects. 😻. One was a completed quilt top that I thought I would love and really disliked once it was done. I am curious what you did with your Halloween appliqué project? Thanks so much for your great videos!
3:20 since you already have the layout and you are sick of the project instead of muscling through, set this up as a leader and ender quilt top. Work on something that brings you joy and sew two if these blocks together whenever you end a row of stitching. 💖🌞🌵😷
Turning your Halloween blocks into a quilt, was such a good idea. It came out sooo cute!
I love how you can just say no. That has been my motto this year and I am so much happier in my quilt room because there isn't a pile that I feel is staring at me and I feel guilty for not finishing.
I’m echoing what others have said already, but I loved seeing you move through these projects in such a methodical way! It was inspiring to think about letting go of some of my own unfinished projects towards which I don’t feel a “hell yes!”, but inspiring, too, to see the way you added in a pomodoro-method racing-the-clock incentive to focus and see what could be accomplished in just 30 minutes. I liked that your moving a project from a “time-to-quit” into enthusiasm was just as welcome an outcome as letting a project go; I liked that movement was the goal. Thanks so much for this very relatable and inspiring video!
Oh my goodness, it’s like you’re reading my mind! Not long ago I decided to give away a large box of materials that I have used in several quilts and I am literally tired of using them (& seeing them). It makes the room tidier, helps me to not feel so guilty of having bought them in the first place. I always love your thought processes and honesty, I know that I am not alone. Well done Karen
Must be the time for finishing projects. Just 9:15 completed a 20 yr old tapestry and framed and embroidered and crocheted the edge of a doily my mum had purchased pre decimal currency in australia so that’s pre 1966 and now finishing off an embroidery that I started 30 yrs ago, that will be 3 off the list. Phew🎉
Wow…that must feel amazing
Your videos are so well done, and I always learn a lot. I sew garments, but I am working on finishing my first quilt. However, I love your videos so much that I watch them, even though I am not a quilter. You have such a practical and calming approach. Thank you for sharing your wisdom and personality with us!
I watch a shipwright for inspiration. It interesting what we can glean from other crafts
This video helped me so mych. I have been quilting for 5 years since retirement. I am 70 and have difficulty going upstairs so my sewing time is precious. I am working my goal of a quilt for each family member. I have quilt tops I made for (10) for a guild that stopped meeting due to covid. I have 2 scraps projects, a box of orphan blocks and 2 sets of swap blocks. What fabric I don't use from a quilt goes into a box for donation. I have so much guilt about what I spent on projects that never even got started (BOM) I couldn't even look at them. You helped me accept I need to move on. One project is still way beyond my skill set and the other I don't care for the fabric, so I am just putting the fabric into my stash to make something I like or I will use what I don't care for as linings for bags. Thanks for helping me get that burden off my mind.😊
Great video Karen. So many decisions with some great results. Look forward to seeing the finishes.👍💗🇦🇺
Loved this video Karen! Just enjoyed going thru your decision process each time. Great stuff ☺️
Thanks so much! 😊
You are a Great teacher and person.
Thank you
Ahhh! I absolutely love the framing idea! (And that story made me laugh out loud -- only because I could really relate!) Wonder ideas, enjoyable video -- as usual! Thanks so much, Karen. Really enjoy your channel.
Blocks I'm not fond of, blocks that are wonky or pieces like your "life is good" that I don't see a project for I have worked into the backings of quilts and wall hangings. They challenge me to find a happy placement and make the backings super interesting.
Thanks for this, I need to do the same. I need to Thank you for the tip on dicing up my left over small pieces of batting. To think about all that I tossed in the past. This past year I made pumpkins for our Guild Boutique. I stuffed about twenty pumpkins with my salvaged batting. Saved me money and time. They all sold too. Thanks again. You are an inspiration to me on many things. 😊
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you for the insights into your thought process. A year ago, our guild had a program called “Best Intentions”. Two quilters had rescued quilt blocks - some 60 years old - and they FINISHED the quilts. The idea of people finding all of my unfinished projects … scared the living daylights out of me. My UFOs are now neatly organized but I still have a long way to go before I can buy new fabric or patterns. Applying your decision making process to my 20+ project boxes - I may be able to cut my UFOs into a more manageable number.
LOL the Halloween quilt is adorable. Please hang onto it. Legacy, remember 🤔
Thank you for showing work getting done. It’s very satisfying to see after watching several pattern and fabric haul videos but not getting to see the finished products.
What do you do with the UFO once you've decided it's time to quit? Recycle? Toss it? Something else?
Oh wise quilting woman, I really love u and ur videos. U r a hoot! Thank u!!❤
Have you gotten any more done? I have found some also (to my surprise) and have gotten enthused about. Go figure!
Love it! This is not really discussed on many of the quilting YT channels. I am in declutter mode this year. I contacted my local Project Linus chapter, asked what sizes they want, and have been focused on making 40"x50" quilts. It's an incredibly therapeutic process for me, and I know they will be donated to a good cause.
Very helpful video and message. Like having a process to ease the letting go.
Great video, gives me courage to keep paring down stuff I don't really like or need. My room is only so big and is shared with 2 large dog crates which I disguise by putting a table on bed risers over the top. The top of the dog crates then become storage for mats etc when I am using top for sandwiching. A win! I organized my fabric by color ( I do not precut anymore) in the drawer bins and I have 2 Arrow tables with drop downs to fit my machines. I have now only 2 machines. One for travel which is small an one with large space for free motion. It all works pretty well for me now. The clothes closet is very utilitarian for storing my books, notions, batting and planned projects in boxes and yes those projects are the ones I actually want to do. So all is better! Thsnks for all your inspirational declutteting videos. They have been valuable to me!
Oooh. The monster eyes is a great quilt. I picture it with some funny mouths and funky striped or dotty binding. Then I see a young boy using it-- all the time not just for Halloween. Please show us the finished project!
This was so insightful, Karen. Thanks for sharing your thought process. I generally don't have UFO's, but those that are out there, they haunt me sometimes. I'll have to give them some real thought, and maybe it is time to be honest with myself. Time to quit is a viable option!
Love this video! The monster eyes are just soooo cute!! 🧵🪡✂️💕🤣
Love this! I have done several reboots myself, over the years, and you can kind of see if you trace back my history of purging. :) Each reboot brought into clearer focus which projects were important and which could be passed on or repurposed. I'm definitely an 'idea person', so I can convince myself that any project is awesome, but finding the time and energy to actually see it through... well, yeah. Or no, as is often the case. One thing I find really eye opening is how much I can learn about myself during this process. For instance, I bought a bunch of kits from Craftsy when they would have big sales, but I realized when I looked at the finished tops that they were exactly like everyone else's who bought the kit, and I had nothing invested in it except time and money. I learned that if I don't have a hand in choosing the fabrics, I have very little emotional investment in the project. I donated all those quilt tops to a longarmer who donates quilts to a childrens charity, and I've reassessed my collection of kits and now have a stack of them to list on eBay or something. I love the space I gained, both in my sewing space and in my brain.
☕️ I LOVE drinking coffee in the morning and watching your videos! ❤
Again, THANK YOU for giving me permission to quit SOME things! 😂! But better, how to sort and decide which ones to bite the bullet and tackle!😂😂
On a personal note, I can tell you are losing weight! It's apparent when you are doing the head shots😊 Bravo!🎉
Your videos are so inspiring! I learn so much from you. Thank you!
I really enjoyed this video. It’s so nice to give myself permission to quit a project because I don’t care for it anymore. I went through some UFOs lately. One was hanging over my head for a while. On evaluation, all I had to do was put on a border and the top was done! It hardly took me any time at all. Why Didn’t I finish it in the first place?