UFOs - where do I even start?

As I have been settling into the new space down here, I’ve been finding homes for different things.  In the new space, I have 2 cabinets which are about 36” wide each, and in my mind, I had placed my UFOs in one of them, and then use the other for general business storage – taxes, files, etc.  My thinking on that side was that if those items were more convenient, I’d be more likely to keep better records.

This is the cabinet that I am using to keep all the UFOs in one place. The bags you see each have a number of projects in them.

The container on the right is my inventory of batik fabrics which I still have - I have 2 projects in process that need to be finished before I can destash that.

Earlier in the renovation, I had swapped my hard plastic project cases (aka scrapbook boxes from Michaels) for project bags – and that has proven to be a definite pace saver. I pulled all the UFOs out onto my counter, and just started making a spreadsheet of them.  The list was simply a list of projects, with no sorting or analysis – just a list.

I know that there are several ways to tackle a project such as this - pull a project out of a bag is one that I’ve seen done several times. That’s a bit too random for me, the chronic overthinker.

There were 20 projects of various sizes on that list – not surprising, given how old some of them are.  Some projects were got skipped over in favor of class samples and projects. At the time I made this list, I had no imminent deadlines to work through, and people that know me know that I am very motivated by deadlines.

Twenty projects was A LOT, and truly sent me spiraling into a web of paralysis.  Traditionally, I have a very difficult time working on multiple projects at once – so how was I going to deal with 20?  Which one first?  That was one sleepless night.

In the morning, I reopened the spreadsheet, and added two colums.  The first was a project status, and the second was an objective column.  The status was easy – ‘needs quilting’, ‘cutting in proecss’ ; ‘borders cut’, etc.  The objective column was a bit more difficult to get a handle on.  What was the purpose of making this quilt?  Was it a class sample (find the deadline), was it a charity quilt through my guild, was it a gift?  That exercise gave me some very surprising results.

Of the 20, 1 was completely finished and had been delivered to the shop – it was a class sample.   I love checking things off a list – or when you’re working with a spreadsheet, deciding which color goes with completed.

I had been asked by a local shop to develop a course to support their Janome ruler set for machine quilting, and quilt #3 had been delivered in mid August. At the time I put it onto the list, I knew that this was coming up with a very short timeline, so realizing it was already done was a very pleasant surprise.

This was the sampler I created for the Soin E Fex ruler in the set. It’s a bit hard to see, but the motifs from the ruler are quilted in a deep copper color to stand out from the background filler.

I found the ruler much easier to work with than I had anticipated, and I think that students will get a good idea of the design possibilities of working with the tool.

The name of this piece is the Spin E Fex sampler on the spreadsheet.

I went through the list and filled out the status for each of the remaining projects.  As it turns out, I didn’t have 19 left – because of that number, 4 hadn’t been started.  I had selected some projects, pulled some fabric together and put it into the UFO pile.  Those 4 are now listed as pending, and I’ll get to those (or not) when I finish more of the “True UFOs” that I have.

At this point, 25% of the original list had sorted itself out, and I was encouraged. The next grouping of projects were 3 (2 small, one not) that needed Binding, Binding and label, or Binding and Quilting, so I started with this group.

This piece didn’t always look like this, but I love it because it has one of my all time favorite Hoffman fabrics in the corners.

I don’t often put pieces on point, but this started life as a table runner for a friend’s book. The table runner as written was originally 25” x 70”, and I made the sample as written for the book.

It’s a wonderful memory, but this was a piece that I didn’t have space for as it was. I had offered the piece to the author to support the book, but she had what she needed.

So - I cut the stars apart, and kept the one with the best points as a small wallhanging. When I was moving in, I found enough of the black that is in the block itself to make the binding look intentional.

This was from Beth’s Helfter’s Oompah book (made using her accordion method), P. 56.

This is called Teri’s Candle, and it comes from a class I took with a fantastic quilter - and good friend - Teri Lucas.

The candle was the class, and I had put the piece aside without knowing how to finish it about 3 years ago. When i picked this one up, I looked at it in the light and decided that cross hatching with invisible thread would give it enough texture to make the candle stand out. This time, I found just enough of Tula Pink’s black and white fabric to make the binding (with a tiny bit of a chartreuse flange), and finished it.

Beth’s block, and Teri’s Candle were both finished and now have their own pride of place in new space.

So if you’re keeping count, I now have a working list o f13 UFOs to work on. In fairness, all of those pieces were small wall hanging sizes.

This next one is NOT small, and she’s been home from Florida since late spring.

This is Aurora Rising, the quilt that Cheryl Szynkowski and I are donating to the 2027 Ovarian Cancer Research Quilt Auction next year. This is the Northern Light’s pattern by Sew Kind of Wonderful.

Aurora is a big quilt at 74” x 74”, and Cheryl really brough the modern vibe of the pattern to life with her quilting. To be honest, she is the only quilt who has ever spent time in my closet, because I was worried something might happen to her with all the construction here - in fact, all my quilts were in my bedroom for the summer (something that doesn’t usually happen).

When I looked at my list, I noticed that Aurora only needed her label and her binding on, and she’d be done several months early (!). It’s a machine applied binding which came together quickly, and now this one is done. I picked up the teal colorway in the quilt in the binding, and I hope she’ll do well for next year’s auction. She’s going to hang out here for the winter, and then head to Texas next June.

At this point, I have 12 True UFOs in the works, and several of those are charity quilts.

The next one that I’ll be picking up is actually on the design wall now, and it’s a new pattern from me. I’m excited to get to work on it, and I can’t wait to see you.

Both Beth’s block and Teri’s Candle are hanging in my space, along with several others. It’s definitely beginning to feel like me.