I am kind of all over the place right now in my Quilting Journey. Not at a fork in the road - just kinda wanting to touch all the plants on the trail haha!!
It has been a lot of re-organizing , sorting, keeping and culling for the last 7 months - and EVERY time I start playing with fabrics I want to make something else.... so my piles ( for my pile projects) are growing... but alas the time in the day does not grow... ( Why????)
I figure - I already have the fabric .. why not keep starting new things? And if I finish - yay - if not.... well.... I learned something, or had some fun or enjoyed myself.
Then I went to a quilt lecture, and the speaker ( who was wonderful btw) said she had been cleaning her moms Quilting stash and was so overwhelmed the the amount of unfinished projects. She was sort of angry that her mother had not finished so many things. So the Speaker made herself a sign that said
'Just Finish it"
I got that, but at the same time... I don't.
Who says we have to finish everything that we start?
Who says that if we don't finish it we have wasted our time?
I have found some things that I haven't finished, and I probably won't... so I put them in a decide later pile. That way... I can think on them - do I want to take the time, do I want to pass them on? Who would benefit from this? or.... is it better to use as a rag? ( and yes - that is acceptable too)
My Mom was an Author. She had books published... but in her files... she has tons of stories that are half baked. Ideas that swirled in her head and never made it to the printed page. I believe that is a form of creativity too...
By no means, is anyone angry with her for not finishing each and every idea that comes into her head. However she is allowed to write them down, noodle them for a while, and then file them...
Creativity!!
All that to say - I started a new thing - without finishing something else. And it made me happy!!
And my cowgirl heart is Happy!!
Now to figure out how to get more time in the day..... You'll share that with me right??
Linking to:
- Design Wall Monday at Small quilts and Doll quilts
- Sew and Tell at Melva Loves Scraps
- Monday Musings at Songbird DEsigns
Great post, Alycia! I feel a weight off my shoulders. You are right, everything does not need to be finished. And none of my kids need to finish them either. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteOne day I shut off my computer. I suddenly had more time. then I did it again the next day. Same thing happened. Then by the end of the month, I had quite a pile of quilt blocks. I don't think stared anything new that month.
ReplyDeleteI can identify with the lecturer. There is a HUGE difference between stories in files not published and 4 (yes 4!) rooms full of fabric and hundreds of started projects. And quilt books! Why does anyone need 4 copies of the same book! My mother died 17 years ago and I still get upset when I think about that mess. I'm making sure I don't leave that chaos for my children to deal with.
ReplyDeleteI love your positive thoughts on creativity. I feel sad that the speaker expressed anger at her mom for not finishing things. I hope she finds a purpose for her mother's UFOs. Have fun playing and exploring with fabric.
ReplyDeleteI agree sometimes you start something and then just can't get the feel of the fabric, the color, the pattern - something you just don't love it like you did when you started it. I don't have a lot like that but if I don't want to finish them I'm not going to force myself. Instead of wasting her frustration on why wasn't this finished - pass it on to someone who wants to finish it or get rid of it and be done with it like she was
ReplyDeleteThe pressures we feel at HAVING to do chores, jobs around the house like cooking and cleaning DO NOT APPLY in the studio! That is a place free of pressure so that creativity can flourish! love you new blocks!!!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you 100%!! My joy is in creating the tops, not necessarily the finishing part. Just finished a quilt that has been waiting for 25 years and won a ribbon at our fair on it!!! Carlie
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on finally finishing that aging project. I too am working on some of those.
DeleteThe struggle is real. I love the cowboy fabric and the churn dash blocks you made. I totally get the problem with sorting and organizing and distraction. I have a few deadlines (good) but some of it is boring me (bad). Good luck with continued organization, and I don't worry about the naysayers....life interrupts, we continue and many of us will never finish it all, and that is ok!
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on this, start anything you want, any time. Think of it as the many pages of math problems or essays for English class. We learned something from each thing we did. We learn from each combination of colors and patterns and sometimes it leads to a quilt and maybe a finish. It puts a smile on our faces. I have boxes full of orphan blocks and have had fun making 2 quilts with them too.
ReplyDeleteI have already told my daughter she doesn't need to have all of my quilt tops finished into quilts, she can sell them, gift them or donate them. Making them made me happy and that was enough and she agrees. I'll finish as many as I can so I can gift a lot of them.
Philosophy on Monday! And your musings are right on. The common-theme for the churn dashes will provide a nice connection for the quilt.
ReplyDeleteCute churn dash blocks! I think that there is nothing wrong with starting something and then moving on if the idea isn't right for you. I'd much rather my mom do something that keeps her happy even if it means she leaves me a bunch of unfinished quilts and projects.
ReplyDeleteI adore this post! I am going to designate a “decide later shelf” in my closet and park a few things there. My guess is they will meld together and become something worth making or the decision to move them out of my space will become clear. THANK YOU for writing this post today! (PS - what name did your mom author under?)
ReplyDeleteI just took care of my friends 40+ years of quilting stash. She had over 40 UFO's. I just documented where she was (blocks made, pattern with it, extra fabric, etc) and put them out for 5 quilt guilds to choose to finish for charity (when possible). All but 4 of the kits were taken at her Great Stash Giveaway. Now to get the 30 or so quilt tops quilted and donated to charities. Start what you want. Be creative, and if you lose interest, pass it on (only when you know you don't ever want to finish it). I'll be going thru some of my UFO's to pass on. I have about 70 UFO's, but I know of about 10 or so that I'll never get around to finishing. Those will go away, and the others just might get finished one day (or not).
ReplyDeleteYes!!! Do what makes you happy. If you're not having fun, don't waste the time.
ReplyDeleteI discovered that a steady diet of UFOs can leave you really uninspired. But I do hope to finish most of my projects (in some way, maybe not a quilt) over the next few years. But you have to mix some fun stuff in there too. Good luck with all your piles.
ReplyDeletethanks so much for this post. i believe we learn something from everything we do. sometimes that is all that is required. i needed the reminder now. patti in florida
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely we quilters don't HAVE to finish every quilt we start. Eventually, those small starts can become an orphan quilt. At least that's what I did a few years ago. I love that orphan quilt and all that it represents.
ReplyDeleteArtists of any medium will have unfinished projects... it is simply what we do! I love that your heart is happy <3
I finally decided that my first quilt, started during Desert Storm, did NOT need to be bed sized, so I just added borders and now it is at the longarmer waiting for her machine to be fixed. That is 30 years ago, folks! I'm better at the 1/4" seams now!
ReplyDeleteWonderful post, Alycia! I agree...we do NOT have to finish everything we start, which is a good thing for me! LOL Sometimes you just lose interest after a while. Put it aside and I might love it later! Thanks for linking up with Monday Musings. I really love your cowboy churn dash blocks!
ReplyDeleteQuilter, know thyself. I prefer NOT be all over the place. That said, I made not a single motion toward sewing anything for September. So, yesterday I declared the remainder of 2023 "the whim of the moment" as my studio mantra. And indeed, I was all over the place yesterday and had so much fun!
ReplyDeleteWishing everyone a fabulous Fall :-)