Mike & Gabby: May 2017

Enough acronyms for you? I find it interesting how people with a common job or interest end up developing their own lingo. I called my sister on it the other day when she was talking about a report she was writing for work. She kept repeating an acronym (can't remember what it was now) and I finally had to stop and tell her I had no idea what that meant. We have so many in quilting as well - HST, FQ, F8, WOF, etc. I know that some people who read my blog (aka family) aren't quilters and don't know what these terms mean, so I try to spell them out whenever I use them.

So today's post is about my UFOs (UnFinished Objects) and WIPs (Works In Progress) and my obvious OCD (I expect everyone is familiar with this one!) In my last post I mentioned how many projects I was juggling right now (5) and how many others I also wanted to work on. I've since added another secret project on my 'immediate' list. I knew I had A LOT of projects I had either started or wanted to start, but since they were put away in cupboards and cabinets and closets I had no idea how many there really were. And even though they were neatly organized, I thought it was to time to go through them all and see what I had. (If nothing else, hopefully it will keep me from buying any more!)

I started by pulling out every quilt top that was done but not quilted (Tops). I went through every project that I had started but wasn't yet a completed top (UFOs). I dug through all of my kits - these included multiple BOMs (blocks of the months), where I have all (or most) of the fabric but haven't started to sew anything (Kits). Over the years there have been a few fabric lines that I just really loved and purchased a good amount of fabric, but haven't decided on a pattern yet (Fabric). There's definitely enough to make good size quilts from them though. And finally, I went through all of my patterns and picked out those special ones that I've looked at again and again over the years telling myself that one day I'm going to make them (Patterns). As you can see from the size of my binder above, this was a BIG undertaking! Much larger than I thought it would be. In fact, just counting the quilt tops, UFOs, kits and few bundles of fabric, I have 91 projects in my queue. YIKES! This doesn't include any of the patterns I would one day like to make...

So now I know how many projects I need to get busy making. But I actually didn't go through all this work just to find out that number (staggering as it is). I have 2 better reasons for doing this. First, with all of my projects put away, I tended to forget about most of them. And when I would pull one out, I'd have to spend time trying to figure out where I last was on it. Now, I've filled out an information sheet on each project so I know exactly what I have left to do. And since all of the projects are in this one binder, I can look through it at any time and decide on my next project(s). Plus I took lots of pictures, so it's great eye candy!

My second reason for making this binder is a little morbid but very practical. If something should happen to me, I don't want all of my projects to end up unfinished or in the garbage because no one can figure out what's what. This way other quilters can see where I left off and what's necessary to finish a project. If a quilt top isn't already basted, in most cases, it's been placed with it's backing, batting and binding over a hanger. All the fabric for a UFO or Kit is placed together except for backings which are on bolts. In that case, I've included a note saying that and a picture showing what that fabric looks like. There are a few kits that may not have the borders or backing yet and if so, I've mentioned it in my notes. I certainly hope to live long enough to finish ALL 91 UFOs, but am preparing if God has other plans!

I was actually going to share my progress on several quilts, but I'll have to save it for another post. I didn't intend to ramble on quite so long about my binder, but I get very excited about organization! One of my quirks I suppose. One final note - I got the free template for the projects sheets at from Pixels to Patchwork.

On a completely different note, our sweet girl just celebrated another birthday. She turned 11. She's getting a little grey in the muzzle and a little rounder in the tummy, but she's doing really well.