Month: July 2025

For real time reference, this blog was written July 14, 2025.

It’s mid-summer and I’ve been   a pretty busy quilter.  I’ve quilted two of the T-shirt quilts I’ve been working on, have the third one on the longarm, and have one bound and ready to go.  As soon as the other two are completely finished, they’ll be winging their way to my aunt’s home in South Carolina, where hopefully they’ll ease the heartache she, my cousin, and my uncle feel from my cousin Kemp’s passing a little over a year ago.  As soon as they receive the quilts and have a chance to look them over, I’ll post pictures of them in my blog.  But I do want Kemp’s family to see them first.

The second quilt grouping I’ve worked on are these three little delights:

I have a Halloween door quilt, a bench pillow cover, and a small quilt. For several years now I’ve always decorated my entrance way according to seasons and holidays. It always makes me smile when I come through the door.  These were so, so, so much fun to make.  The door quilt and the bench pillow were made from kits from Shabby Fabrics and the Fat Quarter Shop.  I made the small quilt out of scraps leftover from each.

Now on to my new favorite color.  If you’ve been a regular reader of mine for any length of time, or one of my close quilting friends, you may remember my favorite color is purple.  I don’t use it overwhelmingly in my quilts or really anywhere in my house (except my bedroom), but I do love purple – especially the light, lovely lavenders.  Recently however, yellow has commanded my attention, and I need to tell you why.  Let me also throw in a disclaimer here.  If you would rather not know personal things about me or if health-related topics stress you out, feel free to click out of this blog and go about your day – no hard feelings.

Let’s back it up to Memorial Day.  I was looking forward to the long weekend.  It had been a particularly difficult season for my husband’s and my business.  We were getting through that, and things were settling back into my normal routine.  I got up on Saturday with plans to head to Danville with the hubs.  I had fixed my hair and make up and went into his den/study to tell him I was ready to go.

“You look yellow,” were the words out of his mouth.

I kind of brushed it off. I had changed makeup foundations and purchased a new brand.  I figured I had leaned too hard towards one with yellow undertones.  I explained this to him, and we got in the car and headed for Danville.  That night when I removed my makeup, Bill perused me again.

“You’re still yellow.”

Well, as much as I had been looking forward to a quiet weekend, it didn’t happen.  He put me in the car and headed to a Mediquick clinic near our home, thinking I needed an antibiotic or something.  A urine sample later, they were taking me to High Point Regional Hospital because I was jaundiced – pretty badly.  I chose High Point  Regional Hospital due to the fact it was affiliated with Wake Forest Baptist Hospital.  I knew if something was seriously wrong, they would immediately transfer me to Baptist in Winston Salem. 

Which they did.  Not only did I have jaundice, but it was due to the fact I had a mass blocking my bile duct from my liver to my gall bladder.  I’m sure you know what happened from there. 

Tests.

MRIs.

Scans.

A stent was inserted via endoscopy from my liver to my stomach because the mass was blocking the gall bladder duct.  A biopsy was performed. 

Here’s the deal. Yes, I have a mass on the head of my pancreas.  It’s approximately 3.9 centimeters.  After two biopsies and sixteen samples later, the majority of that mass is negative.  Five samples came back as rare positive cells (which means “few”).  There also are a few spots on my liver.  Mayo Clinic was consulted, they read the biopsy and agreed with Wake Forest Baptist Hospital’s findings.  Blood was drawn and sent away for DNA sampling to pinpoint exactly what type of chemotherapy I need. 

The good news is the stent is working wonderfully.  I call it “Steve” and he and I have a great relationship.  Most of the time I don’t even know he’s there.   And I no longer look like Marge Simpson.

I also was introduced to a drug called Creon.  When you have issues with your pancreas, quite often it cannot secrete the enzymes you need to properly digest your food and Creon replaces those enzymes.  I can’t tell you what a wonderful difference this has made.  I can eat pretty normally (no salads or red meat due to the stent – at least for now) without the miserable bloated feeling I had before.  I take it right before I eat.

So what does all this mean for me?  Well, my chemo doctor has arranged for a port to be installed (which I’m grateful for because I am tired of identifying as a pincushion) and chemo begins July 30. I’ll have chemo once every two weeks for 14 weeks. I am optimistic and want you to be optimistic for me, too.  What does it mean for my blog?  I hope nothing changes.  Most of you know I keep several blogs “in the can” and ready to post, so if I miss a few days writing, it doesn’t affect the blog for a couple of weeks.  They may be shorter than normal, and I may re-run some of the more popular blogs from years ago my new readers may not know about.  But if I’m late posting, don’t give up on me.  I’m still here.

What can you do?  Pray, send good vibes, good juju – whatever it is you do, please send it my way.  Bill has been a regular Florence Nightingale, and I don’t know what I would do without him.  My kids are pillars of support.  My brother, Eric, as well as my daughter have been great sounding boards as cancer survivors.  My quilting sisters surround me with love and distract me when I get gloomy.  My quilting BFFs, Janet and Susan, have taken me out for meals and worked to keep our quilting life as normal as possible.

Ironically, I feel really good.  My energy levels are back to normal. I’ve stopped losing weight (I lost 30 pounds before they put me on Creon).  But if I didn’t become jaundiced, turned that wonderfully, horrible shade of yellow, I would have never known about this ticking timebomb in my abdomen because I had no pain, no symptoms at all.

So I’m loving that color right now.

Keep me in your thoughts and prayers.  If you belong to a prayer circle or your church has a prayer list, I’d be ever so grateful if you would put me on it.  I believe in the power of prayer and the power of the Great Healer.  I’ve seen His work.  Message me if you have questions (within reason) or want to know how I’m doing.  I do understand that each cancer journey is unique and personal, and other people have tried diets and alternatives, but I’m sticking with my oncologist at Baptist and what he tells me to do.

Until Next Week,

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Felix

Pardon me for a second while I climb up on my quilty soapbox one more time…

Quilt documentation…quilt journals…quilt labels are topics I have written about many times since 2010.  Every so often an event, a quilt, or a picture of one of my foremothers sitting in front of a quilt on Ancestry.com will set me off again, wondering why the quilt at least didn’t have a label.  It makes me sad, it makes me wonder, but above all, it makes me just a wee bit angry.  Quilt documentation – accurate documentation – is so important not just to quilting history, but also to women’s history itself. 

The study of women’s history did not begin in America until the 1970’s.  Until roughly the 1920’s, with few exceptions, a good chunk of what we know about women came through their work in textiles – quilts, clothing, household linens.  However, we have so little documentation on these items.  There are some diaries, household inventories, and letters, but overall there is serious lack of documentation on any of it. Which makes people like me – who invest a good portion of their quilting research time in history – just a tad irritated.  But what’s even worse is today’s quilters, as a whole, still see little need for documenting their work. 

And a part of me gets it.  I do.  Documentation is one more step in the quilting process.  When we’re finally in our studios and we have a couple of hours to sew, the last thing we want to do is write down thoughts, inspirations, or the reasons behind us doing what we do.  However, let’s “second think” this process.  By definition, the word documentation means “material that provides official information or evidence or that serves as a record.”  The evidence of our quilting is the quilts themselves.  But the information behind those quilts lives in our heads and our heads only until we decide to share those facts with others.  Documentation preserves the historical and cultural significance of quilts, which act as valuable records in our lives as women (and men, too).  Documentation provides the context of artistic expression and social history.  It ensures the stories behind these quilts are not lost, allowing future generations to understand the context, techniques, and personal narratives woven into each quilt.

Here’s why quilt documentation is particularly valuable:

• The Historical Record

Quilts aren’t just decorative items.  They are more than just something to keep us warm at night.  Quilts themselves are just as important historical document as declarations, decrees, and treaties.  Quilt documentation captures details about the quilt’s creation, the maker, and the era in which it was made, providing insights into women’s history, cultural practices and artistic expression.

• Preserving Legacy

Documenting quilts ensures the stories behind them are preserved for future generations.  These stories might include the maker’s personal experiences, family history, or the purpose for which the quilt was made.  Quilts are often family heirlooms, and documenting them helps preserve the stories and memories associated with them, ensuring they are passed down with context and not conjecture. 

• Understanding Women’s History

Quilts offer a unique perspective on women’s history, as they were often a primary form of artistic expression and a way for women to connect with their communities.  Documentation can reveal the diversity of quiltmakers, their ethnicities, races, and social classes, providing a more complete picture of women’s roles in society.

• Prevents Anonymous Quilts

All of my antique quilts – except one – has absolutely nothing about the maker on the quilt.  No names, no dates, no locations.  While I can love and admire these quilts for years, I will probably never know who the creator was nor why she made that quilt.  And that’s just a tad heartbreaking.  So many quilts are made without detailed information about their origin, making them “anonymous.”  Documentation helps reduce the number of anonymous quilts by capturing the stories and details of their creation, ensuring that these quilts are not forgotten.

• Promotes Appreciation

How will the future generations of folks ever even care about quilting if there’s no historical data telling why quilting was and is important?  How will they know the value of meditatively pulling thread and needle through fabric or enjoying the company of other quilters if there’s no evidence of it?  Documenting quilts can enhance appreciation for the artistry, craftsmanship, and cultural significance of these textiles as well as inspire new generations of quilters and researchers to explore the rich history of quilt making.

Those are the reasons why quilt documentation is valuable.  Hopefully the reasons are eye-popping enough that you want to begin to take steps in documenting your quilts.  However, I also want to be perfectly frank with you at this point: I don’t document all of my quilts.  I have a chest full of seasonal table toppers, small quilts, and door quilts which I have not put one word into documenting.  As a matter of fact, they don’t even have a label.  Why?  Because I use them throughout the years and at some point, I’m sure they’ll be “used up” and tossed.  While I love these quilts – they do bring a great deal of color and joy to my home – I haven’t documented any of them except for the few times I’ve mentioned them in my blog.  But there are some quilts in every quilter’s life, which deserve documentation.  Those quilts that are heirlooms.  Those quilts whose creative process kept you sane through a particularly stormy period in your life.  Those quilts made for special occasions, special days, or for special people.  All of those deserve documentation.  Why?  It all goes back to the first paragraph of this blog: Preserving history.  Those special quilts are often family heirlooms and documenting them helps preserve the stories and memories associated with them, ensuring they’re passed down in context. 

Documentation can also help you keep track of where your quilts are and who now owns them.  If you’re a prolific quilt maker, you may have promised certain quilts to certain people and having a paper trail of those promises can help you keep everything straight.  Documentation also allows you to record materials, size, construction, and any special features or patterns.  This type of information provides valuable insights for future quilters and historians.  When I make a really special quilt – such as an heirloom one for the grand darlings – I keep the pattern, sales receipts for fabric and notions, and any sketches in a notebook for their future use.  I think this type of information will be interesting for them in the future and will help keep the quilt in historical context if they decide to sell it.  Which brings me to my next point, documenting your quilts can serve as a source of information and inspiration for future generations who may be interested in your craft, family history, or specific quilt.  As I continue to plow through research on my maternal side of my family, I am struck by how many of the women were quilters and were often photographed with their quilts. 

I would love to know the history of these quilts and their makers, but there’s nothing out there on the internet.  Imagine how grateful your family will be if they have access to the details about your quilts.  This would not only give them a better understanding of your quilts, but also a better understanding of you.  As you share your personal stories, your inspiration, and your memories related to each quilt, you add layers of meaning and connections to your work.

We’ve discussed the ways documenting your quilts may help your family and future generations of quilt historians and quilters, but it also could benefit you.  Documentation is often required for quilt shows and exhibitions.  Having a fairly detailed record of your quilts can be very helpful.  This information will tell you when a quilt was begun and when it was finished, how large the quilt is (without having to take the time to re-measure it), the name of the quilt, any pattern used, and who did the quilting (if it wasn’t you).

Since we’ve discussed documentation in detail – why it’s important and how it’s helpful – let’s talk about what exactly should be in the information.  I’m not necessarily talking about pages and pages of notes and details, but it is helpful to have a few pictures of the quilt, the name of the quilt, the dimensions, any pattern used either directly or for inspiration, the date the quilt was started and the date finished, who the quilt is for, the occasion the quilt was made, the city and state the quilt was made in, and who quilted the quilt.  So this isn’t a ton of information and it’s not going to take you hours and hours to record.  Some quilters keep this information in a Word document and save it to the Cloud, some quilters keep physical journals of their quilts and the information.  Some quilters have discovered Quilt Alliance.  Quilt Alliance is a website (https://quiltalliance.org/) and they specialize in assisting you in your quilt documentation, either written or in video format.  I would encourage you to check them out.  They do make it super easy for you.

Lastly…let’s talk quilt labels.  I must admit, for quite a number of years, I was pretty naïve about them.  This was because my early quilt teachers emphasized that quilt labels were just as much a part of the quilting process as the binding and the piecing.  Your quilt wasn’t finished until a label was attached.  It wasn’t until I began quilting with other quilt groups that I found out this quilt-label-sentiment did not sit well with all quilters.  Some quilters labeled each and every quilt.  Some quilters only labeled significant quilts, and other quilters eschewed labels all together.  Personally, I still believe they are very important, if only for the fact that if your quilt got lost, if it had a label, it could find its way home faster than if it had no label.  But do I still label every quilt?

No.

See the above paragraphs about door quilts, small quilts, and table toppers.  Unless I give these quilts as gifts, they do not have a label.

However, I still believe a quilt label is the least you can do as far as quilt documentation goes, and labels really don’t take a long time to make.  I make my label when I cut out my quilt.  I’ve found if the label is in with all the quilt pieces, it’s really no trouble to sew it on.  However, if I had to stop and make a label after the quilt was complete … well, it might not get done. 

My labels aren’t super big, but they do contain enough information for quilt historians to have a successful search if they want to.  My labels have the following information:

Name of the Quilt

My name and if I pieced, appliqued, and quilted it.

If I did not quilt it, I have “Quilted By” on the third line

City and state I was in when I made the quilt

Quilt pattern used or the one which inspired the quilt (if any).  If there is none, I add that I designed the quilt on the second line.

The date the quilt was started and the date it was finished.

One esoteric fact – such as the price of a gallon of gas or a loaf of bread on the date the quilt was finished. 

I use computer generated labels.  For me this is the easiest and fastest way to make a label.  I use a word processing program and can drop clip art or pictures into the label if I want to.  Most of the time I add the date started and finished with a Pigma pen, because while I certainly know the date I began the quilt when I make the label, it’s anybody’s guess when the quilt will be complete. 

Until recently – within the last few years – I always included the label as part of the binding process.  I would sew on the binding and then add the label.  However, over the past several years there has been an increase in quilt thefts, both at shows and from luggage.  A hand-sewn on label is pretty easy to dispose of and if the label is the only truly piece of evidence identifying your possession of the quilt, you could lose your quilt for good.  I now applique the label to the quilt backing and quilt through it in the quilting process.  That label is on good and tight, and I don’t think anyone will go through the trouble of removing it.

I hope this blog has given you pause to think about how important quilt documentation is.  While you don’t have to document or label every quilt you make, I hope you make sure the important quilts in your life do have some kind of information attached to them.  You may not consider your quilt very important or even noteworthy, but that doesn’t mean future generations of quilts and quilt historians won’t. 

Until next week,

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Felix.

We quilters come up with all kinds of quilting games to keep ourselves amused.  We take on challenges, design mystery quilts, and participate in sew-alongs.  At some point in your quilting journey you may be asked to join in a Round Robin.  What is a Round Robin?  It’s a quilt made by a committee.  Let me explain. 

A Round Robin is a collaborative quilting project where a quilt is created by several people, each adding a round or border to a central block as it’s passed among quilters.  In other words, you make a block.  This is the center medallion for your quilt.  Then this center is passed to another quilter who will add  bottom, top, and side borders to it.  This process is repeated by another quilter.  Eventually, it’s returned to you, with (hopefully) your quilt center enhanced by all the beautiful borders added to the medallion. 

Round Robins became a “thing” about 20 years or so ago, and interest in them has waxed and waned as time goes on.  You may not hear about any Round Robin for several years and then all of a sudden there are several which pop up on your quilting horizon.  And it’s good to note that a Round Robin is different from a Row Robin.  A Round Robin will look like this:

A center with numerous borders encircling it.

A Row Robin will look like this:

With a Row Robin, quilters design a row of quilt squares or applique or quilt squares and applique and make the row a specifically required length.  The rows are sewn together to form a quilt.  Usually a Row Robin has some sort of theme to it (such as Summertime Fun), but not always.

This blog will hopefully shed some light on two aspects of a Round Robin:  How to start one and how to successfully sew your way through one.

Rules to Round Out Your Robin

The first thing needed is a group of committed quilters.  Most Round Robins work pretty successfully with five to six members.  More group members mean more borders and if you’re not careful you could end up with a huge quilt top.  If you have more than five or six, consider breaking them into two groups.  It’s also helpful (if possible) to have advanced quilters in one group and beginner/intermediate in another.  If this isn’t doable, be sure any beginner quilter who wants to participate has access to an experienced quilter who can mentor them.

The next thing to do is decide on the center block size.  This doesn’t have to be a “do-all-end-all” rule, but it is important to keep the medallion at a reasonable size.  A lot of Round Robins assign center blocks anywhere between 12-inches and 18-inches square.  These sizes make the center block easy to work with, but won’t make the finished quilt too large.  And while we’re discussing the center square, let me throw in a personal frustration with some medallions.  Please – for the love of all things quilty – don’t make your center square the holder of all prime numbers.  In other words, don’t make the center 13-inches, 17-inches, 19-inches, or any other prime numbers square.  Prime numbers can only be divided by themselves, which makes constructing a pieced border difficult.  The quilter receiving your block will have to figure out a “floater” (narrow border) which will bring the prime-numbered center square up to a size that’s easier to work with. Another issue which you may want to address is can the center block be a rectangle?  This may sound a bit picky, but if you have beginner/intermediate quilters, those folks may be much more comfortable working with a square than a rectangle.  An advanced group of quilters are more likely to just go with the rectangle without too much worry.

Center sizes and participants decided on, now it’s time to get down to the nitty gritty. 

Some Round Robins have a lot of rules.  Some have a few.  And among close quilting friends, there may be none.  It all depends.  Personally, I think a few rules are good to have as they set some guidelines and expectations.  I do think that each participant should prepare a “kit” to go with their block.  This “kit” can be a bag or box and in it place your block and fabrics you want used to make your borders. 

Let’s pause for a second and talk about the fabric.  While it’s nearly impossible to perfectly calculate the amount of fabric needed for all the borders (because who knows what some of your creative quilting friends will come up with?), do try to have yardage as well as fat quarters, 5-inch charms, etc., in your box.  A variety of fabric cuts always work better than say three 1-yard cuts of fabric.  Remember this will be your quilt top when the Round Robin is over and you do want it to be something you love.  Second, even with the best fabric intentions, there will come a time when the material in your box may run short.  If that happens, do you want the other participants to call you and you re-supply with your stock, or is it okay if they pull from their own stash?  This is important, so I also think it’s imperative you have a note in your box with your contact information on it, as well as your fabric preferences, such as “no browns” or “no batiks” or “my favorite color is blue.”  This gives the other quilters a bit of latitude if they can pull from their own stash to bless your quilt. You may also want to include additional information such as your favorite quilt block, your not-so-favorite quilt block, and any techniques you don’t particularly care for – such as applique or prairie points, etc.*

Now for turnaround time.  Each quilter in your group will have a chance to add borders to your center square.  This means the blocks will need to be swapped out and given to another quilter in the group.  Some groups give their members one month to complete the borders and hand it off to another quilter.  Some Round Robins allow for more time. My “rule” for handling the turnaround time is to assess the groups’ members.   If everyone works full time or has lots of family demands, a two-month turnaround time may work best for everyone and alleviate any stress.   Regardless, I think the last border needs a two-month deadline because it is the largest border and will require more time. 

Finally, the group needs to decide if there will be “progress reveals.” When it’s time to swap kits, will everyone show what they’ve done or will they wait until the Round Robin is complete and everyone reveal their completed Round Robin then? 

Now that some simple ground rules have been established, let’s talk about successfully completing your Robin.

How to Be Successful with Your Round Robin

Round Robins are fun.  They stretch your expertise and creativity as a quilter.  If they sound like something you’re interested in and like to try, I encourage you to do so.   However, before jumping in headfirst, I also encourage you to think about a few things – with the first being your own time.  Do you have availability in your schedule for a Round Robin?  While we all know life can happen and things can change on the spin of a dime, overall do you have the time to commit to designing borders for what is essentially someone else’s quilt?  You can’t just throw on plain fabric strips as borders in a Round Robin.  Nope.  There’s some piecing or some applique which needs to be involved. 

The second issue is communication.  Be sure to reach out to the person whose quilt is under your needle if you have any questions.  The Round Robin participant may have a list of likes and dislikes in their kit, but still sometimes questions arise.  Don’t pretend to be a mind reader.  Get in touch with the person and ask your questions.  Trust me, they won’t mind answering any concerns. 

Third, don’t allow your Round Robin to become just another UFO.  Try to, as much as you can, already have a finishing plan for your quilt.  Having the backing, a quilting plan, and even the binding prepped makes finishing the quilt so much easier.  Of course, you may not know the exact final measurements until your quilt is back in your hands, but you probably have some idea – especially if there have been several reveals during the Round Robin. 

I realize not every quilter works like I do, but I will share with you the way I handle Round Robins.  As soon as I have the quilt kit back in my studio, I pull the quilt out and place it on my cutting table.  I look at it closely, following any type of theme the other participants may have begun with their stitching.  I also take out the fabric from the kit and arrange it around the center square to give me an idea of what I have left to work with – what are my largest “chunks” of fabric, and which ones are my “scrappies” that I could enlist in  an applique process? Finally I read any notes/preferences the block owner has left for me so I can be sure to follow her guidelines. 

Then I let it simmer for a short while.  My cutting table is in a location I walk by several times a day when I’m in my studio.  As I’m just kind of taking it in, my quilty subconscious is hard at work – thinking, analyzing, and creating.  After a few days (usually five to seven days), I revisit the block and boot up my EQ8.  By this point, I usually have some kind of idea about what I want to do.  EQ8 helps me sketch these ideas out so I get a really good image of how the quilt will look with my borders – especially if I take a picture of the quilt center and load that into EQ8.  I check and double check my borders, contact the owner with any questions or concerns and get to work.

I’m also one of those quilters who tend to be hyper-focused if I have a deadline.  I will work almost exclusively on the Round Robin until I am finished.  This way it’s one more thing off my quilting plate and I can work on my own projects with no guilty feelings. 

Round Robins are fun, challenging, and will definitely stretch you as a quilter.  I love them for all those reasons plus the fact they put me in the designer’s seat.  I make all the quilty decisions about the borders I will add on, all the while keeping in mind the theme of the quilt and the work the previous Round Robin participants have done.  If you have the opportunity and the time, I would encourage you to give a Round Robin a try. 

Until Next Week,

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Felix

*I think the most negative experience I ever had with a Round Robin had to do with fabric – or a lack of it.  I was participating in one several years ago that my local guild was offering.  At that time, the group leader stated, “additional fabric is optional,” knowing that most of us had abundant stashes we wouldn’t mind pulling from – which overall was true.  One of the participants had a larger than required center block and she wanted us to use only batiks – which are more expensive than quilting cottons.  And she included no batiks in her kit – it was just her center square.  While I’m normally not a petty person (no, really, I’m not), I drew the line at this.  I don’t keep a lot of batiks in my stash, but I had a bit of yardage in a blue batik.  I cut plain strips as narrow as I could get away with and sewed them on the center.  While I think it’s great to pull from your own stash to help round out a Round Robin’s borders, I do think it’s insensitive and selfish to put the entire burden of your quilt’s borders  on the participants. 

This week we’re finishing up our series on UFOS and how to manage them. Today we’ll take a hard look about what to keep, what to give away, and what to toss.

How Do I Decide What to Keep and What to Release?

This is a very personal question, and both the questions and answers can vary from quilter to quilter.  Below are some general questions I ask myself, to clarify what’s worth my time and energy. These may or may not work for you.  You may see the need to create your own evaluation standards.

• Do I still love this project?  Do I still get excited about it?  Does it still inspire me?
• Am I still willing to expend the time and energy on this UFO?  Be really honest with yourself when you ask this question.  You may still love this pattern, but do you want to spend all the time it would take to hand applique 16 blocks?  Do you really want to piece 67 four-inch blocks?  If you honestly, truly can’t see yourself expending the time and energy to complete the project, let it go.  Or at least set it aside and think about it for 24 hours and then re-evaluate the question.
• Will I hold off on any new projects while I complete this one? Again, honesty is key here.
• Will working on it bring joy or feel like a chore?  If it feels like an obligation, is the UFO really worth it?
• Does this project still make sense?  A baby quilt for someone who is now a teenager may not make the cut.  A quilt you began for your bedroom 10 years and three paint jobs ago may not work any longer for you. 
• Can I realistically finish this in the next six to twelve months?  Again, honesty is key when answering this question.  If you’re obligated to other quilts (such as a class, a guild project, etc.), answer this question carefully.  If you can’t see yourself either finishing or at least making a major headway on the quilt, you may want to let it go.  I think the exceptions to this rule are either hand pieced or hand appliqued quilts.  Those naturally take a bit longer, but if you’re consistently working on them, keep them.

Also, allow me to be completely transparent here.  There are some projects you will never complete no matter how many times you ask those questions.  Some unfinished projects create more stress than they’re worth.  So much so that they’ll never inspire any inspiration – they’ll make you want to shove them out of sight and out of mind again.  So if seeing a project triggers guilt or anxiety, or you’re avoiding it because of past mistakes, or if it feels like an obligation rather than a joy, rid yourself of them or allow time to soften your feelings.  That quilt I worked on when my dad was in Hospice?  I know I will never finish it.  It’s too difficult to work on. It brings up too many memories. Instead, I took the three blocks I did finish and had them framed.  I still can’t bring myself to hang them, but one day I will.  The applique quilt from that chaotic class?  I know I will finish it.  The fabrics are beautiful and as soon as I can dig the bin out of my storage closet, I will start on it again and I can see myself finishing it in a year’s time.  If the project is one you’re avoiding because of past mistakes, it’s probably a good idea to get rid of those, too.  This kind of depends on where you’re at progress-wise as a quilter.  When you began the project, it may have been too difficult for your skill level.  Since then, you may have learned more and conquered the techniques that were giving you such a hard time.  Now you may be able to complete the quilt just fine, but again, the question is will you? 

Finally, if the project remains feeling more of an obligation than a joy, it may be time to find it a new home or repurpose it.  We have enough obligations in our lives.  Quilting should be fun and not a chore.  The path forward is this:  Be honest with yourself (do you truly want to finish the project), assess your options (can it be repurposed or passed along) and let go of perfection (a finished project with imperfections is better than an abandoned one). 

Allow me one more helpful hint under the topic of what to keep and what to let go – it’s really great if you have another quilting buddy who can work with you through this process.  Someone who can look at your UFOs with fresh eyes can be super helpful as you decide whether to finish, rework, or release projects.

Give Yourself Permission to Let Go

Sometimes this is the most difficult thing to do.  We look at our UFOs and try to weigh the financial and time investments already expended against the freedom of releasing them.  So it’s important to give yourself permission to let go of them. Releasing them does not mean either the project or you are failures.  Allow yourself to feel the space for new creativity – clearing out the old allows for new inspiration.  And choose intentionally – only keep what truly deserves your time and energy.  This can be accomplished by making four piles of your UFOs.

Pile One – Keepers.  You realize you do love the project and will finish it soon.  Prioritize the projects which bring you joy.

Pile Two – The Maybes. You’re unsure if you’ll keep the project or let go of it, but the UFO has definite potential.  Maybe it needs a fresh perspective or a slight tweak.

Pile Three – Nope.  These UFOs are no longer for me, but someone else may love it.  Plan to donate it, sell it, or swap it.

Pile Four – Beyond Saving.  If it’s damaged or no longer relevant, let it go.

Try to move the piles three and four out as quickly as possible.  Immediately store pile one in bins, labeled bags, or clear, plastic containers to keep them organized and accessible.

Now let’s talk about that ubiquitous pile two, the Maybes.  This is where I step aside from it for about 24-hours and then return to pile two and make some decisions.  At this point, at least for me, it’s either a hard no or I need to keep it.  If it’s a nope, then I move these UFOs out of my studio as quickly as possible.  For the ones I want to keep, they get their own storage bin, labeled bag, or clear, plastic container.

I Have My Keep Pile.  Now What?

Momentum is key at this point.  I find it helpful to begin with the UFO which is the closest to being finished.  If the quilt only needs a binding or a small fix, move it to the top of the list.  Finishing a project gives you a quilting rush (it releases the dopamine in your brain) and makes you want to finish another one.  If a certain step feels overwhelming, consider swapping tasks with a friend.  For instance, in my local guild, we have a member who absolutely loves to bind quilts.  If one of us is in a pinch to finish a project, or we simply don’t like to bind, we ask her if she would like to do it.  And if you don’t like to quilt your own quilts or you simply don’t have the time, let a long arm artist finish this step for you.  There is no shame in that game.

Finally, even after you’ve looked through your Keep file, you’re still feeling a bit overwhelmed, rethink your projects.  Can some of them be downsized into a lap quilt, wall hanging or mini quilt?  If you’ve only made a few blocks, could these be joined together for a wall hanging, table topper, or bed runner?  And leftover fabric as a result of this downsizing can be added to your stash, donated, or put on the free table at guild meeting.  And a quilt top you don’t love enough to finish could be used as a backing for another quilt.  The important thing is to think outside the box as you push your way through your UFOs.

Ready, Set, Go!

Once you’ve perused your Keep Pile a couple of times, now let’s get organized and keep the momentum going.

• Begin with the easiest project or the one closest to completion to keep the momentum going.
• If you’re not sure what project to start with, write the names of each on a slip of paper, put the slips in a container, and draw one at random.
• Keep all materials for each project together in clear zip-lock bags or bins.
• Mark the progress on the pattern with notes to avoid confusion when you pick up the project next time.
• Keep a hand project near your chair, another in a tote for on-the-go sewing, and one by the machine.  That way there’ll be no searching for the next project.  You’ll be ready to put in some serious stitching.
• Dedicate 20-60 minutes a day (or whatever works for your schedule) to your UFOs.  I have found two ways to keep progressing on any project – UFO or otherwise. When I sit down to sew, I set a 20-minute timer.  This way I can commit to 20 minutes of uninterrupted sewing time.  You’d be really surprised what you can accomplish in 20 minutes.  If I have a particularly challenging quilt under my needle, I make a “date” with it.  This is a block of a couple of hours where I’m completely devoted to the project.  For me, this is usually when my husband goes and plays golf.  I’m guaranteed a few hours of uninterrupted time. 
• Track your UFOs.  Set a date you want a project completed and then keep up with its progress by logging it into your note section on your phone, a paper  calendar, or use an app such as Quiltful.  I use an Excel spreadsheet.  Mark off each completed step and completed project.  This is such a satisfying thing to do!
• Try to make it social and fun.  Partner with. a group or a friend for accountability.  Use a self-reward system – celebrate progress with small regards such as a new fat quarter, a notion, a class, or a fancy coffee.  Join or organize a charity quilt day for those UFOs you don’t think you’ll keep.  Giving back also spurs momentum and can be so motivating.  Plan a quilt retreat focused on finishing projects. Participate in UFO challenges (there are Facebook groups for this), quilting groups, or sew-alongs. Being part of such a group can be very encouraging and applies a bit of accountability.    Be just as creative with the finishing process as you are with every other step of this procedure. 
• Limit new projects.  Before starting a new project, commit to finishing at least one UFO first.  And if you do start a new project, write down your vision, deadline, and plan/schedule your next steps so it doesn’t turn into another UFO.
• If you do have to set aside your UFO for a while, be sure to make a note where you left off so when you pick it back up, you know exactly what to do.

By keeping things manageable, organized, and fun you’ll find you can finish more UFOs than you thought you ever could.  The sticking point – as much for me as anyone else – is starting the process.  After you’ve quilted over 40 years, you have more than a few UFOs.  I’m sifting through mine a few at time so I don’t feel so overwhelmed.  Hopefully I’m making wise decisions.  I encourage you to do the same (unless you have absolutely no UFOS and finish one project before starting another). 

Until Next Week …

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Felix

*This blog was inspired by Sorting and Letting Go of UFOs by The Art of Home.  Huge thank you to my quilting friend Sharon for sending me this information.

Most of us have them.  Many of us have more than a few.  They sit, lurking in the darkest parts of closets, the deepest depths of drawers, or stowed away under a bed.  Occasionally they sit out in the open, invading the solitude and creativity of our quilt studio – silently judging us and us judging them.  What am I talking about?

UFOs.

For the uninitiated, when quilters talk about UFOs, we’re not talking about unidentified flying objects.  Nope.  What we’re referring to are Unfinished Objects.  These UFOs are different from WIPS (works in progress) but may be related to PIGs (projects in grocery bags).  The term UFO indicates a project started long ago that we haven’t put a stitch in for years and have no firm date to put another stitch in.  These poor projects may be a year or two old, or older than 20 years.  We can’t seem to get rid of them, but nor are we motivated to pick them up and start again.  Either we’ve hit a mental brick wall, have lost interest, got stuck on a step, or simply became excited about a new, shiny project which caused us to stow away what we were working on and begin something new.  Either way, we’ve accumulated a few (and in some cases more than a few) UFOs.  What I hope this blog does is help you begin to understand why you have these unfinished projects, sort through them with a critical eye, and make a plan for those poor, ignored projects.

I think if we can talk about why we have UFOs, those facts will go a long way in both understanding how to handle them and how to keep from having so many.  Something got in the way of our completing the project and whatever that something was, it was strong enough or attention diverting enough to cause us to cease work on them. Sometimes we just lose interest in them.  The process could take longer than we expected or what seemed like an exciting project suddenly isn’t any longer.  But for whatever reason, the thrill is gone, and we find ourselves studiously avoiding the project.

Frustration may be another factor holding us back from completing the process.  The pattern could be harder than we thought, a new technique may be tricky and difficult, or it may seem we suffer setback after setback or interruption after interruption and finally just give up before we start beating our heads against the wall of our quilt studio.  We also could feel overwhelmed at the number of UFOs we have.  They may seem like an unsurmountable mountain we will never conquer.  It just doesn’t seem as if we will ever have enough time to complete them.

If negative associations are attached to a project, that may be another reason we have problems working on those quilts.  I have two of these projects.  One is a quilt I worked on while my father was in Hospice.  Another is a beautiful applique quilt I began in a class.  For many reasons, the class dissolved into chaos, and I left the group, tucking the quilt squares away in a tub.  I haven’t picked them up in years.   

However, by far the biggest reason I think we quilters have UFOs is what I call the “Magpie Syndrome.”  Supposedly Magpies (and their cousins, crows and ravens) like to collect shiny things.   These bits of bling catch their attention, and they’ll drop whatever else they may have in their beaks and grab the next shiny scrap.

I hate to be a myth buster, but this is an old wives tale.  Scientists have studied these birds for years and the evidence does not support the Magpie’s affinity for shiny objects.  However, the evidence for quilters liking shiny new things is definitely not a myth.  We are known to be deep in the middle of a project, but when confronted with a new, beautiful pattern or fabrics, toss what we’re working on in a box and immediately begin the new project with only a twinge of guilt to remind us of the work in progress.

If we’re aware of the reasons we tend to turn an active project into a UFO, we can avoid falling into the UFO trap.  There are several different ways to evade this trap – and not all of them include buckling down and finishing the project.  We’ll get to these a bit later in this blog.

How UFOs Affect Your Creativity

Different artists (quilters, artists, writers, etc.) often have their own explanation of what creativity is and how it works for them.  All of these explanations are valid, but what all of them tend to have in common is this: It ebbs and flows.  Sometimes you’re riding a creativity high – the fabric harmonizes beautifully, corners match, everything is square, your applique stitches are awesome, and that binding is just perfect.  Other times, not so much.  You struggle to make sense of directions, all of your cutting is just a bit off, and the fabric that matched so perfectly in the quilt shop now seems to be just one shade off.  Sometimes your creative well runs deep and at other times it’s as shallow as a mud puddle.

I like to think of my creativity as a river.  The water of creativity continuously flows in and out of this river and brings nourishment and life to the creatures living in and near the river.  This continuous flow keeps the water fresh and everything around it full of creativity.  However, if something builds a dam in this river, it can cause the river to back up and make a reservoir.  This water can become stagnant and unhealthy.  If we are in a situation where our creativity ceases to flow, suddenly our projects (whether it’s a quilt or a blog) can become an aching burden, not something which sets us free to fly.  When we cling to unfished projects that no longer bring us joy, inner peace, or that we no longer love, those UFOs can block our creative energy (the river) and lead to creative stagnation (an unhealthy creative reservoir). 

In order to break down this “dam” we need to let go of those UFOs we know we will never get around to finishing.  And we must be brutally honest with ourselves as we work through this process.  Does this project still bring us any joy?  Can we honestly see us investing our time and resources to finish it?  If the answer to these questions is no, it’s time to let them go.

Before anyone clutches their pearls, I don’t mean toss these projects into a trashcan, so they end up in a landfill.  That’s irresponsible and wasteful.  But what we all need to learn to do is to release what no longer serves us.  And this can be difficult.  When we look at the time we’ve already spent on the project, the money we’ve invested, and the creativity we’ve poured into it, it’s so easy to lie to ourselves.  “I’ll get back to it soon,” we whisper, as we shove that UFO back down into a bin and stow it away, out of sight, out of mind.  It’s difficult to admit we may never actually touch that UFO again, but we can’t turn loose of our investment in it.  To cancel out this nagging feeling, tell yourself it’s okay to move on from this project.  It’s fine to let it go.  We can pass this unfinished project along to someone else who may love it and accept the challenge of completing it.  Quilt guild meetings are great places to do this.  If you don’t belong to a guild, but you do belong to some online quilt groups, ask if someone in that group wants it.  You can haggle about picking it up or mailing it, but chances are you can find someone who will love it more than you do.  And the feeling of releasing the UFO to someone else is amazing.  Years ago I began a block of the month with Lucy Boston’s Patchwork of the Crosses.  This was one of those labor intensive, fussy cutting BOMs which was absolutely beautiful and held my attention for exactly six blocks.  I learned a lot about fussy cutting, but I also learned this BOM wasn’t for me.  I found out, through a local quilting group I met with, that there was a woman who wanted this very BOM but was too late in the sign-up process.  I sold her my finished blocks, all my tools, and about 16 additional kits I had not touched.  I honestly don’t know which one of us was happier – me or her. 

If you can’t find a taker, repurposing the materials in the UFO is always an option.  The fabric can be used for other projects or can be filed away in your stash for later quilts.  If the project is halfway or more complete, see if you can make it smaller, or simply stop where it’s at in the process, bind it, and use it as a table runner, bed runner, lap quilt, or charity quilt.

No matter how you let those UFOs go, this process opens the door for new ideas and a fresh flow of creativity. 

Next week we’ll take a look at how to pick through your UFOs and decide what to keep and what to re-purpose or re-home.

Until Next Week,

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Felix