I'm at that stage where I am in the "middle" of two projects.
As in - there is much already accomplished, but so much ahead before I start really seeing progress.
This is when projects seem to stall out for me.
I've reached the danger zone. Do you have a danger zone too?
I know once I find myself past that half-way mark - getting closer to 75% - on the downhill side of things, and ready to set blocks together there is no stopping me.
But here at 50% I'm teetering on the edge and there are new things I want to play with. Different colors that are pulling at me as Spring draws near.
I'm not bored with what I'm working on - but it feels like other projects are passing me by. LOL!
Maybe it is spring fever?
This is speaking SPRING to me!
I went to the dentist yesterday. I got the "Wow! Your gums look great!" comment. As the granddaughter of a dentist, those are words I know he'd be proud to hear.
And then the dreaded "The only thing that needs to happen is the replacing of this old filling with a crown." AUUUGHHHH!!!
So I'll be trading in my tiara for a crown in a couple of weeks' time.
Why does this make me feel like I'm bringing home a D on my report card?
Fillings just wear down over time. It has nothing to do with dental hygiene.
And why am I talking about dentistry on a quilting blog?
Because we are at the stage where ANY appointment away from the house is considered a "going out!" event!
No, this is not washing machine suds.
This is the LAST little pile of snow that has melted to barely nothing. (It will likely be gone today.) and with the sunshine bringing us up to 65 f degrees yesterday, that grass is starting to green up nicely!
If it weren't for the dental appointment I would have been on a long walk with Zoey. If it weren't for an appointment early afternoon in Winston Salem today, I'd be on a long walk with Zoey.
Tomorrow? Rain in the forecast. Go figure! But soon we will be out there on the trails - very soon!
Ivy just stares as if to say "Go for it. I'll wait right here."
Speaking of Springtime:
Check out Cathy W's Frolic quilt finish!
Frolic looks like spring...
"Just wanted to show off my first Frolic.
I changed the colors because I've always wanted to do a pink and yellow quilt, with my granddaughters in mind to sleep under when they come to visit. Lots of fabric is what I used to make all kinds of things for them. And I love yellow! They love pink and aqua. "
"Plus I bought the fabric for a backing quite awhile ago and when I heard the name Frolic...this needed to be used. I see my granddaughters frolicking in the trees with the cats. Some of the other fabrics in the quilt were from projects I made my grandsons.
Oh, and my boys Tigger and Tipper love it too.
Enjoy the sunshine...spring is around the corner!!"
Cathy, this is just so gorgeous - and yes, definitely looks like SPRING to me! Thank you so much for sharing your Frolic finish!
It's also a great time for me to remind everyone that along with Frolic, ALL digital patterns in the Quiltville Store are 25% off through February 28th using coupon code DIGITAL25 at checkout!
Please remember to type DIGITAL25 in the coupon box and hit APPLY before you complete your purchase. There are no refunds if you forget!
I'll be heading to Winston late morning to take care of that appointment, and then right back up here to Virginia by dinner time.
I am doing all I can to encourage myself to PASS that half-way stall out point on these two projects - the blue triangles I've been working on at the cabin, and the Snail's Trail I've been working on bit by bit at the QPO studio in and around outgoing mail order.
I need to be on the downhill side of both of these!
What do you do to keep projects from stalling out on your end? Share with me in the comments section below!
Oh - and don't forget to enter our February Quilty Box Gift-Away ON THAT POST! Drawing happens on Monday!
Quiltville Quote of the Day -
If kindness begins with you (and each one of us) it should also be a gift you give yourself!
Talking down to yourself does not help you grow.
If we wish to encourage others, it begins with encouraging ourselves!
Have a terrific Thursday, everyone!
I've stalled on my Grassy Creek. I have parts of the blocks made and am trying to make a few blocks a week now. Just change the parts of the blocks you are making. do just the 9 patches or hst's or the tricky triangle units or start on the String Sashings is my plan. It will get done eventually. On the block count to a finish, even if it's a small one.
ReplyDeleteRight there with you! I have have one section to assemble before I can start my version of Quilt as You Go and I keep walking out of my work room to go work on one of my other quilts.
Deleteme too... stalled on Grassy Creek, changing up doing some bowl cozies then will return refreshed ready to assemble or string piece the border! This issue has helped me understand why I have so many UFOs, some new fancy comes and steals my attention... fickle creative child! Thanks for reminding us to speak nicely to ourownsweetselves!!! We need to set a good example for how others treat us... thank you, Bonnie, from Cats in Carlsbad CA
DeleteI laughed at your snow picture because I immediately knew what it was. A group of us go to Northern Michigan every January for a cross country ski trip. Alas, one year there was no snow, except for this little spot like yours. We gathered around it and took our group shot and I love it! (We also found some great hiking in the area!)
ReplyDeleteI think like the Little Engine That Could - I think I can, I think I can...Finish this quilt top. When acquaintances find out I quilt, the usual response is "I don't have the patience". I say, it's not patience - it's persistence that gets a quilt finished!! I think I can, I think I can!!!!
ReplyDeleteHope this inspires you a little Bonnie!
Catherine from Sunny SW Indiana
There many projects that have stalled out over the years. Some have been resting for over two decades. Usually the project was set aside because I needed to meet a deadline for a gift or class/shop sample and I just never went back, or I was seduced by another fabric collection or pattern. I have finished hundreds of quilts over the years and some of those forlorn UFOs have been completed. I do hope to eventually finish some and some may be gifted or donated for another to finish. Sometimes, I have lost interest but will finish the unloved project and donate the resultant quilts. That always gives me a warm fuzzy feeling.
ReplyDeleteBTW, Cathy W’s Frolic is lovely and her backing fabric is adorable. Great job!
I loved the picture of your snow pT
ReplyDeletepatch. Might make an interesting square for a quilt some time. I like the idea of seeing snow vanishing in the spring. Sometimes you find little wild flowers right at the edge of the snow after a few days of sunshine.
I find the reward system works well for me. Such as, telling myself I can go for a walk after I have X number of blocks done or have sewn for 30 minutes. I find that the walk (or whatever the reward is) is sweeter after being "earned" and my desire to continue creating is renewed. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI do this for housework. If I can do 3 things...then I can go sew. Otherwise I have a very hard time doing any of it. My house isn’t trashed. I DO it, but I don’t like it at all, so some motivation helps. Tomorrow is vacuuming and laundry. Maybe a 3rd, but we will see...!
DeleteI agree, Bonnie, about health appointments seeming like a fun outing! I had a trip to the doctor yesterday to check out why my left knee is hurting so much that I can't take my usual walk. It was fun driving there, chatting with my doctor who is just the best person ever, waiting to have an x-ray taken, and sneaking in a trip to Dunkin' Donuts. I get stalled on projects because I get an adrenaline rush when I start a new one. :)
ReplyDeleteSusan
When I stall out, sometimes I just let the stall happen and put the project in time out until I feel ready to tackle it again. I did that with Frolic last year. Finally pulled the blocks out and started using them as leader and enders to other projects until I got them all done. At that point I moved it to main project status and now I’m just about finished! Grassy Creek will probably get finished the same way!
ReplyDeleteI've been trying to finish more UFO's during the pandemic, and I find that I wonder why some of these have languished so long. I think I sometimes have had too many things going at once. So, something started in a class gets set aside because there's another class (or a mystery quilt starting). Once I get to the halfway point I find I'm more motivated to finish. I often set myself mini goals to keep me moving forward. It might be completing 10 units, or 2 blocks, or getting to the 25% point.
ReplyDeleteI have all the blocks sewn for a Christmas bed quilt. Even made a Christmas quilt from the same fabrics for a friends baby due in the next week or so (along with 7 burp pads & a regular baby quilt made to match a quilt I made for the baby's parents when they married). I started another project all from scraps - the pieces are cut and 12 blocks sewn, I just need a marathon session to put the remaining 44 blocks together. A window of nice weather & no rain changed things. We are now digging out where the 2 septic lids are so we can have risers installed (thankfully its not an emergency, but we don't believe in waiting until there is one). Glad we're doing it now as the tank wasn't quite where the diagram showed when we bought this place 21 months ago, and it is MUCH deeper than indicated, too. I am looking forward to going back to my quilting....our backs aren't used to all this digging!
ReplyDeleteI had to giggle at your septic tank story. We built our house 34 years ago, put the tank in ourselves. But when we dug the hole this fall to have it cleaned and put in the riser, I swear it was twice as deep as it was when we set it! Guess digging is easier when you are younger!
DeleteMy danger zone is when all of the blocks are done and I have to start wrangling big sections around during assembly of the top. I always seem to dread that stage. Wrangling the finished quilt to add binding is also pesky, but at least at that point, you're 98% done and you can taste the finish. So yeah, assembling the top is where I seem to stall out.
ReplyDeleteMomentum for me slows at about 25-30%... It's like the little HUMP, just before the crest of the hill... I have worked hard the past few years to be KIND to myself, and it will finish when I'M ready to finish. Self imposed deadlines are THE WORST. Blessed day to you. Hunkering down for some more winter weather here.
ReplyDeleteK.
When I breakdown and start a new project and there are I fished projects, I make myself sew a half hour on the old project first. It usually goes into an hour or more and leads to happiness. After I do that I can sew whatever I want with no guilt. Fun for me and gets a lot done.
ReplyDeleteI feel your pain. I got a little carried away making Easy Peary blocks. They were so much fun. I wound up with enough for 3 generous twin sized quilts. Two got together, the last is clipped in rows and lying beside my machine...since last Saturday.
ReplyDeleteCurrently have six quilts in various stages going back to 2002,2003,,2005,2007.Was able to finish six more last year, plus three new ones. I work and finish a new one then I have to finish an older ufo, that's my reward system, and I'm not allowed to buy new fabric unless absolutely necessary. Then only as a reward for finishing something. LOL
ReplyDeleteI usually work on several projects at a time because I am so excited about using a different color or trying a new pattern. The more I quilt, the more excited I am about quilting. Last year, my son and daughter-in-law asked for a Storm at Sea quilt. Well, I had never done paper piecing so it took a while to get in the groove! Once I started, I wanted to finish because the pattern was so pretty! I am back to multiple projects...it makes me happy and is better than therapy!!
ReplyDeleteI hit a spot where the quilt will languish. Sadly it is when I need to add the last border. It doesn't matter if I have the border pieced and ready or not. I just can't bring myself to git 'er done! I think it is because I don't want to have the project end...I usually wait until I have 2-3 tops waiting for their borders and put myself on a mission to clear them out of the bins so I can fill the bins with a new projects. Not that I don't have ideas floating around in my head to fill a 100 bins...on the plus side I love finishing a binding so once the quilt is quilted it is as good as on the bed.
ReplyDeleteI am making a queen-size quilt for my son’s wedding in April. Each side has an 18” drop. The pattern they picked has 1-1/2” finished squares. Each block has 44 pieces (8 HST). The deadline has me burning the midnight oil. Only 14 more blocks to make. I cut a bunch of pieces and sew them up, then do the next thing the next day. It has been great to use up lots of scraps.
ReplyDeleteI just LOVE your quilts! You are so talented and inspiring. I always look forward to your emails.
ReplyDeleteI totally relate to the description of stalling out on projects. This year I am making a list of projects and UFOs I want to accomplish each month. I am allowing myself to only add new, shiny projects at the end of the list. In January I finished all but one project goal. I still have about five to complete for February...but I did agree to work on quilting several quilt tops made by friends. Here I go, derailed again! Lol
ReplyDeleteI love Cathy's color palette on her Frolic! Maybe an idea for next year's mystery?? Do we need a little pink and yellow and teal in our lives??
ReplyDeleteI usually stall out when I have to quilt my top as I do it on my domestic machine and am not very good. But once I do get around to quilt it, I can't wait to get the binding on and tacked down as then I know I'm done. I also think having a lot of UFOs makes it hard for me to concentrate on something.
ReplyDeleteI love making the blocks. When the time comes to assemble the top, I lose interest. But, I sew them together to get them off my design wall so I can start the next round.
ReplyDeleteYes, I need the wall for new ideas! My design wall and larger ironing board are near one another so when I press a long seam , I take a sewing break and sew a bit on the wall blocks to complete a project there as well. I have different sewing machines set up and ready to go. One upstairs and another near my husband in the family room ,so I get in some exercise as well!
DeleteI’m sitting on 2 quilts that need binding. Having a hard time finishing them, but need to before it gets too warm to have them on my lap. Stalled on starting anything new as I’m contemplating the washing of material after I learned one of my earlier gifted quilts bled. We are enjoying spring like weather, a few 70+’s days - but we really need the rain.
ReplyDeleteHi Bonnie,
ReplyDeleteStall must be the word of the week!! Ha ha! I was stalled on three donation quilts for past couple of months; I had them in various stages of completion but just couldn't get to the quilting/binding stage until I saw your Shattered pattern and I wanted to jump in feet first! I wrote my commitment to finish the three donation quilts by end of February in my quilt journal. That commitment has a reward...I can buy Shattered and get busy. One of the donation quilts has been mailed and the other two will be mailed tomorrow. Do I have other UFO's stalled?? Of course I do but a reward is a reward...enjoy your thaw days and warm sunshine. Thanks for sharing real life
My stall point is when the centre a done and it’s time to move onto borders. To get myself moving on it after a week or so in time out, I tell myself I will work on it one hour a day until it’s done. That way, I can work on something else guilt free, because progress is progress…right?
ReplyDeleteEye appointment today. Day will be boring until the dilated eyes straighten out. Gads are glasses expensive! There went my fabric budget. I was thinking as I sat there in waiting it will seem strange when we stop wearing masks and see people’s faces
ReplyDeleteI sewed garments and home dec prior to starting my quilting journey and one of the most inspirational people I followed was Nancy Zieman. One of her techniques for finding time to work on projects and for continuing her momentum was a concept she called 10 - 15 - 30 minutes. She would organize her projects into short steps and whenever she had a few moments, she would go into her sewing room and work on a step based on the amount of time she had. I've learned that after working on the various steps, after awhile I can see the progress which encourages me to continue working on the project. It works for me... Winter is funny. We received about 12" of snow within a 24-hour period before it turned to rain. Most of the snow has been erased from the rain and higher temperatures but we still has a few small mounds of snow in our yard since we're at a higher elevation. I loved sitting in front of our woodstove and looking at the beautiful snow while it was here though, even if it only lasted a few hours.
ReplyDeleteI started changing my inner dialogue some years ago, and it really helps me! I still have inner arguments, But being gentle and nice to myself makes all the difference! I use joy about my leader and ender project to push me through stalled projects. Thanks Bonnie good luck with that crown (ugh)
ReplyDeleteI'm stalled on borders for Winter Blues (mine in purple) and borders for grassy creek - part of the problem is we are remodeling - not a quick one like your storage room, more like a major redo!! Hopefully I will have my sewing room back sometime next week and I can find fabric to keep on going! It is frustrating!
ReplyDeleteI made blocks for three small quilts at a retreat last week. Got one assembled and over halfway through the second when I slowed down more and more. I will have all three together before I start something new.
ReplyDeleteHello! I usually don't have a stalling out point, unless it's a little more difficult quilt that I am working on with a gazillion pieces that are all of the same. WHen that happens I usually just plow through it, or set it aside for a while. I will go back to it, and pull it back out. If it still speaks to me, I will go back working on it. If not, I will try to reuse the pieces if I can elsewhere. If not, I just close my eyes and throw it in the trash. Most times I just keep on keeping on as I know that the end will be near. I hope that you have safe travels on your outings. Soon there will be days when you can get your long walks. Have a good evening!
ReplyDeleteHave you thought of donating your unwanted kits to a local guild or seeing if another quilter would be interested in them? Then they can be finished and loved by someone else
DeleteMy big stall-out right now is FMQ. It is possible spending a week reorganizing the quilt room and looking at FMQ ideas before I start. I've gotten one wallhanging (out of 5) quilted and it was half done before I started (which was over 5 years ago). At least when I was reorganizing I found the fabric for the binding. Need to get those St. Patrick Day table runners finished and in the mail.
ReplyDeleteI hear you! I have always hated appointments, but since COVID, it has gotten worse, if that’s possible! I’ve got things to to! And things I’d RATHER be doing! I stall on a lot of projects. I just want them DONE, and they feel like they are going nowhere. That’s why I have 30 UFOs.☹️ BUT, even tho many of my other mysteries are stalled, Grassy Creek is 5 rows from being done custom quilted (by me) and this is stalling too! I can do about a row and a half a day, and lately I have been skipping days. Easier when there isn’t anything else in line to go on the rack. But I am determined for it not to be a UFO, and since I love binding, I can see a light at the end of the tunnel. I’ll be getting together with 2 girlfriends the middle of March because we just can’t stand it anymore, so will take precautions and be good until then so we can do it safely. WE NEED SOME GIRLFRIEND SEWING TIME! Since we are all 59, we’re not expecting our shots anytime soon. Now, to decide which UFOs to finish...🤔
ReplyDeleteI'm in the danger zone on 2 projects also. Working on Grassy Creek and Winter Blues and can almost see the over half way point. If I can just make myself sit down and work on them, I can get a fare amount down and feel like I've made some progress. But sometimes I need to talk to myself sternly to NOT start another project!
ReplyDeleteI was just looking at my overstuffed drawer of blue less-than-1-yard pieces...and I need a blue project! So I’m looking forward to your next blue project! Or I may do something inspired by the den8m, a weekend project would be grand about now! I have recently folded all yardage like your stash, Bonnie, then the smaller pieces standing up in wire ikea drawers. Literally, in two places I can see every print and color I own! It’s fabulous! Time to mess it up and make a scrappy quilt, eh?
ReplyDeleteI do two thing: first, I participate in a Dirty Dozen event. Pick 12 UFOs, number them, then the first of the month draw a number and that is the project that you will FINISH that month. The second, self talk: "Oh for Pete's sack, just sit down and do it and quite dragging your feet."
ReplyDeleteI recognized that Leah’s comment resonated for me. Quilt wrangling during the final assembly, borders and binding. The actual sewing skill needed isn’t the problem. It’s the size and weight as I struggle to get things in the right place to sew. Now that I recognize the real problem, maybe I can find some solutions. Thanks, Leah, and thank you, Bonnie!
ReplyDeleteyour post today, so mylife, Bonnie. Big outing to the ortho doctor yesterday who gave me the good info that my shoulder was healed and that I had healed quicker than most. I guess Covid helped there, a drastic reduction in "eating out" which forced me to stick to my vegan eating .... Anyway. that little restless bug hits me to in the middle of a project... that is why we have a UFO bin. or at least why I do. To keep me somewhat focused I take a day off to stitch up small projects. I find most of these online in tutorials and a day of that often will bring me back to my big project. Right now I am making blocks to match the Box KIte quilt to stitch pillow shams to go with it. Then there is the completed top (nearly) which needs some kind of border. And you have inspired me to create a pieced border so I am playing with options and stitching up some small blocks to audition in that. So many projects and so much to do, and now that my shoulder is healed there is a whole house that needs some serious cleaning... Gee what a decision... quilt or clean...
ReplyDeleteTrying to get back to my version of Unity and get it done. Put it aside to work on a service project. Also need to get one of those gel seat pads you recommend for my daughter's office chair but can't remember the name of it! HELP.
ReplyDeleteSewpad. Sitting on one right now.
DeleteSewpad
DeleteHi Bonnie! I'm the daughter of a dentist, so I totally understand the guilty panic feeling whenever the hygienist or dentist comments on my receding gums. I felt that way, too, when my kids had cavities in their baby teeth!! But I'm very thankful for healthy teeth and clean mouth. :-)
ReplyDeleteMy stall-out projects become leader/enders for that fresh new project. That way I get the best of both worlds. Old projects on their way to completion and the thrill of something new as well.
ReplyDeleteI have different projects "in waiting". I pick those up (like you do) when other things are getting finished. I don't really get bored with anything, but I have to have lots of balls in the air so that I am almost always doing different things for several projects all the time. I am currently working of Winter Blues (all scrappy), Old Tobacco Road, plus sewing rows together on another project. I've added another project to my leader/ender rotation because I was inspired by a Diamond Nine Patch block from a Barbara Brackman post. I generate nine patch blocks without even trying and now I'm sewing triangles on them to turn them on point. I have no idea what this will turn into but it's interesting for me to try that out.
ReplyDelete