Trolling around blog land I've seen a lot of good ideas about how to manage one's UFO's. 'Finish 'um up' challenges seem to be very popular this year (or maybe I'm just finally taking notice, lol). In any case I thought I'd share my strategy in case there are people like me who shy away from getting to committed but still want to make Some progress on their pile of UFO's!
Because I am a visual type thinker I keep a folder on my desk top titled "Finish 'um up" and in this folder are pictures of (not all, but) a fair number of projects that I Think I would like to work on in the next year or so. One reason this works better for me is because as I mentioned I am more of a visual thinker and I find when I write a list I tend to just ignore it or forget about it altogether so it really does not serve as a very effective reminder. I do this with grocery lists too. I dutifully write things I need from the store with the best of intentions and then promptly forget the list at home!
Anyway, this pictorial reminder helps me stay more less on track and while it is true that I start more projects than I finish I do finish a fair number of quilty projects over the course of a year! You can see that these pictures are clustered into 5 groups (the lower left are just some random pix).
-in the upper left is/ are photos of quilts that just need bindings to be finished. Usually when they get to this stage they get bound and move on, thus the single photo.
-the next group are tops that need quilting. That's not all the tops I have, just the ones I want to finish in the foreseeable future.
-Next to that group are centers that are done but need borders.
- Then the Largest group... Projects in various stages of piecing (PVSP). I probably won't get to all of these this year, but these are the projects I want to keep in sight so's I might move them along.
-The bottom right are just ideas for projects. I don't really count them as UFO's I just want to think about them.
Because I am a visual type thinker I keep a folder on my desk top titled "Finish 'um up" and in this folder are pictures of (not all, but) a fair number of projects that I Think I would like to work on in the next year or so. One reason this works better for me is because as I mentioned I am more of a visual thinker and I find when I write a list I tend to just ignore it or forget about it altogether so it really does not serve as a very effective reminder. I do this with grocery lists too. I dutifully write things I need from the store with the best of intentions and then promptly forget the list at home!
Anyway, this pictorial reminder helps me stay more less on track and while it is true that I start more projects than I finish I do finish a fair number of quilty projects over the course of a year! You can see that these pictures are clustered into 5 groups (the lower left are just some random pix).
-the next group are tops that need quilting. That's not all the tops I have, just the ones I want to finish in the foreseeable future.
-Next to that group are centers that are done but need borders.
- Then the Largest group... Projects in various stages of piecing (PVSP). I probably won't get to all of these this year, but these are the projects I want to keep in sight so's I might move them along.
-The bottom right are just ideas for projects. I don't really count them as UFO's I just want to think about them.
When I'm casting about for something to do I can go to this folder and quickly scan my pix and decide what I want to do next.
It's very satisfying to move the little pix from one group to the next and then drag them to the trash icon when they are done!
How many UFO's do I have? I have no idea! How many projects do I finish each year? It varies, but it's usually enough to make me feel like I haven't just been twiddling my thumbs!
That's my story and I'm sticking to it!
Have a great weekend!
cheers, CW
That's a really good idea! I am a visual person too, and feel like I need to keep the projects around in physical form so I will see them as a reminder to work on them. With your idea, the sewing room can stay neat and tidy while I have a reminder in pictures!
ReplyDeleteI guess most quilters are visual people, so this seems like a great approach. I had noticed lots of interest in finishing this year too, though I only tend to do one thing at a time, so it mostly goes over my head!
ReplyDeleteThis is SO great. I often look back at my FAL finish a long goals mosaic rather than the written lists. The only thing I'd need to also do is make a notation about where in the world I put the projects. For me, half the battle is locating things!
ReplyDelete