Finish It in ’14!

Finish It In '14!

Yesterday, I talked about what I finished in 2013. Now let’s talk about some new goals!

This year, I am challenging myself, and YOU, to not just work on, but FINISH projects in 2014! Feel free to grab the image above for your own blog!

2014 UFO projects in an IKEA bag

How many projects do you have to finish? Well, that’s up to you! My goal is to finish at least one of the projects on my list each month during 2014! My final count is 17 UFOs* and honestly? I’ve had longer lists!

*Paper Piecing Vintage and As You Wish are not included on this list because they are current projects.

Definitions of some initialisms used in this post:

UFO = UnFinished Object – a project that has been set aside and allowed to collect dust. Chances are it’s existence has been forgotten until it’s pulled out of whatever dark hole it was stuffed into. While there, it probably multiplied like Tribbles, leaving many more UFOs than you remember putting there in the first place.

USO = UnStarted Object – a project that has yet not made it out of it’s incubation period. Often comes in the shape of a stack of fat quarters, a jelly roll or other similarly delicious fabric apparition. Can also appear as a pattern or book with little hearts doodled on the cover. Hopes to be a…

WIP = Work In Progress  – Always in danger of becoming a UFO, a WIP is a project that is currently being worked on, and will hopefully become a…

FO = Finished Object – What all projects dream of being. The object of much blog activity and excitement and a good source of personal pride. The Ultimate Destination of a UFO and WIP.

You’ll recognize many of these from yesterday’s post, but there are some new ones here that even surprised me!

Harry Potter Swap Quilt
Project – HP Swap Quilt – WIP.  This is the second of two quilts made from Harry Potter quilt block swaps from way back in 2007 or so. Pieced with border. Have batting & backing fabric.  Needs to be quilted and bound. I’m planning on binding in red so the pale blue border has a solid stop.

2013 Project To Do List
Project – Vintage quilt top. UFO. My hubby bought this for me for our anniversary several years ago. In needs to be quilted, possibly by hand. Needs a back & binding. I’m thinking muslin for the back.

Churn Dash Quilt

Project – Vintage Churn Dash Quilt. WIP. Vintage churn dash blocks with supplemental snowball blocks made with replica fabrics. Has borders, backing and batting. Needs to be quilted & bound.

10 Minute Block Green & Purple Quilt

Project – Green/Purple 10 minute block quiltWIP. Green charm swap from TTMT 2011 or so, I think. Borders added, have backing and batting. To be quilted/bound.

Project of Doom Signature Quilt

Project – Project of Doom Signature Quilt. WIP. Blocks from the 2011 Participants of The Project of Doom. I love this quilt. Adore it. Quilted by Shannon Shaw. It needs binding. Seriously, I’ve gotta get on that!

TABABOM top

Project – There and Back Again (TABABOM). WIP-ish. 2012 Block of the Month on Fandom In Stitches. Have backing, batting and binding. Not yet quilted.

2013 Project To Do List
Project – There and Back Again signature blocks. UFO. Similar idea to the Project of Doom signature quilt. I’m missing a block from one of the designers, so I have put off working on it. To be pieced into a top. Will need fabric for sashing and possible center piece, possibly the name of the event with dates in embroidery.

Hand embroidered flower quilt

Project – Embroidered block quilt top. WIP. This was a 2011 BOM by a blogger that is no longer online. Borders added, have back & binding. To be quilted & bound.

2013 Project To Do List
Project – Topsy Turvy Trees. UFO. Needs a back and to be quilted, bound. One of my original designs.

Australia Fabric Project
Project – Australia fabric from Cat. UFO. (Actually, USO…UnStarted Object!). I’ve picked a pattern I like, and that’s as far as I’ve gotten. I need to find an accent fabric and cut this puppy out!

Misc Flannel Blocks

Project – Flannel Quilt Blocks. UFO. These were unearthed during the same archaeological dig that found the Flannel Quilt included in my 2013 Recap. I have no idea why these weren’t on last year’s list. No matter, they are on this year’s! These fabrics are from pajamas my kiddos had when they were small. As in pre-school and elementary small. Yeah. Anyway, to be made into a quilt for donation to The Linus Connection.

Mustachio!

Project – Mustachio! quilt. UFO. Has backing and batting. Needs to be quilted. One of my original designs. In case you weren’t around in November (Movember!) for my almost-daily mustache spam!

Misc. Published Blocks

Project – Misc. Published Blocks. UFO? WIP? Kinda Both. This is the bag where I stash blocks I’ve designed for magazines, blog hops, events, etc., when I don’t have a project in mind for them. I’d like to do, I don’t know…something…with at least some of these this year. I have another bag just like this of unpublished designs. Mayhap I’ll do something with those, too!

Garden Party 2012 8 of 30

Project – Garden Party Blog Hop Blocks. UFO; 8 of 30. Way back in 2012, I hosted the Paper Pieced Pattern A Day Garden Party Blog Hop (the link goes to a round-up of all the designs). It was an amazing events, with 30 designers and 30 designs, one for every day in April, 2012. Between hosting, running three blogs, and having my first pattern published in a magazine, I kind of got lost and my blocks ended up in a bag collecting dust. I would love, at the very least, make some progress on these this year.

Not All Who Wander Are Lost blocks My Northcott Stonehenge collection

Project – Not All Who Wander Are Lost. UFO. 2 of 29. NAWWAL was hosted by Lilja on my fandom quilt blog, Fandom In Stitches. I had every intention of making this quilt. See that on the right? That’s my collection of Stonehenge fabric kept specifically so this project will match my There and Back Again quilt. Despite my best intentions, the only blocks I made for these event are the two I designed for it. Like the Garden Party quilt, I would like to make some progress this year.

Orphan Block quilt for The Linus Connection

Project – Orphan Block Quilt 2013, #2. UFO. One of three made from orphan blocks for donation to The Linus Connection. These were slice and dice 9 patch blocks left over from a quilt I made for a friend’s wedding way back in 2007. Needs borders, backing, batting & binding.

1980s t-shirts

Project – 1980s T-Shirt…Something. UFO. I’ve saved the most dubious project for last. Many years ago, before I ever held a rotary cutter or knew anything about squaring up, paper piecing, half-square triangles, batting, free-motion quilting or any other quilting term you might like to throw out, I got the crazy idea to cut up my favorite t-shirts from high school for a quilt-type project. Maybe a bag or pillow? I don’t know what I was thinking, but I can tell you I chopped without impunity, leaving very little seam allowance to work with. After years… And Years… And a few more YEARS stuffed in a bag on a shelf, I brought these memories of high school out into the light. This year, I will do something with them. I have no idea what, but something. It’s high time to get them off my self. Besides, I like a challenge. Ehem.

Feel like being challenged to work on your UFOs in 2014? Pren, from The Convivial Crafter, a long time crafty friend of mine, has started a crafty support group Facebook group for just that reason! Her goal: One finished UFO per month! Totally doable, right?! Join UFO Project 2014. There are drawings and stuff!

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8 thoughts on “Finish It in ’14!

  1. Judy

    Wow, you are a super productive quilter!!!! I am pretty new at this, and looking at all you have done and how much work and maybe motivation is needed to get all those works to completion is totally eye opening to me!

    I have been toying with joining some of the quilt alongs I have seen happening and have not quite jumped in yet and now I just do not think I am ready to do that kind of thing yet. I already have at least 5 projects that I bought in kits, still sitting here looked at, but untouched, and countless books and magazines that have pages marked that are things I would like to try. So a big thank you for everything. I guess I am a different kind of gal….I need to keep it simple, so I am going to work on those kits, one at a time and try to get them done by the end of 2014!

    Thanks for helping me find my focus!!!

    Reply
    1. Jennifer Ofenstein Post author

      What can I say, I love to sew and since I design patterns, part of it is work, part of it is fun. 🙂

      I think my goal for this year is to finish up some older projects so that I can focus on just a few projects a year. Quality over quantity!

      Reply
  2. pamelajeannestudio

    I’m with you. 2014 is the year to FINISH! I have so many UFOs I probably can’t count them all. Some are not worth finishing as I have moved on. But finishing one project a month does seem doable. My plan is to have something completed to show at my quilt guild every month this year. That means the quilt I’m working on right now needs to be bound and completed by Tuesday. It’s going on my long arm today (I hope!).

    Reply
    1. Jennifer Ofenstein Post author

      When I have a quilt project that I’m just over, I tend to finish it up and donate it to my favorite blanket charity, or just donate it outright and another volunteer will finish it. It’s my guilt free way of moving on! Most of the UFOs that say I intend to donate them to Linus started out as something else and it’s just time to let it go!

      Reply
  3. Martha

    You are so ambitious and well planned. I should do the same thing….only finishing the quilts I had promised for Christmas…. 2012!! That’s first on my list, but so many new ideas keep cropping up that I have difficulty staying on the task of fiishing what I started. I admire and hope to emulate those who can do what I should do! Hats off to you all…

    Martha

    Reply
  4. janet

    Wow! You are super productive, I came across your blog through Pinterest. I enjoyed looking at your finished 2013 projects and reading your postings.

    Reply

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