Ten Steps to Finishing Your Quilt UFOs
Do you have a lot of UFOs that need to be finished? In case you didn’t know, UFO stands for Unfinished Object or unfinished project. It’s not the same as a WIP (a Work In Progress) that’s actively moving forward. So today on the Hello My Quilting Friends podcast I’ll be sharing 10 helpful steps on finishing your quilt UFOs:
Jump ahead to time: 31:29 to get straight to the podcast topic!
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10 Steps to Finishing Your UFOs
- Make a List – How many UFOs do you have? This is a tip from the KonMarie method of organizing – pull everything out onto one table top so you can look at it all in one place. I had UFOs in almost every closet, under my bed, in multiple drawers and bins all over the house! It took awhile to get everything pulled out onto one table. It wasn’t much fun to make a list of over 50 unfinished projects, but this is necessary so I know exactly what I have stashed away.
- Decide which projects are the most meaningful. Can you imagine cuddling with this quilt? Do you have a perfect spot on the wall for that wall hanging? These are the projects that should be prioritized over all the others. If you find yourself shrugging and thinking “meh…” about a project, that is significant! That means you could take it or leave it. That is NOT a meaningful project therefor it should be put away or passed on to someone else that will find it more meaningful.
- Separate the projects by construction method – What is required to complete the next step on your project? Does it need to be basted and quilted? Does it require hand stitching? Do the blocks need to be pieced together? Each of these methods requires a different machine setup (or none at all) and different tools. Yes, I do think it’s possible to have 3 WIPs (work in progress) going at any given time, provided you have two sewing machines to work on. You can have one project on your piecing machine, one on your quilting machine, and one on the couch ready for hand stitching. Also keep a project in a tote so you’ll be ready to go when you travel.
- Display your projects! – It’s easy to buy new fabric and piece new quilts if all your UFOs stay hidden in drawers and bins. If you can’t see it, it’s easy to fall under “out of sight, out of mind.” I love hanging quilts on the wall so I can see them while I’m cooking and eating. I find this definitely helps to plan the next steps on a project, especially how I plan to quilt it!
Get Serious About Finishing Your Quilts
- Get serious – Once you have a stack of your most meaningful projects, commit to finishing them! No new fabric, no new projects. Channel finishing ENERGY only!! It’s very easy to become a starting energy junkie, but it’s not sustainable. If you want beautiful, finished quilts, you have got to become a finishing energy junkie instead.
- Why is the UFO stuck? As you spend time looking at your project and living with it hanging on your wall, ask yourself this question. What’s the reason this particular project is unfinished? Did you run out of fabric? Can you not make a decision? Why not?
- Make the decision to overcome the obstacle that’s keeping you stuck. You have to decide here and now not to be stuck anymore. Decide right now to finish the quilt anyway. You’re going to buy more fabric, even if it doesn’t match. Pick designs, even if it terrifies you. In my case, I couldn’t finish Dream Goddess for years because I was terrified of picking the wrong quilting designs. Guess what? It didn’t matter one bit.
Carve out the Time
- Calculate the time remaining. This is a bit tricky, but it’s a good habit to get into. If you’re piecing lots of similar blocks, time yourself piecing just one. Don’t rush. Now you have a solid time estimate for the remaining blocks. If it takes 30 minutes to piece one, you can fit that into an evening or first thing in the morning. Set the goal to piece one block a day during the week. Now you can estimate how many blocks you’ll have done in a week, then a month. This time estimation can make a huge project suddenly seem manageable and quick to finish!
- Dedicate 15 minutes a day to the UFO. Don’t try to bite off tons of time. Just 15 minutes a day while watching a show or listening to an audio book. I often find that 15 minutes stretches into 30 minutes easily. I get a bit more progress done and it feels great to see the project moving forward!
- Occasionally put yourself in jail. 15 minutes a day works great, but occasionally I find myself choosing to read a book instead of working on my projects. When I fall into this habit for too long, nothing gets done so I have to put myself in jail. I’m not allowed to buy any more books until this quilt top is done! It works every time!
Finally, do not let yourself become overwhelmed by either the process or sheer number of UFO projects. I have over 50 UFOs, but out of that batch only 5 were really meaningful. Knowing I can just focus on those 5 most important projects makes this much easier.
Let’s go quilt,
Leah Day
More Hello My Quilting Friends Podcast Episodes:
- #114 – Priority is Singular!
- #113 – Celebrating Ten Years in Business!
- #112 – Back from July Vacation
- #111 – Unpacking from Quilt Fantastic
- #110 – The Game of Perfection
- #109 – A Short Story from Quilst
- #108 – Organize and Decorate Your Sewing Space with Stephanie Socha
- #107 – 7 Reasons Why I DO Want and Need a Longarm
- #106 – Can I Become a 1 Project Person?
- #105 – Time Lapse Quilting with Todd DuBay
- #104 – Painting the Rabbit Hutch and Puttering Around
- #103 – Meet Laura Hendrickson, the National Quilt Museum Registrar!
- #102 – Do You Ever Sleep?
- #101 – Quit Gaming and Start Quilting with Luann Fischer
- #100 – Happy Episode 100!
What a great way to start September with your 10 Steps to finishing your UFOs. I don’t have many UFOs to deal with because I had to deal with downsizing my stash and unwanted fabrics when we moved in 2017. I’ve taking single project that I have stored in bins or quilt tops and set them in area I can see them. They are no longer hidden in a closet or tucked away under a table. And I wrote down on a sheet of paper the name of each quilt in progress or new ones on stand-by that I want to start or quilt tops. It helps me visualized want are my priority for this year. My goals are that each project will progress, not stand still. Love the idea of put myself “in jail”. I may try that one lol Thank you Leah
I’m so happy to hear this Louise! Yes, jail time really works. I haven’t been able to read a new book for two weeks and it’s driving me NUTS! That nutty feeling definitely motivates me to get my work done!
I totally understand the subject of this podcast. I decided on a compromise for my UFOs. I must complete a project before I can start a new one. I have gotten so many things done this year because I have been forcing myself to make kits bought a long time ago, or projects started but not finished. I guess I am now a finishing energy junkie. I love it when I finish something. I also do a lot of what you described. I take a hiatus on buying fabric unless it’s to finish something. Great job.
That’s great Jane! Being a finishing energy junkie means you’re getting to enjoy the fruit of your labor. Way to go!
Thank you, Leah. This has been an inspirational podcast! I’ve implemented many of the steps and am actively tackling my UFO stack of those that are most meaningful to me. I have learned my sticking point tends to be the actual quilting part… my piecing skills has definitely outpaced my quilting skills. I am working to get them back in synch. By prioritizing the projects to those most meaningful has helped in that regard – I’m using some of the less important projects to practice quilting before actually quilting on my meaningful projects. Many thanks again for the inspirational podcasts. Keep up the great work!
Thank you Linda! I’m so happy you found this helpful. And yes, I agree – put your not-so-perfect stitches on those less meaningful quilts and then your skills will be ramped up for your favorites! Excellent strategy!