Spring is here and I decided to get back into my routine of taking a daily walk. Along the walk, it occurred to me that last summer I would look for a small smooth round stone along the way and pick it up and hold it in my hand as a reminder of what I wanted to think about along my walk. I was going to write a children’s story and each day I would pick a smooth round rock and rub my fingers over it as I walked and thought about what I would write that day. So this day, this new spring day, I looked for a rock. Above, is the rock I found. It is not round. It has sharp edges, and looks like it is half finished. Nature needs to smooth out the sharp edges, round it off, make it a whole rock, not a half rock. Then it occurred to me, this stone reminds me of the way I live my life…half finished.
I must have two dozen half-finished quilts in my sewing room. Above is block one of a quilt that I started some time ago.
This is the half-finished bag that I'm making from the leftover African fabrics I used in a quilt.
This is another unfinished block for a quilt started at the beginniing of the year. After thinking about these unfinished projects and about the three dozen half finished stories in my computer, I've decided...I lead a
half-finished life. You would think someone of my advanced age would be
closer to saying my life is nearly done, not half-finished.
How about you? Do you lead a half-finished life? What projects do you have sitting around waiting for you to finish them? How many? Have you ever wondered why you don’t finish them? Are you bored with them? Is it like Mary Lou Weidman says, the mystery is gone, you know the outcome, so why continue?
How can I get from half finished to nearly done? Any suggestions?
DON’T FORGET ABOUT THE CLASSES AT THE ATTIC WINDOW QUILT SHOP:
- Stitch-In, Saturday, June 20
- Row by Row begins June 21.
- Diana’s new Divalicious wallet wallet class is June 22.
ON ANOTHER NOTE:
- Sew Can She has a tutorial for a log cabin hexi potholder with partial seams.
♥ Caroll,
Caring , Sharing and Creating Smiles
7 comments:
*Smile!* Hi Caroll,
I have about as many UFOs around as you do...some of which have remained undone simply to show seams etc in classes but most, well, ran out of steam. :o)
To combat the boredom and knock out some of those half-finished quilts, maybe swap with others and exchange finished projects? Could get expensive swapping with me but if you want to send one to Germany, I´ll look for which one to send you! :o)) Hugs! Bobbi
Mine are more Not-started-yet projects for lack of time, more ideas than time, nap time interrupts, life, etc. The tops I have in the drawer aren't finished because it's like climbing the mountain, you know it's going to be uphill all the way (I quilt by hand) so you have to be ready and willing to take that first step. I also lack the facilities to lay them out for basting so I procrastinate.
Not so much half finished. A few only. At some point I decide to finish it or rid myself of it. When I leave unfinished hanging about and in the way, I feel unsettled.
I am currently reading "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up". I hope it will be life changing for me once I started actually doing the things she talks about in the book. I am requiring myself to finish reading the book (it isn't long at only 120 pages) before I start. Being Japanese, the author has a very "eastern" view of objects and tidying, but I think the basic principles can apply to everyone. I plan to do a book review when I'm finished reading it and as I start to put into practice what I've learned. I will tackle my whole house with her method, unfinished projects and my sewing room will be included too.
Once upon a time, VERY long ago, I made a word processing document that categorized my UFOs (at that point in time). I had tops to be quilted, true UFOs/WIPs, fabrics pulled without a pattern in mind, patterns to be made without fabric pulled, inspirational pictures and idea. I worked from that list for several years with varying degrees of success. To be sure, other projects crept in without ever having made it to one of those lists. There are *still* some projects on that list that have been there from when I first created it.
Recently, I decided I needed something a little more in my face, so I got a magnetic board and some sticky-back magnetic strips. I listed all my current tops to be quilted on blue paper and stuck those strips to the magnets on one side of the board. I listed all my current UFOs/WIPs on yellow paper and stuck those strips to the magnets on the other side of the board. (Sadly, there was not enough space to list ALL of the UFOs/WIPs at this time.)
My goal is to get all the yellow project to the blue side or to become finished. As I finish a UFO/WIP and a magnetic strip becomes available, I put another one from my list there.
I will be piling up my tops to be quilted during this time but in helping my sister-in-law clean out her deceased mother's sewing room and wondering WHAT she had intended to do with this project, I came to the conclusion that I don't want my girls to have to do the same. They will know that a completed top needs to be quilted but they may not have any insight into what I had intended on doing with a UFO/WIP.
It's going to be a long, long process as I have many, many UFOs/WIPs.
Boy did this hit home! Maybe we should challenge ourselves to work on one UFO one day per week - maybe we could start a UFO party? Linky thingy? I'm so busy these days working on designs, I never get to my UFO's. I really hate having unfinished projects around.
And Caroll - a children's book - there are such mysterious depths to you, my dear! I love it!
Yeah, um, I lead a half finished life, too. I don't know the answer, so I am not of much help. I think it's fantastic that you want to write a children's book, though! Do it!!!
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