Sunday, May 15, 2011

Counting UFOs

A while ago I piled up all my UFOs (Unfinished [quilt] Objects) and counted them. I had nearly 50. I was rather appalled at how many I had and about all the time it will take me to finish them all. Since then some lucky happenstances popped up... Margaret's Hope Chest offered to accept orphan tops. She/they will finish them and donate them to children. I was thrilled! I sent several tops to Margaret's Hope Chest, and it felt great to get them off my shoulders and in line to be put to good use.

My local machine quilter offered to finish some charity quilts for me, so I gave her six tops. What a life saver! I should be getting those back from her very soon.

I have also been motivated to finish a few of my own. I didn't bother to count any of these UFOs, though, so I'm going to start that now. I'm counting all the UFOs I've either sent out of my house to be finished by others, and the few that I have finished myself... for my 2011 UFO count. As I get the others back from my quilter and get them bound, those will be counted, too. Here goes (you have probably seen these pictures before. But I just had to post them again and make them officially counted):

(1) a pillow made from leftover HSTs


(2) a top of forgotten-origin which I sent to Margaret's Hope Chest


(3) another forgotten-origin top which I sent to Margaret's Hope Chest


(4) I started this several years ago; recently I finished assembling these blocks and sashed them for delivery to Margaret's Hope Chest


(4) a small top that was set aside for further pondering; off it went to Margaret's Hope Chest


(5)a row quilt sent to Margaret's Hope Chest


(6) made from crumb blocks - sent to MHC


(7) an experimental one using slashes; I named it Blue Slash Yellow and sent it to MHC


(8) a pillow made from selvages


(9) a crumbs quilt that I finished and gave to a friend's grandchild


(10) crumbs in green, sent to Wrap a Smile


(11) an autobiographical quilt that I finally finished


(12) a scrap quilt that I am going to use for a chair cover-up on our deck


(13) a quilt made In Memory of Bev B for Wrap a Smile (using some of Bev's own fabric)


(14) an enlarged panel quilt for Wrap a Smile


14 finished UFOs so far in 2011! I'm happy about that high number and hope to keep plugging away. Every once in a while I create new UFOs, of course. I may never reach the end of the pile (just like never using up all the scraps), but if the UFOs are newer rather than YEARS old, I'll be content.

Now should I count my other UFOs (Unfinished [knit] Objects)??

6 comments:

Sara said...

Congratulations! Last year I worked VERY hard on finishing UFOs, or getting them out of the house. MHC got a lot of mine too.

This year I find a have practically NO energy around UFO completion. Maybe I over did it in 2010. But finally now in May I have gotten out one, and a new idea of how to combine it with another for a twin top.

Oh yah, and then there is the sock yarn stash.

Pattilou said...

That was a fun trip through your UFO's! It can get away from you and I think you're similar to me in that making the tops is more fun than finishing a quilt. I have some more to send to MHC too as I'm a bit like Sara, I did way too many UFO's last year too. Right now I'm just not into quilting as much--I think it all waxes and wanes and is part of the process. I do have one more UFO from my list at the first of the year and then my sealed box downstairs will wait until opening it in 2012!

There is a quilt in progress on the spare bed and I work on it in my spare time, but I'm not "driven" like I was last year...and it is all good! But, my flowers are beautiful!

AnnieO said...

That is a high number--how great to see them moved off your list and on to good homes. Love the ones you're keeping too. Definitely a mood lifter to see that pile shrink!

Dawn said...

You are so talented! I love them all, and I think that whoever receives one of these quilts will feel blessed. ~Dawn

Tracey @ozcountryquiltingmum said...

Carol, well done!! Thse are brilliant, such a diverse body of work..and done!!!
They must be great to hold...I must finsih more!! Good job...especially love the autobiographical!!
Tracey

Pat at Bell Creek Quilts said...

wonderful! that you we able to donate so many quilts and UFO's to others! :)