I love your comments!!! It makes me smile before I start writing! And the blog will be late today because I slept in. I had trouble sleeping last night, and since I have a travel day (by car), I'm not in any hurry to hit the road.
And yes -- I think Elle and I are within a few years of each other. People have tried to pin down the year I was born, and it would be easy to tell you, but what is the point? I am not defined by my age. I know what would happen: people would say, "Oh, you are too old; you should retire," or "You are too old to be working out at the gym," or they would compare my energy level to theirs, and what does it matter? It doesn't - you are you, and I am me.
Age is not a factor in our friendships!
Elle and I will never do a podcast, but one day we must plan to meet! It would be a hoot. We aren't that far apart with today's travel options. And you know what? One day, we might just surprise you, but nothing's in the plans, and I'm already working on my travel plans for 2027, and that trip isn't among them right now.
Be careful what you wish for! Remember the list of 30 things not to buy or do that I posted the other day, and I said, "there are no puzzles on that list." Well, I decided to follow the person who posted that list, and they posted part two. Guess what? There are "rules for puzzles!!
Right there - living room - number 4.
OK -- so I won't be buying any more puzzles. I've had some time on my hands on this trip, and after the long day of teaching, I haven't even gone for a walk, even though the days are stunning. The weather could not be more beautiful. I really must get my butt out later today and go for a walk.
I post those things for fun, but you know what? Those two lists have some serious "rules" to keep in mind.
What do we really need? After a certain age, we don't need much. I don't buy in bulk. It makes me smile when I see people off to Costco to buy rolls of toilet paper, paper towels, or whatever else they buy. Where the heck are you going to store all that? It might cost a wee bit more or less depending on the item, but you no longer use as much as you did when more family members were around.
I could say so much more about some of those items on that list, but I learned one thing, and I said it just last week about my Many Blocks project. It's one thing to make a commitment, but another to follow through. That's the part we don't truly appreciate. If you plan to do something or set a deadline for that project, you have to set aside time to do it.
Like my Many Blocks. I had committed to getting the three quilt tops done before the end of the year. Tick-tock- it's almost the end of October. I had put it off for several months because I got tied up with something else or forgot about it.
So what was I expecting? A quilting fairy to come by and work on it for me? NO, we all know there are no quilting fairies. The only quilting fairy is us!
We have another amazing tool in our back pocket: time management. You make a commitment; you carve out time that day, week, or month to do it. I totally get that life (especially at our age) will throw sudden, mostly health-related events our way that eat up time. But the rest of the time? We control what we do with that time. And if we have committed to making blocks for any project, only we can actually do the work.
Failing to do the work only means we failed ourselves. I don't mean that negatively, because I'm totally guilty of it. I commit to the deadline for our UFO Club, and if I know the coming month will be busy, I commit to doing less work. If I know I'll be free, then I commit to more.
I take that seriously, but with the Many Blocks project, I slacked off.
I'm realizing I need to take that seriously, or I might as well stop. If I can't do what I commit to, then what's the point? Give the darn project away and move on to something that I will enjoy. That's a HUGE thing for all of us to realize. If you don't like the book, the project, the clothes, the dishes -- then get rid of them!!! NOW!!!
And Elle is 100% right; at this point, most of the sewing/quilting I do is for work, and I am not getting as much done for myself as I would like. I certainly don't sew just because or just for fun. That doesn't happen at my house. That's why I realized I took on one too many classes this year. I LOVE teaching the classes -- it's my favorite thing to do. Thankfully, I'm teaching things I want to make, so I'm not doing it just because I want to teach.
And thank goodness for the Many Blocks and UFO Club, because they force me to work on things I haven't completed yet. But I need a bit more time to work faster on those UFOs because, someday, not that far in the future, I need to tackle the mounds of stuff in Studio B. While I was lying awake last night, I thought about doing that, and it rolled through my head as I tried to figure out where to start. Not only where, but how!
Since all the talk about UFOs can be somewhat negative, here's a refreshing take on UFOs that shows the positive light (is that possible?) of having some UFOs. This came from a 2004 magazine I found at my aunt's house called Down Under Quilts.
Having a UFO means you started a project. The author says a UFO means you at least started a project. That's compared to all those projects that you never started!
My take: yes, you started, but if you keep starting and not finishing, what does that say about you? Squirrel!!!!
The fact that you have a UFO means that you have a life. By that, she means that you have other things going on in your life, so you don't have time to finish the project.
My take: you are not good at time management!
If you have a UFO, it proves that you have great taste. This one means it's a UFO because your initial fabric choice didn't work out the way you expected.
My take: If that is the case, dismantle the fabrics, throw out the pattern, or rebuy fabrics, but it should NEVER remain a UFO.
Evidence of UFOs also proves you are growing and developing as a creative person. This means you are growing and may not like the fabric styles you started with.
My take: yep -- that happens. Guess what? Get rid of that or dismantle it. Getting rid of a UFO does NOT mean finishing it!
A UFO in your cupboard proves you have had a better idea since. Meaning that, while you were working on something, you got distracted by a better idea.
My take: this is a cop-out! If you don't learn to finish something (get rid of it by finishing or dismantling it), then you are just creating clutter in your sewing space.
A collection of UFOs shows you are financially secure. Meaning you have the money to spend on fabric, and people will look up to you because of the stash size.
My take - this happened to me, and I swear it's a monkey on my back. I wish I didn't have the stash that I do.
You have excellent storage facilities at home, which lets you have UFOs. That means you have the space and planning skills to store all those projects.
My take - this is a disaster, especially when it comes to downsizing!!!
The article was written tongue-in-cheek, and you know what? When I first started out in quilting, no one talked about what could happen - the overwhelming piles of UFOs, the extensive stash, and people just thought it was FUN to amass what we could. Somewhere along the way, I realized this was going to be a major problem.
Now I'm trying to undo what I've done. I could easily have a sale, or I could give it all away, but I want to do it responsibly, and I know the people who buy will be those who don't need more.
I cannot say this enough --- do NOT, do NOT let those UFOs get out of hand. And don't keep buying fabric willy-nilly just because you have the space or the money. There are consequences for that recklessness.
I'm considering a few ideas for getting rid of the fabric; I just need more time to plan. I have a long drive ahead of me today - that will give me plenty of time!
I will be more mindful of what I take on for classes in the future (don't worry, we are still planning wool appliqué in January), but come September, I'll cut back again. I need to use that free time to focus on reducing the stash. I think I'll start with the books and magazines. Then the stash and lastly the UFOs. I still like the projects I started, so I plan to finish them, but the books, magazines, and fabric? They have to go!!!
On that happy note, I'm out of here!!
Have a super day!!!
Ciao!!!
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