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Saturday, October 1, 2016

3 Reasons to Finish UFO's

After a few years hiatus, I have returned to quilting in earnest.  I found this incredible link called One Monthly Goal-OMG, which has motivated me to dig into my UFO pile, which is filled with very old projects.  I have just completed my first OMG project and have learned a couple of lessons about UFO's along the way.
My one recommendation is to have a time limit for finishing a UFO-is it possible?  Here are 3 reasons you should consider this challenge.

1.  You may not be able to find the pattern for your project.  When I pulled this quilt out, I found that I didn't have the pattern.  Luckily I had put one of the blocks together so I could figure the pattern out.  It would have been a shame to throw away all of those neatly cut little pieces.

2.  You may not like the quilt or pattern when you decide to finish it.  Styles and colors change.  Something that was trendy and interesting 4 or 5 years ago may seem dated and uninteresting when you dig it out of your UFO pile.

3.  You may not be able to find fabrics you need to finish your quilt.  As we all know, fabrics go out of print and you may find yourself in a pickle when you are just short of the amount needed for the finish.

All three of these things happened with this quilt.  I was able to cobble together a small quilt from the fabrics that were cut out.  The fabrics are old enough to be out of print and the colors are a little dated too.  Luckily I LOVE anything blue so I can live with the colors.  The ideal binding would have been the pansy fabric but I didn't have enough.  I auditioned many different fabrics for the binding and this was the best I could do.  I don't love it but it works.



I am very happy to have this quilt finished.  I love the quilt pattern.  I love the blue.   The main thing is that it's done.  On to my next OMG project!

Linking to: OMG, MCM, Monday Making, Moving it Forward Monday, Linky Tuesday,Midweek Makers, Let's Bee Social, NTT Blog Archives, Finished or Not Friday, Finish it Up Friday, Can I Get A Whoop Whoop,








43 comments:

  1. Congratulations on finishing your UFO. It's a quilt well worth the finish.

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  2. My UFO pile is a little smaller. Thank you.

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  3. Too funny, and too-right too! Still, a time limit placed on my UFO's is a rule destined to be broken.

    Congratulations, you have managed to pull together a lovely quilt from an older project and the blue/white is timeless!

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    1. Thank you Heidi. I know, right...a time limit...lol.

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  4. Great job! I agree with all 3 of your points (I uh live them?!) but I also agree with loving all things blue :-) Beautiful finish; I missed Heidi's deadline (again) by less than 24 hours but it is finished!

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    1. Thank you Sandra. Good for you Sandra. It's done.

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  5. Not enough pansy print for the binding didn't HAVE to be a problem. You could very easily chosen to use what you had and substitute odd bits for the rest required to complete the binding. That being said, the light blue that you chose works quite well. Congrats! on checking another project off your UFO list.

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    1. Thank you for the suggestion, but I actually tried that but didn't like the look. I'm so glad it's done.

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  6. Welcome back to quilting! OMG is a great motivator, congratulations on getting your UFO to the finish line. The great thing about quilt projects (old or new) is that they don't have to continue down the path they started. Change the plan if you can't find the pattern or no longer like the design. Add some new fabrics (new coordinates can go great with your old fabrics!) and take that UFO to a new place and have some fun with an old friend!

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    1. You are right, being flexible is the key to the finish sometimes.

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  7. There are lots of problems with those older UFOs. You definitely made the best of it with this one. Beautifully done!

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  8. Well done to get this wrapped up and finished, it is so pretty!

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  9. the quilt looks great glad you got it figured out and were able to finish it

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  10. Looove your Quilt!! & know if you don't tell anyone..they will never know plans changed! giggle... Awesome job!! :)

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    1. You're right, I almost forget I changed it up. Thank you.

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  11. If you're really desperate for a particular fabric, put out a call for it - I'm sure someone has it in their stash (maybe me!) and would be willing to part with it. But you did a good job filling in, and the binding looks fine. Thanks so much for sharing this on Midweek Makers

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  12. Your quilt is very pretty, and I appreciate your thoughts on older UFOs. I have some of those lurking in my quilt room, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to be creative on the finish! But so it goes. It's part of the fun! Wendy at piecefulthoughts@gmail.com

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    1. It is always good to have a challenge, but not too big a challenge. Thank you Wendy.

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  13. Such a pretty quilt, Kathi!! Congratulations on the finish!!

    -Soma

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  14. I can honestly say I've had all three of those things happen! Nice finish! I bet it feels good to complete a UFO :)

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    1. I bet it's kind of common with quilters. Thank you Sarah.

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  15. Congrats on your UFO finish! I like how you made the edge star blocks pointy.

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  16. Thank you for sharing! Your quilt is lovely - espcecially the pansy fabric! Yes, the OMG is really helping me get things done. I also link up to To Do Tuesday at Stitch All Things (http://www.stitchallthethings.com/). This works for me so I can break up the bigger projects into smaller bites! Congratulations on a beautiful finish! :)

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  17. I've enjoyed the challenge/discipline of OMG this year, too. Heidi said she plans to continue it in 2017. Your blue quilt turned out very well!

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    1. Good, I have more than a year's worth of UFO's waiting in the wings.

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  18. I have experienced the same obstacles. sigh... But yours is still very beautiful -great finish.

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  19. Your post makes me want to run through my UFO pile and get to work! I am afraid I will be facing all of those issues myself! The quilt is very pretty and I am glad you were able to figure out the pattern as well as find a binding that works! Yay for a finish!

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    1. Yay!! Thank you Christine. Good luck with your UFO's.

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  20. I must be a bit old fashioned, because I don't think this looks dated at all! I'm with you, anything blue is bound to be good :) Congrats on your finish!

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  21. Beautiful quilt Kathi and congrats on finishing your UFO! It doesn't look dated to me!

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  22. It looks wonderful!! Thank you for sharing at Sew Cute Tuesday!

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  23. Congrats on your finish! I recently finished a quilt from 2004... and oh my gosh it was hard to work on... luckily I didn't have to like it too much, since it was a gift. (He waited a LONG time!) I don't know what my oldest WIP is now. I could guess, but I think it's better not knowing. I found the 2004 project was a huge source of stress for me. Such a relief to get an *old* WIP done. :-)

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    1. Congratulations!! Your friend did wait a long time, but I'm sure it was worth the wait. I know, those old quilts are hard to work on.

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