WIP Walk of Shame
I made three quilt goals for 2020 and one of them was to get my WIP list down to under ten projects. If you've been reading my monthly recap posts, then you've probably noticed it's actually growing instead of shrinking! I feel like I have three types of projects: ones that I start and then finish fairly quickly; quilt-alongs that are caught up but waiting for the next instruction; and projects that I lose interest in for whatever reason and then they sit for months or even years.
The picture below shows the current state of my sewing room - five projects that I am actively working on: a quilt-along that ends this week; a quilt-along that lasts an entire year; a project that is just waiting for a little bit of finishing; my "sanity" project, simple patchwork; and a kid sewing project. I anticipate finishing both the pillow and the watermelon quilt top this week (going right into quilting!)
But half of the quilts on my list haven't even been touched yet this year (or even longer). So in an effort to motivate myself, I'm taking a walk through those eight quilt projects from oldest to newest to see if they are worth completing.
1. Sudoku Quilt. Started April 2016, last touched December 2018.
Six of the nine sets of blocks are done and I really have no idea why I haven't bothered to finish it up. The log cabins were a little tedious, but there's no reason the remaining blocks can't be simpler.
2. Book Nerd Quilt. Started November 2016, last touched November 2019.
Last November, I sniped one of the blocks from this quilt and made it into a mini because I wanted to hang it up in my sewing room - no regrets there! But there four other blocks already made - all of them female characters. Some of them are a little goofy looking, but they are big and I can probably put them together into a finished quilt.
3. Honeypot Sampler (Kid Sewing). Started January 2017, last touched July 2018.
This is a cute collection of seven sampler blocks that my youngest made with me, but he doesn't have any interest in sewing anymore. He likes to hang out in my sewing room but prefers to do puzzles and chat away. Not sure what to do with these.
4. Football Quilt Like Bear's. Started July 2017, last touched September 2017(?).
This is another one my son and I were sewing together and it's actually a little farther along than the pictures in the blog post show so I'm not sure exactly when I last touched it. Every August I think it would be nice to finish it, but for some reason I never act on that thought.
5. Gypsy Wife Sloth. Started August 2017, last touched November 2017.
The quilt-along I was doing when I launched the blog! It got its own hashtag and lots of posts because I was trying to build content. Then I got frustrated because the print on my black fabrics wasn't lining up. Maybe enough time has passed for me to figure this out!
6. Harry Potter Quilt of Doom. Started November 2017, last touched December 2018.
Love this quilt, but can't decide on a fabric to use for the wall behind the bookcase. I just need to suck it up so I can finish it!
7. Rainbow Blossom. Started January 2019, last touched November 2019.
This was a monthly quilt-along for 2019, and I did decently well at keeping up with it. Kristy has announced that she's releasing her first fabric line in July - it'd be great to finish this top and then back it with her own fabric!
8. Summer Sampler 2019. Started May 2019, last touched December 2019.
I've actually made one additional block that never made it onto my blog. The original plan was to make it king-size to go on my bed, but I struggled to pick out the scrappy fabrics for each block and just gave up. Pity because I actually like the blocks I've made.
The good news is that in writing this blog post I realized I still like all these projects, I just need to stop getting distracted by shiny new things so I can work on them. My goal for May is to make progress on at least three of them - linking it up at Elm Street Quilts!
The picture below shows the current state of my sewing room - five projects that I am actively working on: a quilt-along that ends this week; a quilt-along that lasts an entire year; a project that is just waiting for a little bit of finishing; my "sanity" project, simple patchwork; and a kid sewing project. I anticipate finishing both the pillow and the watermelon quilt top this week (going right into quilting!)
1. Sudoku Quilt. Started April 2016, last touched December 2018.
Six of the nine sets of blocks are done and I really have no idea why I haven't bothered to finish it up. The log cabins were a little tedious, but there's no reason the remaining blocks can't be simpler.
2. Book Nerd Quilt. Started November 2016, last touched November 2019.
Last November, I sniped one of the blocks from this quilt and made it into a mini because I wanted to hang it up in my sewing room - no regrets there! But there four other blocks already made - all of them female characters. Some of them are a little goofy looking, but they are big and I can probably put them together into a finished quilt.
3. Honeypot Sampler (Kid Sewing). Started January 2017, last touched July 2018.
This is a cute collection of seven sampler blocks that my youngest made with me, but he doesn't have any interest in sewing anymore. He likes to hang out in my sewing room but prefers to do puzzles and chat away. Not sure what to do with these.
4. Football Quilt Like Bear's. Started July 2017, last touched September 2017(?).
This is another one my son and I were sewing together and it's actually a little farther along than the pictures in the blog post show so I'm not sure exactly when I last touched it. Every August I think it would be nice to finish it, but for some reason I never act on that thought.
5. Gypsy Wife Sloth. Started August 2017, last touched November 2017.
The quilt-along I was doing when I launched the blog! It got its own hashtag and lots of posts because I was trying to build content. Then I got frustrated because the print on my black fabrics wasn't lining up. Maybe enough time has passed for me to figure this out!
6. Harry Potter Quilt of Doom. Started November 2017, last touched December 2018.
Love this quilt, but can't decide on a fabric to use for the wall behind the bookcase. I just need to suck it up so I can finish it!
7. Rainbow Blossom. Started January 2019, last touched November 2019.
This was a monthly quilt-along for 2019, and I did decently well at keeping up with it. Kristy has announced that she's releasing her first fabric line in July - it'd be great to finish this top and then back it with her own fabric!
8. Summer Sampler 2019. Started May 2019, last touched December 2019.
I've actually made one additional block that never made it onto my blog. The original plan was to make it king-size to go on my bed, but I struggled to pick out the scrappy fabrics for each block and just gave up. Pity because I actually like the blocks I've made.
The good news is that in writing this blog post I realized I still like all these projects, I just need to stop getting distracted by shiny new things so I can work on them. My goal for May is to make progress on at least three of them - linking it up at Elm Street Quilts!
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