Oh, fun, I thought! I imagine little gems when I look at these blocks. I immediately wanted to make more and I have plenty of strings. I asked myself, is this a UFO or just a few blocks, maybe not even a WiP? Because if it's not a UFO those blocks need to go back where they were so I can work on a true UFO -- one that's further along than 17 blocks.
So I put that question to you, dear readers. When is a project a UFO?
No (I think)?
- you made a few blocks and aren't sure you want to continue so you laid them aside to work on something else
- you made a few trial blocks to see if you like them and they're on your design wall
- you've made blocks without a specific intention for their use
Maybe?
- the intended dozen blocks are made, you just need to choose sashing and sew
- all the pieces for the blocks are cut, they just need sewn
Yes?
- you ran out of the fabric you used and are searching for more
- all you have to do is add the border
- it's ready to be layered and basted
- it's ready to be quilted
- only the binding is left to sew
- it's been laying in your closet for 10 years waiting for the quilting lines to be marked
- it needs a little tweaking (for any number of reasons)
So please tell me, how do you decide whether you have a UFO on your hands or a WIP? At what point does it become a UFO?
I couldn't help myself. I made a few more of those little quarter log cabins.
I have an idea or two in mind for them. But I should probably get back to a true UFO, right?
I'm linking this post to
Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework
Moving It Forward Monday at Em's Scrap Bag
Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt
Main Crush Monday #84 (MCM) at Cooking up Quilts
Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts
Thank you for hosting, ladies.
--Nancy.
.
I don't think too hard or worry too much about these definitions. But for the record, I consider a UFO to be anything I started and then for some reason stopped. It is usually something that can be found deep in a closet or cupboard.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, in my little mind a WIP is something laying out around the sewing room somewhere. It may not see progress frequently, but every now and then, as I shuffle through piles of things, it rises to the surface and I may actually spend an evening--or even just a few minutes--working on it. Then it gets buried again by more urgent WIPs.
Hi, Janet --
DeleteI don't often think about the different between UFOs and WiPs but because I've determined to finish several projects/quilts that are close to being finished, the question came to mind. These little blocks have a start but no particular end in mind, at least at the moment. It occurred to me that maybe a UFO at least has a determined end in mind. There's only so much time and if I work on one thing, then another thing goes unfinished. I don't now why I sometimes feel such pressure, and I know I always create the pressure myself. Finish, finish, finish....
Oh good question! I'm with Janet however, as I don't really define my projects as WIP's or UFO's. If I write it down on my "to make" list it is already a WIP. I do end up donating a lot of unfinished things, I'm just not sure when they go from WIP to UFO. Some never even make it to the written list. They just swirl around my head like a swarm of bees!
ReplyDeleteHi, Wendy. The only quilt I've really thought of as a UFO is my Gwenny medallion, which I had to lay aside when family came to visit last fall (and several unquilted tops). That medallion quilt is pulling at me and I know I need to work on it, and want to work on it, too, I'm just not sure what to do next. I'll pull it out soon and continue on it. I don't think I usually think in terms of WiPs or UFOs, just quilts I want to work on. But, I did determine at the beginning of the year that I would try to finish some quilts I'd begun.
DeleteOh, the bees! I make little drawings on little scraps of paper which surface now and then as reminders that I had an idea for a quilt.
My UFO's are all of the above--lol!
ReplyDeleteHi, Karen. It's fun that they're not divided in any way. That's probably the best way to look at partially finished quilts.
DeleteFirst of all---forget ''must do'' and UFos and work on whatever makes you happy! The little jewel log cabins are wonderful.
ReplyDeleteTo me there are no UFOs, only WiP. I try hard to finish what I start. I think labellng my quilting as this or that is discouraging, I only quilt for fun and the satisfaction of having something to work on each day.
lizzy lizzzz.d@gmail.com
Hi, Lizzy. I'm like you and try hard to finish what I start but I have a few groups of blocks that were trials for quilts and I left them, undecided about whether to continue or forget the ideas (which obviously aren't forgotten because I'm still thinking about them). And I began and nearly finished a medallion quilt with a sew-along last year and that's been calling me. But those little gems were just too cute to ignore....
DeleteI don't usually categorize my quilts by WiP and UFO, either, except to participate in some of the link-ups.
A UFO is a project that has been started with a definite mental or physical outline of how to finish it including; 1. blocks already cut out, 2. fabric set aside for the specific project, 3. any flimsy waiting for borders or quilting 4. any quilt waiting for binding or a label, 5. one block pieced or appliqued with the intention of making more, . . . you get the idea. I don't have WIPs. I only have UFOs.
ReplyDeleteHi, Robin. I think that's a good way to think about the quilts you're working on. Do you ever have UFOs that remain unfinished for very long? I don't usually identify quilts as either except wips for the link-ups and my Gwenny medallion which I had to put away last fall and I currently think of as a UFO.
DeleteFor me, UFOs are anything that I started and have stopped working on for some reason. WIPs are projects I am currently sewing. Thanks for linking up with Oh Scrap!
ReplyDeleteHi, Cynthia. I didn't used to give much thought to UFOs because I didn't have any but now I have a Gwenny medallion that I had to put away last fall because company was coming and I've had enough leftover blocks from other quilts that need to have something done with them. But I've always thought of things I was currently working on as WiPs.
DeleteI believe that projects morph between WIP and UFO depending on if you are currently working on them or if you have stored them away. For the purposed of my UFO Club, it really doesn't matter what you call a project, but as long as you have cut your fabric it counts toward the participation requirements.
ReplyDeleteHi, Joyful. That "stored away" resonates with me as a good definition for calling a project a UFO. Probably because I have one quilt stored away that needs a finish.
DeleteI consider a UFO anything I started and stopped. a WIP is when I am working on finishing it. I too dont stress. sometimes later when I come across UFOs to finish they tell me they want to be another project and live happily ever after LOL
ReplyDeleteHi! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on UFOs and WiPs. Others have used the terms "lingering," "stored away," and "stopped working on" to describe UFOs. That feels right to me, though I don't often give much thought to the definition (except for a medallion quilt that's been in the closet for nearly a year and wants to be finished).
DeleteI'm with Karen, all of the above. I kind of add a time frame to mine, too. Usually I say if it has been lingering for a year without getting moved forward at all. Cute blocks, by the way.
ReplyDeleteHi, Jennie. Thanks. It's probably good not to identify a quilt too narrowly, but I agree that the "lingering" makes me think of it as a UFO. I have that Gwenny medallion quilt that's been lingering nearly a year.
DeleteFor me, my WIPs are what I am currently working on. My UFOs are on hangers patiently waiting their turn. My fun is sewing and reading wonderful blogs like yours! Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi, Mia. Others have suggested the same definition of UFO but using other words. I have one UFO that is not quite so patiently waiting. I think I'll probably work on it next.
DeleteYour hobby should always count in the fun factor more than anything else. If you're having a ball making more of these little gems then keep your motivation rolling!
ReplyDeleteOh, so true, Vic. Joy in the process makes all the difference in the result!
DeleteEspecially now that you made more, I'd call it a UFO. I don't do it by size. Anything I haven't worked on even a little in six months is a UFO, sometimes less time, depending on the project. But I also don't worry too much about labeling. I just work on what I feel like, and it all is finished eventually. =) And I feed my soul with new projects now and then.
ReplyDeleteHi, Susan. Thanks for sharing your thoughts about UFOs and WiPs. Lots of ideas but most people seemed to think that if a project hadn't been worked on for a while it was a UFO. I don't really give these two names too much thought except to share for the link-ups and this year because I decided I would finish projects that had been in progress and unfinished too long. In particular I have a medallion quilt that's been pestering me so I'll pull that out soon and see if I can figure out a final border for it.
DeleteI like the finishes but it's also fun to have a new start now and then.
Interesting post! I propose a new category - WiPP - Works In Perpetual Progress. These projects require some dust to have accumulated, otherwise they should be WiPs. When we have stopped breathing, they get moved to the UFO category. :)
ReplyDeleteLOL. I like that new category, Karen. Sometimes it feels like I have a few works in perpetual progress -- never-ending because I can't decide the next part/color/block, etc. I hope I don't have too many UFOs by the time I die. One of my daughters in particular would not be happy.
DeleteI think I count some of your No (maybe?) as orphans.
ReplyDeleteUsually I count how many projects I have unfinished at the end of the year and add them to a tab on my blog. So in the new year anything unfinished and on my UFO tab is a UFO in the new year. As I finish I cross them off the list on the tab.
All my UFOs are also WIPs until they get crossed off the list.
And I do have a lot of UFOs...but I don't stress about them...if I feel like starting something new I do. If I feel like finishing up a particular UFO I do. If I feel like working on a UFO just a little bit and then feel like putting it back in the box I do. Right now I feel like doing it all but have herniated disk/sciatica to contend with, darn it. Maybe just a few more days...
Cute quarter logs, by the way. I like that you started them with the traditional red in different variations. Carry on...
Oh, yes, Cathy, I can see that a few blocks left over or a few made to decide could be considered orphans. A new category, then!
DeleteIt's interesting how we all work so differently. I don't know how many partially finished quilts I could lay aside to begin another. I think at some point I would begin to have a sinking/drowning feeling.
I'm so sorry about your herniated disk. It's been a week since you left a comment so I hope maybe it's feeling better by now. And if not, I hope you're taking it easy if that helps it heal, or following whatever the doctor's orders are.
Thanks for the comment on the quarter cabins. I love those little blocks, get them out every now and then to make a few, and then can't decide what to do next. I've been thinking of a strippy quilt with those in a column and maybe some applique between. Or maybe just strips of those. It will come to me one of these days.