Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Too Many Tops!

What's your favorite part of making a quilt? What's your least favorite? Is there a place where you come to a dead stop and find yourself with another pile of blocks or unfinished tops?

I woke up this morning and before I got out of bed, thought about what I was going to work on in my sewing room on this, a totally free, nothing-on-my-calendar day: The table runner? The last mystery retreat quilt?






The group quilt due in December? The last Bonnie Hunter mystery? That online BOM of Anne Sutton's? Oh, and there's that new Dresden Plate ruler I bought to use with all those charm squares I have and that beautiful star block pattern I saw on the AnyoneCanQuilt blog!





Wait a minute . . . let's get real. . . I decided to take stock. Within 5 feet of my sewing machine table, I found 8 completed TOPS! Two more in the closet (from over 5 years ago) brought my tops total to 10 and I stopped looking.

Do I have a problem? It's ovbious I love to piece blocks and tops and I do enjoy machine quilting my own quilts---I just hate to pin quilts!

Since I feel a quit is 50% finished when the top is done, I'm going to redo my "UFO" list on the left-hand side of my blog to include some of these 10 tops half finished. I'll force myself to pin a couple of quilts and get them quilted and hope to finish many of them before I start anything else.


                                        I'll keep you posted. . .


P.S. I wrote the above last Friday. Since then I pinned quilts # 2 and 4 above, played around with the Dresden Plate ruler and, yes, started on the Dresden Plate blocks. I may have made progress on UFOs but I'm pretty much hopeless!!

6 comments:

Diane said...

It's a constant challenge to keep from starting too many new things without finishing. I still have 3 flimsy's that keeping moving to newer quilting 'to do' lists.
I think when I started feeling guilty, well not really guilty--overwhelmed maybe or started with heart palpitations at the thoughts of so many UFO's that I got them under control...sorta :)
Not sure I learned anything from it other than finished quilts take up way more room than flimsy's, which can only mean I need a bigger house! who knew!

Angie in SoCal said...

I agree with Diane. "It's a constant challenge to keep from starting something new". Lately, it's been that so many opportunities arrive that need a quilt - like a set of twin baby girls 7 weeks early. I like all the tops I could see in this post. You're going to have some stunning quilts, and congrats on those you pinned.

Mary said...

I am the same. I have way too many new projects started again this year. Judy L's UFO challenge will continue, even if all I get to with my UFO each month is the flimsy stage. Then it goes on my 'To be Quilted' list. It's progress!

Mary-Kay said...

On Saturday, I layered 9 quilts. I use spray baste, so no pins and I quilt on my home machine. I'd really like to start a new project but not until I get those 9 quilts out of here.

Pieces of Time said...

I agree with Mary Kay! I spray baste my quilts and then quilt them on my embroidery machine. I pinned one quilt and figured out I did not have enough hours left to do this again. So 505 has become my best friend.
Jane in KS

Connie Kresin Campbell said...

Great projects and quilts, I think pinning is the part that slows me down, you're getting there!