November 2018 – Meeting Recap and Announcements

Nov 9, 2018 | Evening Meeting, UFOs

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Our next open sew will be Sunday, November 18. If you plan on attending, please make sure to RSVP.

An email went out to all members with information regarding 2019. If you haven’t received the email, please get in touch to make sure we have your correct email. We are looking for member participation for the blog and meetings, so please sign up and get involved!

 

 

We are collecting dues for 2019 and giving away amazing prize packs for early membership renewals. Read the full post about the dues increase and renewal schedule.

November’s block of the month is a Zigzag Path. And that means there’s only one more month! Keep an eye on the blog for the post on final layout ideas.

Signups for the next round robin are open in the member area. If you’re on the fence about joining, take a look at the amazing quilt tops that the first round robin made! If you are a Boulder MQG member and haven’t made an account for the member area, you can do that here.

NOVEMBER MEETING RECAP

At the November evening meeting, Rebecca talked about UFO projects. She covered some common reasons projects become UFOs, deciding what to do with the project, how to revive UFOs, and how to keep them organized. The presentation document is available in the member area. If you aren’t a member, you can read up on UFOs on the blog.

 

This all lead up to an announcement regarding the 2019 UFO challenge. Tracey explained the rules and will be hosting the challenge for us. You can download the sign up sheet or register online here. The rules are also on that page, sign ups must be received by December 6 to participate. We can’t wait to see all the projects you finish next year!

Claudia, Katie L., and Julie Y. brought some UFOs that they weren’t sure how to finish. The group worked together to come up with some ideas.

We saw a lot of great finished projects during show and tell, and Susan even had someone else’s UFOs she was finishing!

 

Next month’s evening meeting will be the Christmas party with an ornament swap, keep an eye on your email for more information!

November Upcoming Meeting and Announcements

Oct 25, 2018 | 2018 Block of the Month, Evening Meeting, Events, UFOs

 

 

The November evening meeting is:

Thursday, November 1 from 6 pm – 8:30 pm

Alfalfa’s Market

785 E South Boulder Rd

Louisville, CO 80027

 

Earlier in the year we provided a UFO sheet to track the those abandoned projects that you needed to get back on track. As is often the case with UFOs, this challenge lost some of it’s steam as the year got busier. But we haven’t given up on finishing some of those UFOs and that’s going to be the focus of our November meeting.

In 2019 we will be continuing the UFO challenge with a new determination, Tracy will be leading the efforts and keeping us all (me included!) on track.

There will be a brief UFO presentation, but this is mostly going to be a group effort to help brainstorm and problem solve how to finish those projects that just keep plaguing you. Look through your UFOs and find those ones that are really causing you problems. The one that you don’t even like to talk about because you’re embarrassed and it keeps you up at night. We will help figure out just what to do next and come up with a plan of attack to finally get those projects finished in 2019!

And if you have any projects that you ended up changing course and finishing them differently than you originally intended, we’d love you to bring those for show and tell!

At the November evening meeting we will also have signups for a variety of roles and presentations for next year. We have an amazingly talented group of members and we’d love to have you share some of your knowledge and skills with the rest of the guild! If you aren’t going to be at the meeting but would like to contribute to the blog or present at a meeting, please email info@bouldermqg.com and let us know!

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

“An Exploration in Sustainable Modern Quilting” had a successful opening reception and is open to view Monday-Friday from 8am-5pm until December 14 at the Albert A. Bartlett Science Communication Center. It’s located at 4001 Discovery Dr, Boulder, CO 80303. Parking information is available here.

The October block is a fun sawtooth star variation that comes together quickly.

Use the hashtag #bouldermqgbom18 and tag us @bouldermqg when posting your blocks on Instagram!

The 2018 Round Robin resulted in some amazing quilt tops. And due to the interest, there will be another Round Robin starting in February! Signups are open now through January 27, you can find the rules and sign up in the Member Area.

The Community Outreach Committee has prepared quilt kits filled with fabric that was donated to our guild for members to take home and sew at their leisure. Each kit contains all the fabric and batting needed to complete a quilt. However, members are free to choose what they want to sew, i.e. piece a top and or a backing, sandwich a quilt and/or quilt it, prepare binding and/or sew it on, or do all the steps. If you are interesting in completing one, please contact Monique or Barb.

Open sew is Sunday, November 18 from 9am-4pm. Please RSVP to ensure you have a space. The December 6 evening meeting will be a holiday party at Monique’s house in Longmont. We will be doing a handmade ornament exchange, more details soon.

Reviving a UFO

Apr 2, 2018 | UFOs

Reviving a UFO

Now that you have identified the reasoning behind why your project(s) became a UFO, it can be really difficult to get the motivation to work on it. (We previously discussed some of the reasons you might have stopped a project, make sure to check those out here.) Here’s a few ideas of how you can revive some of those projects. Hopefully some of these will be helpful and will inspire you to finish up some UFOs.

Work on the One Closest to Completion

One way to get some momentum with finishing projects is to just get one finished. The excitement of finishing a project has a snowball effect and (hopefully) will put you on a path to finishing more. When you have a bunch of UFOs and aren’t sure which to work on, pick the one that needs the least amount of work before it’s finished.

Prioritize

You can prioritize any way you want, but having a plan can help a lot. You could work in chronological order, finishing your projects oldest to newest. Or decide which are most important to have finished and work on those. Do you have projects that were intended to be gifts? Make those the priority over selfish sewing projects.

Randomize It

Take your UFO list and make sure each project has a number assigned. Write the numbers on scraps of paper and draw one randomly. This takes the decision making out of the equation and leaves it up to fate.

Break it Down

It can be overwhelming to try to finish UFOs, especially if it’s one you didn’t like working on in the first place. I’ve found an easy way to make it more manageable is by breaking it into more manageable tasks.

I was daunted by 60 kitten blocks for two separate quilts that needed to be trimmed and have sashing added. I set a goal to get 5 blocks done a day. When I sat down to sew, I was eager to get the 5 blocks done so I could work on something else. It wasn’t so many that I dreaded it too much, but it was enough to see real progress quickly. Before I knew it, I had two finished quilt tops.

You can break it down by saying you’re going to work on the UFO for a certain number of minutes a day. Or you can break it down by tasks that you will do each day –

  • Cutting
  • Assembling blocks
  • Trimming blocks
  • Winding bobbins
  • Sewing them together
  • Making binding

It doesn’t matter if you have 50 tiny tasks you’ll do a little each day or if you’re only going to work on it for 15 minutes a day, as long as you’re doing SOMETHING to work towards the goal of finishing it!

A Hiatus from Other Projects

You could set a rule that you’re not going to work on anything else until that UFO is done. This one is very hard for me, I work on way too many projects at once, but focusing on a single project could work really well for you.

Simplify the Scope of the Project

If you abandoned a project because it just was too daunting and more work than you wanted to put in, maybe you can simplify it. If you were going to be making 150 blocks, maybe you could add a sashing to reduce the number you need. Or change the finished project to something smaller like a lap quilt or even just a throw pillow. It can be hard to change a project from your original vision, but if your original vision means the project will sit unfinished forever then it’s worth exploring other options.

It might be necessary to try a few different options before you find what works for you, but hopefully some of these ideas will help. Letting go of perfection is a better option than having yet another UFO in your closet. The satisfaction of a finished quilt to cuddle under, or a project checked off your list, will outweigh any compromises you make to get your project finished.

Do you have a UFO you’ve been motivated to finish and finally completed? We’d love to hear more about it. And make sure you’re sharing your UFO progress on Instagram with #bouldermqgUFOs

Why do projects become a UFO and what now?

Feb 21, 2018 | UFOs

Why do projects become a UFO and what now?

We started with our UFO challenge by setting forth the task to gather all your UFOs and make a list. Do you have it? Because we are ready to start the next step.

When you were getting together projects you might have found some and wondered why you never finished. Or you groaned and remembered exactly why you didn’t finish it in the first place. Either way, sometimes knowing why a project became a UFO is a good way to figure out how you can revive it and complete your project.

Here are just some of the reasons projects get tossed aside.

Pattern Problems:

Was the pattern poorly written? Or maybe once you got started you realized it was a lot harder and time consuming than you originally expected.

Technique Problems:

Did you use the wrong seam allowance or cut incorrectly and your quilt is going to be smaller than you originally intended ? Maybe you started the quilt before you knew that it was a good idea to trim HSTs. Sometimes if you make a mistake it’s easier to shove a project into a closet than fix it.

Fabric Issues:

Did you get into the quilt and realize that you didn’t have enough fabric? Maybe you started regretting your original fabric choices because once you saw them together, they just weren’t working. Or your fabric preferences  changed since you originally started it. These can all be reasons you might put a project away and forget about it.

Not Like Your Original Vision:

It’s really hard to stay motivated to work on a project that just isn’t turning out like you envisioned it. Sometimes things just don’t look the same as they did in your head when you were planning the quilt.

You Got Distracted By Another Project:

Pinterest and Instagram are great for inspiration, but sometimes they make it hard to stick with one project. It’s easy to get excited about a fresh idea and abandon a project for a fun, new one.

You’re Dreading the Next Step:

Did you get to a step in the quilt making process you can’t stand? It’s hard to want to work on a project that feels like a chore.

So you know why it became a UFO, now what should you do with it? 

Finish as Originally Intended:

The easiest ones to finish are the ones that were just cast aside because you got distracted by something else. Take those UFOs and determine the one closest to being finished and just get it done. The satisfaction of completing a project will give you the momentum to keep going.

And sometimes finishing as you originally intended means letting go of perfection. Finished is better than perfect! Even if you set aside a project because the seams didn’t match up or your quilting is a little wonky, embrace the imperfections! You won’t even notice them once you’re curled up under it.

Change Direction:

When something isn’t turning out like you intended it’s easy to get frustrated and forget about the project. One option, though, is to change directions. If the pattern was harder than you expected then add sashing or negative space so you need to make less blocks. Orphan blocks can be turned into a pillow or mini quilt.

It can be hard to let go of the original plan. Sometimes when you step back and allow yourself to reevaluate, you might even end up in a new direction you like better!

Donate:

There’s a couple options for donating a project.

You can finish the project and then donate it. Or you can donate the in progress project. I once had a crochet project that I hated working on and I felt like it was holding me back from other projects. I gathered up all the supplies and what I already had completed and donated it to a thrift shop.

Just because you’ve lost a passion for a project and don’t want to finish it doesn’t mean there isn’t someone out there who’d love to!

Salvage:

It’s an extreme measure, but you can also just salvage what you can and then just walk away. Maybe you can use the sashing on a different project, or there’s a fabric you’d like to use for something else. Get you seam ripper and rotary cutter and just get to work.

We have another UFO sheet to help you continue to work through your UFOs and organize them. Now don’t feel required to do this, none of this is required. We really just want to provide you with as many tips and tools to help you work through that UFO pile. So use what’s helpful and leave the rest.

Make sure you check in with us and tell us how your UFO finishing is going! Tag @bouldermqg on Instagram and use #bouldermqgUFOs.

Introducing the Boulder Modern Quilt Guild UFO Challenge 2018!

Jan 29, 2018 | UFOs

Introducing the Boulder Modern Quilt Guild UFO Challenge 2018!

By Rebecca Greco

What is a UFO?

A UFO, in quilting terms, means Unfinished Object. It can be any sewing project that you haven’t finished –  just a couple blocks you made or a completed quilt top you’ve never gotten around to basting.

UFOs can be so easy to accumulate but so difficult to pull back out and finish. We are hoping to help you organize your projects and come up with a plan to finish them. And who knows, there might be some prizes for Boulder MQG members who finish up some UFOs this year!

The first step is to take inventory of your UFOs. Dig into project bins and closets and pull out everything you can find. We’ve put together this UFO project list for you to print out and write down all the WIPs (works in progress) you discover. Write them all down – that quilt you started and then found that the pattern directions were confusing, the project when you ran out of fabric before you finished, or those quilt tops you finished but you just don’t know to baste.

We put together a UFO sheet. Print it out, list them all, and then stay tuned while we walk you through some ideas of why you might have put this project aside and some steps you can take to revive it. Later this year we will do a meeting that looks more in depth into a lot of these topics.

We’d love to know how many UFOs you find and can’t wait to see what you finish this year! Take a picture of your UFO pile and tag @bouldermqg on Instagram and use #bouldermqgUFOs. Hopefully we can all provide each other with some motivation to clear some projects off our plate to make way for lots of new quilts!