Getting Needlepoint Done
Commenting on yesterday’s post, Mary Lou wrote ” My problem is not unfinished finished projected but all the unfinished projectes I have! I am trying not to start new ones but that is difficult. I have a lot of canvases not started in my stash at home. I just want to complete my unfinished stash. ”
I think this is a problem many of us have, I know I do. I have enough UFO’s that they could probably keep me stitching the rest of my life, especially if I include the pieces where I have pulled thread but haven’t started stitching.
So what’s a person to do?
Here are some ideas.
1. Work on a UFO for one hour every single day. This is really good for those projects which require just stitching the background. If you made it your main project, you’d go nuts. Doing it this way puts it into manageable bits.
And it’s especially good if you work on it while you are watching or listening to something you do regularly and love.
2. Accept that you won’t ever finish it. This is good for class projects. Father B was the one who turned me onto this idea. Think about it, you took the class for a reason right? You’ve stitched enough on the project to have learned what you wanted to learn or to find out you don’t like the technique at all.
If you don’t still love the project, give it up and give it away.
3. Make it your “car project.” These small projects are the things you do when you are in the car or away from home. They are great places for small UFO’s. You don’t have the distractions of home, you could be bored, or you could do needlepoint.
I’ll opt for the car project every time.
4. Reward yourself for finishing a UFO. For every three UFO’s I finished, I got to start a new project. The year I did this it was very successful. My UFO’s are piling up, so I should probably do it again.
5. Institute a rotation system. There are many ways to do this, but they work like this.
Make a list of ten projects you want to finish.
Decide on a block of time you will spend on any one project at a time. You could say “I’ll stitch ten hours on this project.” or “I’ll stitch on a project for one week.”
Whatever it is, stitch on the first project on the list for that amount of time, then put it away and go on to the next project on the list.
Do this until you have finished a project, then cross it off the list and put a new project at the bottom of the list.
I’ve used rotation systems in the past, but tend to go off them, because I get interested in one project and don’t want to stop.
What other strategies do you have for finishing UFOs?
Related posts:
I not only have a car project, but a purse project, a work project, even a bathroom project.
You never know when you’re going to have a spare 10 minutes to work on something. I used this strategy last night while waiting for my doctor’s appointment. Those 10 minutes add up.
I almost always have a small project on me–not only needlepoint, but other kinds of needlework as well. About the only times I don’t carry something with me is when I at a special event, such as a wedding.
Carol
When I attend meetings for my business and they are using visuals I take a project that only entails a large area that contains one type of stitch. It is not a problem to put it down if I need to take notes or worry about where I was. I also keep a small journal in my purse with a list of all projects. Upon completion of the project I put the date by it and that gives me a visual of all projects completed.
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