This time last year I posted a shameful list of all the WIPs I had found lurking while I was doing a bit of a tidy up. I didn’t make any promises about when I was going to finish any of them, or even if I would, but I thought it would be interesting to see how I’ve done before I start off another year!
1. Ironing board cover – I’ve been putting this off for about 8 months, but I *really* need to get on with it, my current board is in a shocking state! DONE!
2. Winterkissin’ – I’d hoped to get more of this done before Christmas, but the ick put paid to that. UPDATE – I got as far as a completed top, decided I needed to long arm it, and then never got round to it *ahem*
3. & 4. Indie stars – DONE AND DONE!
5. Rainbow hexie cushion – I so enthusiastically sewed these together on several train journeys and at my gran’s, and then cast them aside for more pressing matters :o/ UPDATE – not even touched them
6. Messenger bag – this is actually about 75% finished, I started it as a trial for the pattern I was making for the Intrepid Thread newsletter and never finished it. DONE!
7. Porthole Monsterz – I started the portholes at FQR last June, and then promptly did nothing else with them… UPDATE – will be cushions by the end of tonight
8. Rocket art packet – I made this block as part of the FPPFTT sew along last year, and it has languished ever since. DONATED and Ella’s even finished a quilt with it!
9. QAYG Place Mats – I did the front of one of these for Merrily We Sew Along at the start of December and then the ick struck and other more pressing sewing intervened. DONE!
10. Echo Bella – this poor thing gets picked up and laid down at random and infrequent intervals UPDATE Still being lifted and laid at infrequent intervals
11. Retro Brit Bee Flowers – My lovely Brit Bee mates made these blocks for me in July. I have a couple to make myself and then it can become a quilt. DONE!
12. Frog Prince Pouch – I cut all the bits of this at the same time as I made the inset circle prize pouch in July, and even packaged it to take to the sew along at Jo’s, but didn’t touch it, and haven’t since. DONE for Q3 of the FAL Tutorials
13. Precious Portholes – I got this lovely fabric from Kim at My Go Go Life at the beginning of last summer, and I know exactly what I want to do with it, but haven’t actually got to it yet. UPDATE The plan is still the same, so is the state of the project…
14. SS Cushions – I cut all these pieces for my Shapes & Angles class at Sewing Summit, and then they were in the delayed luggage, so I didn’t have them for the class after all :o/ DONE!
15. Rainbow Road Bag – embarrassingly I started this last January. Then the lovely Lynne from Lily’s Quilts said she would send me some smoky transparent thread to quilt it, but when it arrived (a whole week later) I’d moved on to something else and never went back to it… DONE!
16. Cathedral Windows Bag – even more embarrassingly, I was playing with this last new year *ahem* UPDATE I’m just abandoning this, and seeing if I can rescue the cathedral windows section for something else
17. Pips In Nine – This was the first quilt I planned after I finished my first quilt in the Across The Sea QAL in autumn of 2011. I got one row of blocks done and then… actually I have no idea, I must just have got distracted. I’m hoping to get this one done to send to Siblings Together DONATED, and Bethany’s finished her project with it
18. EPP Seasons Cushion – moving on to a more recent abandonment, I made this as part of the Travellin’ Pic Stitch blog hop, but it needs 3 more ‘seasons’ to play with DONATED
19. Viewmaster Cushion – I asked my Piece Bee With You mates to make me viewmaster blocks from a tutorial that Kim had over the summer, and I think I’m going to make a cushion out of them as they’re quite small. I’m still waiting for some of these to come in though, so it may be a while! UPDATE Still not done :o(
20. Carl Chameleon Tote – I made Carl when pattern testing for Joanna at Shape Moth and then set him aside, and piled stuff on top of him, and the poor thing was hidden from sight completely! DONE!
21. Paris Map cushion – I started this for the Texting While Sewing comp, and then couldn’t get my vision realised *sigh* I think I have a way ahead for it now though. UPDATE I think I’m abandoning this one too
22. Sew Happy Quilt – I made this as part of the Sew Happy Quilt along at the start of last year. I intended originally to send it to Kat for her baby quilts, but it turned out to be far too big, so I think it may make its way to Project Linus once I’ve backed, quilted and bound it. DONATED to the Tasmanian bush fires appeal
23. Japanese x & + Cushion – I got these blocks in a swap early last year. There are 5 of them at the moment, but I think I might add another 4 and make them into a floor cushion. UPDATE Still not done
24. New York Beauty Cushion – I made this as part of the New York Beauty Quilt Along from gorgeous Oakshotts, and then couldn’t work out what to do with it! I’ve decided it will become another cushion anyway. DONE!
25. Rainbow Mod Mosaic – I took part in a number of rainbow charm swaps to gather enough to make a mod mosaic quilt, however I’ve never quite got as far as assembling them yet, although I have chopped some up a bit… UPDATE I got one set of blocks made, but still not finished.
26. Rainbow Windmill Cushion – I totally went off this, and I still don’t love it, so it’s been hidden away. I need to finish the quilting on it, and then I need to find an innocent victim recipient. DONATED, and Helen has finished it I think
27. Sew Serendipity tunic – I’ve had this in the works since May 2010, and it’s still pattern pieces and bits of fabric *sigh* UPDATE Yeah, no…
28. Shirred sun dress – I start this in May 2010 as well, but my old machine didn’t shir nicely, and it’s all gone horribly wrong and will have to be unpicked. I haven’t had the strength for that yet… UPDATE The shirring is all unpicked now, but it was after the summer, so I didn’t feel I needed to finish at that point ;o)
29, 30 & 31. Circa 1930, Hometown & Reunion quilts – I’ve had the patterns for these sorted out for at least a year, but then I think I decided I liked more quirky quilts, while these were rather conventional, so I didn’t get any further with them. I’d like to just get them done now! UPDATE I got a top done from the Circa 1930, but not the other 2
32. & 33. Prince Charming Bubbles Quilt x 2 – These have been a long time in rising to the surface, but I have the pattern worked out, and the templates printed, I just need to actually cut into the fabric and sew the things! UPDATE uh, no.
34. Etchings Quilt – I bought these with a particular purpose in mind, but then another idea worked just as well instead, so these got abandoned again, however I have a whole pattern worked out, I just need to make it… UPDATE Nope
35. Madrona Rd Corners – The vision for this came to me in a rather fever induced hallucination at the start of December, and I’m rather anxious to get what I jotted down as a pattern into fabric… DONE!
36. Boo Brr – Another pile of fabric, another set of notes, enough said… UPDATE Nuh uh
37. Shirt from pattern drafting class – I need to finish the muslin on this, but the class last summer happened during rather a busy period in my life, and I never got to finish it. UPDATE Niet
38. Skirt from pattern drafting class – as per the shirt, too much to do, too little time :o/ UPDATE Nada
So let’s see, that makes 11 finishes by me, and 5 finishes by other people, plus 2 quilt tops, and 2 almost cushions. That’s not *that* bad I suppose!
I’d like to say that I ended 2013 with less WIPs than I started with (as a couple more subsequently came out of the woodwork) but I’m not entirely sure I did! Oh well, good job the next round of the FAL’s coming soon, right?
Now that I am passing the baton to you for the FAL, I need to do a list like this for 2014. You did great, and you know that Paris map block would make an excellent trivet, just add some batting/insulbrite and a back and quilt a line or two around it and you will be done. You have some beautiful piles of fabrics here, I hope that you get back to them or come up with new projects for them instead.
Oh I am so glad just collecting fabric with no idea what to do with it doesn't count, otherwise I would look as mad as you!
Goodness!! Won't feel quite so bad about my own list for this year's FAL now! Some lovely finishes in there – love those giant star quilts.
#21 – slap that on a simple grocery-type shopping tote (one that can be folded up and stuffed in a suitcase) and use it as an extra bag when traveling and shopping! That's too cute to abandon.
great list. I'm not making my own, however.
You have finished so much this year though and loads that were nowhere nearly your FAL list! We all just need a few more hours in the day! So well done!
Could you not have donated more wip's?? And I think you have two willing volunteers to accept No. 21!!
ps. I love the blog's new look!
Wow, that is pretty impressive, but you have managed to complete quite a lot. I have sorted out a load of mine, and will be listing them soon so I can get a grip on a few of them that are bothering me! Good Luck getting through a few more….
It's an extensive list but it's shrinking…gradually! I did finish the rainbow windmills – I turned it into a block book http://flic.kr/p/eYNkJh and it's in use as we speak, thank you!
Well done you have made inroads to it all !!!
Well done you have made inroads to it all !!!
I think you did a fantastic job on finishing a lot of those projects. And making decisions on some of the others – to donate or abandon. Keep up the great work!
What a lot of great projects!! You got so much done, it's amazing! (p.s. if you ever feel like abandoning the sweet polar bear fabric or any project you start with them, may I be first in line? hehe)
You have done loads. I am absolutely in love with the indie star quilts. I love the winterkist too, it will be great when it is finished. I am aiming to do lots of cushions this year as they are quicker and great for practicing new skills and blocks.
I think you might be onto something with the cushions!
Oh my….you completed loads … But still more to do…. I think I need to make a list too.
Very impressive progress on your WIP's. I'm never going to count piles of fabric that I thought I'd make into something but haven't started cutting it yet as a WIP, otherwise I'd have eleventy hundred WIP's.
That's an impressive list of projects! Looks like you will have plenty to keep you out of mischief in 2014, ok maybe not enough to do that but enough to be going on with anyway 🙂
What lovely projects! Well done you for finishing so many, I think practically every crafter has about a million WIPS hiding in their closets/workrooms/living rooms…and I think I'm a tiny bit in love with your gorgeous gecko bag!
Wow! That was a list and a half! Loads of fun finishes there, of course you had to leave one or two of them or you wouldn't have anything left to list in Q1!
BTW…. I love the new look but I can't read it on my iPad – the right half of the page is missing which leaves me either guessing what your writing or reaching for the laptop (much to my husbands annoyance!). I don't know if it's just me or a glitch that you weren't aware of x
Oooh love the new banner! and I feel slightly better about my WIP list now. I'm thinking I need a 'use it or lose it' list too – for both fabric and projects. It's so hard to abandon something – your courage is inspiring 🙁
My! You are prolific! I would save give the lady a round of applause. That's quite an impressive list of accomplishments – even if they are not all finished, it really says something about hanging in there and all the ideas from which they sprang.
Good for you!
Happy New Year! Happy Quilting! Happy Sewing!
~ginger
I remember so many of these projects from months and , ahem, years gone by. Good l
I love the honesty of this post. I only finished one thing on my list of about 13. Good for you for the finishes you did accomplish : )
Lists can either be helpful or depressing. I think you should be very proud of the amazing finishes. Thanks for taking the FAL baton for 2014.
I love the new look of your blog! Very stylish!! That list is huge!! Lots of really cool projects!! You've done well to get so many finished!!
I need a sit down and a cuppa after that. Celebrate what you have done, ignore the rest!
Wowee, you aren't joking that list was long! But you did a great job of hacking into it – wishing you nimble fingers and clever ideas to cut through the rest of them. I have a terrible habit of buying fabric for a project and then going off the project when I come round to making it. At least the fabric can be used elsewhere, but it's still not good. I'm going to do a bit of 'no buying until you're sure' instead of going crazy when I see the word 'sale'.
if I'd managed to get 1/10th done of what you finished I'd be more than happy, love all your work
That is one impressive list and you have finished a huge amount of it: well done!
I think you've got through an impressive amount – I'm still too scared to work out my list (which is what I said 12 months ago), makes me think it may have grown rather than shrunk.
Loving the new look. Juliex
Im still pretty darn impressed by what you managed to finish last year. It makes my finishes seem rather pitiful. I went down the donation route to get rid of something I was never going to finish too!
It feels so good to see a long list like yours and to know I’m not the only one! You’ve finished so much lovely projects!!
I'm loving the new look header. And I'm still reeling from that extensive list, but you still seem to have managed to finish or donate a lot!
I read as far as #25 yesterday then smugly headed off to work – but then realised you'd put a tick by a whole bunch of them! Anyway, was only a bit late for work lol!!!
Wow, what a list! Still at least you have something to refer to, and you've ticked off a whole lot too. Funny that you're doing portholes with goldfish- I have a project on my list for doing a porthole goldfish bowl quilt with different goldfish fabrics!
What a shabby effort, you should have been able to finish the lot! Hehe.
You were busy last year. Looking forward to seeing what you get done this year