The Quilt Notebook–Jumpstarting your WIPs

February 24, 2014
Quilt Notebook, Aurifil Thread

Quilt Notebook, Aurifil Thread

THE BIG THREE

In our last episode of The Quilt Notebook we talked about choosing three quilts to move from the UFO list to the Works in Progress list.  For short, we will call the priority projects THE BIG THREE.  The Big Three should include:

  1. Your Best Work
  2. A quilt you can finish in the shortest amount of time
  3. A deadline quilt/group project or a “Free Choice” quilt

Seventy-five percent of your quilting time should be spent on The Big Three-leaving a little bit of time to try new techniques–(especially practicing FMQ!)

Quilt Notebook, Aurifil Thread

JUMPSTARTS

In order to jumpstart these projects, try a few of these ideas:

  • Purchase three boxes (Office supply boxes are roomy and stack well)  or three decorative baskets.
  • Place everything you need (except general sewing supplies) into these boxes.  No more wasted time looking for fabric, directions, etc.
  • Hang the quilts, blocks or pattern on a design wall or drape over a chair–make the quilts very visible in your sewing room.
  • Take a picture of each of the quilts and place in your quilt notebook and another copy in your daily calendar.  If you have a smart phone, add a picture of each of the quilts and use one as your phone background.  Again, keep these three quilts foremost in your mind.
  • In your quilt notebook, make a list of everything you need to purchase or find to complete the quilt.
  • In your quilt notebook, make a list of the NEXT THREE THINGS you need to do on each of the quilts.  Don’t get bogged down in writing everything you need to do–that’s just a form of procrastinating–trust me, I know about procrastinating!
  • In your quilt notebook, make a list of three things you can do while watching TV or in between stirring the spaghetti.
  • Create a small box or portable sewing kit that contains one of the TV projects.  WARNING-leave it IN your box until you need it!

Quilt Notebook, Aurifil Thread

THE MOST IMPORTANT JUMPSTART 

Finally, and most importantly:  DO SOMETHING on the quilt:  iron, cut or stitch.  Planning is good, but it doesn’t move the project forward.

Quilt Notebook, Aurifil Thread

“FOCUS LIKE A LASER BEAM”  –TK

I find that having three (and only three) quilts on which to focus, provides enough flexibility to accommodate my moods and need for variety.  At the same time, I am able to see progress on projects without going off in too many directions.

We haven’t forgotten about the long list of UFOs, we’ve just added a bit of focus to our work.  We’ll be going back to the UFOs shortly to determine if they are “keepers” or not.

Until next time in our Quilt Notebook Series… (next Monday?–I’m more organized at quilting this week, which may mean I am less organized at blogging—but I’ll try my best!)

Happy, Organized quilting,

Lori

PS…All photos, tutorials and information are the property of the very focused (!?) Lori Kennedy at The Inbox Jaunt and are intended for personal use only.  You are welcome to re-blog and Pin with attribution to The Inbox Jaunt.  For all other purposes, please contact me at lckennedy@hotmail.com.

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