Each day is begun with a plan, and I try to stick to it to earn a little time at the end to sew.
- from "Time and Talent" by Nancy Breland
Welcome! Though we who post here would NEVER let our creative fun take us off-track of our homemaking plans (no, no we would never do that, right? Almost never. Very seldom. Hardly at all.
), our hope is that through sticking to those plans we will gain free time that can be given to the fun of creativity. Please join us and chat about your art, craft and needlework!It's the first of the year, time again to look at the OVERVIEW of our creative lives and plans. What's the outlook for you?
We all deserve pats on the back for any goals met, compliments received, or art-messiness cleaned up. So please let friends in our thread know about the good things that came out of your 2013 creativity.
We need to look ahead to 2014 and decide what we'll continue, what we'll change, how we need to organize or schedule.
It's UFO (UnFinished Object) time again. Time to make yourself aware of the projects you wanted to get back to. These are not throw-aways until we say so, but we do need to admit to them!
Blogger "Punkn", on wordpress, is a seamstress who enjoys garment-making. She has a plan for a fresh perspective on UFOs and here is a brief summary:
First, finish what you are working on now. Don't let exciting UFOs distract from a finish that may be close.
The next thing to do is dig out all your UFOs. They could be anywhere, so this may be a good time to organize. Lay out all your UFOs to take stock, and admire.
Next, she suggests starting to pick out the ones that really make sense to finish soon, for whatever reason, and won't require purchases. These take priority, so keep them separate where you can reach them quickly. The rest are sorted into 2 piles, "Finish" or "Plan B".
"Finish" is for those that may not make sense to work on right now, but you really want to finish someday. For each of these, make yourself notes on your plan for it, PLUS make a shopping list NOW, such as notions or more materials required. Do this while you have them out and are thinking about them. Keeping this all together for each project, store these.
"Plan B" is for those you MIGHT be willing to toss (or donate). Assess the things you've bought for each UFO. Are the materials really worth more to you than the project? If this is true, maybe it's time to dump, saving parts of value. For instance, you might love the buttons you picked for a garment project, but if you don't love the garment idea any more, save the buttons and let the rest go. If your heart is breaking just to think of it
, you know you've put this UFO in the wrong pile and it needs to start over in the "Finish" pile!At the end of this exercise, you have nothing left but UFOs you really look forward to finishing - some priorities and some that you will know just how to shop for and complete when you are ready. For anything you can't start right away, always make notes to put with the project before you store again.
I really like Punkn's plan. Consider using P and P's idea of a 3x5 in your cardfile (or other organization) that will quickly remind you where UFOs are stored. You can prioritize them on the card as well if you like. Remember that if your supplies or materials fade in sunlight, consider that when you store. Keep those projects out of all light in storage if you can.
TaDa!
Now I'm doing the matching hat. Next will be Ddil's matching infinity scarf. 
