Saturday, December 30, 2017

2017 - The Year of the UFO Projects

What a successful year I have had with completing my 12 UFOs! It is hard to explain the mixed feelings I have had during the past year as I have worked on this challenge.  Ever-so-many months or years ago, each of these projects was begun with eager anticipation. They took a back seat at some point to more pressing efforts, some waiting in a holding pattern lots longer than others.

As I worked through this past year on the UFO assigned to each month, I wasn't always a happy camper, as the efforts became WORK. I wanted to move on to new stuff and fun things. However, I had such good success in those early months, I really wanted to keep myself on pace to finish them all. That's when the drudgery factor began setting in - about halfway through the year. I suppose it was that June UFO that got me - it was such a bugger to figure out. I may have taken awhile to finish it, but I did it eventually.

Now that they are all done (full disclosure: I am doing borders on December's UFO today) I am so very pleased with my accomplishment. This is worthy of a celebration!

I thought I'd use today's post to bring together all 12 UFOs to show off  the fantastic finishes I've managed. I feel like this challenge has been a very long, yet very satisfying endeavor.

January - 19th C. Reds 

February - Lorraine

March - Small Kaffe Tumblers

April - 9-Patch Strippy

May - Navy Monkey Wrench
June- Flag Day Farm Medallion - the only one not finished in its assigned month.

July - Wishes QAL from 2014

August - Hexie Table Topper - smallest UFO of the year

September - abbreviated Farmer's Wife Sampler 
October - Tell It to the Stars QAL from 2014
November - Dusty Trails
December - Large Kaffe Tumblers
I will work today to get the borders on this last one, and will replace the picture when I have a finish. All of these are quilt tops (except that table topper from August). Do I dare dream to quilt a few of these on that long arm machine I have set up and waiting??? I would love to, and you know you will hear all about it if that comes to fruition.

Now, as I look ahead to 2018, I do not even want to think about finishing a UFO. I do still have a few. (Or more than a few, if we are honest with ourselves, right quilters?) I may decide that doing one every 3 or 4 months will satisfy me. I don't want to repeat the pressure I put on myself to do one a month, that's for sure! I will just wait and see how I feel in a few months.

I hope you have enjoyed following along with my '17 UFO Challenge. It's been fun looking back at the quilts. Three are hand-pieced (April, May, August); one is entirely my own one-of-a-kind design (June); over half are scrappy, as opposed to color- or theme-oriented. I think these 12 quilts adequately represent my wide-ranging preferences.

I just discovered that a blogger had a 17-for-17 UFO project going on for this year; while I did not participate in it, I may try linking up with it; click the link to see what others have finished this year. I am also linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

Happy Quilting, Friends!



11 comments:

  1. What an awesome achievement! Good for you for keeping with it! :)

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  2. Wonderful progress on all your UFO's! It really is amazing how much WORK it starts to seem when we force ourselves to concentrate on older projects that have lost out to newer, shinier projects. Congrats on a great year of finishes!

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  3. I am impressed that you finished all of those UFOs. They are all so very pretty. What a wonderful accomplishment.

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  4. You’ve had a great year with these beautiful finishes. I absolutely love January’s finish. The colors just come off of the screen. Gorgeous! May 2018 be as productive and satisfying for you.

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  5. Congratulations, Jayne! Amazing effort to finish a quilt a month and they all look fab too! You must be so pleased.

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  6. You have made awesome progress with your unfinished projects! Way to go! Working on older projects every 3 - 4 months in 2018 is a great idea. Now I give you permission to start several new quilts. Happy stitching in 2018. Blessings, Gretchen

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  7. What an amazing year you've had...and it's SOOOOO inspiring to see all the photos here in one place. You have some real beauties...the "Tell it to the Stars" is just gorgeous. I'm sorry I missed that BOM....thank you for a year of inspired reading. Happy New Year...

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  8. .....Woo Hoo....I found the Quilt-A-Long on Judy Laquidara's site...thank you for giving the name and mentioning the particulars. I didn't think Judy was quilting much anymore so I'm glad to find this---it's going to move up to the top of the 2018 "to-do" list!

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  9. You certainly deserve a pat on the back. Quite the achievement.Especially when you wanted to quit and stuck with the process.
    Great job!!

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  10. My goodness finishing one every month ; no wonder it began to feel like WORK but what an outstanding year of accomplishment ! Each project is beautiful!

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  11. Wow, Jayne!! That pat on the back is completely deserved, and then some. These are all so large, and you finished the top for every single one! I'm seriously impressed. I did the 17 in 2017, and am doing 18 in 2018, but I'm a softie and expect the UFO to get advanced a stage rather than finished up to count it as a check-off from the list. Although, this year that will most often equal a finish, as most of them are on the last stage and just need a turn on the longarm. So I'm hoping to have as big a celebration at year's end as you have here. :)

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