52 Finishes

Ready for a New Year’s Challenge?  How about challenging yourself to “52 Finishes!”

Do you have a bunch of unfinished projects?  Do you need a little push to finish some of them?  Would you like to have gifts already made for the coming year?  Then this may be the plan for you!  I’m going to start.  How about you? 

I was talking to my friend and fellow Scrap Tamer member Georgia about one of her own personal quilting challenges for 2014.  She read on a blog about the idea of “finish it up Fridays” and came up with her personal challenge.  She was happy to share.  She calls it “52 finishes” and it sounds like fun.   52 weeks in the year—52 finished projects. So how would this work?

This is a personal challenge so you could make your own rules and your own definition of finishing.  Finishing any project would count as a “finish”.  A quilt could count as either 1 finish or 3 finishes, depending on how you want to divide it.  The top as #1, quilting as #2, binding as #3?  Finishing a pillowcase or totebag you started would count as a finish.  I would add sewing a loose button back on (something I’m really good at avoiding) or shortening that pair of pants.   Or how about knitting projects?  You could finish 3 things one week and have a couple weeks off.  Get behind?  Catch up with some easy ones.

How would this work?

·         List 52 weeks on a chart with space to add the projects you complete. Keep track of what and when they are done.  Would it be fun to include photos?   I started with the first full week of January, Sunday January 5 – Saturday January 11.  You could start your challenge now or start at the beginning of the month like I did.   If I finish more than one project in any week, I plan to add the extra “finish” to a different week and thus give myself a break.

·         Start a list of projects that you would like to finish or start.  This will give you a place to start without having to rethink each week.  I spent a couple days going through my sewing room and listing UFOs.  It was sort of scary and I’m not done yet!  I included a list of any materials I needed to finish the project. When I purchase materials for a new project, I plan to add it to the list.  

So, how am I doing?  I finished a Folded Star Hot Pad for the week of January 5 – 11.  This little pile of fabric and the pattern by Plum Easy has been sitting on my sewing table for a couple months!  Once started, it was a pretty fast “finish”. 

 My second finish was a Zig Zag Geese Tablerunner. 

 I started this project so I could demonstrate the 

Flying Geese Ruler by Marti Michell in our 

Scrap Tamers Club.  Yea!  Now it’s done! 

 And I’m ahead!  

 So, do you want to join me?  Let me know.

Oh no!  Now Georgia is talking about “52 drawers”!  Maybe next year, Georgia!

Happy Quilting, Susan