What is a Finish Along?
Have you ever done a sew along? Ever joined in a fantastic group of like minded people and made all the block for a BOM or particular project? Ever started a pattern and lost steam and it’s still sitting in a container… not completed?!
I’m just going to pause for a sec a let you think about what WIP’s, UFO’s or PHD’s you have lying around. Go on, make a mental list…
Did you get the acronyms? Work In Progress, Unfinished Object, Project Half Done. Did you have a think about how many you have?
Our brains work better with a deadline, a date we need to be finished by. Many services will have a due date or an end date, and this is a good thing. We know our work day ends, pregnancy has a defined time frame, winter eventually ends. These examples are of thing we have no control over, but our sewing we can control.
We can set ourselves some goals, and break those down into smaller actions so we can stick to our goals. By doing this the overall task is not such a huge thing and it’s amazing what we achieve. Oh if you knew the amount of times I have said these words to my kids, they struggle with this concept, but I know you get it.
#100days100blocks2017
Recently we completed the city sampler from Tula Pink’s Book. If you took part on the event this year you now have 100 quilt blocks. I have plans for my blocks and am in the process of drawing up my quilt layout.
I posted this picture on Instagram to see what the response might be and to be honest it’s a fairly even split. I know this end of the year gets crazy busy before the end of school and in the lead up to Christmas. On the other hand if you are in the momentum of sewing then perhaps it’s best not to stop, and get it done.
So what to do?
Well it got me thinking about finishing projects in general. If you are the kind of person who does need a bit of accountability to help you complete a project then let’s help each other. Post a picture on your Instagram feed that you are going to complete a particular project and let your friends and sewing community keep you accountable.
I want to run a few Finish Along events and you can nominate a project of yours that you are going to complete to a certain level in our event time frame.
So keep watch for the event details and I invite you to join in.
Why?
Why would I do this? Well, I am a quilter and I am often involved in the completion part of a quilt. I know how frustrating it can be to have a pile of blocks sitting in the cupboard, they’re in there mocking you, popping up in your memory, ‘don’t forget me…’
I am hoping these events will help you focus on a project and complete it and then be able to enjoy the finished item, be it a quilt or bag or other item.
Will you win anything?
Yes and No, you’ll be able to enjoy your completed project and that’s the best thing. Any further encouragement will be shared in the events.
