I was inspired to look for some ribbon for a fast easy project last week (more on that coming soon!) but while searching I found a disturbing truth about myself. I like to start craft projects but don't complete projects on my list very successfully.
I looked in 2 boxes for the ribbon and I found 5 unfinished projects.
Seriously.
For the last two years I’ve been craft challenged due to health problems and unable to get normal stuff done easily like homeschooling my children.
So crafts have gone to the wayside but this problem goes WAY back to the beginning of our 25 year marriage.
The first project I found was one I knew would be a big project when I started it but I never expected it to take 25 YEARS?????
I have 17 of these squares completed plus 1 more that is almost done. It is the project that has gone on ALL of our vacations because I can do it in the car without any prep work. I still love the colors even after all this time. But I rarely work on it when we aren’t traveling. After I finish the 18th square then I can begin the quilt and FINISH this craft project. Yay!
You may remember that I have a thing for fabric. I like to hang on to it “in case” I need it. Often to make rag rugs. (I even have an Ebook called Rags to Rugs!) But I have SEVERAL large boxes of fabric and sheets which need to be used instead of collecting dust and taking up space.
Sigh. No one needs this much fabric in their life and I am determined to use up and get rid of my stash. That means more finished rugs and craft projects.
One project can multiply in to more
A few years ago I made a baby blanket and gave it to a friend. I really love how it turned out!
So snuggly and brightly colored!
It was nice to have a project that was finished in a short amount of time. The problem was I wanted to teach my girls to cut, sew and quilt so we got them fabric and got started.
I have no idea what happened but eventually the fabric was put away and we never finished. So I have fabric for two baby quilts, cut and ready to sew just waiting in a box.
New skills and opportunities
A few days ago a crafter friend sent me the link to a crochet class and I started watching it!
It was fascinating to see how to make finger-less gloves. I considered making a pair for winter. I even looked at Hobby Lobby for cute yarn. But then I remembered the crocheted flower blanket that I had started. Yep that’s the other project I found. The yarn has been sitting so long in a basket waiting for me that it had dust on it. Ugh.
This CANNOT continue!
I do not want my kids finding these half done quilts, rugs and crochet projects someday when I am gone. I want to make progress on so many things this year.
Are you like me? Things get going but then you get distracted and don’t finish?
Craft FINISHING goals! Let's set some!
So I'm setting goals to make progress against this habit of not finishing handmade items.
I've made good progress on my non fiction book problem by doing just a few minutes every morning so I'm going to set aside some time each week to finish some of these projects! I still love them all so it won't be a hardship at all!
Every Friday (and maybe other days too!) I am going to spend an hour crafting in hopes of completing some of these OLD crochet, quilting or scrapbooking projects. That's 4-5 hours a month I haven't been doing. Small sessions will add up to mean BIG progress.
I'm going to start with one of the baby blankets because the fabrics are SUPER cute! I left the fabric out on my sewing machine so I can see it everyday. I'm already looking forward to the reward of time spent on a fun project from my hobby list.
Are you part of any crafting groups on Facebook? My favorite is called The Craft Cult and we host giveaways and encourage lots of sharing of COMPLETED projects! There are cardmakers, scrapbookers, quilters and much more! I hope YOU will come join in the fun.
Look for a bunch of fun progress photos on Facebook Twitter and Instagram. (follow me on your favorite social media to see the updates!) I will be using the hashtag #thecraftcult and I would love to see some of YOUR crafts there too!
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