Thirty four people took the poll on November 2, and owned up to roughly 600 projects on the go. So how did we get here? Whether the projects are actively being stitched on or are resting in a basket/rubbermaid tub/"The Pile," why have some of these projects become UFOs? (I'm calling them UFOs even though some people distinguish between UFOs and WIPs, and we're still only counting needlework projects.) This poll allows multiple choices. If you have other answers, please add them to the comments section. There's a love. (There are going to be lots of "other" answers. I couldn't even fit in all of my own responses when I made the poll. Like: "all that's left is backstitching...too much backstitching!")
By the way, thanks for sticking with me even though yesterday's post was cuckoo.
5 comments:
Here are some of my others: 3 projects are on very dark (black/brown) fabric and can only be stitched under certain conditions); backstitching; project is too wee; project is way too big; and there's that one I'm doing on 28 ct fabric with 3 (three!) strands of floss. I hate fighting my needlework!
I agree with the "the project is way too big". In my case, it's too big to travel with. The biggest project I have traveled with is Pineapple Fish, but that is a WiSP (Work in Slow Progress). I have a LOT of sky and border to stitch (boring) and lots of fish in a shredding thread (too frustrating). Sometimes I "just don't like it anymore", like Warm Water Wash, which also suffers from a new syndrome, "can't find my big Q-Snaps", so stitching on too small an area and not wanting to crush the stitching by moving some already stitched areas under the snaps.
But I think you missed the number one reason for UFOs -- "have to work on this before The Birthday, The Exchange, The Holiday". Something we may have loved has to be abandoned because something more urgent comes along. When the urgent project is finished we may or may not returned to the abandoned UFO. We might just turn to our latest stash and start ANOTHER project.
Mostly the UFOs are big projects - like my oldest one is a big over one piece. I seem to get to a point in it where I get a little bogged down, then I get excited about something new, and then there you have it - a UFO is born. I INTEND to go back and finish all of these. I only have one official UFO that will never be finished - and that's because I realized it is just not me. If I'm close enough to just have backstitching or beading to do - I just do it. Most of mine are halfway through or less.
One of my big reasons is the "gift" deadline Kathryn mentioned. Obligation stitching frequently interferes with non-obligation stitching. It also interferes with FUFOs regularly.
My very first piece of XS will always remain an FUFO. It's a bookmark that I didn't center properly. I can't bring myself to throw it out, but it's never going to be finished. Sigh ...
Multitasking is only part of the answer. I think the truth is that my slight ADD tendencies get all excited by kitting up and starting something new. I'd have to take a serious look through the bin to see at what point does something get put aside. Sometimes it's just that something more beautiful and compelling comes along and current project sort of falls away and out of sight is out of my mind. Other times, obligation stitching (whichI rarely do anymore) caused me to put something down.
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