Are you up for a new challenge?
It seems the current state of affairs is hitting each of us in
different ways!
We are hearing that some of you are using the down time as an unexpected opportunity to sew, sew, sew - did you see all the beautiful projects in our last Show-n-Tell? Wow!!!! However, others are simply struggling to make it to the sewing machine. On social media we hear a lot of, "I just seem to have lost my sew-jo!"
Whichever category you fall into - or even somewhere in between, like me - we thought it might help if we could play together. Soooooo....... for starters, let's chat!!!!
Join us for Sit-n-Chat tonight!!!
Via Zoom at 7pm
(look for connection details in email)
THEN....get ready to bust some UFO's!
How many UFO's do YOU have?
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| Yes, I have a lot!! This is 15 years' worth of UFO's - Yikes!!!!! |
Let's see if we can put a "glass half full" attitude to work by whittling down that pile of bins and boxes and bags... well, you get the idea :*)
Our VP, Jane LeBlanc, shared this fun idea with the Board, and we loved it!!! It's really, really simple, and only you know whether you are working it or not. No competitions, no awards, no expectations... just play along if you need something to help you get that sewing vibe back on track - and if you have a closet full of UFOs LOL!
- First, easy peasy .... Get some popsicle (craft) sticks!
I found these awesome colorful ones at Walmart, so of course I had to buy them!!! They also have them at Joann and probably other craft stores, and Amazon if you're not comfortable out shopping yet. Of course, the regular wooden ones will work just fine too.
- Next, pick out a mug, or glass, or vase, or whatever works for you to hold your sticks.
I couldn't resist using this one my stepdad found for me at a yard sale several years ago :*)
- Then, write the names of your UFO's, one per stick. I even wrote down the hand-work ones, you know the ones that will take years to complete? Even if I only get a portion of it worked on, that's better than nothing, right?
- Finally, each month pull a stick (no peeking!) and pull that UFO bin out of the stack!
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| The purple ones are hard to see! |
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| As you can see, my Snooperviser is on duty!!! |
I'm one of the ones who is finding it hard to make myself sew right now, so it's a big help if I don't have to think about it and go to all the trouble of setting everything up. I'm getting a lot more done, and as I see progress on this project, I'm finding that my sew-jo is sneaking back and getting excited again!
So excited that I decided to get even further organized and added a mug for NewFO's (on the right) and To Be Quilted (on the left) as shown here in the vintage Simplicity mugs I got last year at Joann. Oh my! Looks like I really need to get that quilting machine back to work!!!!
So what about it?
Ready to join in?
We still have 2 weeks left in this month - you can do it!!!
Share your pictures on Facebook and Instagram by using these hashtags:
#cltmqg #cltmqgufochallenge #charlottemodernguild
Hope to see your smiling faces at Sit-n-Chat tonight!!!
Teresa Raleigh
Charlotte Modern Quilt Guild
Thank you...for the encouragement...We all need it...
ReplyDeleteInstead of finishing...I am starting...sewing away on new little unfinished things...c u tonight Diane Uno
You're welcome Diane! Can't wait to see what you are starting :)
ReplyDeleteLove the idea. I'll have to get some sticks, a mug, and get to writing.
ReplyDeleteYay! You'll be surprised at how satisfying it is :)
DeleteLove this idea!! Thank you!!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome :)
DeleteBe sure to share your results with us!!!
I started a crumb quilt today and before I knew it, it was 8:30. I did get 9 blocks done tho.
ReplyDeleteWow - that's a lot of stitching - all those tiny crumbs! I love crumb blocks, very satisfying :) Hope to see your progress at Show-n-Tell!!!
DeleteHi! I'll be moving to the Charlotte area ( Indian Land SC) in the fall. I think the UFO challenge is a great idea. I will be excited to see the results that are posted.
ReplyDeleteThat's exciting Laura! We hope you will come and check out our guild when you are here - we love new people!!!
DeleteHi, Teresa! I've been trying something new to get my "SewJo" back during the Stay-at-Home and it's working well for me. It's a motivational app for Apple and Android devices called Streaks, and what's cool about it is that it lets you set goals for just about anything in your life, whether it's a negative goal (NOT smoking all day, NOT breaking your diet) or positive goals like "Floss teeth" or "Walk Dog." The way I'm using it to kick start my SewJo and pull me out of my creative funk is with a "Quilt 30 Minutes" goal I created in the app. I realized that the hard part for me is stepping away from the computer or from the news or whatever, and just getting up to my studio and getting started. With a timed goal like this one, there is a timer built into the app that you hit the start button when you begin, and you can pause the timer if you need to take a phone call or something and then resume. The app tracks how many days I complete my goal of quilting for at least 30 minutes and tells me what my longest "streak" is of meeting that goal on consecutive days. It works with my iPhone, my iPad, and also my Apple Watch, and reminders will pop up on these devices if it gets to be mid to late afternoon and I haven't done them yet. Like "Don't break your streak! There's still time to complete your 30 minutes quilting goal!" I chose the relatively small goal of 30 minutes because it's not daunting, right? Even if I feel like I'm really in a funk and don't feel motivated to sew, I can force myself to do it for 30 minutes! But, once I actually get started quilting, I almost always, like 90% of the time, will keep on quilting for an hour or two, until my eyes get tired or my shoulders are getting stiff at the long arm. So the Streaks app is helping me get past the hurdle of getting started, to get me into the "flow" state where the creativity is self-rewarding and self-reinforcing. I'm getting so much more done, and feeling a lot better than I was feeling a few months ago. Another thing that's helping me is that I've finally "discovered" podcasts -- way behind the curve on that one! So I hit the start button on my Streaks timer, and then I hit play on whatever podcast is qued up for me to listen to while I'm quilting. And that's helping to keep my brain from wandering into worries and what-if scenarios while I'm doing repetitious quilting at the machine.
ReplyDeleteHi Rebecca! Just seeing this comment - sorry!! So glad you shared this app as I think a lot of us are dealing with getting back into the saddle on a regular basis! I know I'm going to try this out :*)
ReplyDelete