Welcome to UFOvember! This month, led by Bobbie, we are examining our crafty orphans and deciding whether to Resume work on them as planned, Rework them with a Plan B, or Rehome them to another crafter, who can joyfully get them across the finish line.
We’ve spent this month taking stock of our unfinished objects, getting old UFOs across the finish line, and changing paths to make something old into something new. But to wrap up the month, I’m going to talk about a couple ways I have helped old projects and materials move on to new homes: REHOME.
In recent years, I’ve realized that I have both maximalist and minimalist tendencies. I like to have the materials I need on-hand, and my sewing room is usually a bit cluttered with bits and pieces lying around. I love gathering kits and supplies and ideas. But eventually, I reach a point where it gets to be too much — too many ideas, too many supplies, too many partially complete projects. And that’s when it’s time for some relocating.
This year, I’ve successfully “rehomed” a long-unfinished project along with 10-15% of of my fabric stash.
Rehoming a UFO
I had never tried to give away a partially-completed project before — I just figured no one would want that. But I was wrong! I started this Looptastic quilt more than 6 years ago. (I know this because my original intent was for this to be a quilt for Charlotte…and I was pregnant with her at the time.) The pattern is from a book by Elizabeth Hartman, and I was using a bundle Tula Pink’s Slow and Steady fabric.
As you can see, I made a decent amount of progress. I did ALL the cutting, the pieces were organized neatly into groupings, and I had started working on the rings (which eventually get appliqued onto a background fabric). I liked where this was headed, but realistically — and after 6+ years — I was never, ever going to finish it.
I debated trying to sell it, knowing that Tula fabric is in demand even in small pieces. But I wondered if someone else might like to take over. So I posted the project on my guild’s Facebook group, offering it free of charge to anyone who wanted to give it a happy home. And last month, one of my guildmates took it!
I’m looking forward to seeing the completed quilt when she is done with it.
Rehoming Fabric
Many quilters occasionally do a “destash,” where they find ways to pass on fabric that they no longer need or love to others. I had considered doing this in the past, but it seemed like too much work! But earlier this year, I finally managed to do a quick and easy destash after putting some parameters in place to keep things simple. Some of these included:
- Pricing to sell
- Selling by weight
- Taking advantage of flat rate shipping
- Using the tools I already had
You can read more about these tips, plus a few more, on my “How to Do an Easy Destash” post.
I hope this has given you some ideas for how to rehome no-longer-wanted projects and materials. There is a wealth of other ideas and info in the posts all the other UFOvember bloggers have shared this month. I encourage you to check them out!
- November 1 – The Geeky Bobbin – http://geekybobbin.com
- November 2 – Strawberry Creek Quilts – http://www.strawberrycreekquilts.com
- November 3 – Katie Mae Quilts – http://katiemaequilts.com
- November 4 – Pretty Piney Quilts – https://prettypiney.com/blog
- November 5 – Mary Go Round Quilts – http://www.marygoroundquilts.com
- November 6 – Exhausted Octopus – https://exhaustedoctopus.com/blog/
- November 7 – Just Get It Done Quilts – https://www.justgetitdonequilts.com/blog
- November 8 – By Hilary Jordan – https://byhilaryjordan.com/
- November 9 – Sew Hooked on Treasures – http://sewhookedontreasures.com
- November 10 – Sunflower Stitcheries and Quilting – http://www.sunflowerstitcheries.com
- November 11 – Blue Heron Quilting – https://www.blueheronquilting.shop/blog
- November 12 – Carrington Creates – https://cbear7774.wixsite.com/thatsthewayitseams
- November 13 – Sarah Goer Quilts – https://www.sarahgoerquilts.com
- November 14 – Better Done Quilts – https://betterdonequilts.com/
- November 15 – Ashli Montgomery | Virginia’dele Smith – http://www.meandcoach.com
- November 16 – Puppy Girl Designs – http://puppygirldesigns.com
- November 17 – Lovingly, Lissa – http://lovinglylissa.com
- November 18 – Art East Quilting Co – http://www.arteastquiltingco.com
- November 19 – rjbosscher – http://www.rjbosscher.com
- November 20 – Love to Color My World – http://lovetocolormyworld.blogspot.com/
- November 21 – LynsAvenue – http://lynsavenue.com
- November 22 – Quiltfox Design – https://www.quiltfox-design.com
- November 23 – Maeberry Square – https://www.maeberrysquare.com
- November 24 – Karen Bolan Designs – https://www.karenbolan.com/blog
- November 25 – Tina1802 – http://www.tina1802.com
- November 26 – Lazy Cozy Quilts – http://www.lazycozyquilts.com
- November 27 – True Blue Quilts – http://www.truebluequilts.com
- November 28 – The Scrappy Camper – http://www.thescrappycamper.com
- November 29 – Sarah Ruiz Quilts – http://sarahruiz.com
- November 30 – Lyric Art – http://LyricKinard.com