Friday, January 29, 2010

Unfinished Business



This is my workspace in my fabulous sewing room.  I realize the desk is a mess, don't judge.  This is not what we are discussing today anyway.

When I moved up to the guest room for my full time sewing space I had the pleasure of going through all of my sewing things.  What I discovered was a plethora of projects I had almost finished.  I actually found 5 bibs for a boy - made long before I even had our bib wearing boy - that only needed snaps.  I found blankets I finished but didn't give away.  I found pot holders I had quilted but never bound.  I found jammy pants that I had cut out but never made up.  I found two pairs of shorts for the big boy that only needed a bottom hem and elastic put in.  This is the way I roll, people.  Lots of awesomeness, mostly unfinished. 

Currently I have two major projects that I got almost all of the way through and then left for the "Sarah Miller black hole of unfinished projects".  One is a quilt for my in-laws and another is a quilt for my sister-in-law, both were intended as Christmas presents.  Uh, Happy Valentine's Day?  I hope...

My goal is to finish - completely finish these two projects this weekend.  Those with ADD can relate - things rarely get finished when your brain changes channels too often.  By the time I get almost all the way done with something, I am bored.  The last few details are painful to complete.  This is why my most complicated and beautiful quilts are often given away with tiny threads to be trimmed.  My dear sister, thank goodness, understands this and gratefully trims her own threads.  Perhaps these two quilts will be given away with the same caveat.  You will receive something handmade and heartfelt from me, if you are willing to trim your own threads.  Work with me, here. 

9 comments:

jenny k said...

Trimming threads is a small price to pay for a Sarah M quilt. Plus, whenever I come across one I missed, it makes me smile....because it's so you. =)

Sarah M said...

Mom says the same thing about the quilt I made her that is all red and white except the small square of cowboy material on the back because of my fitted sheet backing fiasco.

Kathi D said...

Oh man. I am such a good starter.

The problem (for me) with not finishing certain projects is that once I get every single thing out of the closet and fill up the room with it so that I can sort it out and then I get tired and quit, it is ever so much harder to get back to it. Or if I get the closet ALMOST sorted, it's much easier to let it slide again.

The flip side is that have gone all OCD about organizing the last few weeks. I am organizing every room and every closet in the house, and it's taking forever, because of course everything requires a decision, which is hard, and I want to get it organized PERFECTLY, which is impossible, and I refuse to let myself do anything remotely fun until I finish, including sewing, so I have the same piece of quilt up on the design board that has been there since I quit sewing on it to do Christmas sewing, and I'm really tired of it all, and no matter how much I do, it's never really going to be done, because it's real life and life doesn't stop and wait for me to be finished, it just keeps rolling on and on and on.

Oh boo hoo. It's also time-consuming for me to feel so sorry for myself.

Sarah M said...

Oh, Kathi, I so know your angst.

Kathi D said...

I KNOW you do, and that's why I love visiting you here! It's hard to explain this to the "unafflicted," and yes, I do try to treasure the "gifts" of ADD, but it's damn hard to sometimes!

Kathi D said...

And P.S. I just love seeing your sewing space--it looks so happy and colorful. I guess one of the gifts ADD has given me is the love of colorful fabrics, which, added to my "quilty genes" from both grandmas, made me want to sew. When I actually do sit down to sew, it's one thing that soothes me and relaxes me like nothing else can. It absorbs me more than reading, which is hard for me because I have to keep leaping up to "do" something. Sewing IS "doing something" so I can immerse myself in it and stop spinning my brain.

camperbob said...

see what I had to put up with? a little sister whining constantly.
anyhow, you multi-taskers try too hard. I do one thing start to finish because my brain hurts if I try more than that. I like the sewing room look, it keeps the riff-raff out.

Kathi D said...

Whiiiiiiiiiiiine!!!!! (Still doing it)

Sarah M said...

Oh, Bob. If there was ever a time that I only had one thing in my head - wow, that would be amazing. I would probably get bored, though. Clearly you are one of the "unafflicted" as Kathi puts it. Thanks for the compliments on my little corner of chaos. I love the riff-raff comment!

Kathi, thank goodness for those "quilty genes"!