Challenge #3 Capture a UFO

Anyone who crafts should be familiar with the term "UFO".  We're not talking space aliens (well, maybe we are, but a different kind of space, LOL) as in little green men from outside the Earth's atmosphere.  We're talking Un-Finished Objects.  Projects you started, and, for whatever reason, set aside before they were completed.  So in that sense they are space aliens--they are taking up space in your home without really belonging there.

That set of place mats you started to sew that sit in your craft room and not on your dinner table. . .

That quilt you started for your child when they were younger and now they are not so little but the quilt is. . .

The counted cross-stitch project that was going to be a gift for your mother. . . five years ago. . .

The scrapbook you were going to make throughout your child's school years, the last completed page of which is fifth grade, and Junior currently has his driver's license, a part-time job and a date for the Prom . . .

Those are all examples of UFOs.  You still have them.  They take up closet space, or counter space, or drawer space, and are gathering dust.  Not only are they using up valuable space in your home without contributing anything to it, they are using up space in your head.  You know, that little voice that says now and then "hey loser, when are you gonna finish what you started?"

I have several UFOs.  Okay, more than several.  Enough that I made a list at the beginning of this year, and I was shocked to see just how many.  Some of them are huge UFOs that I can't possibly finish on my own (like, say, finishing off the inside of the barn with horse stalls).  So right now, let's skip any UFOs you have that require

 a) the cooperation, assistance, or labor of another person in addition to yourself and

b) more money than you have available in your budget this week to finish.

I recommend starting with the smallest UFO you have, or, the one that is closest to being done.

This week I tackled one of my bigger UFOs.  It was the one causing me quite a bit of mental stress, and it was also the one closest to being finished.  I had set it aside because I wasn't doing as perfect of a job on it as I had wanted.  I was frustrated with it, as well as disappointed that it didn't look exactly like I had envisioned. (May I say that yes, I am a perfectionist.)

It sat, untouched, for a year.  It was untouched, but not forgotten; it nagged at me.  And DD1, whom it was for, also nagged at me, wondering when in the world I was going to finish it.  Finally, this week, I said "Screw it.  It won't be perfect, but it will be finished."  And I got it out, spent about three hours doing the binding--which was all that needed to be done once I decided the quilting itself was as good as it was going to get--and it was a UFO no more.  Now it is a much loved t-shirt quilt residing on DD1's bed.

She's overjoyed.  I'm happy, and feeling accomplished.

Now I'm ready to tackle the next UFO on my list.