Unless you are a quilter that makes one project at a time, you probably have at least a couple of WIPS (Works in Progress) hanging around. You may have gotten bored, overwhelmed, etc. and put the project down. That’s ok and it happens to the best of us. Check out my article on how to wrestle back control of your WIPS.

WIPs Be Gone: How to Wrestle Back Control

No Guilt!

The first thing I want to talk about is guilt. This can be guilt related to money spent on materials, time wasted either trying to make the project or in not making the project, related to the eventual recipient of the project and so on.

Please, don’t feel guilty about having abandoned a project. We abandon projects for lots of reasons such as: it’s too hard, it’s too easy, it’s overwhelming, we just don’t understand the technique, etc. That’s ok! It’s time to move on.

Here is my YouTube video on this subject, in case you don’t want to read further. Enjoy!

Take an Inventory

Before moving on to making decisions on the ultimate fate of an abandoned project, it’s time to take an inventory of your incomplete projects. This way, you know how many projects you have, so you can make a decision on what to do next. Make a fulsome list of all projects, big and small.

Even though this can be disconcerting, pull out all of your WIPs and take an inventory. Once this is done, you can move on to the next step.

Now that you know exactly how many WIPs you have, it’s time to make some decisions on what to do with them.

Put Them Into your Sewing Rotation

If you decide to complete a WIP, put it into your sewing rotation. Don’t just put it back in the box and hope to finish it someday. If you are serious about finishing it, put it into your rotation and get it finished next.

Donate Them

If you have partially finished kits or partially finished blocks, donate them to a group like Quilts of Valour, Quilts for Survivors (Canada) or Project Linus. These groups can ensure that your partially finished projects get finished and donated to someone who needs a quilt.

In addition, if you have a local quilt guild, contact them. Quilt guilds often make quilts for community groups too.

Put the Unused Fabric Back in your Stash

You can always add any unused fabric back to your stash. If the fabric has already been cut, add it to your scraps. If it hasn’t been cut yet, add it to your stash. There is no harm in re-purposing fabric that was allocated for another project.

Change Plans and Make Something Else Entirely

You could 100% change plans and make something else. Instead of making a large bed quilt, make a baby quilt, table runner, pillow cover or wall hanging. You could even make quilted clothing instead. Quilted coats are very hot at the moment.

My Final Thoughts

I hope you enjoyed WIPs Be Gone: How to Wrestle Back Control. As you can see, there are lots of things you can do with your WIPs other than finishing them for their original intended purpose. Be inventive and deal with your WIPs now to save you time and effort later. Think about the storage space you’re going to have. No, that isn’t an invitation to buy more fabric and/or kits. Enjoy!

Exciting News

This is the first time I am announcing the opening of my Coffee First Quilt Crew program. As you may know, I am passionate about teaching new quilters and helping intermediate quilters expand their quilting skill sets.

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