A Year of Finishes - 2023

A Year of Finishes: New Releases…

tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

A little follow up to these three (3) posts:

A Year of Finishes: Audit of Existing Projects, Part I 

A Year of Finishes: Audit of Existing Projects, Part II 

A Year of Finishes: Audit of Existing Projects, Part III 

I titled this post: “…New Releases” because over this past weekend it came to be that I could let go of more projects.

And I did…I “released” seven (7) more unfinished projects and either donated them to the charity thrift shop or sent them to a friend.

If you are curious which 7 projects I let go of, the details are below.

I’ve included which post (Part I, II or III) of the series of posts on the audit that I discussed the projects in case you want additional details (or in case you were too sleepy the first time you read the posts to remember, ha!).

  1. Friendship Ring Quilt (Part I) – I first got permission from the wonderful friend who gave me this project and then I passed it onto another friend. The reason for letting it go: the fabrics, although beautiful, are not my style and I did not have a plan for the quilt if I did finish it.
  2. Neutral Colors Fabric Printing Quilt (Part I) – I made the the tree-like blocks during a fabric printing class with the SAQA group I belonged to in Central Oregon, during my happy life in Bend, Oregon before my husband suddenly passed. The blocks and the over all feeling of the fabrics I had put together for the piece only make me think of “grief”. The tree-like printed blocks now look like sadness and grief to me. I donated the coordinating fabrics, which someone had given me at a quilt retreat years ago, and I threw away the blocks. I didn’t want to donate them and I didn’t want someone else using them. I cannot fully explain the feeling behind this decision but I gave myself permission to be wasteful and trash them.
  3. Sashisko Hand Sewing Project (Part I) – I’ve had this project since 2014 or so and I picked it up during a spectacular trip my late husband and my late dogs and I took to one our favorite places – Cannon Beach, Oregon. I can’t bring myself to finish it, nor do I have interest in the colors combination, so I let it go. I do have some other Sashisko sewing kits using a blue background fabric with white threads and I am keeping those for future hand sewing projects.
  4. Three Blind Mice Pincushions (Part I) – I hate mice, not sure why I bought it in the first place. I donated the pattern and the fabric I had cut out (plus additional fabrics to finish the mice) to the thrift store.
  5. The Coasters (Part II) – I’ve made enough of these coasters and I have much more interesting fabrics to use when I am ready to make up a stash of potholders (as gifts and/or for my Etsy shop). So I donated them.
  6. Asian Fabric Scraps for Orange Peel Style Quilt (Part II) – I got honest with myself and asked myself if I really want to make in the near future an Orange Peel style quilt. And the answer was “No”. So I donated the fabric that was already cut into Orange Peel sections for that type of quilt and put the rest of Asian fabric scraps into my Asian Fabrics Scraps collection.
  7. Medallion Quilt (Part III) – the fabrics in this collection of fabrics for this quilt are not my style any longer (classic floral Moda Fabrics patterns); and I got honest with myself and asked what plans did I have for a finished improvisational medallion quilt with those types of fabrics. My answer was “None”. So I donated the whole giant package which included yardage of floral Moda Fabrics to the charity thrift shop. Some crafter, who likes those fabrics, is going to stumble upon a wonderful surprise at the thrift shop!

So along with the two other projects Fabric Scraps from Another Quilter’s Project (Part I) and The Leftover Lighthouse Blocks (Part II), I’ve released a total of 9 projects of the 25 unfinished projects I started with.

So now I am down to 16 and I have plans as I shared in Part III to knock out at least 9 of those 16 in 2023.

I still might let more unfinished project go in the future, it is all an ongoing process of deciding to hold on or to let go…

Published by tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Quilter, crafter, obsessive tea drinker and lover of all furry creatures (especially dogs and cats) - join me on my tierneycreates blog as I share stories from "A Crafter's Life".

29 thoughts on “A Year of Finishes: New Releases…”

      1. Your project audit posts have brought to mind the verse that reads, “There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven.” You’ve shown me how that applies to crafting as well. There is a time and season for each project with the time to keep and a time to give away. Now I just need to follow your example and audit my own stash of unfinished projects.

        Liked by 1 person

  9. I love the phrase that you have “released” the projects. I am doing much of the same. Projects from 2014 when I was a very different person are being released into the universe to find a new home. Love this.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  13. I’ve let a few “things” go in recent months – including “no more books to be created” I’ve got more than 20 in my bookshelves – some I’ve been adding to whilst others are just eye candy.
    I looked though my container of “paper4them” and I know I can use them in my new work…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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