The Grey Areas

Hey there! Crafting progress was interrupted this weekend because Dennis and I got to go on a lovely vacation to Yosemite with his dad and nieces. It was a great time, but I am still not done quilting but I will be very soon. But onto what I really wanted to talk about...

So I was just thinking about something else that goes along with my Finish It challenge. The baby quilt that I have been working on has brought something to my attention:

Since I did not make the quilt top myself, then technically I did not start that project yet, right? I mean, I bought the fabric and batting and had it laid out and ready to go, sitting in my pile of UFO's, but I did not technically "start" it yet, or did I?

Here's the thing I am pondering:

If I have fabric picked out of my stash and set in a little pile with every other supply I am going to need to make the item, does that count as starting it?

It is a very interesting thing for me to think about, because I considered my unfinished projects as things that I had, you know, started to cut/sew/glue/whatever and stopped. But I think I see now that there is this whole other facet to the unfinished project problem around my house.

I have my nice, neat, organized stash of fabrics, trims, etc. on shelves or in boxes waiting to be made into things, but I do not know what things exactly. Then there are these couple of piles/bags that are fabric I have pulled from my stash and paired with notions and such because I know exactly what I want to make with them and how I am going to do it. These, to me, are in the grey area between not started and started, and I do not know what to do about them.

I think I may have to have a round two to this challenge wherein, if by some miracle I actually manage to finish all the started-and-not-finished-projects on time, then instead of starting brand-new projects I have to instead start/finish the projects that have been pulled and are waiting in the queue around my desk. I think that is the only right way I can go about it, yes?

So, in the secondary category I have a pile of fabrics chosen for a 1930's inspired zig-zag quilt, a pile of canvases for more baby bibs, a bag of apparel fabrics that go with designs I sketched out for when I get my dressmaker's dummy, and my big bag of scraps which I am intending to turn into a few different things, including square bunting and a ticker tape quilt. Ugh, I need to get to work!

*If you would like to sign up for the Finish It challenge, you can e-mail me at ohthecuteness@hotmail.com or go to this post and leave a comment, and be sure to read all the rules. Be sure to include a link to your blog if you have one, and go join the flickr group here. The list of participants and links to their own unfinished objects is here. And my ongoing list can be found here.