If you come to the shop often, you have probably heard all of my "interesting" theories. You also probably know, that I am not a finisher. Not that I don't ever finish anything, but I have learned to stop letting those unfinished projects block my mojo. You know what I mean - you go into your sewing room, and right smack-dab in the middle of your peaceful spot is that project that you started last week, or last month, or maybe even farther in the past. Guilt overtakes you - you know you should finish it before you start anything else, but you really aren't interested in it anymore. Whatever it is that attracted you to it in the first place is over. You probably got something out of it - maybe you learned a new method of piecing, or you tried a new ruler. Maybe you just went outside of your box when it came to choosing the fabric, and in the long run, wished that you hadn't. In any case, you are not physically finished, but in your heart and mind you are DONE!
SO - you need to get over it! It is blocking your mojo and stopping you from learning something new or starting a project that you might actually want to finish because you love it so much. Think about it - you are clearly not alone. Have you ever gone on eBay and seen all the quilt tops and blocks for sale? My friend, Sandy Schweitzer - local quilt historian and AQS Certified Appraiser - says that we shouldn't worry about our UFO's. We are just creating historic quilt tops and parts for future generations!
If you aren't really interested in going down in history as the largest producer of UFO's ever, you can do what I do - donate your UFO's to our Pieceful Auction! This has been a wonderful way for me to relieve my guilt. And people actually take them home, and quite often bring them back finished! This makes me happy on so many levels.
What is the auction you ask? This is an event that we sponsor every year in February or March. It is our way of rewarding our customers with a fun afternoon, and a chance to get a lot of cool Pieceful Junk. Ok - not all junk, but some. One woman's trash.....
We auction off lots of scrap bags, unsold kits and things that are maybe missing a pattern or fabric. Some of the stuff is donated by our suppliers, and some is from our own collection of UFO's. In addition to our stuff, our customers (like you) can donate (purge) their UFO's, excess fabric, kits they will never finish, books they bought twice (yes, we all do that), and anything you can think of that is sewing related and quilt shop quality (please, give your Joanne fabric to charity).
You are probably wondering how you can participate in this awesome sounding event. All the bids are made with Pieceful Bucks. This is Play Money that you start collecting at the beginning of the New Year. You can get Pieceful Bucks in a number of ways. The main way is by spending money at the shop. You receive Bucks for every dollar you spend, including sale stuff and tax! Be sure to watch the weekly email, because there are usually double and triple buck days and items that you can purchase.
You can also get Bucks for bringing Pieceful Show & Tell to classes and clubs. You can also just stop by and show us anything that you have made in a Pieceful Class, or using our fabric or that has been quilted by one of our Gammie Girls.
The final way, which brings us back to the theme of this post, is to purge from your sewing room. We will guestimate what your item is worth (retail) and give you Pieceful Bucks that equal that cost (or more - we like to round up). What a great way to move those UFO's along and free yourself up to start something new!
Keep in mind that the finishers of the world, while being good and noble people, do not keep your favorite quilt shops in business! I am not just talking about Pieceful Gathering, either!
Thought for the day - Get Over It!
Pieceful Gathering Quilt Shop
