When I walk into my sewing area, the first thing I see is my rack of unfinished projects. They are all hanging there shouting for some attention. Walking past them I make excuses like “Every sewer I know has a few UFO’s lying around. I am not the only one.” Misery just loves company.

I am bothered by them, though and I want to do a little clearing. So I took an inventory to figure out the problems and why each project wasn’t completed. I have a lovely wool jacket that I was making for my sister-in-law. The colors are perfect for her. Just prior to putting in the lining, I discovered it didn’t fit me and since we used to be close to the same size, the jacket will not fit her either. I also put some trim /gimp in between the color blocking but I decided it made the jacket look a little cheesy, so I am in the middle of gently ripping it all off. That is UFO #1

 

The next one is a very nice tan and cream colored glen plaid linen jacket. So far all the plaids match, but I had some trouble with the sleeves matching, I was trying to baste them in by hand and then sew them by machine, but I only got to basting one sleeve; the other one is just pinned in. I also want to bag the lining and that is not ready to go in either. I worked hard on this and I stopped because of the blasted sleeves and now the jacket doesn’t fit me. Ahhh to be a size 6 again.

 

Then there’s my daughter’s sun dress. It is just about finished. I only need to put in the hem, but I was having trouble with the boning. That went in with no problem, but it does not hold up the top of the dress. I thought about putting some elastic around the top, but when I did that, it looked funny. After ripping it all out, I now have to figure a way to hold the dress top up or else she will have a major costume malfunction.  (Any ideas?)

 

I could go on for at least three more, but I know you get the picture. My husband says I have a bad habit of not finishing things and to some extent I agree with him. So, when I saw the book, FINISH: Give Yourself the Gift of Done by Jon Acuff, Portfolio (September 12, 2017)

Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done

I had to get my hands on it to find out why I don’t finish all my sewing projects. I read the whole book over a weekend and was fascinated by what Acuff said. Do you know that 92% of people who set New Year’s resolutions do not complete them? Statistically, you’ve got the same shot at completing those resolutions as you do getting into the Juilliard to become a ballerina. The acceptance/success rate is about the same: 8%.   According to Acuff, the biggest reason why we don’t finish things is due to our striving for perfection. We say this in many different ways, but we are all saying the same thing, “When it stops being perfect, we stop too.”

“Developing tolerance for imperfection is a key factor in turning chronic starters into consistent finishers… Chronic starters quit the day after perfect… What’s the use? It’s better to wallow in a mistake and raise the white flag of surrender… The opposite of perfectionism is not failure; it’s finished.” I like this last sentence, even though it sounds like one of those inspirational posters with pretty pictures and phrases of encouragement at the bottom

The book goes into different situations in which people do not accomplish or finish their projects, which I will not go into here; you’ll have to read the book. It all boils down, however, to producing perfect. I know that’s my problem. If it isn’t perfect, or close to it, what’s the point of finishing it? Yet, those imperfect UFO’s still hang on the rack rather than getting tossed. That must mean they are just waiting to be finished. I wish, “Just do it” were that easy.

Do you have a few UFO’s hanging around while you wait for inspiration and motivation? What do you think is the reason that you stopped in the first place and what do you think it will take to motivate you to finish?

Cheers,

 

 

 

P.S.  Just to let you know, if you buy the book from Amazon, I will get a small commission that I put towards the expenses of this blog  Thank you