Unidentified Flying Objects- I have one of those to talk about in a bit*, but first I'll share about a lesser known, but equally haunting U.F.O.- the Un-Finished Object.
Two winters ago I started a quilt. I cut and pieced it together in no time, thanks to back-to-back monster snow storms that left us confined to the house for days at a time. Once it was all basted into a quilt sandwich, I made the choice to hand quilt it together. I knew when I committed to the thimble and thread that the creative journey I was about to embark upon would likely stretch over years. Well, two years later, my quilt remains a U.F.O., of the Un-Finished Object kind.
A dear woman at our church is an amazing quilter. She has been a great source of tips and advice. She also faithfully asks me nearly every time she sees me, "You finished with that quilt yet?" To which I smile and answer, "No, not yet." I think she may be starting to fear I will never finish it, because the last time we shared in this now familiar dialogue, she went on to tell about a very secret club of which she has been a member. She said that within the established order of her quilting guild, there is another, lesser known group, identified by some sort of special pin. She went on to say that you become a member of this club by being big enough to admit that you have at least one Un-Finished Object and by making a commitment to bring that project to completion. I can't remember the details of the pin, you either have to wear one until you finish your project (sort of like the Cone of Shame) or you get one when you have completed the project (along the lines of a Medal of Honor or Olympic Gold). Either way, the U.F.O. Club has apparently been a great motivator to several members, prompting them to finish projects that, for some, have been left uncompleted for years.
This all happened to tie in very nicely with another slice of my life. I get to lead the high school Girls Only club on Thursday nights at church. We were talking one night about how we all have things we have started and not finished and how it feels so good to finally commit to the process of finishing. So we decided to set aside some nights here and there to dedicate to projects started and not completed. The first one happens to be tonight, and is the reason my quilt has been pulled from its cozy spot in the basket that is its home. I am even more excited about the whole thing now because we can call it U.F.O. Night instead of just Working on Stuff We Started and Didn't Finish Yet Night. Everything is so much better with a catchy title.
So here is a picture of my quilt as it looks today. The others are pictures from earlier in the journey.
Some stitching- Wednesday, February 1.
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Two winters ago I started a quilt. I cut and pieced it together in no time, thanks to back-to-back monster snow storms that left us confined to the house for days at a time. Once it was all basted into a quilt sandwich, I made the choice to hand quilt it together. I knew when I committed to the thimble and thread that the creative journey I was about to embark upon would likely stretch over years. Well, two years later, my quilt remains a U.F.O., of the Un-Finished Object kind.
A dear woman at our church is an amazing quilter. She has been a great source of tips and advice. She also faithfully asks me nearly every time she sees me, "You finished with that quilt yet?" To which I smile and answer, "No, not yet." I think she may be starting to fear I will never finish it, because the last time we shared in this now familiar dialogue, she went on to tell about a very secret club of which she has been a member. She said that within the established order of her quilting guild, there is another, lesser known group, identified by some sort of special pin. She went on to say that you become a member of this club by being big enough to admit that you have at least one Un-Finished Object and by making a commitment to bring that project to completion. I can't remember the details of the pin, you either have to wear one until you finish your project (sort of like the Cone of Shame) or you get one when you have completed the project (along the lines of a Medal of Honor or Olympic Gold). Either way, the U.F.O. Club has apparently been a great motivator to several members, prompting them to finish projects that, for some, have been left uncompleted for years.
This all happened to tie in very nicely with another slice of my life. I get to lead the high school Girls Only club on Thursday nights at church. We were talking one night about how we all have things we have started and not finished and how it feels so good to finally commit to the process of finishing. So we decided to set aside some nights here and there to dedicate to projects started and not completed. The first one happens to be tonight, and is the reason my quilt has been pulled from its cozy spot in the basket that is its home. I am even more excited about the whole thing now because we can call it U.F.O. Night instead of just Working on Stuff We Started and Didn't Finish Yet Night. Everything is so much better with a catchy title.
So here is a picture of my quilt as it looks today. The others are pictures from earlier in the journey.
Unfinished quilt in the sunlight- Thursday, February 2.
Basting the three layers together with pins- Tuesday, February 16, 2010.
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Designing the quilting pattern- Thursday, February 25, 2010.
*Unidentified Flying Object- This U.F.O. is a follow up on the large bird sighting I blogged about a few days ago (A Warm January Day in a Special Place). My initial I.D. of the bird was a Cooper's Hawk. Checking out some other bird sites, I think I'm sticking with it. However, there is another Hawk, the Sharp-shinned Hawk, that is a near twin. There are comparison charts for the two, unfortunately, the areas of greatest difference are the tail and legs and I can not see either of those areas in the pictures I took. I had been hoping the bird would come back so I could get a better look at it until I saw this on one of the bird sites: "With their smaller look-a-like, the Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper’s Hawks make for famously tricky identifications. Both species are sometimes unwanted guests at bird feeders, looking for an easy meal (but not one of sunflower seeds)." Now I am hoping our guest will not be making a return appearance and am more than happy to stick with what I've got, filing this bird away under the category U.F.O.
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