Three different kinds of quilts

Out of print gnome fabric I overpaid for by Heather Ross, but don’t regret it because it makes me smile.

I have several quilts going on at once.  Some that I haven’t worked on in many, many months.  Still, I keep adding to my list of quilts in the making.

There are just too many.  Why do I keep starting new projects?  Just finish what I start.  Right?  Are you doing this too?

I’ve decided that there are 3 different kinds of quilts:

The Slow Make quilt – it’s the one that’s made one block at a time.  It’s the one that’s really special to you.  Made with maybe some very special fabrics or a very special block.  It’s a little more difficult than all the other quilts (hence the “slow make”).  If you ever finish it, MAN it’s going to be great.
The quilt I NEED to make – You are making this one because it’s mandatory somehow (maybe just in your head, maybe to get rid of scrap fabrics, maybe a commission quilt, a gift, perhaps?)  It’s not necessarily what you WANT to be making.
The Distraction quilt – so this is the quilt you are making because you don’t want to work on the other quilts.  This one is the dangerous quilt.  This is the one that makes your WIPs pile up.  Inspiration for this one came out of nowhere.  It just hit you and you started making it.

I am currently working on two ‘Slow Make’ quilts, my Priscilla and my Trip around the World.  Both very finicky, both I know I’m going to looooove to death.  I sell quilts for a living in my shop, so I’ve always got some mandatory quilts that I should be working on and I’m currently working on two distraction quilts and a tumbler quilt that’s part of my new Rescue Quilt series.

When I think about it though, I’ve decided we are working on multiple quilts for a reason:  we get bored, we have so many ideas, we want to do it all.  I do think working on multiple quilts is healthy (I don’t know about you, but I love the very beginning of a project best), but can also be unhealthy too if they start to weigh on you.  What do you think?  How do you decide when and what to work on?  Are any quilts weighing on your mind?

For me, most quilts start with an excitement, but it soon turns to other emotions, frustration, boredom, inspiration for something else.  It’s hard to stay focused on just one project.  By working on multiple quilts, I’m also taking away anything I just don’t want to do.  On my Priscilla quilt for example, some days I’ve had all I can take of paper piecing.  That’s when I don’t work on it.  Other days, paper piecing sounds dreamy compared to chain piecing those 200 HSTs.

So I say, who cares how many WIPs you have.  If you are happy, you’re happy.  And when they start weighing on you, spend a few hours working on them.  Just stop stressing about them.  The making of the quilt (the journey) is the very best part.  It’s better than a finished quilt by far, so just enjoy making them, even if there are twenty something WIPs lying stuffed in your drawers.  It’s okay.