Lately I’ve been hearing a tune in my head from Oklahoma!* “I’m just a girl who can’t say no, I’m in a terrible fix. I always say “come on let’s go”, just when I oughta say nix!”. Ado Annie was singing about the fellas, but oh boy this describes me looking at new projects to a T. So many new things. The Quilt Asylum has a Kaffe Fasset Hexy Diamond project!! Bonnie Hunter is gearing up for her next mystery and I love the color theme!! So much new stuff!! I can’t say no and I’m in a terrible fix!!
Back around 2000 or so, I read an article that talked about people being either “project” oriented or “process” oriented and it really resonated with me. I could look at the quilters and sewers in my life and see the distinction clearly.
Project people tend to work on one thing at a time. They work it to completion before starting the next one. In a quilter, that would translate to one quilt at a time. They might have several things going, but that would be because there was one machine piecing project and one hand piecing project going on. The completion of the project is what keeps their focus and drives their structure. My mother was a project person in her sewing. She would finish what she was working on before starting the next project.
Process people are focused more on the doing than the finishing. They find joy in the activity itself, rather than the completed project. Process people tend to have a lot of things in work. If the process is very enjoyable, the quilt gets finish. If the process is not enjoyable, the quilt will probably remain a UFO in a box for the rest of time. The doing is what matters.
I am a process person. Oh how this clicked with me. I like the doing. I like trying new things. I’m very distracted by shiny objects. I have so many UFOs I’m afraid to count them. Over the last 17 years, I have taught myself how to focus and actually finish things. I’m nowhere near being a project person, but I can imitate one in order to meet a deadline or complete a gift. I’m getting better about looking at something to see if I think I will like it enough to see it through. I will never be a person who works on one quilt at a time, but I am getting better about finishing the things I am working on, even if it is done in a rather disjointed manner.
So I see these two new projects, and I know I will enjoy the process of working on them, and I am energized by something new and shiny, So I signed up for the EPP hexy Kaffe with the Quilt Asylum. In preparation, I have purchased the supplies and ACTUALLY COMPLETED a Mega Dream Bag to carry the in work project with me. This is huge. When I went back to the shop with the finished bag in less than a week, I think everybody was surprised, me included. I’ve gotten half of the fabric for the Bonnie Hunter mystery out of my stash, and purchased only half of the fabric. I will make the smaller size, so I have a more reasonable shot of keeping up and finishing. If I really like it, I can always make more pieces and make the larger size.
So here I am. Humming that little tune, looking at my lovely project bag, waiting for the mail man to bring the first installment of the paper piecing project so I can get going. Because I really need two new projects in my life right now. I do. The joy it brings is worth it, and I will finish them eventually.
* Rogers and Hammerstein 1943
