🍄 3 Secret Tips & Make a Wish Income!

[@janeduggan651]

I have memories of my Mom sewing in the dining room. Inset a sleeve, mash potatoes…sew a collar, take the rolls out.😊

[@lynniep1905]

I'm very fortunate to be able to have space wherever I choose. I had a bedroom dedicated but it was in the back of the house and it was so isolated so I decided to make part of my living room into my sewing space. I live alone so no one complains.

[@sharonswieter8041]

Loved the tips you shared! For those “unwanted” projects…my guild has an auction every year. Guild members donate things (UFO’s, fabric, notions, etc) to be auctioned off. Proceeds go to the guild. I have donated sooo many “unwanted things”! It’s a great way to “pass it on” to someone who DOES want it and benefit your guild at the same time!

[@loridavison6672]

Great tip

[@cynthiaprickett9684]

A timer is a must for me. I have a bad back and have learned that if I sew till it’s hurting enough to have to stop I can’t make it back for the rest of the day. The timer reminds me to take a break then I can go back for another hour

[@patsycavender1905]

Thank you for the talk this morning. I too was feeling guilty about starting something and not finishing it. For me, I think I get "too many irons in the fire" (as my grandma use to say) and then I get overwhelmed. I have two things that I want to make for my sister's for Christmas, they are special gifts. Just yesterday I thought, if I don't stop some of these projects I won't get those finished. So thank you, it is good to know "we are not in the boat alone!" Blessings

[@lynniep1905]

Your tips were great today. One of my pet peeves is skinny borders. Trying to push myself to just do it. It's the reason why I have some of my UFOs Thank you for a great video!

[@kathyclayton4318]

Thanks Pat for this pep talk. I really needed it today. I have been dragging my feet and I needed this little push to get going. I have a plan that I can now attack a few things that need some attention. I’m stalled on a project that requires me to make something like 72 blocks for a zig-zag border. I want to do it. I don’t want to do it. How much do I want to do it. Not enough? Ok so skip the crazy border and finish it up and get it done. This quilt along has been a pain in the neck from the very beginning. Let’s just finish it up and be done with it. Thanks Pat for the kick start! ❤

[@jennyhibben1719]

Thanks for the honesty Pat -love it. I usually "keep going" with projects, dragging them around in my mind - your approach is brilliant. Accept how I feel about a project and piff it if necessary. Thanks so much - I'm liberated!! Hugs.

[@jennystrahley927]

$16K in raffle tickets and $80,103 for Make-A-Wish! That's Fantastic! Great tips to help move projects. I like to cross stitch in my comfy chair while watching tv but just like you said, it's a pain to get it out.

[@ettalanuti7926]

I started on this ever-so-cute puff quilt for my niece 's baby. Got stuck. He graduated this year.

[@nancyandersen615]

Never finished the one I started many years ago.

[@klikes99]

I have a tip. I like to work with the music on. It gives me energy. Less time to think about other areas of my life 😃 Less time for my mind to get bogged down. I laughed when you said crap twice. I haven’t called my stuff crap in awhile. 😂

[@5Parkmans]

Great tips! When I was a new quilter and my kids were little, I didn’t have a dedicated spot. I would have to pull it out of the closet and set up on the kitchen table, then put it all away again. I took a lot of classes at my local quilt shop and got most of my sewing done there.

[@ashleymerkel1116]

We can’t beat ourselves up on the projects we don’t enjoy sewing. You don’t always know ahead of time that it’s not your thing. It’s a learning process,

[@notesfromleisa-land]

Great tips. I’m not a pinner but a glue baster. It is my single best time saver, as I can phase my production. I can prepare my pieces and stack them by the machine. Sew in batches. Press in batches. I go up to my sewing room to take a mental break from my work. I’m also fortunate to have a large dedicated space.

[@saffronflora]

Thanks Pat for these tips. I struggle with the guilt part of 'falling out of love' with a project I have started. But I like your idea of putting it away for another time. Enjoy your Pumpkin Latte for October 1st.

[@nrobinson7951]

Hi Pat. I did a big purge this past year, I gave most of everything that I could not use in a quilt to my sister, we use to make dolls , Santa's, snow people etc... together and set up at craft shows. Now she lives in Kentucky and she still does the craft things, now I make quilts, which I enjoy since it's more of a sew alone project. Thanks for sharing

[@miriamcavani9263]

5, 10, 15 mins here and there…! Like right now, I decided I can measure for borders while listening to you talk about the 3 tips, rather than sitting and watching. Of course, once you start showing things you are working on I stop and watch. Thanks for the reminders on how we can fit work in little bits of time.

[@kathygospodarek8541]

Im not crying you’re crying. I got goosebumps when you spoke about the make a wish. What a wonderful donation amount.

[@Noodlesews]

I get you on some projects you start and then you don’t feel it anymore. When I closed my quilt shop a year and half ago I really didn’t want to sew anything. I was in a real slump. I started watching your show regularly about 2 months ago and it has inspired me to just get working on things a little at a time. I have pulled out a lot of projects and decided what I could make with the blocks that were already done. I have sewn 6 quilts in the past month. 3 were old projects and 3 were new. I just decided I wanted to get some stuff done so I could not feel guilty about staring some new fresh things. Now I plan to package up the remaining blocks and cut pieces, place the pattern with them and give them away. That way I finished some and moved along the others. I wish there was a reputable place online to trade or swap projects like this with other quilters. Anyway. Thanks so much for sharing your passion for sewing. You are enjoyable to watch while I sew and drink my coffee each day.

[@lisastroble4743]

Just a reminder that one can make beautiful things without a sewing machine. Hand quilting is always an option. It takes very little space and is extremely portable.❤. Great tips, Pat!

[@ginnyandersen8527]

You really hit the mark on your tips. We Have ALL Been There in every point you mentioned. I was afraid you were going to say the Blue Crumb quilt was not one you wanted to work on. If that ever is the case, I would be more than happy to take that one off your hands! LOL

[@donnamensing141]

A dedicated space is a game changer!

[@1elsue]

All great tips. What helps me is a simple monthly list.. I love scratching things off the list

[@marinaabad4995]

I have completed project list (all projects, mug rugs, bowl cozies, table runners, lap quilts, bed quilts, baby quilts, scraps sorted/organized, hand embroidery/cross stitch, mini quilts, ornaments) with the date it was done. I just have a simple 2 column spreadsheet to list them. Amazing when you see how many projects completed in a year and how productive one has been. I count the positives and know the UFOs will be positives, by either finishing or giving it away.

[@donnarowe6027]

Thank you so much for sharing or realistically, giving us permission to drop the guilt (!) of projects we changed our mind on! I really have far more than 2 but let it go!!! 🎶

[@GrandmaPatty49]

I had intentions to sit at my embroidery machine yesterday as soon as I woke up. I have 12 shirts to embroider the logos on my grandsons’ school uniform shirts to finish very soon. Got a call from my other son that one of his daughters was home sick, and he had to go to work. There went my plan.

[@jkissnhug]

Thank you for today's video. I often get stuck when my sewing space in my bedroom gets cluttered with notions and piles of quilting paraphenalia. I have to clean up the visual mess to get my sew-jo back. I love the idea of using snatches of time to do small tasks in the creative process. Yesterday, I cut up the leftover fabric strips (of a quilt top I just finished) into 2-1/2" squares for a future scrap quilt. Doing that 30-minute task felt like a million bucks to me. I am ready to start my next quilt with a clean space. I also have a stalled quilt that nags me. I feel better with it out on the backburnner. I will put it "on probation", and revisit it after the holidays and decide to put the blocks I have made into a tablerunner, and stash the rest of the fabric for a more inspiring project. The fabrics just aren't my style and I chose them because it was the only fat quarter bundle in the store when I signed up for a three day quilting sew-along. This is my quilting regret, and happened to be from the restart of my quilting career after many years. Don't make fabric fit your first impression. Sigh.

[@lauriep.1362]

I just sewed more of my UFO yesterday, it's a Quilt as you go, so I just need to put it together....and I hope to finish it this week, I'm going to try 😊❤

[@martiparsons3141]

Thank you for giving me permission permission!!!!🙂

[@junehanson7865]

Thanks for the tips today Good morning Pat 😊

[@GrandmaPatty49]

I’m blessed to have a good sized room dedicated to sewing and my embroidery machine. It was originally our living room, but we also have a family room and sunroom where we utilize in place of the living room. That’s why when my husband talks about downsizing, I panic! lol

[@sewhapi2347]

Grandmapatty , thats 😁 😂lololol

[@MaryHohmann]

Oh, Pat. That Make A Wish total! 💜🎉 Thank you for sharing your top tips. I actually already do those things....and still get bogged down. But, somehow, this video lets me know it will be OK.

[@ElaineWoodruff]

I completely understand about setting a project aside. I bought a kit that I thought was so pretty, now I’m wondering why I bought it!!! Thanks Pat for the “permission “ to set it aside and work on it maybe next year! I love your videos and advice!

[@dianalonghenry4933]

I was so inspired by your 'just 5min a day' that I turned around, while still listening to your video, and started stitching some pieces together on a flimsy that I need to finish!

[@karenwendel7199]

Love that you are sharing this message today. We are all in the same boat. It's so good to hear that others stall on projects. I belong to a PhD group. At the beginning of the year we write down 10 UFOs. Each month a number is drawn and that's the project that needs to be completed for the month. It forces us to finish those projects that were left behind. If I can't finish it that month, I give it away. I have finished sooo many projects finished with the support of my friends.

[@debbiepenalber1369]

I love your tips, I have started cleaning and organizing my room and I have been able to pass on things that I knew I could not work on! Thank you so much for the push!

[@gwynwellliver4489]

Learning this tips several years ago, made me not feel guilty for not sewing during the work week if I was too tired or passing on projects I fell out of love with. If a kid moves out, I could have a dedicated space. It's hard to be organized when your stuff is in four rooms!

[@michelelewis8808]

Good morning! Just ordered an “I Quilt Past My Bedtime” tee! Thank you for the v-neck option ❤

[@rv6847]

I have some quilts I started 20 years ago that I still want to finish 😅! Pat, for the Holloween quilt, you could make the strip sets a little longer and cut them like a mittered border (instead of all those stitch and flips). If younfilm, it could be a good refresher for us as well on how to do mittered borders. That Pears quilt is so pretty!

[@jodigrzeczka6617]

Thank you for today's video. You have kicked my butt to get busy cleaning off my cutting table, which is invisible to the eye, because of all the clutter! Guess what I am doing today???? I've already found some things I thought I'd lost! LOL! Thanks, Pat!

[@filmclub9213]

Great tips and lots of motivation. The hardest thing is to let go, but quilt guilds will take these and find them a loving home..

[@kimdent1637]

I have one of those stalled projects and I think there's a weird psychology to the stall. The project is your Toffee Bar pattern. I've made patterns on point in the past without any problem. But, since then I've heard people say that on point is so difficult. Well, this pattern is not laying square and nothing I try fixes the problem. I feel like I scared myself into failing because it's on point and now I know it's supposed to be difficult. I don't know if this makes sense. Anyway, I will finish it eventually because I love the pattern and the way my fabric choices work together. Sorry for the long post.

[@vickioneill1766]

Thank you for a very encouraging video. I am so glad you let those 2 projects go. I did that to one & now pulled it out & it is going to be a quilted jacket!❤️❤️❤️

[@sandrapisano3667]

im glad u showed us that sometimes we get stalled and don't want to finish a project. I thought I was the only one. I'm working on doing that. thanks

[@donnar.9244]

Thank you for the advice and pep talk, plus recognizing many don’t have a sewing studio

[@dianebevans6864]

Thanks Pat. I needed this pep talk. I have fallen into the camp of feeling like I need more time.

[@claudiamccartney4381]

This was an excellent video!

[@sewhapi2347]

I agreeeee!!!❤

[@rebeccamaccallum9239]

Oh no, I sew wanted to see the Dino quilt done!! I hope u finish it sometime. Love the tips great food for thought

[@paigebrei100]

Could you sew the black and white strips as leaders and enders? You'd be advancing the project a little at a time.

[@cheryleaston6820]

Or make a table runner with the long strip.

[@PatSloan]

I could, but I don't want to. I'd rather work on something else

[@paigebrei100]

@@PatSloan Understandable. Do what brings you joy! We'll be here to watch you do whatever that is!

[@annkoons1223]

Thank you for the pep talks. I appreciate it. I need it. You know that life gets in the way sometimes.

[@gwenj5419]

When I'm avoiding, I'll just pick one small step to do. “I'm just going to pick out the fabrics.“. It gets me started and sometimes I do even more than I initially decided.

[@patriciabrown6408]

I loved today’s video. Thank you.

[@janetwade4951]

I'm having trouble right now with a scrappy quilt that my guild is doing. Friends have given me scraps for years. I am trying to work my way through the quilt with one bag of scraps. It is using much more background than I'm used to also. We have 4 blocks this month and they are needing bigger squares so my choices are getting harder and harder. Took awhile but I think I have it. Hoping that it will surprise me and all jell when it's done. Thanks for the pep talk and, even more, thanks for letting me vent!

[@erinwells5301]

Having a dedicated sewing space has been a game changer for me.

[@ruthgooch8575]

Thank you for today's video and reminding us all that it is possible. Even if it's just a little at a time we can do it. You are an inspiration.

[@bstaley2909]

Great video this morning! Thanks for all the practical tips.

[@maureenabramson4224]

Thanks so much for the tips Pat. Sensible and doable. Appreciate you! Have a great day.😊

[@susanearl7064]

great video Pat. So enjoyed the discussion.

[@marieerickson9695]

Thanks for the talk. You say things I think about!

[@michele6708]

So happy the Make a Wish effort was so successful! I am looking to see what kind of efforts we might put in place to raise money for those in Western North Carolina and some of the other areas that were devastated by Helene. As a North Carolinian, my heart breaks every time I look at my feed. I love your tips on time and mental energy management WRT stalled projects. I definitely use the first three tips regularly. I recently reassessed a number of projects and have spent the last 2-3 weeks powering through 6 quilt tops that needed to be pushed over a hump or abandoned. I had put my indigo way mystery quilt away for about 6 months after my dad died, it was super fiddly and I knew it was going to need a lot of extra effort, added to the fact that I was working on it when he died. But now I have finished it and I like it better than I expected so I am glad I pushed through. I put aside a couple of quilts with pieced borders that needed adjustment.. Pushed through one and have to decide today on the last one if I’m going to adjust and attach the borders or just do them without and make a smaller quilt and just sew the strips into the back of the quilt. I also gave myself a hiatus for starting to sew any more quilts during this time. I will drop 6 quilts off for long arming this week, and I have 6 that need to be quilted on my DM. Then I can start some of the exciting projects that have been tempting me. Sometimes we just get stretched too thin and we need to clear some projects out!

[@PatSloan]

So happy you worked through your projects!

[@terrismith3359]

So grateful I’m not the only one who has stalled with different UFO’s . Thanks for the tips, Pat! 🎉😃

[@jocropley]

Great Video today .. lots of good info ..

[@Hiker_who_Sews]

What great and generous fans you have!

[@deanekinsel7578]

Maybe find a black and white stripe fabric, that would take out the sewing of the strips.

[@jeanneantha2832]

On the Lela Boutique/halloween quilt ... could you use the panel pieces, which are so cute, as part of an Oh My Stars quilt? It would have larger individual squares, to match the panel sizes, but would still be a wonderful quilt.

[@PatSloan]

They are much too big, I'd have to redraft the patern for those big panels. that would be cute but i don't have time to do that

[@glenysp1206]

so so relevant to me today, thank you.

[@heidigoodwin6397]

My niece has received a Make A Wish. ❤❤

[@deloresangus6687]

I’m happy she received her wish while sad she is in a position to have to make that wish. Sending uplifting thoughts to your family.

[@sewhapi2347]

Ohhh, I have two that stressed me to no end. Blocked me from being creative, and I just had to put it away to get it out of the sewing room/creative room. I put it in a clear big plastic suitcase, and it's in the sewing closet. I moved on, but I want to go back to it, but who knows, plus yesss a lot of money invested.

[@debbielong1168]

The totals for Make a Wish are fantastic!

[@quilterwendy]

Good morning, great day for quilting

[@wandawoodrell1414]

This is one of my favorite vidios. How i wish i had heard something like this sooner. I hv the first months blocks (12 log cabins) of a sew along done, but i hv NO desire to buy the next months "assigned block". Think ill do something more fun, since i hvnt bought nxt months pattern or material yet.

[@dalairem]

As a (lace) knitter, I know that it's much better to frog¹ a project you just can't get into than force yourself through it for hours on end. It wastes precious time and mental energy. Same with quilting, and I usually have this issue with long-running Blocks of the Month/Week. I love getting into them, but the lack of planning for them gets the better of me much of the time, and I end up not liking how the blocks come together, or indeed, other more interesting things come up, and then I'm off the train. I did go ahead and finish a recent (Moda) BOTW, but it was grudgingly, and though it turned out well enough, I set the top away to finish at my leisure another time, possibly as a summer (batting-free) quilt or with a fleece backing. I'm certainly not planning to spend any more money on it. We'll see. The lesson for me is that if I get into another BOTM/W, to 1. have a firmly set and *limited* fabric palette and clear idea of what I'd like it to look thematically overall; 2. remember that I don't have to keep up, only save the block PDFs; 3. understand that I'm in it more for the community vibe than for loving samplers--which honestly, I don't so much. I'm more of a well-planned, whole-picture/medallion quilter, not scrappy nor whimsical. I happily bury myself in the planning of quilts. BOTM/Ws force you to think on your feet, per se, which is a great exercise, but not something I've proven "good" at yet. I have to go out of my comfort zone and join QALs well aware of these things before getting carried away. One of these days, I'll make both worlds work well together, though, thus I keep trying. 😊 ¹ frog = rippit! = rip stitches out (Ed. It's morbidly satisfying to attach a lace project end to a ball winder and zip those stitches out. All the frustration seems to fly out with every row gone! )

[@judyhendrix812]

This was a very helpful video for me. Timely and honest, thank you!

[@PatSloan]

So happy it spoke to you

[@alechiaevans9117]

I love the Dino egg fabric

[@Linda-bj7lp]

Such great tips! Thank you Pat. Halloween strips could be sewn while sewing other things.

[@karenohman5849]

Love these tips! I needed this help……Thank you so much!!!

[@catricala1952]

Ha ha! Extra bonus tip…when did you see my area?🤣🤣🤣

[@PatSloan]

i think we can all relate!

[@sheilafruge60]

Great video !

[@pendell168]

Here’s an idea for those skinny strips for the Halloween quilt. Setup the strips to sew as your Leader/Ender project instead of your Yellow Chiffon. The strip segments will be made in no time. They are a bit long for Leader/Enders but it could work. Have fun what ever you do. Thank you for relieving my guilt about paused or dead projects. I have a few. One I know I will not work on any longer. Although, it’s a hand stitched appliqué that might be turned into an invisible machine appliqué.🤔🤔🤔🤔 And thank you for telling me you love me every morning. I love you too. 💕

[@LynnFry-xm9nm]

Thanks for the pep talk today, get rid of the projects I am not in love with!

[@CindyOgilvie]

Kristin at I See Stars Quilting has the cutest sewing machine cozy. I have put that on my 'list' because I don't like the look of leaving my machine out. It's not the space it's seeing it open.

[@kathydruge6165]

I have a cottage for my sewing sapce.lucky girl!

[@QuiltyNana]

I sew needed to hear this today! I have been blessed to have a sewing room of wonderful proportions for many years. My problem is that 1) my daughter and 2 grandchildren moved in and then 2) my health declined. The room became a tossing spot and play area for them. I can't sew in chaos, so I don't do it. The Halloween panel quilt was appealing to me but I knew if I did it I would use striped fabric and the panels. No way would I sew those small strips. With the amount of stripe fabric available I have no problem finding a fit for it. That was my "work smarter not harder" version since I run low on energy too.

[@barbararice1196]

I'm in the same stinkin boat! I'm "collecting" fabric for when my health improves. LOL😏

[@QuiltyNana]

@@barbararice1196 I hope that will happen very soon for you! 💗

[@barbararice1196]

I hope the same for you, thank you!💟🙂

[@binkjo]

Good morning!

[@quilterwendy]

one thing I do is precut projects if I'm making more than one of the item. Then I can just sew assembly style. I do have a dedicated space.

[@donnamensing141]

Good morning 😊

[@barbaradull1056]

When you held up the roar project I was like No! Not that lol I love it because its so unusual. But I do like your tips.I have a project that I was so gung ho on and now it hangs as an almost completed wall hanging why? Because of all the new shiny lol Love all your videos❤

[@pamward7676]

Love all the ideas. Why couldn’t you occasionally work on one block at a time for Halloween project and maybe you could have it done for next year.?

[@PatSloan]

It is darling! but i do NOT like sewing the strips.

[@teresaericson6603]

Good Morning Everyone

[@nancyanderson3309]

Thanks for the mental health day Pat. Now I don’t feel bad that my projects are stalled.

[@filmclub9213]

The Halloween quilt could be a block Wednesday project,but if you don,t love it...

[@GrandmaPatty49]

I have one project that I made about halfway. It’s been sitting in my sewing room for about 4 years, not finished. Lost interest in it. I thought it would be a cool picnic or beach quilt, as it was using old blue jeans from my family. Someday--

[@maryswarts2282]

Ahhhh is so nice to know it's totally ok to move away from projects....at least I'm not alone.

[@cherieiduke1723]

That's my issues... get started, and then the next bright shining thing pops up

[@rosehixon2790]

I haven’t seen you do adore been in a long time and I know you want to do the pencil one for your husband. Are you also gonna put those in long-term storage?

[@joycedombrowski7527]

Good morning everyone

[@nancyandersen615]

My stall is Autumn Wonders. The hard parts are done...blocks and the half square sashing strips. It is up on my design wall taunting me. Just need to finish the sashing strips and sew rows together and add the borders. Just keep avoiding it.

[@CindyOgilvie]

I love the Halloween quilt! Would it make a good Make a Wish donation? If finished... maybe that without bring back the motivation. It is certainly whimsical and colorful.

[@PatSloan]

It is darling! but i do NOT like sewing the strips. Full stop on that one 😊

[@dr.marybaylysaraceni6158]

It is officially October/Autumn, yet it is still hot in Tucson🥺 105 degrees does not feel like Fall😔

[@jeane.2722]

thx

[@lisastroble4743]

Binding a quilt and making a study pillow.

[@PaulaSlater-j8s]

I have to figure out No1 (again) and then it'll be a piece of cake. My previous set up was ok but I learned how much can get done in 5, 10 and 15 minute increments. Could you not have the stripes at your machine for the leader/ender project?

[@PatSloan]

I don't enjoy sewing them

[@PaulaSlater-j8s]

@@PatSloan well, there’s your answer. You can get rid of it or have one of your wonderful ambassadors sew that part.