Six Coat Hanger Rule

My name is Leanne but most people call me Lucky. I have been asked by Dawn and Wendy to let you know about my coat hanger rule. Thanks so much Wendy & Dawn for this opportunity to let people in on my secret, keeping UFOs to a minimum.

I’ve only been sewing since December 08 and I can understand how easy it is to have those UFOs multiplying .Starting quilting late in life I was thrilled to be able to turn my daughter’s bedroom into a sewing room the day she moved out. .

I quickly learnt there are so many beautiful quilts, table toppers, cushions and bags tempting me every day. I could so easily have more UFOs than I care to mention. I didn’t want to find myself in a situation where I was hiding half finished things.

As I use the walls to hang my rulers and decorate my walls with gifts from swaps I thought why not my own WIP and the 6 coat hanger idea was born.

How does this rule work?

The coat hangers each hold one project I can work on and my limit is 6. I can’t start a new project until a coat hanger is empty. Also the items are often the first thing I see when I walk into my sewing room.

Having 6 items to pick from helps to keep me motivated as I may want to work more so on a particular project more so than one of the others. In doing this, the items that hang longer aren’t forgotten and after a while I look and think......wow I feel like working on this one today.

I don’t include swaps or BOMs as there is always a time limit and I have no problem in completing those one.

Once a BOM is finished I then hang it all in a sealed bag on the wall and then its ready to be completed, before I can start something new. Like last years BOM I did with some lovely ladies that Dawn designed for our “Our Craft Forum”. Once there was a space on the wall, up the BOM went. No time at all it was turned into a table runner, instead of sitting in a cupboard.

So there you have it, my 6 coat hanger rule and it’s worked for 2 years in my sewing room. I love the idea of not having the UFOs hidden from sight. Seeing my WIP on display is as rewarding as having it finished and moving onto something new.

First UFO Finished

I love tea towels be them plain, patterned, terry or a souvenir variety. These 2 were given to me by a lovely lady who never finished them herself and she knows I love chooks. They had been sitting in a Hettie's Patch bag on the cupboard waiting for me to finish them off. What a great idea it was to join the UFO Challenge.

So this evening I sat and practiced my satin stitch with my machine. Only part of the applique that I didn't need to do was the chicken.

You can see as I went along, I became more steady and tidier with the satin stitch. Doing the applique with the machine is quicker and as I tend to treat these sort of towels, as hand towels and good for cleaning up a spillage..... the machine applique will last longer.

Well that is one UFO out the way..... wonder what will come next????

You're only limited by your imagination.

Unfinished Business

Hi my name is Lucky and I have a few "unfinished" gifts that were given to me early last year. These are another person's UFOs that she didn't want to finish and I loved.

I have them sitting in a bag waiting for me to finish them off. After talking with Dawn, I decided this will be a great way to get them finished and being used around the house.

So I look forward to seeing not only mine finished but also your's as well.

Thanks Dawn and Wendy for allowing me to join your challenge for 2011.

You're only limited by your imagination.