Queen of Unfinished Projects

It has come to my attention, as I work on straightening up my apartment, that I have a lot of unfinished projects. That realization in itself isn't much--I wouldn't be a crafter if I didn't have a few nearly finished items. What is surprising to me is that I have so many that only need a little bit to call them "done."

There is a woman who owns a cross-stitch shop that I visit that once said she takes one month out of the year to complete that which is not. She said she picked February because it is the shortest month of the year. Now we all know that February is over (and judging from the amount of snow we've gotten we're all probably glad to see it go) but nonetheless I feel like I should give this challenge a try.

The truth is, I have so many projects at various stages of completion strewn throughout my apartment in places so I'll see them "just in case" that I'm overwhelmed. Where do I start? And then I talk myself out of it because there's a clean, new project that would be more satisfying to see to completion.

Looking at my calendar, I see there are four and a half weeks in March. My goal will be to complete four projects at that time. That's less than a project a week, so I won't feel too pressured. I have a few projects in mind, like the purse I was going to make for Easter two years ago and the pillow I cross-stitched for my brother's girlfriend so long ago that they aren't together anymore, but I'm not going to stress myself about which project to do.

My plan is to take pictures with my new digital camera and post each time I complete a project, along with what I've learned from the experience. In the meantime, I hope to not start any new projects until I've gotten well on my way with this challenge. My fellow crafters will understand that this is probably the hardest part of them all. My stash is constantly calling my name for some attention and if I don't see much progress I get discouraged and move on to another project. We'll see how long I can hold out.

However, there is one project I will start--and finish--this month. I found a Rudolph fabric book panel stashed in my stash and it shouldn't take more than an hour to complete. After all, my overarching goal is to lessen my stash to something more manageable.

Wish me luck, and happy crafting!