As quilters I think we all have more plans than we have time. We all buy that amazing must have fabric then we buy more and many times it’s years before we see pieces again as they are buried so deep in our fabric stash.   In an attempt to organize, I tried making a list but found it seemed overwhelming.  There were so many planned quilts and pretty fabrics bought that you get to a point where you find you put it aside as there are so many, you don’t know where to start or you can’t make a decision on which is next.  Then, they end up buried again as it’s easier to start on that new fabric you just bought.  At least that’s how it works in mind.  I’ll grab a pattern then think of another or decide I don’t wanna make that one right now then I end up getting something new as it’s easier not to decide.   I also have some eye issues and I don’t know for sure how long I will accurately be able to cut pieces out.  I started worrying I’d have all this amazing fabric and can’t make up my mind, or I can’t cut them.

With that in mind I decided to start pulling patterns and finding fabrics for them.  I especially wanted to cut up all those red, white and blues I had purchased.   So I set about a plan for when I didn’t want to sew.  I took the plastic shoe boxes my wonderful sister Jill gave me, pulled a pattern, added fabrics and set to work.  I cut the fabrics, marked what pattern I was making then made myself pre-cut quilt kits.  This way if I can’t cut later or I don’t want to cut, I have quilts already cut, boxed and ready to start sewing.  Unfortunately by the time I stopped to organize them I realized I had made up 49 kits and never touched the fabric in the cabinet.

This still didn’t resolve my problem of “I can’t make up my mind”.  I pulled one out and immediately said oh I don’t wanna do that one now and put it back.  SOOOOOOO, I had a brainstorm.  I took the labels off all the boxes and added a number instead. 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.  Then I made a ticket with each number on it and put it in a bowl.   I’ve committed to myself to make whatever number comes out of the bowl each time. I’m even going to post what it is on my quilting group as a form of accountability.

I have a couple of projects that are already on the to do list like a quilt along starting in November, a queen panel I want to design a quilt around and a few to quilt but whenever I’m at a nothing planned stage, I will pull a box and that one is up next.

Now I just need about 100 more plastic boxes.