chris_quilts

If you put two tops together (use one as a back) then you've cut your quilting pile in half. Have a girlfriend who will do this on occasion.

w7sue

I made a list in July with eight quilts on it that needed to be finished - I think I have finally gotten four of them quilted - they still need to be bound but I quilt with friends one night a week and I take hand work with me - they will get done this winter! But ... I have to admit that since my husband purchased my Gammill for me several years ago, my pile of UFO's has gone down ... now to find a home for all the quilts I have finished. I am making a New Year's resolution this year to make a label for every quilt that still lives at home ... way to many ... and then to find homes for them so they aren't just piled up in the closet.

Shelbie

I have the two largest Rubbermaid bins full of completed tops (backings are made for most of them). I refuse to count them but I know that there are more than 15. I have finished at least one quilt every month since I retired and have ten ready to show at our guild quilt show in October. My new rule is to finish at least one a month before starting anything new. Sometime I will see the bottom of the bin. In the meantime, I am enjoying quilting and can finish up a quilt in a hurry if I need to and I'm not worrying about the number!

sheepla

I could never do this. I might have a few quilts started at once but as soon as one is pieced, I have to see it all the way to completion before finishing another one. Of course, for me, seeing it all the way to completion means sending it to the Long Arm Quilter.

mjhaess

You are a busy girl...Now you better get them to the quilter....

justflyingin

And unlike those who say you have to finish the quilting as you finish the tops, I say, "Ignore them"...and do what works for you.

I also agree about the batting. I normally buy it in large rolls and I like to work on the quilting until that large roll is gone--but then I can make more tops-- I think I had about 70 tops ready to finish, but am working on them now. Unlike some of you, I don't feel guilty about having them. I like to do them, and then put them in piles on a guest bed. As I feel the need for a certain quilt (guy/charity, girl/charity, woman/charity, man/charity, family member, etc.) I can finish them.

Today I bound 4--none of them very large and all donation quilts. I do want to get the total of unfinished tops down to under 20 or so, though, I think. But tops are much easier to store than finished quilts!

And while I do prefer to make the tops, as I've gotten a bit more experience doing the FMQ, I'm gaining confidence, getting faster and overall, am learning and liking the quilting more and more.