Quiltingboard Forums - Do you ever give up on a project?

Quiltingboard Forums (https://www.quiltingboard.com/)

- Main (https://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1/)

- - Do you ever give up on a project? (https://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1/do-you-ever-give-up-project-t302305.html)

Quote:

Originally Posted by QuiltnNan (Post 8193993)

How about cutting around the parts that you have finished, add some other 'blocks' or borders, and call it a table topper or wall hanging. you should be proud of what you have done so far.

That's what I thought, too. It would be a shame to waste the work you have already done but let it go if it causing you pain.
I am watching GMA and they are talking to the gymnast and her coach. The coach wrote a book, "Life is Short, Don't Wait to Dance". This is the quote for 2019 in my house. I may have to embroider this and hang it in my sewing room.

Quote:

Originally Posted by summitbay (Post 8194547)

Women have way too much guilt about everything, imho. You don't need permission, you don't need to explain, you don't need to rehome it, you paid for it, you worked on it, you didn't like it. Enough said.

Amen. Well said.

I guess the kitty has spoken! Glad to hear you’re moving on

You say you don't have the skill, you have already done a beautiful Job! But if you just don't want to finish it don't. I know quilters feel guilty about not finishing but if it frustrates you, toss it. I took a class, bought the book and ruler and then spent a day at a retreat hating what I was doing. That night in bed I was thinking about it, sat up and told my roommate I was tossing it. I did. I sold the ruler and gave away the book. No regrets.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elise1 (Post 8193954)

I have been working hard to complete all my UFO's and I am down to my last one. It is a Jacqueline de Jonge pattern with a difficulty level of 6.

I made a mistake purchasing this pattern it is much to hard for me and has been nothing but frustrating. It may not look too bad in the photo, but there are many troublesome areas. I can't even get the next piece sewn on because things are so out of line. Not to mention folds in the material from the circle piecing and areas that will never lay flat.

I put it away for over a year and a half and have just now pulled it out to finish it, but I am again completely frustrated by it because I lack the skills to complete it.

Can I have permission to stop on this quilt? It is no longer fun. Quilting is suppose to be fun and relaxing and a way to unwind. If I am getting no enjoyment from this project, can I use the rest of the fabric in another quilt and just stop with the frustration?

This is the first time I have ever considered not finishing a project.

Elise

Elise, not all is lost...........don't throw it out!! Get a larger piece of fabric (finished size for a wall hanging perhaps???). A solid color that complements the piecing you have already done. Lay this finished part on top of the large piece, in the lower corner, (as it is.......no need to finish the curved area at the top) and stitch it down. No need to finish the edges. :-).....add some of the "parts" that you have worked on but are not complete (or even a finished circle???) then add them in various places in the blank area...........ta-da...........you have just completed a modern quilt!!!! And it will be DONE.......And it will be beautiful. And you will be happy that you finished this quilt!!! And you will be on to the next project that you can relax with.

I have it pictured in my head......lay the unfinished parts a bit wonky here and there. Don't need a lot of them. Quilt denseley and the quilting density should be consistent. Ellen

You can send it to me, you have done an excellent job by the way it looks. I am quilting my first Jacqueline de Jonge quilt. Her Day Dreams, and have 2 more to piece and quilt. I love her quilts.

Do not use all of your creative energy on an item you do not care for. Life is too short for that...……………………….

It looks like you are doing a fabulous job! Just focus on all the things your are learning!

My favorite thing is adopting those projects that others don't want to finish! I give them a new story and make a finished project from them. My finished project may look nothing like the original plan!

With yours, I would take it apart into the components then perhaps applique them to a black background in a random modern looking layout.

It's beautiful......but yes! You have permission to stop. It's not giving up; it's choosing to preserve your energy and sanity and time for something you'll enjoy doing. Clearly, this has become a chore, not a project, and you not only can quit it, you should. In my opinion.

I was once very severe with myself about things like this. Finally, I realized that no one else cares, that I, and I alone, was making myself miserable by demanding things of myself that I didn't enjoy and, perhaps, couldn't do. It reminds me of Pride and Prejudice's Elizabeth Bennett's advice to Mariah, when Mariah is frantically trying to pack her trunk according to Lady Catherine deBourgh's instructions. Elizabeth tells her: "It's your trunk, Mariah. Pack it the way you want. Lady Catherine will never know."

You've said this project is beyond your current skill level and you're not having any fun with it. No one will ever know you didn't finish it, unless you tell them. I'd not put it away again; I'd get it out of my house, either by setting fire to it, or donating it.