UFOs, UnFinished Objects

Help! My Craftroom has been invaded by UFOs! I suspect it is my mother's fault. She taught me to sew, latch hook rugs, and start tons of other crafty projects. But not so much to finish them. I wonder how many I.O.U.s we gave family members for handmade Christmas gifts which we started together but probably never quite finished. Although she only had a small set of drawers filled with her various and sundry craft supplies, it was mostly filled with UFOs. She often points out that I actually finish a LOT more projects than she ever does...but that's only because I have drawers and bins filled with UFOs.

Last night, my husband was wondering aloud how many UFOs I actually have tucked away in my craftroom (an entire desk & a couple bins filled with 1/2 finished crochet projects, another bin of just 1/2 finished hats, and we won't even talk about the crossstitches, some of which just need to be framed, did I mention I used to be a framer?). A good friend who heard his comment pointed out that the number of unfinished objects an individual has is in direct correlation to the number of projects they have finished. I just finish more projects than the average person.

I love this idea. It explains so much. But it is not an excuse to keep all those UFOs. Last year when I started making Griffin Playscapes, I used mostly recycled parts of UFOs. It was fun to go through those drawers and bins of projects and try to reimagine them as something else. The start of a tweed green sweater sleeve made a perfect field for his farm yard. A long test swatch made a fun & funky path for his fantasy world. Now if I can just make myself admit that I will never finish most of these. My tastes and priorities have changed. It is time to reuse or release those UFOs to move on to another world.