At a recent Sewtopia Sewing Club, Laurie Parker presented a wonderful trunk show of Christmas gifts and quilts. Along with all the beautiful projects she bestowed her wisdom of her interpretation of “Done”.
Laurie travels a lot for her work, so she devised a term for herself to help her feel a better sense of accomplishment when she has to be away from her sewing room. If you ask her if she has any “UFO’s”, (Un-Finished Objects) she will always answer, “No”.
According to Laurie there are four stages of “Doneness”…
Stage 1: Cut – Done
Stage 2: Pieced – Done
Stage 3: Quilted – Done
Stage 4: Binding – Done (or as I like to call this one “Ta-Done”!)
A project at any one of these stages is DONE!
What a great idea! Breaking up these steps makes getting projects to the next stage enjoyable. She always has projects at any one of these stages, but to her they are DONE until she is ready to take them to the next stage.
One thing I have learned from Laurie as I have watched her become an excellent quilter over the last couple years, is the time she takes as she works on her projects. She takes time to ENJOY each step. She is never in a hurry to get something finished. I think we all could learn to slow down a little and enjoy the process of our hobby instead of rushing through it just to get it done.
Thank you Laurie once again for all your wonderful inspiration and friendship you share with us.
“Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.” – Greg Anderson