Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Ant and Octopus

 

There are two kinds of quilters in the world: ants and octopi (stay with me here). Ant quilters shoulder one project, working solely on it all the way to the end. And then there are octopus quilters - those who have eight projects, one for each arm, constantly switching between them as inspiration strikes. Both kinds of quilters are fabulously awesome.


I am, without a doubt, an octopus. I've focused on finishing lots of WIPs and UFOs over the last couple of years, but I still have 5-6 from previous years. While I'm working hard on my book, sweet summer stretches before me. I'm scatterbrained, lacking in organization, with several enticing projects at hand, in various stages of planning and finishing. But that's the way I like it.

What kind of quilter are you: ant or octopus? And what are you working on this summer (if it is indeed summer where you live)?

21 comments:

  1. I am most definitely an octopus! I would get so bored working on just one quilt at a time and I enjoy having quilts at different stages so that whatever I feel like doing (cutting, sewing, trimming, quilting, binding) I can do that day. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I must be a sun star or something, because I have waaaay more than 8 projects. :D Possibly more than even 40... I'm not sure I want to count. On my list for this summer is unpacking, and organizing my sewing room. Or maybe just play with the puppy. :D

    ReplyDelete
  3. oh LOL. Thanks for opening this discussion! I think we need more than two categories. I have way, way more than 8 projects in the works and some of them are quite old, like 30 years! But...........I am also a finisher. Maybe I'm a millipede? LOL

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm an octopus with a Siamese twin!! Working on creating a special Thanksgiving memory quilt from scratch design for my aunt. Along with everything else I want do in my candy shop of scrapes.

    ReplyDelete
  5. When I first started quilting I was an ant! My sister would ask if I only worked on one, or more all the time. I can't tell you when I turned into an octopus and like many--it's more than 8 things I have going on!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I am definitely an octopus!!!. I have my Monday quilting group project(which is a quilt as you go project), at home I am currently making some zippered pouches, and on Saturday I attend a local 12 hour retreat so will be starting on a quilt for my brothers 70th birthday. Enjoy working on all my different projects.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I am most definitely an octopus too - I have about 3 projects actively on the go (plus another half dozen wip) and find it difficult to sustain working on one project alone for more than a couple of weeks before I feel the need to switch. I was going gang-busters to finish a long standing scrap quilt - but yesterday decided to get on with quilting and finishing another quilt destined for my son's bed. Enjoy your summer sewing - it is a miserable winter's day here in Auckland, New Zealand.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I am a family of octopi! And I would shrivel and die creatively if someone told me I had to work on only one project at a time. I can't even think only about the project I am actively quilting on, while it is moving under my needle. And the funny thing is, my very best friend is the epitome of anthood. She doesn't even have a stash; she buys only the fabric she needs for the one project she works on at a time. I love watching her work, and I admire her for her powers of concentration. And I am grateful for the way she appreciates my swirling ideas and the myriad projects I juggle as I dream up and begin even more.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I am an octopus with my sewing and also my cross stitch. Sometimes I feel bad that I have so many things on the go, but it feels like they will never get done. I do get excited about new projects though, and I can get bored with thtngs if I stop them. x

    ReplyDelete
  10. I can't make a quilt from start to finish! I never have! I usually have two leader ender projects going under the needle while working on a project. Even having a pile of fabrics for a certain project doesn't stop me suddenly saying 'what if' and going off on a partially thought out idea!! I have been trying to only finish things this year but I've gone off the rails every couple of weeks and I've started more projects than I've finished so far :/

    ReplyDelete
  11. I started out as an ant (like one of the ladies above), but after I retired and became involved with Project Linus, I became an octopus! I would be working on a Project Linus quilt and then a relative of mine would ask me to make a quilt ASAP for another relative, friend, or neighbor. Or I would get new fabric in and I couldn't resist cutting into it, although I have two projects already in progress. I will try to rein in my "tentacles" and stay on the straight and narrow as best as I can!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Definitely an octopus here too! I love having multiple projects on the go, though sometimes it means I move on to the next exciting thing too soon and end up abandoning projects (hopefully not forever).

    ReplyDelete
  13. Total octopus here! Right now, I'm working on: applique baby quilt for my niece, blue blouse for our vacation coming up, knit dress for a FB sew-along I'm running next month, and a ponte hoodie, also for my vacation.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I have more than one machine set up to facilitate my octopus ways. I work on the project that inspires me in the moment.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hmmm...I think I'm a sloth! A couple projects at a time but I'm really sloooooooooooow unless I have a deadline (and unfortunately for my family, I can't seem to make birthdays or other holidays "count" as personal deadlines). But I'm pretty sure if I had more free time I'd turn into an octopus.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Octopus, for sure!! With AT LEAST 16 arms!!! LOL

    ReplyDelete
  17. I am an ant in execution but an octopus in planning! LOL

    ReplyDelete
  18. I think that I am a cross between an any and an octopus. I usually have 2-3 projects in the works, but any more than that makes me a little stressed.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I am totally an octopus, but am really trying to streamline things down. I hate having projects that I started years ago still unfinished.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I'm new to quilting, well, for a year or so. But, I did one quilt 8 years ago in a "beginning quilt" class and I was the only one who kept up and finished the quilt! So, yeah, I started as an ant and now I'm back to my normal way of being in all other things as well: octopus! One thing I remember my mom telling me when I was in high school/college: you need more hours in the day, you have so much you want to do! And yep, I'm still that way many years later. And I embrace it and love it :)

    ReplyDelete
  21. Octopus! The only way to go.

    ReplyDelete

Let's start a conversation! I love comments and I'd be happy to reply to all who have an email address accessible. Thanks for commenting!

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...