Butterick 5460 - the jacket
Vogue 9666
another crack at this dress.
I will NOT be defeated! *LOL*
and a skirt project.
Normally this would scare the bejesus out of me because I would be worried about ending up with a UFO. I'm the kinda girl that plans a project, gathers up the notions, fabric & pattern, and makes it. Then I move onto the next pattern. Lately, I've enjoyed moving from project to project. Sewing a little on one here, a little on another one and seeing each of them come to life. I have so many projects on my summer list and I just need to feel as if I'm making progress on finishing up most of this list.
Maybe I'm slowing down some more...maybe I don't feel the need to rush since the closet is pretty well stocked...or maybe I need a new way to bring a challenge to my sewing...make my creative burners all flare at once. I don't really know. But I do know that I'm enjoying this right now...the flexibility...the ability to change it up...so I'm gonna go with it.
How about you are you a plodder or a flitter? Do you make one project at a time or do you flit from project to project? Talk to me because this is the question of the day.
I definitely am a one at a time project person. But mostly since I don't have room in my apt for multiple simultaneous projects. But if I did... I suspect that would change. ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm a flitter.... unfortunately! I tend to get busy and then start something else... causing some UFO's once in a while. Maybe my problem is just the opposite from EWord10.... too much room! LoL... I spread out and then get lost!
ReplyDeleteGreat explanation of all the questions!
You are brave to clean out and make room... hard to believe your little guy has gotten sooo big sooo fast!
We have a grand on the way... December!
I am a split plodder and flitter. as long as it is only two project maximum. Any more than that and I am defeated!Sometimes some variety is needed when a project is a bear.....
ReplyDeleteI am a one project at a time person! It's funny though because as I am working on the project, I am scheming away which project will be next from my que. Unfortunately, usually by the time it comes to the finishing steps, I am so ready to start the next project that I get aggravated with hand sewing down facings and hook and eyes! They always always get finished before the next project gets started though!
ReplyDeleteI have traits of both. If the project is very involved I am a plodder. But most of the time I am a flitter. When one project is underway I gather supplies and cut fabric for my next, stack it and have it ready to go. This last sewing project I played around with sewing my daughter a skirt at the same time I sewed myself one hoping for a two for one deal!
ReplyDeleteI'm a plodder. Definitely! If I have more than one project in process, it makes me crazy.
ReplyDeleteUsually a plodder. Ocassionally, I must put something in time-out and work on something more cooperative, not always a sewing project.
ReplyDeleteI'm a flitter. And that does sound SO much better than just an unfocused sewist. :)
ReplyDeleteI am both. Sometimes I love to have multiple projects going for variety or mass-production sewing and sometimes I like or need to focus on just one thing. I shift pretty effortlessly between both styles of sewing and generally have no problems with interruptions to the current project(s) so I can get something else pushed through.
ReplyDeleteLois K
I work on one project at at time, but I reject the term "plodder". To me, plodding implies moving slowly and clumsily. I have laser-like focus (LOL) and work steadily until the project is done. Then, it's onward and upward to the next project. I have very few UFO's working this way.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't call it a plodder. That sounds so dull and uninteresting and not what my sewing is like. I work on one project at a time and see it as being creatively focused, with all my energy moving in one direction. Works for me.
ReplyDeleteI'm typically a one project at a time person but occasionally end up with more than one at a time. The older I get the more I want to enjoy the journey and I find that easier to do working on one project at a time.
ReplyDeleteI am a total flitter, interspersed with bouts of plodding. I had been collecting fabric for summer skirts for 2 years and none of them sewn. I went through a fit of plodding and sewed all the panels together, now I just need to insert the waistbands and hems, so I flit to the skirt pile between other projects.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm a plodder! I do sometimes get tempted to be drawn away by other things but usually I'm only actually working on one garment at a time (although many more are being created in my head!). If I had more space, however, I might become a flitter!
ReplyDeleteI started off doing single-focus projects but recently am trying to work mass production-style. That is, a few weekends ago I cut out the fabric for four garments (2 each of a tank top and a jacket), ironed on all the interfacing, and wound the bobbins with the appropriate thread for each project. Then I sewed the first garment to completion, because I needed it for work right away.
ReplyDeleteI realize that switching out the thread to change projects takes up sewing time, but evenings after work I'd rather sew a few simple seams (or finish a few) on 2 garments, even if it means changing thread color, than move on to the complicated finishing around the necklines on the patterns I'm using. Mass production seems to be working for me.
I'm a flitter by nature, but aspire to plod-dom -- er, excuse me, to laser-like focus until it's done. Lately I've been sewing in short spurts several times a day. I work at home, so when I need a break after several hours at the computer I step into the sewing room and sew for five or ten minutes. By the end of the day it adds up, and I don't get impatient or bored which means fewer sessions with the seam ripper. I've been clearing the UFO pile this way, and am completing what I start now. I have both garment and quilt projects going at the same time, so if I'm not inspired to work on one I can do a next step on the other.
ReplyDeleteEarly on I was a plodder. But now, what has been working well is to have one ongoing, challenging project and a few flittier/easier side projects. For example, I've been plodding along on a just-finished pants muslin (version 4.0), but making easy knit tops and tote bags when I don't have the mental stamina for the pants.
ReplyDeleteOh geez. Flitter.
ReplyDelete:P
Flitty flitty flit flit flit. There's a point in a project's life - usually when it's just about done - that I feel an undeniable urge to start the next project. Then every few months I finish up the accumulated hems, facings, and buttonholes. It's an extremely inefficient way to work. But sewing is my hobby, not a job, so I just go with it. Bizarrely, it doesn't seem to matter whether the project is a long and complicated one or a super-easy one. In fact, I often finish the long, complicated ones first.
ReplyDeleteI'm a flitter bug, too, and it's resulted in a pile of UFOs. Gotta concentrate.
ReplyDeleteI'm a bit of both. I usually cut out a lot of garments in one go, pack them into plastic boxes with their patterns and notions and select at random to start sewing. I might start something time consuming like a jacket or pair of jeans and work on it for a while. If I find I need a break, but want to keep up the sewing momentum, I pull out a knit top or a pencil skirt and whip that up to give me a quick fix before I go back to the big job.
ReplyDeleteDefinately one at a time. I get all that I need for the finished garment and don't budge until I am finished. As I am about half way through though, I start day dreaming about the next project and deperately want to get started on it too! But I never do, I know I would have unfinished garments everywhere if I did.
ReplyDeleteI am a flitter. But, and its a big one, I only keep two projects going at a time. I have taken the pledge and have stuck to it for the past few years or so. I find I am more focused, get more done, and still can flit a bit. I try and make one project a total machine project. The second project I try to make either something requiring a lot of handwork or some sort of accessories. I do not have UFOs. Until you have undone a complete sewing room and moved and found the UFOs, you can't appreciate this. I did a post on how I helped my friend Ima clean her sewing room out before putting a sign on the house and it was heartbreaking to see all the UFOs, just heartbreaking. So I say limit yourself to two.subel
ReplyDeleteFocused, usually. That said, this month I was working on a jacket for my SIL and I started the Jeans class on PR so I had to do some pattern work and a muslin. And my machine was in the shop so I was using a borrowed one.
ReplyDeleteI only went a tiny bit crazy. I am back to one project (the actual jeans) at a time. Whew. I can breathe again.
I also try to work one project at a time, but lately I have been cutting patterns and fabrics out and having them in a pile. I think I feel more mentally organized though when I have only one project going on at a time, so I'm going back to that approach.
ReplyDeleteGenerally a plodder but sometimes I will flit too if I am waiting for a notion or reach a very boring part (this is when UFO's happen!).
ReplyDeleteI'll spend a few days working on a project until I've solved the latest challenge. Then I'll take a break and come back to it in a week or two for another 'round and a bit more progress. This isn't the speediest way to sew, but it works with my schedule during grad school. I'm hoping to become more prolific after graduation.
ReplyDeleteTrying to be one project at a time person, but not very successful I must admit. Usually there are 2-3 projects in my sewing room in different stages. I don't like changing threads all the time, and try to keep the different projects down to 2-3 maximum.
ReplyDeleteOne-at-a-time gal here, though occasionally I'll cut out several patterns at once just to feel more assembly line-like and efficient.
ReplyDeleteI usually try to focus on one project at a time, but lately I seem to have multiple going at once. Usually a combo of gifts for others and a couple of things for myself. What I really need is a free weekend to sit down and make some good progress to finish up a lot of half-started stuff.
ReplyDeleteI get in the color family thing. My serger is currently loaded with red, so I've been using fabric from the red family. I have a 7 yard piece of red & white paisley, and I see it becoming 2 or 3 dresses this weekend. Then there's the maroon stretch lace, followed maybe by an orange thing (but I'm not a fan of orange, so I might have to just send that fabric to Gaylen, who looks great in and loves orange). Then I change the serger to green, and we wander through the green family.
ReplyDeleteAnd when I have 2 or 3 going at once, I use different colored pins for each one. Strange habit, but it makes me happy.
I always like your questions!
ReplyDeleteI have been a flitter in the past, particularly when I was doing some wearable pieces. I would work on those and then get bogged down and decide to sew something to wear.
Right now I am a plodder. Like you though I have so many things I want to sew and know I will not get them all done before it is time to start on fall.
Lately I have tried to take time to cut out two or three projects at one setting. I then start one, complete it and pick up the nexgt one. By having two or three projects cut and ready to sew, I feel like I am making progress.
I am a plodder. One project at a time.
ReplyDeleteHi, my name is Marty & I flit from project to project ... I used to be focused & could finish a dress, a top, a pair of pants in one day. However, motherhood intervened so I flit ... I sew in the main living space of our home & have constant interruptions... it's hard to concentrate.
ReplyDeleteHi, I'm Marty and I flit from project to project. I used to be focused & could complete a dress, top or pants within a day or weekend in my sewing room. However, motherhood intervened & I get constant interruptions. Now, I sew in the main living area of our home as I no longer have a sewing room. I work in 10-15-20 minute segments.
ReplyDeleteOne project at a time for me too, however occasionally I'll work on more than one, but I do prefer only one. I feel more focused.
ReplyDelete