I Was a Q4 Winner in the 2017 Finish-A-Long!

I was a Q4 winner in the 2017 Finish-A-Long! Pretty cool! I won a $20 gift certificate from "Sew Me A Song."

In 2016, I joined FAL. Although I haven't finished as much as I thought that I would, I have made progress. More importantly though, there is a lot of inspiration to be found with this challenge. When I've been stuck, I've looked at others' posts and entries and I've been inspired to continue. Or, if I'm looking to be inspired, inspiration is just a few clicks from the link up page!

How FAL works is that you have a time frame to post and to link your intentions at the beginning of the quarter. At the end of the quarter, you have a time frame to post and to link your finishes. Information in your finish link needs to contain a reference to your intention list link. You can join at any quarter of the year. You aren't penalized if you don't finish so you can't lose! If joining in the fun interests you, click here to learn more.

I appreciate all the sponsors who have donated prizes and the moderators who keep the Finish-A-Long organized.

Fabrics

During the fourth quarter of 2017, I finished LOTS! I employed a little different technique. I kept my 4th quarter goal list near and reviewed it at the beginning of the day and at the end of the day. Each time that I reviewed it, I would think, I've completed that one or I could work on that part of that project today. As a result, I made the most progress I've made in the two years of participating in the FAL! Keeping a project in my mind helped, me work through some of the stuck spots while I made physical progress on another project.

The other technique I employed was to intersperse small projects with larger projects. I found that the variety kept me on task for stitching which meant I was making progress. The progress resulted in finishes which resulted in a reduction of piles about the studio space. Truly, last quarter was a total win/win!

Since reviewing the list on a regular basis worked so well for me, I'll be employing that same technique for 2018! Even if there wasn't a formal Finish-A-Long, I'll continue because it helps me make progress on projects that I have put away over the years. For my first quarter list of 2018, I chose projects that I could finish at the end of the third month. My plan is to reduce the number of projects that stay on the list! Although, I don't consider having a project stay on the list a negative!

So how does it work when you're a winner? I received a notification e-mail from one of the moderators one morning. The next morning, I received an e-mail from the sponsor, Becca at Sew Me A Song, with a coupon code and a link to her website. I placed my order and three days later, my artfully packaged order arrived in a priority mail envelope!

Becca has so many fun fabrics on her site that it was hard to choose!!! I drooled over her bundle offerings; but settled on increasing my black and white stash. Although, there were a few fabrics that just "jumped" into my shopping cart. One FQ features a bird and feather in the print. I was about a chapter into our latest book club read and thought that this print might provide inspiration. The orange half yard piece might coordinate with a gifted FQ which might end up in a bag and the other half yard piece is a fabric that eventually will be a back for an extra special project!

I spent about what I saved and of course, if I'm going to get to a net loss of 50 yards of fabric used from my stash, I'm going to need to get finishing!!! I am going to have fun stitching these fabrics into wall hangings and bags though! (With these 3 1/2 yards of fabric coming into the stash, I'm 1 1/4 yard into having a net loss of 50 yards of fabric for the year!)

Thanks Becca and thanks Finish-A-Long 2017!!