“Somewhere Over the Rainbow”
The Wizard of Oz is a longtime favorite for many of us. Even today, when it comes on T.V., my mother, my daughter, or myself will text the others to let them know. We all love Dorothy, her red slippers, the songs, and the story line. I believe my daughter had a pair of the ruby red, sparkling, Dorothy shoes for a couple of years. Every time she grew out of them, we had to buy another pair (my mom was the one who started that). Both of my children have fond memories of sitting with my mother and watching that movie almost every summer they would visit. It warms their hearts and takes them back to a place in time of their childhood where they felt loved, safe, trouble-free, and happy. Who wouldn’t feel that way with a great movie, Fudgsicles, popcorn, and two grandparents that love you dearly and SPOIL YOU ROTTEN?
Are they not just beautiful?!
Ok…I have to admit, there is a bit more history with this movie than I initially remembered. When I was looking for a picture of the ruby red slippers, I realized that while I was Miss Teen Kansas (1991), we had to dress up as a character from our state. You guessed it! I was Dorothy. Well, that is a throw back. Got to love the big hair! Wow!
If you put me on the spot and ask me which of the songs from The Wizard of Oz is my favorite, I would have to say “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” It is one of my “go-tos” when I need inspiration or a “pick-me-up.” Yes, truth be told, I belt that song out when I’m alone in the house to get my inspirations flowing or just to bring a smile to my face. By the way, I am not anywhere near a Judy Garland kind of singer, but that song needs emotion behind it when you sing. It is the only way it works. You see, that song takes me to a place where I see beautiful blue skies, a rainbow in the horizon, vibrant colors of trees and flowers, the striking blue ocean against the soft, brown sand, the smell of the salty air with every breath I take in, and the calming songs of birds and crashing waves surrounding me. As you see, the ocean is my place. My honest “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” on Earth is the Outer Banks in North Carolina. It gives me peace, serenity, and truly gets my creative juices flowing. Once I am at my “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” place, quilting is productive, simple, and just feels like it is where I am supposed to be and doing what I am supposed to be doing.
However, in that creative place you can find yourself involved with many projects. This can make you feel overwhelmed, crushed for time, and simply frustrated. And for some, this definitely leads to produce unfinished objects (UFOs) and several Works in Progress (WIPs). I know I am not alone in this thought process. Anyone can see many UFOs and WIPs all over the internet in several quilting groups or on their friends FB pages. I will say, for a long time, I stood proud as one of the quilters that did not have any UFOs. But alas, I have graduated to that level. I have at least 2 UFOs, maybe 3. I question the amount, because I personally have not figured out when a WIP becomes a UFO.
My longest running UFO. This is Bonnie Hunter’s Mystery Quilt from 2 years ago. Yep, still in project boxes. Yep, still have fabric not cut for other clues. I plan to use this as a leader/ender. I seriously want to finish this.
As my personality dictates, I did some research on the exact question, “What is the difference between a WIP and a UFO?” The one thing I found that was agreed upon was the WIP. Resounding amounts of quilters suggest that a WIP is something you are actively working on. More clearly defined is every time you quilt, that is a project you are working on. However, it becomes more unclear when exactly that WIP becomes a UFO. Some say that if you have not touched it in a few months, it becomes a UFO. Some say 6 months. I have even seen some say over a year! So, what are your thoughts behind this? When do you think a WIP becomes a UFO?
As this is not very black and white, my mind begins to walk in circles. I do not want to take you on that ride that goes on in my head…you may get lost in there forever. However, in my mind, any quilt that is not finished is literally a UFO. I do understand the idea behind trying to make a distinction. We find in human behavior procrastination and not finishing a project. We all know at least one person (if not ourselves) that has started a home remodeling project and several years later, it is still half-finished. This same concept crosses into quilting. If you have not touched a project in a certain amount of time, it is in jeopardy of being forever in whatever stage it is currently in. Hence why we do not want too many UFOs. As a person that tends (key word tends) to complete the things I start, seeing the possible 3 UFOs is really kind a bothersome. I am just trying to sort out when that moment actually is that my project will forever be a UFO or if it even is a UFO. Maybe, we are finding many answers to that question because it is different for everyone. Maybe, one person can leave a project for a year and still come back and get it finished and another cannot let it sit for more than 2 months. I would love to hear your thoughts on this.
“Somewhere over the rainbow, blue birds fly….” Yep, I am singing. After realizing I have some internal sorting to do, I needed that song. You know, not only do we love the movie because it is just simply wonderful, but we love the memories that we have created around it. Quilts have that same ability to take you somewhere or remind you of someone and give you feelings of joy, happiness, and love. I truly hope you will join me in conquering our WIPs and UFOs. How do we do that? That, my quilting friends, is for another blog.
Until next time, may you continue to be inspired, productive, and joyful! And never stop making your dreams in quilting come true!
-Angel
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