A great idea for UFO hoarders...

I was talking to a long-time customer of mine yesterday (Cindy), and she mentioned a group of friends she belongs to with a great way of finishing off those dreaded UFO's (UnFinished Objects ... also known as that stack of projects you have in the closet, your dresser, smashed into a basket, you get the picture.)

This group gets together once a month to stitch (including quilting, needlework, whatever.) At the start of a year (and you could start any month), every participant puts $10.00 in the pot. And you have to select twelve projects that you have started, but not finished. You commit to finishing all of them, one per month, for a year. Each month, you either bring your finished UFO, or, you have to put another $5.00 in the pot.

At the end of the year, the group uses all of the money in the pot to go out to dinner. But wouldn't it be fun to do pedicures/manicures? Spa treatments? Donate the money to the group's favorite cause?

Cindy said it's a great excuse to get together and snack/eat good food. Plus, she said in the past few years, she has finished all but ONE of her UFO's for the year. And since UFO's apply to more than just cross stitchers (how about scrap bookers, knitters, quilters, rug hookers, needlepointers), you could have a mixed group of friends and still have fun.

Don't have a group of friends to get together with? Make this a challenge for yourself! Start with $10 at the beginning of the year, and pull out 12 UFO's. Give yourself a month to finish each one, and each month put $5.00 in the pot if you don't finish that month's project. At the end of the year, treat yourself to a massage, or, if you're a diligent stitcher, a burger and fries.