What’s your UFO situation? I’ve got tons of them (unfinished objects). They are all resting quietly in neatly labeled boxes in a closet waiting for their shot. My plan is to work my way through everything this summer. So ambitious. And working my way through does not necessarily mean finishing. Abandoning/letting go is also a valid choice. Finished or permanently let go they will be removed from the shadowy edges of my mind. Forever.
It’s a good thing I’m in a very sewy mood because the pile of stuff to finish is huge.
Let’s start with birds. I’ve got lots of almost done birds plus a little collection I’m making for Fortuny (they’ll be available there this fall).
find the songbird sewing pattern here
Pro Tip: I’ve been coloring the beaks with sharpy. The wood absorbs the color really well and it has a little translucency. After it’s dry just a little polishing with a soft cloth gives it a beautiful waxy sheen – super realistic.
And the summer scroll continues. I love this project and I’m probably going to end up with 2 or three scrolls by labor day. Committing to a thing but not putting a lot of pressure on it is a creativity sweet spot. The mini size helps too. Stitch club members are making lots of super imaginative scrolls – I’ll share some on the blog soon.
The latest entry in my scroll commemorates the soggiest spring ever. The garden is so sad. I added fertilizer a couple days ago – organic fish fertilizer. It’s the worst thing I ever smelled in my life. By far. It’s as if somebody mixed up all the bad smells in a bucket and then left it out in the sun for a week. I hope it helps the pale pole beans and stunted peppers and tomatoes.
More UFO’s – rag dolls. Mostly circus folk and captains. These are super fun to finish – they just need little details. And as I work on patterns this summer I’ll be producing lots more (the elephant pattern is already available and all the other animal patterns and the captain are in progress now). As dolls get finished I’ll add them to the shop.
The first sample sale will be next week ( I’m thinking Thursday and I’ll update this post with the time and date when I know for sure). And I’ll send an email when the shop is stocked
UPDATE – the doll sale will be noonish- eastern time on Monday 6/30
Do you have some UFO’s in your closet? Is your garden soggy? Let us know in the comments.
Onward!
ann
PS – I got the wordle in 2 today!
I love your work so much! I tell everyone about you! I save your newsletters for a pick me up when the worldly chaos needs to be quieted. You have a wonderful talent for making unexpected beauty and joy from simple things (picnic bugs or handmade root vegetables)!
Go you, on the Wordle!
No soggy garden here, but the unfinished aplenty. I call my unfinished projects…..unfins….! I recently found some really old unfins and I can see my original vision…..hopefully they will become “fins”. Marty B in Chantilly, VA
Thanks so much Catherine! I’m so happy to hear it. and thanks on the wordle- I get ridiculously excited about it.
This was an excellent thing to read this weekend: ” And working my way through does not necessarily mean finishing. Abandoning/letting go is also a valid choice. Finished or permanently let go they will be removed from the shadowy edges of my mind. Forever.” One question – when you “let them go” do you just throw them out?
I have some UFOs quietly waiting in my closet —
Three elegant rag dolls, inspired by the 18th century,
a time of shawls, whispered secrets, and gentle resilience.
Each wears a delicate crochet shawl
and soft arm warmers, lovingly made by hand.
They were born from scraps and stitched with stories,
in a moment when my inspiration slowly returned,
after a long, silent pause.
Every imperfection holds the beauty
of something truly handmade.
Soon, they’ll step into the light.
They sound absolutely beautiful! Would love to see what they look like and hear their stories….
Hello Christina, Thank you so much—
I’d love to share their stories and gentle faces soon.
Each one holds a quiet magic,
woven with dreams and little moments.
Affectionate greetings, Marilina
Hi Marilina,
I have always loved dolls – especially dolls with garments and accessories made by hand.
Your comments resonate with me. Ann’s many projects and patterns shared in her newsletter often serve as a lifeline for me reminding me that slowing down and focusing on a creative project brings me peace and inspiration. What a gift.
Hi Rhonda, Thank you so much for your kind words. It means a lot to connect with someone who also finds joy and calm in handmade dolls and the little details that bring them to life.
I completely agree—Ann’s newsletter feels like a gentle invitation to pause, create, and reconnect with what matters. It’s comforting to know we’re not alone in that.
Warm wishes, Marilina
Hello Ann – I rarely have anything to say, but love love love your writing. Especially when you share about your creative hurdles & how you work thru or as you say choose to let go. Oddly synchronous for me, this blog post, as I literally just had a breakthrough on how to handle my WIPs & UFOs, and yes, decluttering is also an option. So this is a bit of a Oh yes I am right there too sort of post but also a thank you. You and your courage to live your creative life to the full inspire me so much. Thank you ❤️ Lynne
Thanks so much Lynne!
Oh gosh, sooooo many UFOs here. Stashed away in drawers and boxes, waiting for their chance to either be finished or made into something completely new, as time permits and inspiration hits. Feels so good when one is finally “done”. It helps to know I’m not alone in this tho! And in between working on them, all I want to do is keep making fabric vessels from your wonderful tutorial!!
Thanks Lois! I’m feeling the call of the vessels too – so addictive!
Reading your blog quiets my noisy brain. Whenever I spy the email, I click it open. My shoulders relax; my cheeks rise. I eagerly push the mouse button to be whisked to ten minutes of happiness. It is a welcome reality of the joys of simple things in a messy world.
I love your approach to UFOs!!!! Yes, I have lots of them. You point of view is heartening and just my put me on the path the working on mine.
I will watch for your note next week about new things in your shop.
Congrats on Wordle in two! Every morning I do Wordle, Key Word and Connections. I am on a good streak with Wordle. connections is tons harder for me.
UFOs abound.
“Finished or permanently let go they will be removed from the shadowy edges of my mind. Forever.” So good!
I liked that too.
You did well. Wordle took me 4 today.
I JUST finished my report cards and my house needs so much attention. I’ve been knitting squares for Frankie Brown’s Oblong Blanket and planning a collaborative stitching project for our community craft and music fair. Summer holidays are just around the corner and I have soooo many projects in my hopes/plans!
Here’s a long, but serendipitous story about what I’m working on:
On my work table are 2 Dastardly Owls. An interior designer friend of mine (from Dallas) bumped into me at a trade show in NC and asked me to make a Crow for him like the one I had made for his cousin. I asked him if he liked owls, and with an incredulous look on his face he said, “Do I like owls?? Why would you ask me THAT??” And I said because that’s what I’m working on now. Then he explained that he is the designer for a new cozy, family restaurant in Texas called “The Owl”, and he’s been on ebay buying up every owl thing he can find to use for decor. The restaurant is near the town’s high school where their mascot is “the fighting owl” and happens to also be the school I graduated from WAY back in 1972 when I lived in Texas! Crazy!
So…he’s asked me to make 2 owls that he will attach to the bases of 2 lamps on either end of the bar. He will also display my graduation picture alongside! I so love the magic of serendipity!!!
I absolutely love all you designs and have made many of them. I am patiently waiting for the rest of the circus collection to join my elephant!
Just love all your creativity. Having just moved from house to apartment, I’m still looking for my ufo’s! I’ll catch up one of these days.
Oh yes, UFO,s and UFWAC ( unfinished workshops and classes.) I made a commitment to myself in January not to start or buy any new creative anything till I cleared the queue. But then I had bronchitis and felt sorry for myself and bought your 3 ship pattern. So here are my ships all painted and waiting for sales, I got well before I finished. I liked your post awhile ago about putting projects in labeled boxes, still need to try that. So do you have a way of getting through them other than just make a list and check it off? A way to trick myself ? Or does it just boil down to willpower and discipline?
Oh my, the UFO’s I have! Found some I had forgotten when we had a little flood in our basement due to a pump failure. Luckily no serious damage done but I had to adjust my storage system. I too have shelves of UFO’s in boxes. In May I started seriously working on some. I made two window valances out of a linen/lace tablecloth received as a wedding present 59 years ago!
Thank you Ann and all of you for sharing about UFOS… 🙂 Yes, knowing that I’m not alone and that’s ok to have some…And so happy about the circus collection!
Love your musings and writing style! Wondering what you mean by “for Fortuny” as you speak about your birds. What with Fortuny do with them? I have been doing some snippet rolls, now gifted, but much fun to stitch.
Thanks for your excellent work.
Bonjour, I stumbled on your newsletter ages ago and am a fan thank you for your inspiration, I have UFOS everywhere, but more worryingly boxes of finished needlework, knitted blankets, those triangle hanging things I got hooked on, half finished paintings, fabric eggs, zip purses, drawstring bags, patchwork quilts that knitted village of houses even a knitted manoir- the list is long like the fabric, lace and trimmings 60 years of treasures, I cannot bear to part with – but the pleasure and escape from this world I get and have had cannot be replaced.
Last September I took an embroidery course with Nicki Franklin of The Stitchery……amazing course. Throughout the weekend we were all sharing other things we have made. I brought in one your Owl’s Ann. Nicki knew right away it was your pattern! We both have the crow pattern and thought maybe we would try and make them together…..both of us being on different continents!
I truly love your news letter, patterns, and recipes! I look forward to it and it really does make my day! Thank you for sharing all that you do!
I got here via your newsletter (fabulous, as always); where you mentioned Ann Smith. I just discovered Aher a week or two ago. To me, her birds look like a 2-D version of yours. Now I’m undecided as to which to try first! Such lovely a lovely dilemma to have………
Yes, there are UFO’s aplenty. But even more things that are only an idea (OAI’s?), and haven’t even been started yet: quilt color ways, blank pages of a future stitch book, just the right fabric for a moss embroidery, clothing to be altered or embellished, fabric for skirts and tops, a vague idea of a doll collection – and not enough courage to jump in or learn the right skills. Just last week, a new idea jumped to the top of – a Jane Austen quilt to commemorate the 100th anniversary of her birth. UFO’s and OAI’s will have to wait.
Ah, yes- UFO’s!
I just finished two- the little reindeer ornament and a knitted fox.
Other’s await- mostly quilts that need tying or quilting.
I blame FOMO- so many ideas, so little time.
We have a Little Library on our property and I may put some small projects in there.
Always love your posts!
Soggy garden? So much heavy rain and some hail yesterday has wilted my lettuce …I hope it recovers. However, we are under a winter snow advisory until tomorrow … geez… it’s almost July!
UFO’s? A life-time of them from dolls to quilts to say nothing of those cute circus animal I want to start!
I have fried green tomatoes on the vine after several days of 100 to 115 temps here in tucson az! Oh well. Letting go of expectations as well as UFO’s is so true. Going to check out some quilt tops after I get started on a new project (or 2)
I just finished your little elephant. In reading the newsletter, I’ve realized I have sewn him up differently! Obviously, I did not read all the directions!
I’ve sewn him to look in front.
was a fun sew!
Love your scrolls! I do similar scrolls with random stitching that I call meditations. I stick them onto suspender hardware so a simple nail can hold one on a wall.