I've noticed there's a lot of quilting lingo out there. Some of the terms I like, some not so much. WIP (Work In Progress) is fine, normal everyday. UFO (UnFinished Object) on the other hand.... Not my favorite. I choose not to use it. (HST [Half Square Triangles], by the way, I quite enjoy.)

My sewing work generally breaks down like this:

I always have one or two quilts that I'm really working on at any given moment. Those I don't even consider WIPs bc they are active and getting done. These quilts could be in almost any state of progress. I like to have a few since I sew everything by hand. My hands tend to get tired but not my mind. I need one quilt getting pieced and also one getting quilted or bound. That way, when my hands start to hurt, or I have to give my callouses a day to rest, I can switch up the type of sewing that I'm doing.

Next I have my ongoings. Little projects that aren't fully formed in my mind, or scrap projects. These are often littered about, sometimes easy to find and add to, sometimes not. These probably don't have a clear ending in mind. When they do, they will most likely move into the first category. Until then, these could be considered WIPs.

Then there are the theoreticals. These are sometimes stacks I've pulled or stacks I'm adding to. Or fabric I'm just not using bc it seems to have a quilt waiting for it, eventually. Most times, these are only ideas I have for quilts. These really cannot be considered WIPs, bc they don't usually even exist. Yet.

And lastly, I have the stalled quilts. These are mostly what I really think of as my WIPs. These are mostly quilts that I had to stop bc I didn't have the right fabric for them, or I got to a point where I wasn't sure what to do next, or didn't have the space to complete the next step. Occasionally, these are quilts that I just stopped bc I didn't feel like working on them. Not long ago, I was able to photograph some of this kind of WIPs.

I started this quilt late last Summer, or during the Fall. I had some reclaimed bright feed sack squares and wanted a really bright vibrant quilt to showcase them. I started making blocks with lots of little fiddly bits and all the yellow I could fi… — I started this quilt late last Summer, or during the Fall. I had some reclaimed bright feed sack squares and wanted a really bright vibrant quilt to showcase them. I started making blocks with lots of little fiddly bits and all the yellow I could find. I made six blocks and started putting them together, but ran out of the right yellows and the motivation.

This is a quilt I worked on last Fall while working on another that has since been completed. Also using reclaimed blocks, I finished this top pretty quickly, but have stalled out on the back. For many of my quilts I wait to find just the right fabr… — This is a quilt I worked on last Fall while working on another that has since been completed. Also using reclaimed blocks, I finished this top pretty quickly, but have stalled out on the back. For many of my quilts I wait to find just the right fabric to finish. And since I get most of my materials vintage or thrifted, this could take a long time.

This poor little guy has been waiting a very long time to finish. Started in AZ at my BFF's house in 2010, this mini only needs the quilting and binding finished.  I chose a particularly annoying quilting pattern for this quilt, then lost the t… — This poor little guy has been waiting a very long time to finish. Started in AZ at my BFF's house in 2010, this mini only needs the quilting and binding finished. I chose a particularly annoying quilting pattern for this quilt, then lost the thread I was using, then, who knows.... One day, it will get done.

Every once in a while, I pull out these WIPs (plus more. But not too many more...) to look at, remember, or to see if anything in my stash has become usable for. These three may be doomed to stay in the pile, tho, at least for the time being. Just bc I'm not picking up these projects doesn't mean I'm not sewing! I'm making more WIPs all the time.