Hi Reader,

Do UFO's (unfinished objects) take up space in your home as well as in your head?

Judy, one of the Snappy Scissors readers, wrote to me recently and said that she has purchased many sewing and quilting items from estate sales, including a lot of UFOs.

She then offered some ideas of what can be done if you're struggling to finish those incomplete projects.

I asked if I could share her thoughts with you, and she said yes. (Her words are in blue italics.)

I love Judy's comparison of purging our UFOs as we do with clothes.

In addition, rethinking what the final product is going to be can get your creative juices flowing.

After reading Judy's email, I thought about some of my UFOs that I haven't been excited about finishing.

One of them is a quilt top made from a kit. I'm not loving it as a quilt anymore and haven't wanted to finish it, even though I have two-thirds of the blocks made.

Judy's suggestion about making a UFO into something different from its original intention got me thinking.

I realized that once finished, this would be the perfect fabric to try my hand at making into a piece of clothing.

It doesn't have to be a quilt.

It can be a jacket, dress, or something else. And if I mess up, I won't feel guilty for wasting "good" fabric.

I'm now motivated to finish this UFO so I can play around with its clothing possibilities.

There is nothing wrong with holding on to your UFOs until you're ready to take action on finishing them or something else.

But if you have been feeling stuck and are ready to free up space in your home and mind, I encourage you to consider Judy's suggestions of either rehoming those unwanted UFOs or rethinking what they could be.

Magazine storage

Do you find yourself holding onto magazines for ideas, inspiration, or project directions?

With some magazines, I tear out the articles to keep and pass on what's left to others. With other magazines, I want to save the entire issue.

My go-to storage for those complete magazines has been magazine holders that sit on shelves.

These work great when the holder is full, but when there is some space left, the magazines' edges tend to curl a bit.

I recently found out there are magazine holders for binders. How did I not know about these?!

This discovery came from a binder of magazines I found at an estate sale.

A quick search on Amazon led to several purchase options for 3-hole magazine binder inserts. You can get a pack of 24 for around $8.

Since I already store torn-out magazine pages in binders using sheet protectors, these binder inserts for magazines will work well with that storage system.

If your current system for magazine storage doesn't make it easy for you to look through them, you may want to consider the 3-hole magazine binder inserts. They could be a game-changer.

Large projects

What's the biggest project size you've worked with, and how did it go?

Was it an experience where you told yourself, "Never again!" or was it something where you were already problem-solving on how to make it better the next time?

To the best of my recollection, the biggest projects I've done have been a little larger than a twin-size quilt. This includes both piecing the tops and quilting them on my home machine.

I wouldn't say I hated it, but I much prefer working on smaller projects that are easier to lay out on my kitchen table or maneuver under my machine.

Regardless, when my sister-in-law asked if I could make a canopy for her deck to replace the ripped one she currently has, I couldn't say no.

Her canopy style is discontinued, and she was unable to find anything that would fit the frame. Buying a new frame and canopy was an option, but she really liked the style of the one she has now because it's easy to open and close.

After careful examination, I determined that the construction of the canopy is pretty straightforward.

It's just big - 122 inches x 97 inches

Sourcing the fabric took a little sleuthing because I didn't want her to pay upwards of $25 a yard for UV-protected outdoor fabric.

I found large replacement canopies on Amazon for $41 each. It will take two to make a replacement.

The biggest challenge for working with large pieces of fabric is where to lay them out.

I don't know about you, but it's difficult for me to lay things out on the floor, crawl around, or even sit on my knees.

My mom wasn't able to get on the floor either. Her solution was to put together two 3-foot x 6-foot utility tables and set them up on risers. She had them set up all the time at her house, but I don't have the space for that.

I kept her two large tables and store them in my garage. They weigh 25 lbs each, so they are easy to set up when I need to use them.

I just push furniture out of the way and squeeze them into my living room.

It's a cluttered mess while they're up, but it works.

Even though working on large projects isn't my favorite thing. I'm happy that I have the skills to help my sister-in-law.

If you struggle with working on large projects and crawling around on the floor isn't an option, consider taking a look at the lightweight utility tables and setting them up on bed risers. (Mom got her tables from Amazon.)

Wawak - ❤️

In addition to the fabric, thread was another thing I had to consider for my sister-in-law's canopy.

It not only needs to be strong enough to hold the canopy together, but it also needs not to break down with its exposure to the sun.

I used my Wawak catalog to check out their thread selection. When I saw what I wanted, I went to their website to order.

​In a previous newsletter, I told you how much I LOVE the Wawak catalog. They have a humongous selection of all the things for people who sew.

My love of the catalog hasn't changed, but purchasing from their website enhanced the shopping experience.

When making the thread selection online, I realized how much more information was available on their website compared to the catalog.

One detail that stood out was the inclusion of the size of needle needed for the thread I was getting.

Not having to hunt down that information myself was a huge time-saver.

If you haven't shopped with Wawak before, I encourage you to visit their website and request a free catalog.

The online shopping experience is so much better when you can first flip through an actual catalog or use the index to find what you need, then go to the website for more product information before making a purchase.

I'm not affiliated with Wawak in any way. I'm just a huge fan of their product variety, detailed descriptions, and paper catalog.

That's all for now. Until next time...

P.S. Are you new to the Snappy Scissors newsletter? You can check out past issues HERE.

P.P.S. Drowning in fabric scraps? The Conquer Your Fabric Scraps Summit is coming November 9-12, 2026. Get on the waitlist HERE and be the first to be notified when registration opens.