You can see the little movie here. His idea is that if you do the most hideous thing on your to-do list first thing in the morning, the rest of your day will only be better. I like this idea and have used it to face up to tasks that are distasteful or painful. Just get it done so that the rest of the day you don't have to spend thinking about it, and in fact you can feel proud that you were able to complete something difficult.
I was reminded of it again when I read this blog post from Debra. She was being held up in progressing on her project by birds' feet. Yep... those darn bird feet! So tiny and hard to sew. Once she finished the feet, the energy of the project cleared up, and everything flowed more smoothly through to completion.
My current FROG is my June UFO. I will just chop off the side triangles, but I don't know what to do with the bottom of the braids. Cut them off? Insert triangles? Blue triangles? Scraps? To meet the end of the month deadline, I needed to make a decision. Any decision. I just have to eat the frog and get that done to make progress on this thing.
Do you have a frog you have to eat? What's the 'bird feet' on your project?
We just need to get it done!
21 comments:
Love that phrase! So descriptive! I try and do the jobs I don't want to early in the day but give myself a reward time (sewing, tv, whatever!) afterwards. Childish perhaps, but it works for me! Hope you make a decision on your braids soon - whatever you decide will be fine!
It;s what ever look you like - I've done braids both ways. WIth the triangles on each end and with just the top and actually with none at all.
So true. I use the reward system - I picked up the kitchen = sewing time! I tend to get a lot of sewing time for little housework =)
You could chop the bottom of the braids to "square" the quilt and continue with a "regular" border or you might add blue strips (instead of triangles) and THEN chop them off to create a blue border WITHOUT having to worry about triangles. Good luck with your decision!
My frog is machine quilting today! I have to pin borders in place and extend the machine quilting that was done on a longarm ...into these newly added borders.On two sides I only have to do one motif, but on the other two sides...I have to do a whole row of quilting!!! YIKES but off to the dentist I go first...I will do anything to postpone machine quilting even getting a tooth filled!!
It all depends on how long the quilt needs to be. If chopping the bottom off makes it still a good size- go for it! My Frog is getting downstairs and actually turning on my Quilting machine after I load a quilt. I can't decide which one to finish next.
What a great idea. My 'frog' is a super king sized quilt I need to finish quilting. It's a commission and I don't like anything about it so keep putting it off. Perhaps I'll make myself do a certain length of time on it each day before rewarding myself with 'nice' quilting
What a great idea. My 'frog' is a super king sized quilt I need to finish quilting. It's a commission and I don't like anything about it so keep putting it off. Perhaps I'll make myself do a certain length of time on it each day before rewarding myself with 'nice' quilting
I love this idea! My 'frog' is getting my sewing room organized. I recently moved and went from an 18 x 40 ft stand along building to a 10 x 10 room for sewing/quilting!!! Can you say DOWN SIZED! It's overwhelming. I'm getting there though! I think I'll go work on that room now. Thanks for the inspiration!
If this were mine I would add dark triangles to the bottom. If they need to be scrappy, so be it. Then I would add a dark cream inner border and a wide outer border. But it is your's so Kathy, make that darn decision!! LOL My frog is 3 quilt backs that need to be made and then 3 quilts that need to be basted. With our temp headed to near 100 this week, I think the frog will be eaten.
rather than eat i would prefer to stomp on him and then rip the flesh from his bones...just sayin'...lol
Never heard the "eat that frog" phase. We deep fried frog legs so it would be a treat and not getting something over with. LOL! But I do understand what you mean. Sometimes doing bird legs for applique can be a bit challenging. If it is going to be too fussy, I might go with wool for the legs and make it much simpler.
If I were making the braid quilt and already had the blue triangles at the top, I would add the blue triangles to the bottom.
Great philosophy and one I'm keen to try out!! I like the idea of doing a frog, then off out for a walk and back into the sewing room feeling fresh and ready to go! Have fun with your braid, something I've not yet done but must try one day.
I've never heard the frog quote either but it's a good plan! Oftentimes its a small frog we keep avoiding because we think it's big:)
I'd like triangles at the bottom, but either way it has to be trimmed for borders, right?
Go with your gut...because honestly, all the options would look good! I like those braids, and if it needs to be bigger, slap some borders on it! LOL
I have never heard it put quite that way, but have long understood the concept of getting the most unpleasant things done first so they don't hang over you all day. My problem is that I am home so randomly, then the "chores" (aka frogs) have to get done and there is little, if any, time left to sew. The frogs seem to get the bulk of my time at home. : )
I would add the triangles too. I want to make one of these some day.
I love this idea. And I do have a few frogs.
Kathy, Thanks for the shout out and link to my blog. It is true that sometimes we really get hung up on one aspect that derails our entire quilt! My frog... another pair of bird feet and a beak! But I am going to stick with it! I feel like I am back on track.. at least until the next derailment! LOL
I feel like I have spent the last year or so eating frogs...ugh! Especially now mid-move. Thank you for the reminder of this concept. It is so true...the days I procrastinate are wasted days ALL DAY! I have a partial braid piece hanging around somewhere in my stash...I look forward to seeing how you eat your frog!
What a great concept! Maybe I can have mine with a bit of sugar, frogs are so tart.
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