I love to use Bonnie Hunter’s idea of beginners and enders.  I start with cutting a stack of 5” or 6” squares and stack them by my sewing area.  If I have a special pattern in mind, I will separate the squares into separate stacks.  For example, half square triangles.  As I sew my main project, I will start each sewing session with a beginner and stop with an ender.  Before long I have enough blocks sewn together for strips and then a quilt top.  Usually I keep the beginner/ ender project small for baby quilts.  I then donate the completed top to my local guild for finishing and then to the local head start program.

I fool like I get two gold stars, one for the donation and the second by getting some unused fabric out of my sewing room.  We all have pieces that we liked in the store, we’re given as handy-downs, or pieces left over from a previous project that we just don’t know what to do with.  Try giving yourself two gold stars!