A work avoidance rant

I should be working; I have a lot to do, and with the advancing nasty weather, there is an outside chance we may be sent home early (though that is relative; if they send us home at three, I've already put in more than a full day, but less than I plan to do).

Instead, a mild rant.

I belong to a Facebook group committed to finishing quilt-related UFOs (Unfinished Fabric Objects). It's run by one of the big quilting magazines. To make things fun, in December they have us list twelve UFOs, numbered one through twelve. At the start of every month, the people at the magazine draw a number, and that is the number you are to work on completing in that month.

It's a loose group; we know things come up and priorities change, but most people try to at least play along as much as they can. The fun part is seeing pictures of the progress everyone has made.

The administrators usually release the January number around December 27th, to give people a running start for the year. I've no object to this, in fact, I find it helpful as I'm generally on vacation at that time and can spend quite a bit of time sewing.

Here is my two part rant:

1. There are people who will announce "Finished!" within hours of the number of the month being announced. No, that "hours" is not an exaggeration. What do these people do, keep quilts on hand that only need a couple of stitches on them to be completed? This is not a race; there are no prizes for being the first one finished in a month.

2. This is the one that drives me insane. At some time around the middle of the month, you will see the following: "I'm so excited for the February number!" "What do you think the February number will be?!!" No kidding - the first comment was actually posted on the board on January 20th.

This ticks me off on two levels. First, this (and the thirty similar comments on the post) is a not-so-subtle attempt to pressure the mods into releasing the February number early (most likely so these people can be the ones who get to post "Finished!" an hour after the release).

It's also a bit discouraging to those of us who cannot eat, breathe and sleep quilting. I've a challenging full time job, a condo to keep up and a couple of other hobbies. I'm looking forward to retirement when I'll have more time to quilt, but for now, any progress at all is something to celebrate. The people who push for an early number draw must be related to the people who put Christmas stuff out in the retail stores right after Labor Day.

Bah.

I'm trying really hard to just enjoy the process and celebrate the finishes when (sometimes, I swear that should be "if") they come. I'm genuinely happy to see all the pictures of completed tops and quilts. But I don't need to feel like I'm somehow "behind" or "less than" or not really part of the group because I simply do.not.have that much time available.

So, that's my rant. What's up with you today?