If you’re like millions of other quilters, chances are you have had to burn the midnight oil on more than one occaision to get a quilt done in time for it to be gifted — or gave the gift quilt weeks or months later. (Apologies to my brother for his 3 year wait for his 50th birthday quilt – ed.)

Instead, take a leaf from the time management experts: get a huge headstart and make gift quilts when you have time or an idea, and then store them until they’re needed! You know when your nieces and nephews will graduate, when your child will have a milestone birthday, and even that hypothetical babies will eventually be born. You can make the crib quilt tops far ahead of time and store them away until needed. You can make a graduation present months or years ahead. It’s easy to make several crib quilts in a variety of colors to have on hand for a quick gift.

The one drawback to this plan is if you really love to personalize the quilt to the lucky recipient’s requests you’ll still be rushing to finish that in time. But having some quilts or at least quilt tops on hard can really take the pressure off you.

Don’t wait until the last minute! Start today on a quilt you know you’ll want to gift next year–and have a chance to live with and admire it until called for.