A poem is never finished, only abandoned.
—Paul Valéry
Step by step and the thing is done.
—Charles Atlas
A painting that is well composed is half finished.
—Pierre Bonnard
Love's about finding the one person who makes your heart complete. Who makes you a better person than you ever dreamed you could be.
—Julia Quinn in The Viscount Who Loved Me
If it were done, when 'tis done, then 'twere well it were done quickly.
—William Shakespeare
An artist never really finishes his work, he merely abandons it.
—Paul Valéry
A major problem in the development of Elias Howe's sewing machine was the location of the eye of the needle. The inventor was rapidly running out of money and ideas when one night he had a peculiar dream. He was being led to his execution for failing to design a sewing machine for the king of a strange country. He was surrounded by guards, all of whom carried spears that were pierced near the head. Realizing instantly that this was the solution to his problem, Howe woke up and rushed straight to his workshop. By nine o'clock that morning, the design of the first sewing machine was well on the way to completion.
—Bartlett's Book of Anecdotes