Tuesday, June 19, 2018

Finally Getting Quilty 365 Finished!

My quilty 365 quilt is finished. Yay for me! Completely hand quilted of course, how could I do otherwise with this particular quilt? It's become a favorite of favorites, representing a year in the life of my long-lived quilting journey. This project was started in October of 2015 and early the next month I invited others to join me in the fun.
The center of Quilty 365
Some eagerly jumped right in and others waited for the new year to start. It was a roller coaster sort of project, but always intriguing to imagine the end result. So many different options when we all considered layout!
A year long journey!
There were so many gorgeous and super unique quilts made from this prompt that it just blew our minds. Creativity should never be surprising, but somehow most of us never expected the many and varied variations. How could such a simple idea explode into so many different interpretations? Too, I was always sort of bemused that as many quilters choosing to play along as did. Many dropped out as the linkup continued on, but there were a few determined gals who made it all the way to the quilt top stage! {And others who finished later or broke it down into smaller blocks and finished more than one!} A dedicated year long project is hard to maintain....
So glad to see the value changes...
My circles started out as offerings from the overflowing scrap bin, but later on, moved into more snazzy choices from the stash totes. There are a few repeats when it comes to the scrap bin circles, but nothing very obvious. Basically, the scrap bin got booooring so it was time to try something different. And then later, I realized that I absolutely adored the scrappy circles, even more so than the solid fabric ones. Huh. How's that for being obstinate....
And the darker border....
Somewhere towards the end of the year, I took a month or so and started choosing greens and blues with a black background. Just for the comfort and serenity of working with greens and blues and also, to limit my choices. I love how that ended up being a focal point of the quilt, adding some excellent value and depth {plus a nifty border look{, but also, creating a space for the center to react to and glow. Don't you just love a good glow in a quilt?

Quilty 365 feels like a good finish!
Who knew my quilt could end up so very happy looking? If you look closely there are definitely circles that are very dull and dreary looking, no doubt representing a day that was quite glum. That was one thing I never worried excessively about, whether or not all the colors and fabrics would play nicely together at the end. Somehow I felt confident that it would end up looking the way it was meant to be. Warts and all, this is real life embedded deeply into my quilt! And yes, it was leap year, so there's actually 366 circles in all. The name 'Quilty 365' was never meant to say anything other than 'this is my quilty year'.
Vintage Red getting close to a finish....
Now I have another quilt {Vintage Red} with the binding sewn on by machine and ready for that final hand stitching. It will be the 8th finish of the year, which does feel pretty good.
Hey Grandma next up in the hoop!
 As all of you know, I can't bear for the hoop to be empty for long. After an annoying session of sandwiching and pinning last week, I'm finally looking down at 'Hey Grandma' in the hoop. I went ahead and stitched in the ditch {with my trusty Bernina} between all the blocks and now I'm coming back and doing some hand quilting around the applique.
A good place for hand stitching...
It's not nearly as exciting a quilt as the previous two, but it does have its own charm and whimsy. Working with color is always extremely fascinating to me, but as usual, using a predominance of greens continues to mystify. I just haven't found the secret of secrets yet. Must be why I keep giving all the quilts heavy on greens away! Once I finally get it right, you can believe that I will melt into a big 'ol squishy marshmallow--probably feel very proprietary and never, ever give that particular quilt away....

35 comments:

  1. Such a pretty quilt. I adore it. I was one of those starting this project. But then I was out of background fabric, and the circles are still in a box. Your pictures may get them back on my table again. Thank you!

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  2. And GLOW your 365 does! Love it! And there are still Quilty 365 quilts in the hoop awaiting finishing, well at least one, lol! Maybe by the end of the year. Your finish is such an inspiration to get back to work on mine, thank you!

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  3. Your quilty 365 has come together so beautifully - thanks for starting so many of us off on that particular journey. I quite miss having a daily project, and might start something similar again next year.

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  4. Quilty 365 is a beauty!! Your eight finishes so far this year is staggering - congratulations, you deserve a medal!

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  5. I love your 365 quilt, well done for persevering with it. One day when my other projects are finished I think I'd like to do something like this.

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  6. I was so excited to see your finished 365 quilt. I didn't start mine until September of 2016 and I finished up EVERY SINGLE DAY through the end of August 2017. The circles have been languishing in a box as I've worked on other things and contemplated what I should do with all those circles. I love your final quilt - the black background circles are outstanding. Did you use all of the 365 blocks in this quilt? If not, how many did you use? Also, what size is it? You have inspired me to "get with it" and make some decisions on the quilt and get it finished! Thank you. And, AGAIN, thank you for organizing the Challenge. I loved it and can not wait to see my finished project(s).

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  7. That centre really does glow! Love your pieced circles too. 8 quilts this year - amazing!! How about giving yourself the challenge of not using any green for a while?? 😉

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  8. I am SO glad that you chose to invite all of us along on the Quilty 365 journey. I love my quilt so much -- and yours is extra wonderful for lots of reasons. (and I love green, too)

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  9. It looks fabulous Audrey - such a great quilt with so much sewn into it. The texture looks amazing - perfect to curl up in - maybe in a few months though... :0) I'm excited to see your finished Vintage Red.

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  10. I just love how you centered the reds and put the blue-greens around as borders...I still have my 39 blocks languishing in my drawer of WIPS -- waiting...hugs, Julierose

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  11. This is just fab and very inspirational. I may have to do one some time for fun nd to work through the scraps. x

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  12. Love the quilts, the 365 is beautiful. I have thought about joining but didn't. I simply have to many projects going on. And the quilt in the hoop looks lovely. Warm greetings

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  13. I love the texture you have made in the your 365 quilt...mine is yet to be quilted, but the top is done!!

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  14. Audrey, thank you for the Quilty 365 challenge. It was a fun quilt. Yours is beautiful with its carefully crafted arrangement of blocks.

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  15. Your Quilt 365 is incredible. Your vision for this project was perfect. The center does glow and the darker backgrounds for the circles was genius for creating a border. You even went the extra step to piecing some of the circles adding another layer of interest. Fabulous.

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  16. Ok. So I've got to go get those little circle blocks and do something fun with them! They were such a pleasure to make! Thanks so the inspiration!!

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  17. I absolutely hate all that laying out backing, batting, & top, then pin basting it all in place. However, then let the good times roll ... or let the needle rock, as we quilters might say. Great finishes and here we go again!

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  18. I love how you did the setting for the 365 quilt. And the center part with the words is the icing on the cake. I like the dark band with circles. I think yours is the best 365 setting I have seen.

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  19. Congrats on your fun finish! I didn't sew along but it was so fun to see so many varieties!!

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  20. Audrey, I love following your blog. I love your quilts and your style. I really hope you will again put many of your quilts in the NCWQG show this year which is in August. Deadline for entry is in July. I hope we get to see your work in person again. Thanks, Jill

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    1. Thank you so much Jill! I couldn't find your email, but I much appreciate your encouragement to enter in the show.:)

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  21. Congratulations on finishing your circle quilt, and so beautifully too. Yes it does glow. I'm still working on mine, off and on! Your current quilt is lovely too.

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  22. Absolutely wonderful. I make mine along the year 2016, quilted and on the bed. It's one of my favorites and I agree with all you say about this quilt along. Your work is so inspirational, when will you start another one with us ? XXX

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  23. I adore your Quilty 365! I was one of the drop-outs, but recently I've been thinking of a way to start back up again, acknowledging the hiatus and stitching onward.
    I know what you mean about working with greens. They're so hard - riding the cusp between warm and cool, and just refusing to behave. I'm currently wrestling with some greens that keep sliding off into lime-iness when I want them to stay cooler.

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  24. Another winner! And, love those flowers. Always amazing.

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  25. I'm so impressed you hand-quilted yours - but that was definitely the right way to go - it looks wonderful!!
    Thanks again for inspiring this project. I went back and re-read all my Quilty 365 blog posts and had fun remembering all the daily circles. Mine still isn't quilted, but it will get there, eventually.

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  26. So Beautiful your 365 circles. Love your colour choice. I wished I could finish mine but I'm awfully stuck.

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  27. Fantastic to see this finished - it's a cracker! I love green but don't use it so much. But I am always drawn to your colour schemes so I am going to try and collect some more green fabrics.

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  28. It's so wonderful to see Quilty 365 ready for bed Audrey. This was a great idea and it was fun to see how everyone had their own interpretation of the challenge.

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  29. It funny, I started the Quilty 365/366 in the new year after seeing yours. I gave up on it at the end of June and keep thinking of it on and off. Recently I've decided that I'm going to get back on it on July 1 this year and finish it off.

    You've done a lovely job on yours, thanks for the inspiration.

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  30. To your reference to the duller blocks in your 365: A good vintage quilt was made the same way. It wasn't a good recipe to make all the blocks sparkle. Some had to be just average to make the special ones really stand out, and they still do. I've really enjoyed looking at this particular quilt of yours. I'm intrigued how open ended the project was, and the beauty it inspired. Your quilt is lovely!

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  31. Congrats on the 365 finish! I loved doing a circle a day along with you. (I'm thinking of doing another 365 but different shape). You have inspired me to get mine out and get it quilted. I love how yours turned out.

    Love the whimsy and red of Vintage Red.

    And I think you (and I) will love Hey Grandma when all is said and done. What's not to love about Grandma???

    After these you need a few new starts or at least a box of chocolates!

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  32. just popping in now to catch up - we got home a couple days ago from our month long on the road trip on which I read very few blogs as the wifi was never quite strong enough to load them all - love your quilt! I love the way you designed the color in it and it was a fun quilt to make - I'm glad you mentioned it and that I had jumped on the bandwagon.

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  33. Well I was one of the people that entered in to your circle project so of course I am thrilled to see your finish! :)

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