This One Feels Like a Keeper

It feels so good to get this particular quilt finished and washed up before Thanksgiving. All along, I've had the hardest time photographing this quilt. The yellow just keeps getting louder depending on where the light hits it!

Quarter Circles Round #2 all finished up!

Had to get most of the holiday baking done today before giving myself permission to get sidetracked on the computer. Quilts may be very high on my priority list but the rest of the family wants their pumpkin pie cold when they get up tomorrow morning.

Never underestimate the power of adding quilting stitches....

It's been a long crazy year, but we have so much to be thankful for. Don't want to ever lose sight of that do we?

It may have started out as a mistake, but this layout
looks like it was always meant to be!

Reading and hearing about the wildfire devastation in California is just heartbreaking. Honestly I can only take so much before I have to turn away. Lori over at Humble Quilts has a wonderful way that we can help out some of our fellow quilters in that area.

Yellow isn't my favorite color but it's definitely
worth playing with....

It may seem silly to some. Worry about sending quilting supplies to people who have been burned out of their homes? But quilting is extremely therapeutic to those who are used to having it in their lives. Very few people will feel free to use any hard won recovery/insurance money on 'hobbies'. From experience with close friends and relatives who have been there, I know they will tell you that they struggle with feeling good about spending money on anything but absolute necessities.

Something about this quilt....

Just sending a little bit can make that decision easier for them and help them get a good start on regaining such a positive and important part of their lives. Money is very tight for me this time of year, but it costs nothing out of pocket to dig around in my quilt room and come up with a small care package of quilty goodness. The only cost then is postage!

Loving all the  imperfect circles

I'll never forget how good quilters in our country {and around the world!} were to my own mother several years ago. She has never forgotten that outpouring of love and kindness from so many good hearted persons. And now I'll get off my soapbox. Truly, this is not what I normally do as I just assume that people give as they see a need, and usually do so quietly and from the heart--no prompting needed. Please don't feel any pressure or expectation from here, and definitely don't feel like you need to tell me one way or another what you choose to do. That's your private business and we're all perfectly okay with that.

Getting back to my fabulous yellow quilt now. It's been a very happy finish. In fact I can safely say that I adore it now after so many ups and downs during the making of it. So many great fabrics in it that really melt my heart! Must be the perfect mix of sweet and sassy. As you can see, I kept the quilting really straightforward and simple. So many times it feels kind of lame and pathetic {in a comparison sort of way}, but in the end, that's the stitching that resonates so emphatically with me. It's good to do the things that we love the most. To finish up and nod our heads. Yep, this one is a keeper!

Quilty 365 Quilt Top Linkup and Giveaway!

Remember the year long Quilty 365 journey? So much fun and yet, surprisingly tough to get through there towards the end. Wowsers! I have to admit, my daily inspiration fabric became weekly {or sometimes biweekly} and always came with a rapid pileup of stitching to catch up on.

One month of circles!

But we made it! 366 days of circles including the Leap Day circle. Once I completed the quilt top, it got stuck in my quilt top drawers and hasn't made a peep since. I've seriously thought about pulling it out later this year and getting it to a true-blue finish, but there are lots of projects in front of it for now. We'll see how the year plays out and talk later!

I have been amazed and inspired by all the wonderful participation. So humbling. Love all the creativity shown and how it showcases many great quilting personalities! It made the whole year better, getting to share and see how others were coming along with their own quilty 365 journeys. I quite enjoyed all the quirks and personal touches! Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who stuck with this simple project. It may look like just another circle quilt in a world of many, but we know better. These particular circle quilts have heart and soul.

Finally, a quilt top!

Somewhere along the way I promised a giveaway for the die-hard circlers who made it through to the bitter end. It's a special quilt, especially if you stitched through all the ups and downs of the seasons. Lots of memories wrapped up in this project already!

So here's the details for the first giveaway: If you have a quilt top finish {a flimsy or a totally completed quilt is okay too}, then please link up below so we can all admire it! We want to see your amazing layout so we can drool and shake our heads, wishing we would have thought up something so good. For all that have something to link up, you will automatically be entered in the drawing for the first giveaway, which is a $30 gift certificate from Connecting Threads! It's a great store where you'll find backing fabric, batting, thread, notions and even books etc. Also included in that giveaway is your choice of the two prizes below {the Perle Cotton thread and needles--perfect for hand quilting OR the DMC embroidery thread and needles--wonderful for applique work}. Please state your preference in the comments below. One person will win both the gift card and one or the other of the secondary prizes pictured below.

2 Balls of #8 DMC Perle Cotton Thread, 1 Ball of  #12 neutral, variagated
Valdani thread and 1 pkg. of Fons & Porter Utility needles

The second giveaway will go to a name drawn strictly from the comments. That prize will be either the Perle Cotton thread and needles OR the DMC embroidery thread and needles--whichever remains after the winner of the first giveaway gets their choice. This means it will be open to everyone, and though it's unlikely, the linkup winner from the first giveaway could even win the secondary prize too!

3 spools of 50 wt. DMC Embroidery thread and 1 pkg. English
Scarlet Today applique needles

Sometimes we just run out of steam on a project and that's perfectly okay. I've done it many times myself. As a thank you to all who started the project but ended up running short of a quilt top, please feel free to add a second comment to increase your chances to win in the second drawing. If you want to continue with the monthly linkups, they are now happening over at Daisy and Jack!

Linkups are open to quilters with a Quilty 365 quilt or quilt top only. Comments are open to all! The giveaway will run for a week and then I will email the winners with the details. If there are any problems contacting the winners then I will simply draw another name. Please be sure there is a way to properly contact you!


   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

The 2017 Quilty 365

Just a quick post to make an announcement! As we've come to the end of the first year of Quilty 365, I've been wondering about the few 'circlers' who started in later than the rest of us. It made me a little sad to leave them out in the cold and asked if anyone would like to take over the monthly link-up parties.

A whole year of circles...

Yay! for Leanne over at Daisy and Jack Handmade! As of today, she has it all set up with a brand new blog button and everything! After checking out her blog and communicating with her for a couple days, I knew she would be perfect. I mean, look at how cool her blog button is compared to mine?

And I know there are a few people who got behind on their circles {but want to rededicate themselves to finishing}, some who started in much later in the year, and even the ones who weren't quite ready to dive in last year. Now's your chance to have some monthly encouragement for 2017 too! Please go check out Leanne and her new Quilty 365 post. Her first monthly link-up will be on February 1st. Got a feeling she's going to be a wonderful host!

p.s. Don't forget to come back here on May 1st for a finished quilt/quilt-top linky party for those who are further along in the project!

The {2nd} January Quilty 365 Linkup

Okay, here we go! Hopefully most all of you will have completed a full years worth of quilty circles! I've had some people question why this project was named 'Quilty 365' when 2016 was a leap year, but it's a synonym of sorts. When I say 'My Quilty 365', I'm actually saying 'My Quilty Year'!

My Quilty 365

And here it is now in four pieces. Well, five pieces if you count the centerpiece. Of which I'm still playing with! At first, upon completion of the circles, I was gung-ho about having a black centerpiece. Thought that would make the circles 'pop'. Then immediately after laying all the circles out on the floor for a look-see, I changed my mind. Uggh! It needed to be very light. Not white, but maybe a white cream? And when I found the subtle black stripey piece I was sold. Yes! Don't you love it when the perfect piece of fabric is hiding out in our very own stash!

Playing with the centerpiece

This project has been interesting, deeply satisfying, tedious, boring, frustrating, worrisome and now it's turned back around to interesting and yes, even exciting. I'll confess to loving how the centerpiece is taking shape here. I had vague ideas of words in the middle {mostly because I didn't want more than 366 total circles in the quilt}, but never envisioned such a bold look. But it feels right. Whew! We just never know do we?

At times I definitely wondered about the end result of this particular project--all the mishmash of color and odd scrappy bits. So hard to see what's really going on when it's a one-block-a-day sort of project, but you know how it is. Quilts blocks usually end up having a mind of their own. I couldn't believe all the different layout ideas I considering in the course of making these little circles. And then to end up with something so very basic as this! It totally makes me smile. Such a perfect layout for such a crazy, crazy year, having the optimism shining from the inside out to the darker edges of the quilt. I'm often amazed at how happy my quilts often look when life seems to be such a struggle at times. I've tried really hard to find joy in the little things, remember our blessings and not get bogged down in the things I have no control over. The quilt is very personal to me and I'm pleased to have gotten to this particular stage of making.

An idea coming together...

And another BIG THANK YOU! to everyone who stitched along with me. I am so thrilled and happy with all the different Quilty 365 versions. So fascinating having us all start off with the same, simple idea and ending up with something very unique and personal. It feels like a victory, my oh-so-creative friends!

This January linkup is the last monthly linkup I'm doing until May 1st where I will be doing a final linkup to wrap it all up. My Quilty 365 won't be totally sandwiched and quilted by then, but the top will be completely done and I invite you to join me in showing off your completed quilt top and/or finish too. There will also be a giveaway for all those who have participated along the way. 

As there is still a bit of interest in this project being ongoing, I would also urge anyone who is interested, to take over future monthly Quilty 365 linkups. Just a thought. It could be definitely be tailored to match up with how you envision it moving forward! Please email me if this is something to be considered. Otherwise, we'll just let it be and anyone currently doing the Quilty 365 can stitch along on their own. Nothing wrong with that! Happy, Happy New Year! Hope to see you at the May 1st linkup!

If you're still working on this project, please feel free to link a thumbnail picture to a current post on your blog detailing:

• What particular day you happen to be at now {such as 'day 366'}
• A picture of all your December circles whether they are stitched to the background fabric or not. Possibly a picture of your current quilt top progress?
• A link back to this post
• Any thoughts or introspection you might want to add about this particular project

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

December Quilty 365 Linkup

For all the Quilty 365 people, I just want to hang my head and say 'nothing to see here' this month! The only thing accomplished with these blocks during the month of November was a sort-of, possibly, maybe-it-might-be-definite layout plan. Which is slightly better than nothing, but still. I am a bit embarrassed by the extreme lack of progress here.

Stacks of circles for Quilty 365

I planned the time carefully when there would be nobody home but me. That's important around here with a massive living room takeover! Had all the blocks laid out in the living room floor--some half hiding under the couch and on the other side of the quilt, overlapping the next block over so as to remember there was actually an outside row. Things get complicated when there are oodles of blocks and plenty of seam allowance to deal with!

Then, wouldn't you know it, my husband came home early. {Hey Sweetie, could you just sit in a kitchen chair until I finish up?} Next comes my youngest son, desperately needing to get upstairs to his basketball practice clothing. {Okay. If you take your shoes off maybe you could carefully walk across my lovely fabric blocks? Yeah, about those sweaty socks... Wince, wince, wince} And then finally, my youngest daughter comes home from work thinking it's her right and privilege to access her bedroom door too. Hmmm... I give up!

And so I'm at a stalemate with my hastily made-up-into-rows circle blocks. I can: Be brave and sew the rows together as is, trusting that my natural instincts caught all the weird issues that sometimes come up with scrappy fabric pairings.  Or, I can be cautious {nitpicky} and take the time to once again, lay all the blocks out for another audition. I'm leaning hard toward a real life scenario and letting the blocks fall where they may.

In the meantime, I am stitching away my concerns into an impulsively made up project that consists of nothing but two pieces of fabric, some batting and lots of thread.

Lots of Perle Cotton in this Peppered Cotton backing

I believe some people call it a whole cloth quilt, but for me, it's become a hilarious, eye opening look at what the stitching looks like on the back side of my quilts. Not wanting to waste time marking the quilt, I chose a basic gridded fabric to guide my stitching lines. Oh yeah. Did not think this one through at all! Good thing it's a small lap size intended to be used at church. Hard to be judgmental there.*wink

Trying to be consistent with my stitches on the
back side of the quilt this time....

But enough of that. Are you still circling with me? It seems there is a loyal few left so please give us something to look at. Some are moving ahead to the next step already! Love the finished ones I've been seeing. So incredible to see them come to life as a full fledged quilt! If you're still working on the blocks, please feel free to link a thumbnail picture to a current post on your blog detailing:

• What particular day you happen to be at now {such as 'day 350'}
• A picture of all your November circles whether they are stitched to the background fabric or not
• A link back to this post
• Any thoughts or introspection you might want to add about this particular project

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

November Quilty 365 Linkup

Oh my goodness! How could it possibly be November 1st already? I am so very unprepared for this link-up day. No good pictures, just a quickie when I dumped all the circles out on the floor the other day. Got to count and make sure there really are 366 you know!

All the circles are here and accounted for!

It's always fun to reach this point in a project isn't it?  A bit overwhelming when looking at them like this in all their random colors, but I really am excited to see what can be made out of these. Are you still circling with me? If so, please link a thumbnail picture to a current post on your blog detailing:

• What particular day you happen to be at now {such as 'day 340'}
• A picture of all your October circles whether they are stitched to the background fabric or not
• A link back to this post
• Any thoughts or introspection you might want to add about this particular project

For those who started later, I still intend to have the regular circle link-up in December and January as well. And once again, a very huge THANK YOU to all who have joined in! So much fun to see all the great circles 'in progress' and yes, those marvelous circle quilts already being put together--or possibly even finished at the moment. 

When would be a good time to have the link-up for fully-put-together-quilt tops or completed circle quilts? Any suggestions? Mine will definitely not be anything more than a quilt top, but then I'm usually slow about the final touches.  It's just that I'd love to see them all together in one place and that's when I intend to have the giveaway post as well. Regardless of how this quilt looks in the end, it already feels like a huge accomplishment to get this far with you!

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

October Quilty365 Linkup

Here we go again, a round-up of all the little circles for the past month! Adding these to the stacks gives me a total of 341. Wowsers! Counting the extra circle needed for leap year, that leaves me with only 25 left to stitch! Woohoo!

September Quilty 365

Okay, that feels like a walk in the park at this point. And some people get squirmy when I fess up, but seriously, I. Am. So. Tired. Of. These. Circles. Which is why I finally drifted away from raiding the scrap bin and starting digging {straight from the stash totes} for fabrics that made something inside me do a happy dance. Totally the point of the entire exercise at the beginning, but somewhere along the way I just narrowed my options--and then dug in until almost too late. Kept challenging myself to be frugal as an additional challenge, just because it sounded fun, and clung to the idea of being able to say 'Yep, and it was all made directly from the scrap bin!' So stubborn.

Yeah, well, about that. It was 'fun' for a long time and then I burnt out big time on that big 'ol monster scrap bin, which lead to being weary of the circles. Almost tossed all those bits and pieces piled up in the corner straight into the dumpster if you want to know the truth of it. Then something made me hesitate. Turns out I might just have another scrap bin quilt waiting in the wings of my imagination. One without any circles? hehe  I might have got tired of the repetitive-ness of these too.

All the little circle blocks....

But even as I write this, it's obvious that this circle quilt means something to me. It'll get done, you can bet on that. Getting disinterested in a project from time to time is just part and parcel of the creativity process for almost every single one of us. I talked about it over here once, the way the creative process works. With most projects there's just gonna be a tedious phase. That's a fact. Or perhaps two or three tedious phases.*ughh  Totally normal for almost all of us though!  It's that prep time or 'implementation' that is the work so it gets tiresome. So boring. It requires a little grit to get through--some determination and follow through. And if nothing else, having a daily, year-long project has taught me oodles about the in's and out's of how I actually like to work.

This daily, scheduled plan of attack {which eventually went to once a week and then thrice monthly?} has been a little tough on me, especially this last couple months. I've itched under the skin from the frustration of it all, groused to my family and friends, changed things up in little ways and then finally, just made myself be patient with the entire process. I'm so ready to charge ahead with the layout, but nervous too. What if I don't like the end results? What if, what if, what if? Yeah...., but.... What if I love it? What if it doesn't matter what it looks like as a whole 'cuz I love how it makes me feel? Huh? What about that? 

This is the creative process my friends, when we make it up as we go along. Plowing through the monotony. Coming up with solutions. Fixing mistakes or perhaps cluing in to what might have been overlooked {'it could have been so much better if only...'}. Finding a way to make everything look cohesive and like it was totally meant to be. LOVE that part. Don't you? Makes everything completely worthwhile.

So, please, please link up with us if you haven't already given up and moved on to something much more interesting. Frankly, I'm kind of surprised to make it this far myself! Link a thumbnail picture to a current post on your blog detailing:

• What particular day you happen to be at now {such as 'day 300'}
• A picture of all your September circles whether they are stitched to the background fabric or not
• A link back to this post
• Any thoughts or introspection you might want to add about this particular project

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

September Quilty 365 Linkup

Here we go! Another month of circles to show off. Wowsers, are they getting tedious! I had to raid the stash totes for this month because the scrap bin was just making me want to gag!

August Quilty 365 all accounted for!

I am sooo sick of those particular fabric choices.--feeling limited and boxed in. But I am getting excited about nearing the end of these circles. Loving that tippy stack of stitched circles in my tote! At the end of August I have a total 311 circles stacked up and ready to go. Woohoo!

This month also found me digging into the 'Make It Mighty Ugly' book. All about creativity. The process, the things that stop us, the things that get us through. This is the first book of this type that I've actually done the exercises instead of just reading or skimming through. Yeah. I'm that person. But this time I put my head down and forced myself through all the hard stuff. Ughh. Who knew I had so many ugly 'voices' in my head? 

And my 'ugly voice' guy just makes me laugh. Look at his hideous clothing choices and big fat mouth! He's kind of deceptive 'cuz he's much uglier on the inside than the outside. Such a know it all when really he knows nothing. My daughter clued in right away. How can I possibly have respect for someone with a mullet? hehe  I'm only about a third of the way through the book, but it's giving me lots to think about. Next up will be the pretty one representing the 'good' voices. Uh huh. I'm ridiculously scared to start that one. It feels harder than 'Mr. Rain-On-My-Parade', so named because the book tells us the creature needs a name. Okay, A little bit weird, but strangely fun in a why-am-I-so-negative-about-my-fabulous-hobby? I'm still scratching my head over the idea that I willingly spent time making a ahem!, ugly doll......

Weird creativity stuff

And then my older daughter bought me this book. One I've been dying to read since it first came out. It's a great {applique-type} quilting book by 'Margaret Sampson George', my thing as many of you well know. Such a wonderful birthday present, full Margaret's thoughts and ideas and not just a cookie cutter pattern book! I'm going to be browsing through this one many, many times I'm sure.

Birthday present

And just to make life interesting, I also started in on {another} new quilt project. My sister-in-law had a sweet little baby boy just last week and yep, I'm doing it. Even though I said only one baby quilt per sister/sister-in-law no matter how many kids, I just can't help it. These are the fabrics from a jelly roll so really, it's practically sewing itself. Right?

9-patch blocks for a new baby quilt

Okay, enough about me. Who's still stitching along with the circles? Go ahead and link up so we can cheer each other on, say 'Rah, Rah! You can do this!!'

Please link up!  We really want to see...  Link a thumbnail picture to a current post on your blog detailing:

• What particular day you happen to be at now {such as 'day 270'}
• A picture of all your August circles whether they are stitched to the background fabric or not
• A link back to this post
• Any thoughts or introspection you might want to add about this particular project

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

August Quilty 365 Linkup

August Quilty 365

Well here I am again with another months worth of circles. Pretty much decided I'm done with the black backgrounds for now, but it sure was fun while it lasted! It's been a summer filled with so much visiting company, a beautiful wedding for my niece {which included out-of-town family and friends hanging around for most or part of a week} and then surprise, surprise, my husband and I got to go for our little anniversary jaunt. Loved seeing the charcoal sand on the northern California beaches and those incredible redwood trees we drove through on hwy 101. Quite a memorable experience and one I will treasure forever.

I have also been quilting just a bit. Nothing too major, just enough to make me want more. These circles are very demanding in their own way. So little, but if the time isn't taken then they stack up and start shouting 'work on me, work on me!' I'm too close to finishing up an entire year to want to quit now that's for sure. And yes, I'm still choosing fabric out of the scrap bin!

And in other news, my 9 year old computer finally crashed beyond fixing. Yeah. It finally happened. We're looking into a replacement but the timing isn't the best. Is it ever? And I'm the queen of computer illiteracy so I am so dreading learning a new set-up. Just about to break into hives over the horror of having to actually. In the meantime, I'm trying out my husbands computer and desperately missing my Picasa program for fixing my lousy pictures. Can't even get blogger to work right on this computer which is sooo... frustrating. Hopefully we'll get something figured out soon {fingers and toes crossed} and I can get back to a little more regular blogging. It feels wrong not to document whatever small bit of quilting that does get done around here.

If you're still sewing circles with me, please feel free to join the linkup below. I haven't been getting around and visiting other blogs very good lately, but I have a feeling that's just the summer break thing. Had a critical comment awhile back that I've been thinking about addressing and well, quilting is calling my name louder and louder these days. I'm starting to dream about quilts again. That's a good sign. In the meantime, I love seeing all the interesting versions of this project and hopefully we'll have a good turnout for the entire years' wrap-up post. Which might be a dilemma of sorts deciding the end for most everyone keeping up. Perhaps December? I'm trying to figure out a giveaway too. 366 finished circles and perhaps a stitched quilt top would merit a giveaway, don't you think?

Please link up with us!  Link a thumbnail picture to a current post on your blog detailing:

• What particular day you  happen to be at now {such as 'day 230'}
• A picture of all your July circles whether they are stitched to the background fabric or not
• A link back to this post
• Any thoughts or introspection you might want to add about this particular project

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

July Quilty 365 Linkup

Yeah! I am completely, totally caught up with my circles this month, all the stitching included! It's cause I have slowed waaaay down with my quilting and these little guys don't take much of my time. The greens and blue circles are surprising soothing, even against the black background. Love how they seem to sort of 'pop' and have my fingers crossed they will be a great spark in the final quilt.

All of the June circles for Quilty 365

It's interesting to me how the circle idea seems to hop into other quilty projects as well. {Uh huh, I'm combining a Quilty 365 post with a link back to Adhoc Improv.}  I hemmed and hawed and questioned my sanity, but finally left them in the border to one of my latest projects. Just feels like a circle sort of year and that's okay. We start in one place and sometimes bring ourselves completely back round to that starting place, tho perhaps with a better perspective at times?

My latest Adhoc Improv. quilt top--
An unexpected direction from my starting thoughts

The light was dreary on the day I took these photos, but this quilt feels very charming in a homespun sort of way. And oh, so very me on a very base level. I'm thinking this 'make-it-up-as-you-go-along' style is quite addictive. It works very well for making the sort of imperfect quilts that make me smile the biggest. The ones that I'm almost sheepish about showing people because of what it might accidentally reveal about this silly 'ol side of me.

Happy little applique flowers to make me smile

My enforced time off from intense quilting sessions has made me very reflective. Am I really as in love with quilting as it feels? Is it part of me, who I am, what I do, how I think? Or is is sort of a routine and more of an escape from life's difficulties? If it is, I've decided that, frankly, I don't care. Fabric love is good. What I've discovered is that my eye is constantly gravitating towards the quilts in my life. Studying them and enjoying them. Loving when I see a family member using one I gave them or displaying it on the back of a chair. It brings me great joy and what could be negative about that?

Not going to work for a larger project, but perfect for making me think!
And yes, it's more Adhoc Improv. play...

That feeling of resentment when I don't get enough quilting time. Okay. There's that. And I've been making a conscious effort to dial that back. Be more present and joyful with all of my life. Which means I'm going to continue to be a slow blogger this summer. Taking a step back from unimportant deadlines {and social media} is helping me feel more relaxed about everything. For instance, I spent about two hours working on those crazy improv. drunkards path blocks above. Whoa! Not much to show for two hours worth of work and what is it with the puckers?*wah! I am sooo not good at this!

The real project in the initial phases

I'll admit that I miss {quite dreadfully at times} the on-line journalling of the quilting process, but I just can't do it all right now. So I'm making a conscious effort to take what time there is for quilting and trying to use it more wisely. Those two hours of play were very contemplative and oh, so peaceful. Working with fabric and color  that spoke to me--just because-- felt amazing. Not worrying about the end result or how long it might take. Diving into things that felt 'right' and not stopping to consider the end result. Enjoying the moment more fully and not stressing over wasted fabric bits. And then deciding it wasn't the project I want to work on after all, completely guilt free. No remorse allowed! Instead I cut out squares for yet another Sujata Shah project that's been percolating in my brain for months on end. One that I had previously decided needed solid fabrics bought for. Nope, not happening! I'm jumping in feet first and will figure out the pesky little details later.

Finally have 100 blocks sewn together and, gasp! even trimmed.....

'Cuz that's the sort of quilter I really want to be--the way that seems to work the very best. If you're still reading, please feel free to link up with yet another Quilty 365 linkup. It's simple but slow work we're doing here. A bit tedious at times, but oh so interesting in other moments. It's a journey isn't it? If you're still traveling along with me, then thank you, thank you, thank you for putting up with my absence this summer. Quilty friends are the very best!  And in case you're interested, I, personally am at day 249 now {hallelujah} and well on my way to making it to day 366 some day in the future.....

Please link up with us if you haven't given up and gone on to something more interesting! Link a thumbnail picture to a current post on your blog detailing:

• What particular day you  happen to be at now {such as 'day 200'}
• A picture of all your June circles whether they are stitched to the background fabric or not
• A link back to this post
• Any thoughts or introspection you might want to add about this particular project

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

Catching Up

So I've just about completely lost my rhythm when it comes to quilting. That lovely, lovely calming routine of quiltiness I love so much is shot all to pieces these days. I might possibly get to my stitching a couple days a week at best. It's so pathetic.

Bow-ties quilt

It's looking like that's the way my entire summer is going to be. Ugghh... I did finish the hand quilting on the hand pieced bow-tie quilt and am now waiting on impetuous for binding work. Honestly, I'm not feeling it right now. But I do have the Cactus Baskets quilt in the hoop and since I'm quilting with perle cotton there is progress being made. Slow progress, but you know how it is. Every single stitch counts.

Cactus Baskets

I was guilted pressured into asked about making a block for my nieces wedding quilt, one of those sampler block quilts where everyone gets a small chunk of fabric to work with. I was feeling deeply resentful if you want to know the truth of it, having so little time to work on my own lovely quilting and then having to use specific fabrics? It was a tough one, but I persevered and it's done now. So much character building, these types of projects. I did add some of my own fabric to the mix--of course. How could I not? There simply was not enough contrast with what was given and I could feel the hives about to break into a happy dance. It only made me want to dive head first into my fabric totes and start sniffing fabric or something equally weird. I am {obviously} deeply missing my quilt room bonding moments. Ahem! Obviously.

Quilt block for a wedding quilt

A reader and fellow circler sent along a picture of the circles quilt top her sister has recently made. This quilt top is made by Carol from Oregon and what a beauty it is! So much color in this quilt, you can't help but smile. Loving those nifty pathways of color background and the way some of the circles pop! And yes, I am still working on my circles, sometimes the only quilty thing I touch all week. So. Very. Pathetic.

Carol in Oregon circle quilt

And here is my husband and I, soon to be married for a whole 25 years. Woohoo us! Hoping to take off on a vacation and celebrate without any children around. Started without them and will end up rattling around our house without them some day in the future. Right? Not that I'm feeling anxious for that day. No sirree. Love those kids to pieces. The vacation however? Very much needed.

Almost made it 25 years together...

It's time. Just hoping things work out and it doesn't get cancelled like every other fun thing we try to do together. I think it's just that time of life, don't you? Taking care of other people and trying not to take each other {too much} for granted. Okay, that's it for a quilty post until the next circles linkup the first of July. Thanks to everyone who once again took the time to link up! And a metaphorical quilty 365 fist bump to all my fellow circlers. Lovely to see so many still hanging in there with me!

June Quilty 365 Linkup

Yes I'm here. Just a quick post for the Quilty 365 journey! And to say 'hi'. I'm back for a post, but not for regular posting just yet. I do lurk on a rare occasion, but no time for anything else. My circles are starting to take a slightly different road, but May's circles are all here and accounted for. Woohoo! I haven't given up yet.

May Circles

For a little while I'm planning on doing a series of green {and possibly blue} circles on black backgrounds. Mostly for a background change and a little more consistently happy colors. I feel like this is needful right now. I like black, but I don't like choosing black for my mood color when quilting is supposed to be my happy place. And yes, you'll tell me it's okay to choose black, it's honest and real, yada, yada. but it just depresses me. And I'm not depressed, just stressed plus very limited with free time. It all goes together.

So I'll get black in the background color, love it as a change-up and call it good. After I get a good stack of those,  I plan to return to the normal color choice per day. I've pre-made a stack of scrappy green circles already just so I have one to choose from every day or as usually happens, every third or fourth day. I always catch up with my stitching eventually and this way the circles do continue. I'm sort of chanting that in my head these day. They. Are. Going. To. Continue! I feel very determined to not let them slide.

I do, however, feel quite {hopelessly} lost in the world of non-regular posting and quilting. It won't be forever though. Why would it be? I'm still quilting, just in much more random slots of times than normal. The other day I even came up with a plan to use exactly 366 circle blocks in this quilt. Which I'm pretty excited about. It's probably not going to be amazing, but however it ends up will by my year. All reflected in circles, for a total of one quilt. I like that. Please feel free to link up with a picture of your current circles too. I'll no doubt be very late checking back in and yes, commenting, but I'd love the links just for the record and wonderful camaraderie!


   

    An InLinkz Link-up
   

May Quilty 365 Linkup

So here we go with May Quilty 365! This months finds me with thirteen unsewn circles. Not scary far behind on stitching, but definitely needing some attention. 

April circles

Honestly I'm not impressed with several of this months blocks. The colors are drab and uninspired or perhaps I chose fabric that makes me feel a little queasy now. I'd like to just throw them out and start over but then I think a little bit more on what this is all about.  Maybe, {just maybe} I need to leave the less attractive circles in there and look at it as part of the journey. For the most part I am choosing my circle fabrics day by day, and life, as we all know, is full of different kinds of moody moods. Even if I choose not to share those moods with you. It's just not how I operate. Feel free to try and read between the {fabric} lines.*wink

The stacks are getting larger!

I'm loving some of the other circle projects I see every month. Why didn't I choose that lovely background fabric? Or why didn't I think of this, or that, or the other? It's a dangerous game because hello? I won't be happy making someone else's quilt. This one's all me, staying in the safe, neutral background and letting my circles pop here and there. Some recede into the background and others are quite jarring when you look at them next to my usual softer palette. Later I look at those blocks and wish I could remember what was going through my mind that day. 'Cuz I'm not keeping a journal. I mostly just want to be able to do a glance-over and remind myself that I made it through 'that crazy, busy year'! 

Layout, layout. Too busy to think much on that subject this month, although I did see an interesting rug that got me thinking about circles. Funny what sets us off into the land of inspiration. Also, I have been leaning more and more toward wanting my pieced circles to be presenting horizontal or vertical, which totally leaves out the 'on-point' setting I am so enamored of. Good thing I have several months left to get this all sorted out in my mind! 

Do I still have some quilty folks circling with me? There's a few people falling away at this point and that's perfectly okay. Unless I miscounted, the end of April leaves me at 188 days of circles. Woohoo! In case you were wondering, I'm posting the linkup early because this weekend is booked solid and I'll be lucky if the computer ever gets turned on. If you're still hanging in there I'd love to see your latest. Really. Join us in the linkup with your thumbnail picture and:

• What particular day you  happen to be at now {such as 'day 150'}
• A picture of your April circles whether they are stitched to the background fabric or not {can add a picture of all your circles to date if you want}
• A link back to this post
• Any thoughts or introspection you might want to add about this particular project.

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

March Quilty 365 Linkup

What a year to try and do a 'block a day' sort of project. Could it get any crazier? Don't answer. I just don't wanna know... And I don't know how you're doing, but I am definitely struggling to keep current with stitching my blocks. Okay, confession time. Week before last, I totally lost three days. Who does that? But I'm still hanging in there, plodding along, and wallah! I present to you my first, completely finished, 100 blocks!

The first 100 circles!

Wowsers, that's a lot of circles! And it's not even all of the circles, because....

Really?

My month started with day 99. So yeah, that means I have more to show you! The circles below represent to you the entire month of February. {Shhh... We won't talk about the fact that nine circles are still un-stitched.} I've decided that since all the circles won't fit on my design wall at the same time, they will hereafter be broke up into sets of 100. Still in chronological order {for now} so I can see the progression of style and well, whatever it is that I'm doing....

As far as layout is concerned, I've reached only one conclusion: they will NOT be placed in this particular order for the finished quilt. I just don't like the lines of dark colored background blocks. Much better to mix them up throughout the quilt and have a fade-in, fade-out sort of effect.

All of the circles for February

And a little peek at how I'm keeping on track with the many multitudes of circles--If you're at all interested. My Quilty 365 year started on a Monday, October 26, 2015. Still writing the current days number on the back of each circle lets me know exactly how many circles are completed. With that and a cheap calendar, I just scribble a quick reminder of the day for every Monday of the month. I can easily see where I'm supposed to be. Aha! Exactly how I discovered the three lost days. Math. It doesn't lie.

Keeping track 

So how are you staying on track? Is this project getting easier as we go along, or harder? I've been so thankful for this simple project many days when I just wanted to stitch, but didn't want anything complicated. Mostly it's a lifesaver but not nearly as thought provoking as I figured it might be. Could be because I'm deliberately keeping it low pressure: simple, imperfect and straight from the scrap bin. Just like my life. If you want to learn how to sew wonderful, perfectly smooth appliqued circles, please don't look here. Meredithe is the bees knees with that and her tutorial will get you all straightened out.

So please link up with us if you're still playing along! Link your thumbnail picture to a current post on your blog detailing:

• What particular day you happen to be at now {such as 'day 101'}
• A picture of your February circles whether they are stitched to the background fabric or not {can add a picture of all your circles to date if you want}
• A link back to this post
• Any thoughts or introspection you might want to add about this particular project

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

February Quilty 365 Linkup

So here we are at the beginning of February. Wowsers. This is getting to be quite a stack of circles for Quilty 365! At day 98, I figure 27% of my circles are now completed or at least prepped! I grouped my January circles {below} in chronological order just because I could and well, I'm always curious. The ebb and flow of this month is not exactly the same as the last ones. That may be because the past month was full of challenges and I was a bit off my usual routine. Or perhaps it's just because I'm mixing my fabrics more?

January Circles

I don't know about you, but I am getting a bit frustrated with my monstrous, heaping, pitiful scrap bin. There is rarely the exact color that I need for the day and how in the world am I going to sew the proper mood of the day if I have the wrong shade or tone? hehe  It all works. Or it better, 'cuz I'm starting to feel stubborn about sticking with the scrap bin. Even if I have to do fabric repeats, which is a huge concession for me. For some reason I didn't want any repeats when I initially thought about this project. Now I'm thinking it's not such a big deal after all. Some days might be similar to others in retrospect. And why would that be a bad thing?

A total of 98 circle blocks!

An 'on-point' block layout has been niggling away at my imagination. It clearly needed to be auditioned as a potential solution for my blocks posthaste. And yes, you guessed it. The blocks are in chronological order. Why not just check that out from the get-go and get it out of my system {even though I'm fairly sure of the outcome, it's always good to know}. The layout? Definitely one to consider if I mixed the circles up and figured out a better color balance. This one's a bit awkward.

But I could put some of the solid fabric circles on the edges. Having to cut those blocks in half would probably make it easier to lose parts of my circles. Of course I could also add setting triangles to keep all of my circles intact or yeah, the obvious--try a different arrangement altogether. So far I'm not settled on anything concrete. It's very early stages for me and honestly, I'm not above dividing my circles into two sets for two different quilts.

A possible layout 

It's interesting to get this far in a daily quilting project though. You never know until you try, right? Thanks to every single person sewing along! I'm absolutely loving seeing these circles pop up in my reader, being able to check out all the unique touches. I'm still just blown away by all the personalization, talent, creativity and just plain fun people are having with this basic little project. Makes me feel like a slacker sometimes!

So please link up with us if you're still playing along! Link your thumbnail picture to a current post on your blog detailing:

• What particular day you  happen to be at now {such as 'day 75'}
• A picture of your January circles whether they are stitched to the background fabric or not {can add a picture of all your circles to date if you want}
• A link back to this post
• Any thoughts or introspection you might want to add about this particular project

   

    An InLinkz Link-up