Saturday, August 4, 2018

Circle Quilt Finish

I finished the Circle of Friends quilt top—or was it Friendship Circle?  Hang on, un momento, while I check Facebook for the name I was going to give this quilt...

Okay, I checked.  Its name will be Friendship 360.

My brain is like a sieve some days, I swear.
(Spotted on a recent visit to the antique mall.)
In my defense (albeit a weak one), I finished this quilt top three weeks ago.  I can barely remember what I had for lunch, much less what I thought to name a quilt way back in mid-July.
(Friendship 360 Quilt Top)
ANYway, here it is!  

This quilt combines the circles I made during the Quilty 365 quilt-along during 2016 with the Friendship Star Wreath that I also made during that time.  

The Friendship Star Wreath was just a little bunny trail I took with the scraps I had left from the Quilt for Pulse.  The tutorial for it can be found here.  Since I was using leftover HSTs from the Pulse quilt, my dimensions were different than what was given in the tutorial (mine used 4.5-inch strips and HST blocks versus 3-inch).

The end result was a 36.5-inch square, which I was going to make into a wall hanging.  You know, some day.  It got put aside, is what I'm saying.  Literally moved to the far corner of the playground (i.e. design wall) and ignored while I did other stuff in 2016, including the Quilty 365 circles.

At the end of 2016, I really had no idea how to arrange all those circles together in a quilt.  I watched my fellow 365-ers finish lovely quilts in various ways.  Meanwhile, I had no real plan.  The circle blocks sat in colorful piles in the sewing room.  I'd pick up a few and riffle through them now and then or move them from one surface to another.

Then one day as I was milling around the laundry room, looking absently at the Friendship Star Wreath on the far end of the design wall, it dawned on me that it might work as a center medallion with the Quilty 365 circles.
Why it took so long to put the two together is...well, irrelevant.  The point is I finally did, and it worked.  Hooray!  Also, Ta-Da!
Now, full disclosure:  I only made 338 circles in 2016.  A detail I forgot until I was putting the circles together and ran short.  So I had to make a few more on the fly.  No big whoop, and kinda fun, actually, to be making these again.  Thankfully, I still had enough of the same or similar background fabrics and even my little cardboard circle template made from a Kleenex box.

I assembled the circle blocks into panels.  First the sides, at 9 blocks high x 6 blocks wide. These were sewn to the right and left of the center medallion.  Then the top and bottom panels, at 9 blocks high x 21 blocks wide.
And I still didn't get all the way to 365, because I only needed 360 circle blocks for the quilt top.  Hence, Friendship 360, and also because a circle is, of course, 360 degrees.  See what I did there?
You'd think its name would have been easier to remember!  But no matter, I'm pretty sure the quilt itself—with its I-spy, whimsical, colorful circles—will be unforgettable.

12 comments:

Nicole said...

It's super duper! I love the combination of the circles and the rainbow star circle. And hooray for a finish!

Susan C. said...

Bravo.....well done on the final product! It does not matter how we crash through a finish line or how far in the distance are those overachievers .....lol....the fact is you got there and it’s done and I congratulate you most sincerely.

Sue McQ said...

Turned out phenomenal! Love the picture of the lady with no film in camera. Gee, I experience that on occasion!

The Joyful Quilter said...

What an AWESOME pairing of projects!!!

Quilter Kathy said...

It's fantastic! Great job!

Marei said...

Definitely UNFORGETTABLE....as well as FANTASTIC!!

Mary Ann said...

Gorgeous.....survivor972002@midco.net

QuiltGranma said...

Definitely unique, one of a kind, memorable! It's good to get to flimsy stage isn't it!

Barb Neiwert said...

That is a great focal block for this quilt - perfect! And congrats on getting it finished. It will be one you'll enjoy through the years! What color are you going to use for the binding?

Heidi said...

Oh WOW, this looks great! I love the center, and I happen to know exactly where my Pulse HSTs are. So, yes, I'll be putting a Friendship Circle together soon..


I named my Quilty365 "Full Circle", which felt more profound at the time. Wonderful to document a year with a quilt and we love sleeping under ours. Congrats on a gorgeous top!

audrey said...

Beautiful work! Love that it's coming together for you and makes you smile.:)

Kaja said...

Great finish! I love what you have done here.