Just a few more

I had to move the furniture and stand on a step ladder to take this photo, but I managed to get the entirety of the twinkle quilt in this shot. That's no mean feat when you factor in that I have ten foot ceilings. Just positioning the top row of blocks requires that I stand on the top rung of my step ladder, stretch out as far as my 5'3" frame will allow me, slap the block on to the felt wall and smooth it out with a ruler. I just plain can't reach the top. All the edge blocks are just pinned onto a corner of the felt board. This baby is big. But boy am I happy with how it has come together. As of this writing I have about 40 more circles to make. That means I've already made 714.
On the one hand I can't believe I said I would make something so labor intensive, but on the other hand I'm so glad I did. While it's nice to make small, quick pieces there's something deeply satisfying about working on a piece that feels expansive and ambitious. I usually don't have a problem sending my work on to new homes, but I'll be a little sad to see this piece go. I know I can make another, but for now I also know that this is probably the best quilt I've ever made. That is if all goes well with the quilting. I'm pretty optimistic about that as I've done the training on a long arm machine and set up an appointment to come in and quilt.
For now I have the last of the circles and some piecing left. Though there too I'm glad I didn't just make a pile of circles, but pieced periodically as I dyed. It gave me the opportunity to see the quilt top come together and I don't have a huge, daunting task waiting.
I'm planning more pictures when the top is completed and, of course, a few more shots once it's all completed.
So, stay tuned...