Started another QAL (and a link party)

So many projects in my mind, very few down on fabric :) 

The Ongoing Project List:

1. Play with Me QAL - August pattern ready to share (cannot share)
2. Charity Quilts for DC General Homeless Shelter project - new top started (see 3.)
3. Summer Solstice QAL - jumped in with the HST (will donate this quilt) (see below)
4. Minion QAL - 3 more blocks quilted, 2 missing
5. Mirror Mirror Afghan - no progress
6. Hello Block Swap - paused until next month 
7. Splendid Sampler - two blocks done (see below)
8. Road Home Row-A-Long - no progress on finishing my piece

The EverythingElse List:

1. 70273 Project - no progress
2. Jane T - no progress
3. The SK project - no progress
4. the 31000 Xs project - no progress
5. Spirit cross stitch project - no progress
6. Alice in Wonderland quilt - no progress
7. As You Wish -  no progress
8. Crazy optical illusion - no progress
9. Memory quilt 2 - no progress
10. Gyleen's BCP Mystery QAL - no progress

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Especially in the middle of the summer I feel usually creatively tired. The projects started early during the year look boring, no energy to dedicate to create new projects (even if there are many in my head right now), so what is the best strategy? Join one of Melissa's (HappyQuilting) QAL!

I love love love her QAL for a ton of reasons:

1. the designs are usually very simple but not boring (check out all the ones she designed over the years)
2. the time given between each step is usually about 2-3 weeks. I love this because there are QALs that ask you to make a gazillion of HST in 1 week.. and while you don't have to complete them all, I always feel behind with those timeline! More than 2 weeks for simple steps make me lose interest... so I think 2 weeks is the perfect timeframe
3. she uses very simple shapes, so that's refreshing for me since I usually make complicated paper piecing blocks
4. her tutorials are amazing! step by step pictures, with tips and great advices. Even if by now I know how to make HST, I always read everything through, because every time there is something that I may have missed before
5. she offers always many size options! many designers simply say "do you want to make it bigger? make more blocks! Do you want it smaller? make less blocks" :) ehm... ok... I have no problem with that... however usually I want to make it smaller by resizing the blocks because I want the overall design to be the same! That's where Melissa is amazing! She always have very simple tables that shows you the size of a finished block (multiple sizes) and how you many you want to have (1x1, 2x2, 3x3, 4x4). So the only thing I have to do is decide the general design I want and then find the cutting and assembly instruction for that. Easy peasy!

I jumped in the QAL a little late, but I will make the flying geese after she releases the next instructions (that's also where the 2-3 weeks time is great: to catch up!!)

This week was HST

I used fabric donated, and I will make this to a baby quilt (2x2 layout).

Colors are terrible in the picture because it was night and I didn't want to wait to take the picture :)

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The only other thing I made are two more blocks for the Splendid Sampler

Block 42

Bonus block

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How about you? What are YOU up to?

Link it here and share it with me!!

An InLinkz Link-up