Shall We Start A New Season?

Or is it still a way too early? Even if Summer still holds it's appeal for few weeks it is the best time to shift thoughts towards the Autumn season. Seasonal calendar cleaning is great to do these days. All those great ideas that have been hanging out in the calendar without getting a closure are now re-evaluated. Even the fun ideas demand time and concentration. As a school kid it was nice to able to start from an empty table after Summer and Winter breaks. Now in adult life same kind of divisions do not exist. I did have some days of Summer holiday and still a week to come but tasks are waiting to be done after holiday, no-one cleans the table for me. It is not possible to get everything ready by a certain date because project entities are too big. 

Also too many ideas are adding the length to the to do lists. It would be wonderful to be that person who gets all ideas completed but reality has other plans. What comes to blogging there are always more ideas than time to process and create. This Autumn I cleaned my calendar, or Bullet Journal, from ideas that I have processed a little but who still demand lots of time. I wanted to have an empty table to think the coming season and come up with new thoughts and projects. It is more inspiring to make a new season mind map without old to dos. 

This also goes in other sectors of life. There are some things that need concentration. Larger projects that lead to something bigger. Those bigger projects form the core of professional and/or private life. Then there are those minor projects that come in plenty. Little ideas what one could hustle. Some of those just circle in mind some see day light. Those minor tasks can be re-evaluated and after that cleaned away or listed for future. What matters is the bigger picture that takes to somewhere. Days pass when details occupy the everyday life and it might be challenging to see what is necessary and what is not. Especially when there are busier times it helps to see the necessary tasks and what can be put aside. Otherwise it is impossible to have breaks and rest. Work doesn't end by doing. By listing and constructing bigger entities of smaller tasks it becomes easier to manage it all. When distractions are labelled as such it is possible to forget those and start completing a bigger project slice after slice and have breaks in between. 

I have always been an over achiever. I like to do more than is required and develop the work I am doing. Mostly it is good character but it also brought me a great lesson about the essence of work and life. I always tried to complete all when I got the tasks and of course it lead me to new and new projects to do. I began to forget my personal needs and always let go off everything fun if there was work to be done. It took years to understand that work exists in the world no matter how much you do it. But a human being has limitations. It is fun, inspiring and productive to work when work - free time balance is correct and one is well rested. As important as it is to have work whether paid or not it is equally important to acknowledge the meaning of free time. 

That is why going through what is filling your calendar is necessary. Processing what you are doing at the moment is a great way to start a new season. Also what comes to voluntarily accepted tasks, also known as ambitions, it can lead to better achievements if unnecessary projects are simply forgotten or listed to far future. One can ask what is it that I want to achieve with this activity? If this doesn't seem to lead to anything but filling the calendar how could I replace it? For example: Instead of circling around the same blog post ideas that don't seem to actualize, could I brainstorm brand new ideas. Those would more likely inspire more and become completed bringing the sense of joy and fulfillment. That is what I did with my blog on the step of Autumn. I consciously put away many projects to have room for new and fresh ones. 

One point is also to understand when a project is finished. I think fellow over achievers will relate to how difficult it is to let go. Weeks and months, sometimes even years are spent with a work project. It has been inspiring to study and bring up new angles and make the dear child even better. But when new tasks await these old dears can become a burden that require too much time when it would be more clever to concentrate on the new. There comes a day when the work is done and you have to spell it out loud to yourself. This is it, its is complete for now and it is as good as it gets. I love petting my projects. I am not sure if it is about my branch, as a social scientist there are always new perspectives to look everything and the most simple things become massive projects that won't be finished in one lifetime. 

So little time so interesting world. But these larger than life project entities can occupy the whole calendar and begin to press on free time too. One can't handle all the perspectives. When I read the news I see large issues that need to be studied to be able to understand the phenomenons better. It feels tiring not to be able to know the background of it all. But in the world we don't have to do it all by ourselves. And that goes to professional life too. We have to trust that our colleagues are doing their bit. No one needs to take the cape of a superhuman. It is respecting other people to let them do what they are best at. So one way to look at your calendar is to evaluate whether you have already done enough. It might also be that the task you took is not yours at all and you can pass it to someone else who has more to give to the subject.

Pictures taken in front of Korundi - House of Culture.

4.12. BuJo Ideas for December

Today I share ideas to December's BuJo. Christmas themes are all around on these colorful pages. You can play with watercolors, markers and stickers when  planning this fun month. 

On my monthly spread I used watercolors first time in my BuJo history. First I draw the Christmas baubles, calendar and words from my favorite Christmas song. Then I colored the page with watercolors.

Christmassy activity tracker. Because it is December you can come up with a bit different activity goals than you would normally have. Chocolate eating goals anyone? 

To get all fun Christmas activities done you could also draw 24 baubles and one activity for each day. I like to book simple activities like listen to Christmas carols, long walk and gift wrapping because those are the actual things that make the Christmas feeling. 24 days before Christmas goes quickly with small treats everyday. There is no need to over achieve these tasks. If I don't have time to watch Christmas movies I can skip it. These are not work tasks but relaxing moments sprinkled to  everyday-life.

Did BuJo Change My Life?

Hello Friends and Happy Thursday! It has been half an year when I started keeping BuJo. I think now it is about time to look back and evaluate how helpful and life changing it has been. Or has it? I will be 100% honest about any obstacles and breakthrough moments. 

In case you wonder how empty my calendar looks it is just because I tend to take BuJo pictures before filling the page.

Bullet Journaling became a happy place for many after the idea spread and developed into a trend we now know it. If you look at this video from the inventor Ryder Carroll, that explains the basic idea of BuJo, you might be surprised how simple the main idea is. Everyone can do it. In case you look after BuJo inspiration you will find BuJo spreads so amazingly beautiful that they are surely from the master class of art. For me decorating and drawing a beautiful BuJo page is for days when I have got extra energy. The past months have changed so rapidly, that my monthly spreads have included just basics to keep calendar and task lists organized. Today I watched again Ryder Carroll's video tutorial and became inspired by the idea's simplicity. If you choose to keep BuJo it is important to get the technical side working. Crafting a pretty monthly spread, tracker or project page is something you should enjoy making and be sure to have enough time. There should be no pressure to create drawings or calligraphy to BuJo, it is optional and an art form itself. People who share inspiration for BuJo have it for (main) hobby and are interested in the artistic side. It is like having a basic photo album versus scrapbook. A photo album does the job well. Beautifully curated scrapbook is art. I haven't focused on the artistic side in my BuJo, but sometimes it is nice to sit down and spend time drawing and planning. It is OK to enjoy decorating pages even though your drawing is not perfect and you lack some style. I tend to put too many stickers and colors when I get started...

What is basics then in keeping BuJo? 

I really suggest you watch the video I linked, because it explains the basic idea very well. Point is that you have a notebook. To that notebook you draw a calendar page and list of to dos. You can see one example of a monthly calendar on the first picture of this post. You don't have to draw a candle there or write November in a fancy way. Just list the days. Then to the next page you list to dos. Then to the next pages you mark the dates of the month and move some points under the date from your to do list to accomplish that day. This is similar to having a calendar. You go through what you have to do in that month and then book things to your calendar. Then you mark your task done or move it to another day. When the month is over you go through what tasks you got done, what needs to be moved to next month's to do list and what tasks you can remove completely.

When you have your monthly calendar page where all days are listed you can use it to mark very important events, deadlines and tasks. I also have a page with twelve boxes, one for every month. There I can mark special days so I know what will be coming on a monthly level. I might for example know that on January I have got one weekend booked and that I have to remember some special task to do on March. Then when I draw monthly spread I can move these directly to my calendar.

What is special about BuJo is the space you got for planning and modifying it according to your own need. In normal calendar you have months and days but you might not have enough space for notes and planning the future. When keeping BuJo you can have a whole page or two for just one day. There you can list to dos, mark events where you have to be in certain time and take notes about things you feel are important. For example I can list what tasks I need to do for my blog post (sew a block, take photos, write etc.), Then I can mark that I have to be on a meeting at 8:30 a.m. I can also list new blog ideas that come to my mind and evaluate them later. Then for example on Sunday I might not have any to dos or events. I might just list some ideas and I need just a small space from the notebook to do that.

Best part of BuJo is customization. On my monthly spread I can have a blogging calendar and tracker. Some keep lists on what has made them happy that month or color their moods into a picture. Wellness related customizations are also popular. It is handy to plan a project when you can choose to have a whole spread for planning a craft project, career goals or weekend trip.

What month is it again that we are living? I made this November BuJo spread one evening to be early when month changes. Next morning when I woke up I noticed that the Finnish name for the month was wrong, it says lokakuu (=October). Focus is the key of success, laugh.

What needs to be tracked?

I have mentioned trackers quite a few times now so a word about those. I was highly motivated when I started my BuJo and I thought trackers were an amazing invention. I still think tracking, meaning following your habits for example, is a great way to see how you are using time and how you would like to use it. I browsed many BuJo inspiration pages and found lots of things to track. After the first motivation boost went off I re-evaluated what are the key habits I need to track. Going to shower and washing dishes are not. I know how to take care of my personal hygiene and I know to wash dishes at the latest when I run out of clean plates and mugs. So I calmly left these two trackers out of the list :D

Jogging and workouts? Where are you?

Things I have found interesting and motivating to track can be divided into three categories.

1. Creative work: Keeping track about my blogging habits and blog related activities has been very important for me. It tells me how much time I use for this work and how the time spent is divided into different phases like making DIY and craft projects, taking photos and writing. If I would track just published blog posts it would not show the whole reality behind the post.

2. Personal development: In this category I have got two of my major projects: reading more and socializing/networking. Last summer I thought it might be good to focus on planning and making the future. I tried to visualize my dreams and how I want to spend my life. It is actually quite small things that make a change.

First thing. I wasn't pleased with was my reading habits. Or lack of these habits. I had become lazy reader and I felt it is not me who stares TV all nights. I needed change and started a reading project. A simple, yet very effective step, was to start tracking my reading. My goal was to read 100 pages per day and after that I got a mark to my reading tracker. In the October tracker you can see I have not marked all reading I have done. It has became a habit and I read a little everyday. I have finished many books during the summer and autumn season. I am also motivated to find new books to read. And you know what? Nowadays I don't watch TV at all. I find it boring and time consuming.

Reading was also part of personal development. Project that I started after the reading plan. I wanted to become a person who knows what is happening in the world. It is so easy to just focus on your own small circles. I decided to read more non fiction and current books. I also felt that even though I am mainly a DIY, crafts and home decor blogger it should not stop me from following social discussions more and re-tweeting articles that I find interesting. After all blogging is always personal and one's thoughts come up no matter how strictly you stay in the so called main focus. It shows in what I think is worth writing, taking photographs and crafting. It is about thoughts and values what kind of projects I make and what materials I use. For example I favor low cost projects with materials that are from thrift stores. DIY thought is also a philosophy of empowerment. How is not societal already? In the tracker I have also got this part socializing. I get a point when I take part in an event, course or hobby. I meet people everyday but I wanted to focus on going to new places, starting hobbies I had always wanted to start and learning new skills.

Listing thoughts and writing them into daily life has made a huge change in my life. Tracking helps to see if some part of life needs attention. If I haven't been socializing for some days I browse through news papers and social media for events and book something to my calendar.

3. Keeping Fit: Jogging, workout, 10/20/30 000 steps.
Seems like cold weathers have effected my workout routine. Ups, promised to be honest! Seems like I have done workout just 6 times during the six months. It might be good to evaluate if this tracker should be removed or if I should make project about this. It depends how important I think this is. If it is not important and I am never doing this, there is no need to keep it on my BuJo. In case I decide it is very important and something I have neglected in life then a proper project and and planning page might be the way. What comes to steps I found it very motivating from the beginning to count steps and track how active I have been. Tracker also gives a reason why some days there is less steps. Focusing on other areas like blogging or reading has taken the time and it is OK.

Power of Processing

So I have had three successful projects during these six months: a. reading more, b. socializing, learning new and being active and c. getting enough exercise. All projects have evolved from the original thought. One thing leads to another. Reading more inspired to start learning new skills. For me important part of BuJo has been processing. At first I wanted to keep my notebook clean and organized. I designed every page in advance and tried to avoid messy notes and sketches. I have always had a notebook for ideas and sketches. This autumn I began to draw ideas to BuJo. It makes pages that are not so beautiful but is necessary for the process. It is amazing how the messy sketch/idea becomes a plan, plan gets booked to calendar and becomes action and turns out a blog post, completed reading list or more active lifestyle.

I have noticed that when I skip this processing work my productivity goes low and I am less pleased with how the time has been spent. I might do less and feel busier. When all is on paper it is possible to calmly move from task and activity to another. Small notebook is easy to carry with, in case new ideas occur. It doesn't have to be harmonious. When you put an idea that has not yet fully formed to a paper it looks as messy as it is in your head. I have noticed though, that the moment I see idea on a paper I find out many solutions to make it better.

Currently my BuJo is:
-notebook
-sketch book
-calendar
-habit tracker
-goal setter
-space to plan and schedule blogging
-project planner

Here you can see how I have used BuJo to plan my quilting projects. It is actually a nice thought that all that has happened in my life is in one notebook, bigger and smaller events, reading lists, craft projects, DIY ideas and exercise notes. It was pleasing to look back this 6 month period to see how much has happened in life.

This has been the longest piece of writing I have done to my blog. I am not sure if anyone read it through here but if you did I hope it encouraged you to try bullet journaling. These are my own honest thoughts about keeping BuJo and how it has been effecting my life. It might be some other things that make a difference in your life. I think BuJo is a great tool to think, evaluate and plan life and future. It comes in a simple form of a notebook but sometimes solutions can be found that easily, just pen and paper to make a list of what has been in mind for a long time. 

Have a Wonderful Weekend!

Sannu

Books and BuJo Evaluation

You know how keen I have been with my BuJo. It has kept me on track with everyday activities, goals, dreams and bigger happenings. I believe keeping BuJo can have a life changing effect like they say. Somehow it becomes easier to notice how you spend your time and what you want more in your life when you sit down and go through days with a tracker or draw a future log.

You see how enthusiastic I am. Still when summer came time started to run so fast that I almost entirely skipped making July monthly spread and tracker. I was surprised how quickly I lost the touch to all great things I wanted to achieve. It is not so much about having a calendar but the process of writing down activities, goals and plans that are important to you. Investing time for the thinking process already makes future plans more real, at least for me. I noticed that when being organised with my BuJo my head was organized too and I could work from task to another systematically. As soon as I didn´t seem to find time to draw the monthly spread and go through the goals I began to run from task to task without getting anything done. Now that I know how important it is for me to write BuJo I am more motivated. Today I spend hours making August monthly spread with care. It is still over a week until August but I decided to be early just in case finding time later would be difficult. 

I have made some changes to my BuJo during the last two months. I have my calendar as I had before. Tracker has now less things to track. I have removed activities I feel I have no need to track. Mostly I like to see that I am getting enough exercise, that I reach my reading goals and keep blog posts in somewhat regular. I also felt that keeping blog ideas and blogging calendar on a one page was practical, so I have kept it that way. 

New thing on August is personal development goals. Some weeks ago I made a mind map considering professional development and free time activity possibilities here in my home town. Summer months are quiet here and I wondered if here is anything to do ever :D I listed down all interesting groups, hobbies, courses, lectures and happenings. Usually most of the activities start at the August or September after having a summer pause. I thought that looking all choices in advance makes it more likely that I really take part in some. Short days (what comes to light) and busy schedule makes it easy to start skipping free time activities even though I know I would feel refreshed afterwards. Now I got all written down and I have already signed in to some. 

The other side of the personal development has been to think about who I want to be and what things are important for me. I have been thinking what is the field I want to work in the future and what skills I need to develop to achieve my goals.  I admire people who spend time learning new and who have a sense what goes in the world. Reading and studying has always been my Hermione Granger type answer and that is what I want to do more in the future. That means reading goals and trackers will be used :) And maybe I will take few interesting courses in Autumn. 

In June I made a reading plan that has proven to be useful. I haven´t read yet all categories mainly because I didn´t have the tracker and I sort of missed  a few days.  But I have already read four books to these categories: long book, classic, new 2017 and not originally English.  Especially new book and not originally in English language book were challenging because I didn´t want to go the easy way, it being to pick Finnish literature to both :D I have a list of interesting releases from this year but finding them from the library was tricky and I didn´t want to go and buy them from a shop. What comes to book that is not originally published in English I was surprised how many of the popular books have been written in English. Still after having challenges these are reading plan categories I am most stubborn to maintain. Reading literature from different countries opens wider horizons. One of the benefits of living in a small language area is that a lot of effort is done to translate literature from all over the world to Finnish language!

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What I have read since last reading update:

Long book: Barbara Kingsolver: The Poisonwood Bible (1998). Price missionary family is moving to Belgian Congo in 1959. Family's dad's decision to move affects to his wife and four daughters who have to survive relying on each other what ever obstacles they come across.  Political situation in Congo has been cleverly pictured between mundane happenings. Conflicts between the Price family and local people question the western all knowing attitude. Experience affects every family member in a different way which was interesting to read.

Not originally in English: Svetlana Aleksijevits: War's Unwomanly Face (orig. 1985 but I read the extended version that came out 2017 in Finnish). This book is a document of Soviet women who took part to the second world war. Aleksijevits interviewed 200 women who had been in the war in different positions. Living descriptions of the wartime reality and it's inhumanly dark shades are heavy to read. Aleksijevits' one goal has been to write a book that makes war so unappealing that new wars wouldn´t begin. Even though the events women tell about are unimaginably horrible the once you open the book you have to read it through. Women's stories open a new brutal side to the heroic war tales.

Classic: Michael Cunningham: The Hours (1998). I found this book from thrift store and thought it is time to read this modern classic. I have to say that when the writer is right a lot can be said in a small number of pages (239 pages in the Finnish translation). Book moves in three time levels telling about one day in three woman's lives. All three life stories are connected by Virginia Woolf's novel Mrs. Dalloway in some way. Virginia Woolf is in the middle of the writing process, Mrs. Brown is reading the novel and Vanessa is doing last minute preparations for a party. It is beautifully written how one day can sum a whole lifetime.

New 2017: Mohsin Hamid: Exit West (2017). Great read that really surprised me. It is a love story of Nadia and Saeed who have to leave their home city when militants take over and it becomes difficult to plan a future. When reading I noticed that the plot was actually nothing but traditional. Time was blurred with elements of past, present and future avoiding straight forward connections to any city or country. This allowed to think the immigration theme in a much broader perspective. Thought provoking novel.

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Inspirational and creative week to you all!

Sannu

Notes Behind a Huge Book Pile

How many of you have ever set up a goal to read more? There are so many excellent books that one lifetime will never be enough to read through all great ones that would definitely be worth reading. Still it would feel sad to give up and not even try. Most often people refer to the lack of time when it comes to reading more. Then there are extremely busy people who seem to complete many books per month despite all their other duties. What are they doing differently?

When I track my time consumption I always come up with the result that I could plan my time better plus leave out some not so beneficial habits. Number one bad habit I usually list is watching television. I have had many projects to get rid of the TV, but as often I have sneaked it in to my life some way. I don´t see no point why not to watch great series, movies, documentary, concerts etc. What I hate is that I consume my precious time surfing from program to program when there is actually nothing on TV. My solution for now has been to keep the traditional TV (machine) closed and watch programs I really want to see on player. I also try to narrow the series I am following because it seems that there are so many great ones that I could spend my whole life following other people's imagined life´s on screen, laugh!

Quite often it is challenging to get focused. I didn't use to have this problem but I have noticed that nowadays the lack of focus is one of my main challenges what ever I do. Different activities yell to various directions so that it is difficult to soak in to the current task, enjoy making and get finished. Luckily I have been able to train myself with fast results. I started a bullet journal about a month ago and it has helped a lot. I have used to do lists before but somehow I always booked too many activities for one day. As a result activities that would have been great for training concentration, like reading, long walks, drawing, were usually left out and forgotten. Before I started keeping BuJo I listed things that I would like to do more in my life, but that were at some point left on the background.  When I evaluated my goals in life with the current situation I noticed that two major themes were lacking attention. I have always valued reading and being curious about world around us. Also I would like to spend more time outdoors, do sports, eat healthy and live a well balanced life.

After this notion I decided to book time for planning, writing and drawing BuJo every evening. I made a tracker where I listed all these activities and booked time for them in the calendar. Instead of just listing reading, I put a goal to read 100 pages per day. I knew that 100 pages is not much if I get hooked on reading, I have read full books in one day. I thought 100 pages would work best because it gives time to go in to reading mode instead of just browsing the book and rushing to other activities. With this pace it would also be possible to finish books in a motivating schedule.

Mostly I read before going to bed. First it was difficult but then I noticed that some evenings I had read more than 100 pages because the story took in. My imagination began to work better and I lived through the books seeing pictures and hearing the sounds. More often the TV stayed closed when I wanted to know how the book ends.  Also not watching screens before bedtime made me sleep better even though we are heading towards the midnight sun and it is broad daylight 24 hours. I began the reading project at the same time with BuJo, 17.5., and I read 5 books in May!

On May I read

Margaret Atwood: The Handmaid's Tale. I wanted to read this novel from 1985 because it is now a series in Hulu (haven't seen the series) and I thought is must hold some current themes. This is quite brutal dystopia and pictures a world where women and men have strict roles in the society. Especially women have little if any power to their lives and it is told how the evolution from the world we know to this not so bright future has gone. This story gives lot to think about and makes you pay attention how to sustain equality. Still I wonder which one would make us work harder for better future, scary dystopia we want to avoid or inspiring utopia?

Amélie Nothomb: Tokyo Fiancée (orig. Ni d'Eve, ni d'Adam). Hilarious notions about cultural differences between Europe and Japan. Amélie has spent her childhood in Japan and now comes back as young adult. She begins to teach French to learn Japan herself. Little incidents she describes intelligently were interesting to read.

A S Byatt: Possession: A Romance. Two academics find a lost correspondence between Victorian era poets and begin to find out the tale of these two people no-one had known to combine together. This book was not an easy read because it had so many elements like letters, poems and diaries. The structure made me feel like I would be making a research with the documents so that in the end it was rewarding when all elements were bound together and the picture of the two poets was complete.

Emma Cline: The Girls. Excellent, modern and smart novel about how it is to be a girl. Evie Boyd has been left alone by her best fried and has whole summer ahead. She notices a group of girls and gets drawn into a cult similar to the Charles Manson's. When I read this J. D. Salinger´s The Catcher in the Rye came in to my mind, same kind of excellence in capturing the movements of young mind and restless life situation without judging.

Zadie Smith: Swing Time. Smith pictures multicultural London in the 80s and 90s and two girls who share the common interest for dance. With different backgrounds both girls head to the future through same dance classes and become friends. Their lives are bound in adulthood even though they go in to different directions. Main character makes a career as a personal assistant for famous singer, job that takes her to Africa and USA.

( I read all books in Finnish but I put names in English so that it would be easier for you to find same books in case you are interested.)

Now that I have created a huge reading appetite I spend hours just searching new books to read. There are many good sites to browse book reviews and get recommendations. I follow for example Modern Mrs Darcy, which is my favorite blog about books and reading. I also enjoy browsing Goodreads when ever I want to know more about some book and read reviews.  Goodreads makes it easier for me to decide what would fit to the current reading mood. The New Yorker Page-Turner has interesting articles about books, authors and current societal topics. When I like to ad some notable modern classics to my must read list I usually browse Pulitzer Fiction winners, Nobel Prizes in literature and The Man Booker Prize for Fiction. Also one should never forget to talk about books and ask for recommendations. I told on Instagram about my reading plans and got in to great discussion with @making.house.a.home.blog (Making a House a Home), who gave me excellent book recommendations, thanks again (I already read one of A. Nothomb's books on May:)!

My list of must reads grows every day and I had to come with a solution that would fix the challenge of reading them all. There is no way to put books on the list in order so that the most essential to read would be first and I could start reading books as on the list. Great books have been written through the centuries and many excellent ones have been published just this year.

Inspired by the book challenges (see example the results on Pinterest) with categories I made a list for June that has nine categories: long book, classic, new 2017, Finnish book (because I am Finnish), current, scifi/fantasy, historical, nonfiction and not originally English. I think this might be the best way to learn more and get that book pile a little bit shorter from each category. This method gives a chance to choose what ever books feel the most interesting at the time. So I don´t have to force myself to read a classic that doesn´t feel appealing at the time just because I have a list of must read classics. It might be that I can not get through all the categories in one month but I can continue in July and when I have finished start the categories from the beginning in case this method works.

Happy Thursday to you all from me behind the book pile!

Sannu

Quilting Project News and Tips

Those who have followed me on Instagram and Twitter might have seen pictures of my latest quilting project. Today I thought I would like to share pictures and inspiration here on my blog. You know how I love bright colors and this year´s quilting project is no exception. In this project colors are a bit lighter which has to do with spring and need of green summery hues. Pattern is traditional quilting pattern and makes very different design depending on how big squares you use as a starting point. With bigger squares it makes a star and with smaller squares ikat style pattern. I used quite small squares 15 cm * 15 cm. As the seams are 0,75 cm which is the normal seam allowance, 15 cm was the minimum (for me) with so many seams. I will show the basic technique how to make this block plus two ways to make it easier to quilt blocks.

In this project I am making 54 blocks and quilting project tracker is a good way to follow the progress and manage the project. I don´t have a special room where I can spread the blocks and leave there so that I am storing my blocks in a pile and it is easy to lose count on which ones have already been made. In this tracker every tile means one block. When the block has been made I use the background color to mark the block done. I am also planning to sew braids to frame the blocks. Now I am in the halfway making the blocks.

Here you can see some of the 15 cm*15 cm squares that are the starting point for the blocks.

Matching the right colors together so that the pattern will work best. Orange and lots of green is the basis of this quilt. Pink and raspberry red make the other colors sweeter. Light blue freshens the look. 

Blocks in different phases. Magazines are great for organizing the pieces so that it is possible to cut more blocks at one time. 

Beautiful buttons I found from a thrift shop. The moment I saw these I thought maybe I could use these to decorate my quilt.

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How to make this block:

1. You will need four 15 cm * 15 cm squares in two colors (2+2).

2. Take one square in color a and one in color b, put the right sides together and draw a line from corner to corner (see picture). Sew from both sides with 0,75 cm seam allowance. Cut the pieces apart and open the two colored square. Iron the seam well.

3. Now you got 4 two colored squares. Point is that these squares are the four sectors that make the star. You cut the square in four stripes and reorganize the stripes to get zig zag shape. It is a good idea to draw a quilt block board like mine so that it is easier to cut the stripes right.  You will have to choose which color makes the star and which one is the background. Then place the square to the corner of the sector you are making to get the direction right.

4. Measure the square and divide it to four equal stripes. I had about 3,3-3,5 stripes.  Then reorganize the stripes to the block board and sew long sides together first the 8 on the one side and then the 8 on the other side. Iron the seams well and sew the two pieces together. Iron well.

Here you are able to see the the different phases. You can use these blocks in blankets, decorative pillows or for example in a summer bag.

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I have still got lots to do but when quilting it is about the journey not the finish line. It is nice to make a few blocks every now and then. I take the time to make as neat as possible. Sometimes I listen to audio books or radio at the same time. After getting block done it is relaxing to color a tile from the tracker. Real feel good craft project. Last year I made two blankets because I love having a quilting project to work with. It grows patience to make something that is not ready in few hours or days. Every new project has been more challenging than the one before. Internet and books are full of traditional patterns everyone can learn and use in their projects. Study first how the block is done and then just experiment. Even though the same patterns have been used for centuries quilts are modern looking when you choose the colors you prefer, make the design in different size and place the blocks in a different way. 

Inspiring Week and Spring Sunshine where ever you are reading this!

Sannu