spend some time // stitching in circles

As I begin this year of playing with shapes, starting with circles, I thought it would be nice to show you how some other folks are using circles creatively. I asked these lovely ladies if I could show off a bit of their work, and they graciously said yes. If you haven't checked out their blogs before, be sure to spend some time at their blogs!

When I think of Wendi of Shiny Happy World I think "stuffed animals" and "the woman who got me quilting." She also designs embroidery patterns, and in the case of the hoop above, encourages you to design your own. Her mandala project uses felt circles and circles of stitches, resulting in a relaxing design that lets you explore the process. And it comes out looking amazing!

Rachel blogs at Stitched in Color, and her quilts are always stunning. She recently shared a way to make a clamshell design using circles with raw edges (I LOVE raw edges!). This really appeals to me because it looks so much easier than true clamshell cutting and applique. I'm still not sure about machine sewing those little curves as perfectly as she does, but fortunately, Rachel has a class for that! (I took her Handstitched class and it was fantastic.) You might also like her Wheel and Love in Bubbles quilts.

Diane, or CraftyPod as she's sometimes known, has managed to make plastic canvas look better than it ever has. Seriously, she is doing super creative things with this material that I thought would never be cool again. And I love her for it. Similar to Wendi's zen stitching, Diane's Choose Your Own Design Adventure Ornaments are perfect for stitching and seeing what happens. Be sure to see her black and white ornaments in the post. And while you're visiting Diane's blog, don't miss her metal dot ornament (also circles!) and all of her wonderful English paper piecing work!

Do you have any favorite circle-themed tutorials? Share them in the comments! And before you go, here are a few more to visit:

Dandelion Puff Embroidery from Hugs Are Fun
Hula Hoop Chandelier from Sarah with an H