Quilty 365: The Circle Game

I am following along with Audrey's (Quilt Folk blog) Quilty 365 circles. 

These are my finished circles for December 1 - 25.  I buttonhole my circles to a 4.5 inch HST and then write something in the muslin part of the HST that denotes a highlight of that day. 

I've been making circles since November 4.

   I showed most of November's circles in a previous post.  

These are my Dec 26 - 31 circles...not completely finished. 

We ate the last of the home grown potatoes, I started a few quilts using up scraps, it snowed, I have x amt of circles on Dec 29, I almost ran into 3 deer in the road on early morning drive to work and I'll end the year with a quote from the Cat in the Hat. 

Here's how I make my circles.

I have about a 3 inch cardboard circle template. And I use thread at the end of bobbins and spools. 

I put the circle on my fabric and cut out around it leaving 1/4 inch or more (looks like "way more)  for seam allowance.  If you want to be more precise than I happen to be you could cut a second cardboard template 1/4 inch or so larger than the size of the circle. 

I then baste around the outside of the circle staying as close to the edge as I can.  You could machine baste if you wanted. 

You have to be sure to baste a little past the starting point or you will have a little lump at that point of your circle. 

Next I take it over to the ironing board and spritz it a little with some starch (if I remember).  This helps the circle keep in shape. Don't use too much or get it too wet or the basting thread will be difficult to pull around the template and your cardboard template might start to fall apart if it gets wet too many times. (Believe me). 

I then center the cardboard template over the backside of the fabric circle and pull the basting thread tightly around the circle. 

Press and cool for a little bit. 

Remove cardboard template from circle.

Pin to background. 

There are lots of ways to make circles...probably a lot easier than I make mine but it works for me. 

Why not join in the circle game, Quilty 365...there's so many different versions at play...it's fun to see all the creativity each month at the linky party.

Quilty 365 Linkup