I didn’t think I’d ever manage to finish this piece! It seems like I started it forever ago – I began on Jan 16 with a couple of inset circle blocks. Three days later I had the layout pretty much established and I couldn’t go any further (trump was sworn into office the day after that, and all hell broke loose…).

I picked it up two weeks ago and edge stitched the appliqué circles and then was stuck again – should I also use decorative stitching around the large inset circles or leave them unembellished?

Three days ago I decided to try some embellishment – sat at the machine and immediately broke the needle (!), then didn’t like the particular stitching I started. It took close to an hour to remove what I’d done.

The next day I tried again and managed to embroider the large, lower-left circle, both inside and outside; stuck again. Yesterday, I was determined to get the rest done! I actually did.

Today, I added the binding. I’d chosen the black fabric with the small circles to tie the whole together and hoping a dark binding would lighten the piece (not as much as I’d hoped it would).

Now I’m looking for a name for it – something that highlights the bright circular shapes. Any ideas?