I am an ADHD Superstar! Routine is important to my abilities to complete any task with regularity. A small hiccup to my routine can derail months worth of progress on any of my projects. I am aware of this reality, and I have spent decades learning how best to set myself up for success in the face of all the damned hiccups that are guaranteed to be a part of anything worth doing. Most importantly, that has meant embracing the philosophy of just rolling with the hiccups, and letting go of the shame. I work to minimize the comparing of myself to others (a herculean task at that!), and let go of arbitrary timelines and non-existent deadlines. I am also mindful of disregarding any of those superfluous tasks or details that may seem necessary on the surface but are actually enormous time bomb like hiccups waiting to destroy my projects entirely!

And yet, I started a 100 Day Project that is based on the premise of doing a particular thing every single day for 100 days, and then sharing about it each of those 100 days. So yeah, it should be no surprise that I have not successfully tracked and shared my creative progress every single day since Day 1.

My take on it all: never mind the calendar, just keep going!

I believe there is great value in embracing inspiration to join a larger creative project such as a 100 Day Project, or a 52 Week Project, or a 30 Day Project, or a whatever-inspires-you-to-simply-start-a-thing-and-explore-what-it’s-like-being-creative Project. Regardless of any parameters initially set, I believe any gaps in participation days are irrelevant. Vacations happen. Crazy-busy days happen. Sick kids happen. Being exhausted and needing a day off happens. Life happens, and that needs to be okay without declaring ourselves failures or being seen as less than simply because we didn’t keep up with the social media postings. It also needs to be completely okay for someone to discover this kind of project isn’t for them, and they deserve the space to simply stop participating without explaining anything to anybody. The point should never be strict adherence to inspirational timelines, but instead it should be the inspiration to go explore one’s creativity and then celebrate it in whatever manner suits each individual best.

Okay, yes, clearly I have opinions about this, but that is because of how many times I have tried to adhere to such arbitrary and rigid timeframes and then felt like the biggest failure when the first hiccup presented itself and I couldn’t be perfect in my participation even if I only stumbled for one day. That should never be the point with projects intended to inspire creativity, and yet even if it isn’t explicitly stated as a “rule,” perfect adherence to such structures can be internalized without us realizing its being done. And so, here I am, sharing my participation, my progress, and celebrating my lack of perfection while continuing to count all of these 100 days!

Embracing this philosophy of just carrying on even if I haven’t lived up to all of the “rules” has allowed me to succeed in this project more than I imagined I would. Even though this is only my third specific 100 Day update, the last 80-plus days have been pivotal to my development as a quilter, and (hopefully) to the writing career I continue to strive for. I think that’s more important than whether or not I remembered to make a social media post or cross off another box in my notebook tracker every day. I’m still here working, writing, and stitching away, and I’m trying my best to share my progress as often as I can. Through this project, I think I’ve even found another set of tools to help work with my ADHD brain instead of against it.

Let me explain. . . .

Just prior to this whole 100 Day Project thing starting, I had been pondering whether or not I should try doing a “numbered day project” on my own to help me get myself back into the grove of my quilting, writing, and podcasting process. That was the serendipity of it all when I spotted another creative I follow on the socials announcing that she was getting ready to start this particular 100 Day Project the very next day. That’s how I very quickly threw a project plan together, and made a little notebook tracker for myself (I do better with pen and paper than I do anything digital), and then dove in without much thought. I’m glad I did, because sometimes that’s what it takes to find out if a process fits a need. And while the structure of the 100 Day Project does not really fit my needs, I did find elements of it that do, and all of them are in that little notebook tracker I started.

This little notebook is a place for me to write small notes to myself about how my project/process is going. I started by drawing out a numbered grid to help keep track of the 100 days within the project timeline, and I made a little project related focus page to keep my goal in sight. I then used the following pages to make little progress notes about what I’ve been doing and how it’s been going. Think of it kind of like an accountability buddy. Writing these notes to myself in this little notebook helps me stay focused and on track. And being that my physical projects are fabric related, this little notebook also gives me a place to add fabric scraps from my quilt projects to the pages. This creates a further tactile experience for both adding updates about my work, and reflecting back on what I’ve accomplished.

I have also really loved the idea of breaking down the larger timeframe of a year into a smaller selection of days with a focus on what can be accomplished within just those days. This mindset helps take a larger goal of, say . . . writing, recording, producing, and publishing a full 12 episode season of a podcast entirely by myself in less than a year, and instead turning it into something less daunting like maybe . . . now that I have a clearer focus of who I am as quilter, how about I write a couple of episodes discussing how I found my quilting path, what these first few steps have been like, and maybe share the story of a quilt or two? Breaking larger goals and tasks into smaller chunks is always anxiety relieving for me. Plus, I love this idea of having my own little tracking notebook at hand to help me stay engaged with my projects and keep track of how much time has passed.

But you know what? I don’t love the 100 Days of it all. It breaks up the calendar in a weird way that’s harder to follow than it needs to be, and it doesn’t break the year up evenly. So, as I go forward with my own ongoing numbered-day project, I will be doing them by the calendar quarter. That even fits better into the quilting theme because quilters primarily work with quarter inch seams. That means, this section of my Substack newsletters will be renamed from “100 Days at a Time” to “A Quarter at a Time.” A change that will take effect with the publication of this post.

That does leave June needing to be figured out. The 100 Day Project ends on June 1st, but the next standard calendar quarter doesn’t start until July 1st. My solution: June gets to be its own quarter this year! Because, why not?! June will be a transition time to help me smooth out the first set of inevitable hiccups we all know are going to happen, and hopefully help set me up for success.

So yeah, that’s my update. That’s where I’m at. I’ve been here. I’ve been working. I’ve been creating. I just don’t know if I’ve been 100 Day Project-ing, and I’m okay with that! I’m excited to move forward with my quilting and writing projects, and focusing on what I can accomplish within smaller portions of the year while sharing those accomplishments, and the occasional side quest that pops up along the way.

In that spirit, I want to share a few glimpses into what I’ve been creating these last 80ish days. The most noteworthy part is the absence of the Jane Austen quilt I started this whole 100 Day Project with. I have not given up on celebrating my friend Jane, but I am respecting the reality that the timing is off for me to be working on her quilt right now. I have a few other quilt projects that are a better fit for my attention at the moment. Never fear, I will come back to Jane when the time is right.

My Project Updates

I currently have four quilts I’m working on. Yes, you read that right, FOUR! I know that’s a lot to work on at once, but they each require something different to complete their next step, which is useful because the varying demands of my day (and my kids’ practice schedules) usually end up dictating what I’m stitching at any given time. If it’s cold outside when I need to sit alongside a soccer field for an hour in the evening, I want something big and warm in my lap that I can quilt, but if I’m trying to take up as little space as possible in a small dance studio waiting area then hand piecing small bits of fabric is best. There’s more to share about each of these quilts, but for now, here’s a quick rundown:

Woodland Creatures Quilt

Pattern: Farmhouse Chic by Fabric Cafe

Fabric: A selection from the shelves of My Happy Place Quilt Shop.

This is the quilt that has changed everything for me as a quilter. It is my very first fully hand pieced quilt, and I just completed the top!! I am equal parts thrilled and in disbelief that I did it! I can’t wait to write this quilt’s story and share more about why I started it in the first place, and how it has changed me as a quilter, a writer, and even a person. Next week I have scheduled specific time for myself to piece the backing together and then sandwich and baste it before tucking it away to wait its turn to be quilted.

Stitching My Way To Fifty: My Birthday Quilt

Pattern: Temperature Quilt by Plains and Pine

Fabric: A variety of Liberty Fabric’s Tana Lawn Cotton from Duckadilly

I have a milestone birthday coming up next year, and this quilt is how I am celebrating. I turned 49 back on April 14th, which means I’m about a month into my 50th year. Fifty is a daunting number when it comes to one’s age, so I wanted a way to embrace my upcoming milestone birthday while savoring the last year of my forties.

I haven’t had a chance to publicly share anything about this quilt yet, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love it and can’t wait to share more about it. That simply means life has been a bit busy. Sharing this quilt is important to me, so I want to do so when it can have my full attention. I’m also a little behind in my daily piecing for this one, but now that my Woodland Creatures quilt top is finished, I can focus on catching up with My Birthday Quilt. Keep an eye on my Instagram for updates.

Cabin Beneath The Stars Quilt

Pattern: Cabin Beneath The Stars by Stitched by Starlight

Fabric: Lovestruck from Henry Glass Fabrics

Oh, how I’m loving this quilt!! I had a chance to cut and prep all the fabric while on a retreat with my Creative Crew last month. Since then, I’ve only had a chance to make my first set of rainbow flying geese, but my suspicions of this being a perfect quilt to have a bunch of hand piecing fun with have already been confirmed!

Winter Star Quilt

Pattern: Winter Star by Missouri Star Quilt Co.

Fabrics: A selection from the shelves of My Happy Place Quilt Shop

This is the quilt I have been actively hand quilting for about a year and a half now. I’m getting close to finishing it, and really beginning to look forward to having it on the couch to snuggle under soon. At the moment, I am working on quilting the smaller of the two borders. When I’m done with the quilting, I will be doing something I have never done before: bind a quilt by hand! I kind of, sort of super love this quilt especially because this one’s for me. I firmly believe that we quilters deserve to make a special quilt for ourselves every once in a while, which is exactly why this one exists!

Podcast Update

I refuse to abandon the podcast component to this whole Hand Quilted project, but I haven’t been able to write my stories that comprise each episode, nor have I been able to spend time in my quilted recording booth. However, reengaging with this whole project through these newsletters, and with the quilty clarity I have found with my Woodland Creatures Quilt, I am finding my way back to the podcast one stitch and one story at a time. I hope you will continue to share this journey with me.

Let me attempt to tell you the story, and explain what the coming months hold.

Way back on the morning of Day 5, or rather, on February 26, 2026, I was sitting on my back porch with my dogs, stitching away on the center block of the Jane Austen quilt I initially set out to be my focus for these 100 days. This has become my morning routine. After I finish dropping my kids off at school, I come home, grab my stitching, and turn my attention to my dogs. They get to enjoy having me outside with them, and I get to start my day in the fresh air with my needle, thread, and thimble. We all kind of win with this arrangement. Anyhow, I’m out on my back porch, stitching away in that rhythmic, slow, calming, repetitive, mindful manner that I love so much, and my mind begins to wander. . . .

This is what I love about hand quilting. It’s an activity that forces me to ground myself in one place, my hands are given a task, and my brain can heave that cleansing, cathartic sigh of finding a bit of calm within a crazy, hyperactive existence. Within these moments of calm, my brain can wander freely and explore the questions my heart holds the closest.

. . . And on that porch on the morning of Day 5, with the Jane Austen quilt in my hands, my brain once again began pondering whether or not I would be able to both hand appliqué and hand piece that entire quilt? It’s a question I’ve been pondering for months now, but there was something about the way the question had been growing within my thoughts that whole week. This idea of hand piecing a quilt was beginning to take over. It was calling to me, and on the afternoon of Day 5 I finally paused all that I was quilting, and turned my attention towards finding an answer.

That afternoon, I had begun working to excavate the enormous mountain of clutter that has taken over my sewing area these last six months. In doing so, I came across a couple of fabric sets and quilt pattern books I recently picked up at my local quilt shop. The pattern books were from Fabric Café’s 3-Yard Quilts series, and the fabric sets had been carefully selected and packaged by the crew at My Happy Place Quilt Shop. I picked the fabric package that spoke to me the most that afternoon, grabbed the quilt pattern I initially paired it with, and off I went! A short bit of cutting, marking, and stitching later I had found my quilting voice!

Suddenly, I was a Completely. Different. Quilter!

I have always loved the simplicity and mobility of hand quilting, but embracing the added step of hand piecing has felt as if I am home at last! It has peeled away and cast off so many layers of doubt, uncertainty, and anxiety I didn’t fully comprehend my quilting experience contained. I felt as if an enormous vice grip had released its hold on my chest and that I could breathe deeper than I have for months. I felt as if I found the calm in my body and a song in my soul. I felt as if I had finally found myself: who I truly am as a quilter.

I’m not one for “never” statements, nor am I about to get rid of my sewing machine, but discovering my affinity for hand piecing has unlocked a whole new quilting adventure for me. Very quickly, I began contemplating what to do with all of the quilt kits and projects I already have waiting for me. All of those quilt patterns are written to be used with a machine. They include steps using strip piecing and chain piecing and all these other sewing techniques I’ve learned that all require a sewing machine. How, I was asking myself, do I make these quilts I’ve already fallen in love with (and invested money into) and yet still feed my quilting passions by using my thimble? The answer revealed itself pretty quickly. I will be using my machine to finish specific projects, and I will trust the quilting skills and knowledge I’ve developed over the last 11 years I’ve been doing this, and I’ll adapt the other patterns to work with my thimble as needed.

I will hold off on elaborating more on this epiphany because it’s one of the exciting quilting paths I’m about to journey down. Not only am I planning on sharing my stories about what this will look like for me, but I also have the most perfect quilt project to start with that will beautifully illustrate my point. Stay tuned as this journey will be taking us to a Cabin Beneath The Stars!

This dramatic turn of events also opened a door that will allow me to chronicle a milestone year in my life through a quilt pattern I’ve been trying to find a project for, and I’ll get to do it while also learning about an iconic fabric line I’ve been super curious about. Put another way: I’ll be Stitching My Way To 50, thanks to Plains & Pine’s Temperature Quilt pattern, and a couple of Liberty Fabric bundles from DuckaDilly. I’m in the planning and prepping stage for this right now, but my “proof of concept” tests have been encouraging. This quilting adventure will start in just a couple of weeks.

And of course, there’s my Woodlands Creature Quilt. That’s what I’ve decided to call this 3-Yards Quilt project that unlocked the world of hand piecing for me. This quilt has taught me a couple of pretty important life lessons that I look forward to sharing more about, but those can wait until I have it finished. As I type this, I’ve finished the whole body of the quilt and I’ve begun adding the boarders. I’m hopeful I’ll have it completed within the next week or so.

As I said, it’s been an incredible 31 days. It’s a little bonkers to think about how I started these 100 Days working on one project that has been weighting on my heart for months, only to have three more quilt projects pop up and call to be worked on. Never fear, I’m not abandoning Jane Austen. I’m embracing an important lesson I learned from my personal literary pursuits: books have timing! Sometimes it’s just not the right moment in your life to read that particular book. Put into quilting terms: quilts have timing too! I needed that Jane Austen quilt to help me find this quilted path I’m now headed down, but it’s not time for me to finish it just now. I look forward to picking it up again in the future. Perhaps, I’ll do so for my next 100 Days.

I’m happy to share that I have returned to my writing, I have Episode 4 of the Hand Quilted Podcast ready to record, and with the start of my son’s soccer season, I’m back to quilting on the sidelines. So things are looking up for 2026, but admittedly they have been slowly looking up. I’ve been needing a big kick in the pants to fully shake myself out of the creative funk I’ve fallen into. That’s where an incredibly well timed peek at Substack yesterday delivered just the right nudge I needed to finish igniting my creative motivations.

Thank you, Jamie Gregory, for sharing your preparations for Lindsay Jean Thomson’s 100 Day Project. I love when serendipity comes out to play, and that’s exactly how reading your post felt! After reading about your preparations, I also spent yesterday preparing for the next 100 days. Recently I happened to have treated myself to Passion Planner’s Self-Care Gift Box, and it contained a little notebook that was exactly the right tool I needed to create my 100 day checklist, track my stitching progress, and even jot down a thought or two that I may want to keep track of over the next couple of months.

For these next 100 days, I will be working on my Jane Austen quilt from Riley Blake Designs, which was beautifully designed by Lori Holt. This quilt was created in honor of Jane Austen’s 250th birthday. I signed up for what is called a BOM, or Block of the Month, which means I purchased all the fabric, stencils, and pattern for this quilt, but instead of getting it all in one package, I am getting smaller bits of it every month for the course of the BOM. In this case, that will be over 10 months that started back in August. The idea is to take the larger project of making a quilt like this one, and chunking it down into smaller, more manageable pieces. It’s not uncommon to fall behind when it comes to putting together a BOM. At least it’s not uncommon for me! For those checking the calendar, month 7 just arrived, and I’m still working on the first month’s block.

So, for the next 100 days, I plan to spend a minimum of 20 minutes everyday stitching away on this very special quilt project. Lori Holt carefully designed this project to be done easily on a sewing machine, but I have elected to do this one by hand. Most of the quilt is done using a technique called appliqué, which can be done by hand or machine. I have committed to myself to do all of the appliqué by hand, and I’m very seriously considering doing all of the patchwork piecing by hand as well. However, that’s a much bigger commitment that I’m not completely sure I’m ready for. So my plan is to give it a try when I get to those steps and see how the process feels. I’m currently loving stitching machine free, but I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself.

The 100 Day Project starts today, and I will be sharing my progress through these next 100 days here on Substack, but while I will be tracking my daily progress in my notebook, I’m not sure of my best posting schedule. It’s a lot like that patchwork piecing portion of my Jane Austen quilt. I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself and commit to something that will become too overwhelming. When I get too overwhelmed I shutdown, and I know none of us what that.

So here we go, cheers to 100 days of creativity!