To List for the Week of 9/8/2026

Labor Day has come and gone, it's supposed to be autumn.  Looks like we've got a few more triple digit days and then temps drop to the low to mid 90's.  Not my idea of autumn, but I'll take just anything lower at this point.  

Staying in the sewing room is easy when it's too miserable to leave the house.  That means I did pretty well on my list for last week.  

To Do List for 9/1/2026

1. Glowing Hearts: Continue quilting ✔

2. Squared Away: press, cut and prep backing ✔

3. Celtic Solstice: Continue working on blocks ✔

4. 2026 Guild BOM: Finish instructions, cut pieces - progress

5. Wild and Goosey: Continue making teal blocks ✔

Four check marks with progress on the 5th is a really good week.  Let's see if I can do as well this week. 

To Do List for 9/8/2026

1. Glowing Hearts (Sandra Walker): Continue quilting

Last week I finished up the top middle row, re-pinned the ends and started in on the bottom middle row.  The middle block in that row is completely quilted.  I've figured out how to manage a few things so the quilting is going faster.  Hopefully I can finish this row and get started on the third one before the end of this week.  

2.  2026 Guild BOM: Finish cutting fabrics for assembly

The instructions were written last week, but I didn't get started on cutting out the sashing strips needed for final assembly.  I'm planning to take this project with me when I visit My Girl later this month.   

3. Celtic Solstice (Bonnie Hunter): Continue making blocks

All the pieces for the remaining blocks are cut, now I just need to sew them all together. I've made good progress on the chevron blocks, but still have more to make.  Any progress on this project is good. It's going to take a bit to finish off the main blocks.   

4. Marigold Mystery (Meadow Mist Designs): Cut fabrics for September blocks 

The scrappy parts are cut for the chain blocks. The plan is to get the rest of the cutting done for September this afternoon.  

5. Wild and Goosey (Bonnie Hunter): Finish teal/start purple

Just a three more teal blocks to finish and then those will be ready for sashing and I can make some progress on moving the purple ones along.  

My list doesn't seem to change much week to week.  Maybe because the Guild BOM and Wild and Goosey are on it more weeks than not.  but three projects are finished, 2 more are being quilted and 5 have moved to finished quilt tops. My to do list hasn't shrunk, but the number of projects in boxes has. Linking up with the Quilt Schmilt for To Do Tuesday.   

Weekend Progress on UFOs

If you are in the US, hopefully you are enjoying your Labor Day holiday. Being retired, it's just another Monday in our schedule. Though we do usually skip our normal chores if it's a holiday, so we feel like we've celebrated. Which means I get a three day weekend in the sewing room.  

My priority this weekend was to get Squared Away (Soscrappy) ready to go to the long armer this next week. If I want it back before Christmas that needs to happen.  First job was to press and then cut the wide backing to size.  

That was an all day deal as I had to fold the fabric two different ways to get it cut to size.  But that's ready to go. Yesterday I started prepping the quilt top. 

The first four rows are pressed and de-threaded. That leaves just two rows and the bottom border to take care of today.  Unfortunately the black fabric that I used in the sashing unravels really easily, so there were a lot of black threads to remove. 

That's a pretty good pile and I'm not done yet.  But since most of the blocks have white/light backgrounds, getting those black threads off is important.  

There wasn't much progress on Celtic Solstice (Bonnie Hunter), but there had been good progress earlier in the week. All the 4-patch chain alternate blocks were finished at the end of last month.  The main block has lots of parts, 52 pieces per block. I had enough of the centers and corner units for 5 blocks, but needed to make the chevron units before starting to assemble the blocks. That meant I needed to cut fabric, so I cut all the parts needed to make the rest of the components. 

I had enough of the orange/teal HSTs to make the block centers, but I still need some for the corner units.  I've made a good start on the chevron units, had enough to finish up two more of the main blocks. So this is what was up on the design wall by the end of the weekend. 

 

One block is sitting at the sewing machine partially assembled.  Still lots of block components to make. I definitely won't finish all the main blocks this week, but I should make good progress. 

Sewing time can be dangerous because it gives your mind opportunities to wander while you are sitting at the machine. My version of Celtic Solstice has been 13 years in the making. I started wondering if anyone else had waited so long.  Looking that the Quiltville Open Studio page on Facebook, I found two quilters that just finished assembling their versions in February and August of this year.  So I'm not the only one that didn't get back to her version very quickly.  

Linking up with Patchwork & Quilts and Sew & Tell Monday.  

Stitching Stuff: Week 36 of 2026

 

The heat dome seems to have taken up permanent residence over Oklahoma.  The whole state is in drought, some places have very severe drought. It's so hot and dry that the leaves on many trees are turning brown and falling off.  Some trees are almost bare now.  Based on the forecast into next weekend, we will cool down into the mid to high 90's, but have triple digits forecast until next Thursday. That should mean lots of sewing time this next week too.  

I definitely took refuge in my sewing room this week, it's become the theme of my summer.  

• 15 minute days/week = 7/7 days
• 15 minute days/Aug = 31/31 days
• 15 minute days/2026 = 244/248 days
• Success rate = 98.39%

Not a bad year so far on the stitching front.  I've gotten lots done this summer, but I suspect once the weather gets cooler, I'll be spending more time hiking and doing more things with My Guy. Now that he's retired too (at least for now) he has more time to do the fun stuff. But it's been hard to want to do much in this heat.  He has plans for when it cools down. 

How was your week in the sewing room? 

 

August PHD Report

The big thing that sticks in my mind for August is just how hot it was all month.  Normally we get those triple digit temps for a couple of weeks. It was pretty much the whole month, with just a few days of temps dipping into the 90's. It was a good month for sewing, it was too hot to do much else.  No finishes last month, but there was still enough progress to do an August PHD report to link up with Ms. P Designs.  

No finishes, but there was a new project started last month. It was a project I planned to start this year.  It's a quilt along that won't finish till next year, so it doesn't have to get done this year.  I've done pretty well at limiting the squirrels this year. This is my first new start since January.  

Celtic Solstice, the 2013 Bonnie Hunter Mystery, has been on and off to my to do list since June of this year.  There was finally some progress on this UFO in late August.  It's my last unassembled BH mystery. All the 4-patch chain blocks are finished. Now to work on the piece heavy main block.  That's going to go pretty slowly.   

The next quilt to go out for long arm quilting is Squared Away (2018 Rainbow Scrap Challenge Sampler).  This is another quilt for one of My Girl's college buddies. The plan was to pull a backing from the stash, but nothing I pulled worked.  So we decided to take advantage of a sale and buy an extra wide backing.  The plan is to get this to the long arm quilter before I leave to visit My Girl later this month. 

Good Fortune (Bonnie Hunter) has moved from a set of blocks to a finished quilt top this month. I'm really happy with how it turned out.  The pieced border was definitely worth doing.  Now it goes into the to be quilted closet. 

Work on the teal blocks for my version of Wild and Goosey (Bonnie Hunter) continued in August. Just 4 blocks to go and I'll be ready to sash the 3" finished blocks into 7" finished blocks for quilt assembly.  

The quilting has been slow going on Glowing Hearts (Sandra Walker).  I picked a denser quilting motif, so of course it's going to take more time. It's going to be worth it, I really like how it's turning out.  Based on where I'm at, this going to be a September/October finish. 

All the blocks for the 2026 Guild BOM have been made. Only the blocks through September are shown in the photo since that's all the guild has seen.  I'm working on the quilt assembly instructions, with plans to start that in late September after the October block is shown to the guild.  I need to get this quilt to finished quilt top so I can move on to next year's BOM and have that ready to go for the December meeting.   

  

Marigold Mystery (Meadow Mist Designs) is the new project started this month.  The August blocks are all finished.  This is my 11th Meadow Mist Designs' mystery sew along. I've enjoyed all of them.  The sew along doesn't end until next April, so I'm looking forward to several months of clues.   

August was a good month. No finishes, but one project reached finished quilt top stage and another one is ready to prep for quilting.  A new project was added, but it was a planned one.  

All the work this month means there's a good chance for at least 2 more finishes before the end of the year.  I'll take that!    

To Do List for the Week of 9/1/2026

August seemed to go both fast and slow. The high temperatures did make the month drag a bit.  I'm ready for autumn temps, but I'm not ready for it to be September.  If this year is like past years, I'll blink and it will be December!  

The last week of August was a productive one. My to do list was pretty short, which is probably why I got so much done on each item.  

To Do List for 8/25/26

1. Glowing Hearts: Continue quilting ✔

2. Squared Away: Decide on backing ✔

3. Celtic Solstice: Work on incomplete blocks ✔

4. Wild and Goosey: Continue making teal blocks ✔

I'm hoping to do as well with this week's list, though it is a bit longer.  

To Do List for 9/1/2026

1. Glowing Hearts (Sandra Walker): Continue quilting

Last week I finished the second block and got halfway with the block 3.  I've found a few tips that have made the progress go faster. Fingers crossed I can get most of the next row done this week. 

2. Squared Away (Soscrappy): Press, cut and prep backing 

My Girl picked out the backing fabric. I chose an extra wide backing fabric.  It's nice not to have any seams, but I will admit, it's not fun to man handle from a pressing and cutting perspective.  But I'll be glad to have it ready to go.  

3. Celtic Solstice (Bonnie Hunter): Continue working on blocks

All the 4-patch chain blocks are finished and I got started on the main block.  I've cut all the pieces needed for the chevron components and started piecing those.  I have enough of the other block components to make 5 of the main blocks.  After a bit of review and some calculations, a cutting list has been created. I'm hoping to get the rest of the pieces cut this week so all I'll have to do is sew the blocks.    

4.  2026 Guild BOM: Finish assembly instructions, start cutting finishing pieces

I need to wait till after the September guild meeting before I start the quilt assembly, but it's not too early to finish up the instructions and cut my pieces. I have a trip planned to see My Girl later in the month, this would be a good "kit" to take with me and work on during my visit.  

5. Wild and Goosey (Bonnie Hunter) Continue making teal blocks

I know the RSC color is purple, but I only need a four more teal blocks and I'll be finished with those. Once those are done, I'll switch over to finishing up the purple ones.  

It's a pretty doable list.  We'll see how far I can get in a week.  Linking up with the Quilt Schmilt for To Do Tuesday.