To Do List for the Week on 10/20/2026

We've been enjoying the cooler weather, but apparently the cool down tripped something in the atmosphere and I've been struggling with my allergies lately.  It's not horrible, but my energy levels haven't been what they normally are, lots of napping in the afternoon to cope. That really cut into my sewing time this week, so my to do list didn't get it's normal attention.  

To Do List for 10/13/2026

1. Squared Away: Finish binding ✔

2. Glowing Hearts: Continue quilting ✔

3. Celtic Solstice: Work on borders ✔

4. Marigold Mystery: Finish Sept, cut fabrics for Oct - progress

5. Guild BOM: Start assembly ✔

6. Wild and Goosey: Continue working on teal/purple blocks ✔

It really wasn't a bad week, there was progress on all of my items, just not as much as I'd planned. I did finish up Squared Away, so that was definitely a high point.  This week's list will be pretty much the same as last week's, just minus Squared Away. Fingers crossed I make better progress this week. 

To Do List for 10/20/2026

1. 2026 Guild BOM: Work on Assembly

I've made pretty good progress on getting the first set of borders on the large carpenter star block.  I'm hoping the rest of the assembly goes pretty fast.  At some point I need to get serious about writing instructions and making blocks for the 2027 BOM.  

2. Glowing Hearts (Sandra Walker): Continue quilting

The middle block in the last row is completely quilted and the block next to it is half quilted.  I'm hoping to finish it and the one on the other end this week, then I can start quilting in the sashing.  I have a plan for that. Still considering what to do in the borders.  

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

The cornerstones for the pieced borders are finished, but 24 triangle in a square blocks are still needed. I've dropped this project down in priority.  As much as I'd like to get is to the finished quilt stage, it needs to wait till I've got the 2026 BOM put together. It may not get there till next month.  I'm hoping it's a finished top before the next BH mystery comes out in November. 

4. Marigold Mystery (Meadow Mist Designs): Finish September, Start October blocks

Just one Ohio Star block was added last week. The square in a square blocks for the October clue are cut out, but the pieces for the other two blocks in this month's clue still need to be cut. I still have over 2 weeks to get caught up before the next clue comes out. 

5. Wild and Goosey (Bonnie Hunter): Continue working on teal/purple blocks

Just one teal block left to sash, but 18 purple blocks are still needed before I can start sashing those. It's definitely possible to finish all these blocks before the end of the year.  It would be nice to be ready for quilt assembly in January.  

Hopefully I'll be more energetic this week. To be fair, there has been steady progress on the projects on my list. It's all the projects that haven't made it to my list that bug me.  Linking up with the Quilt Schmilt for To Do Tuesday.   

Here and There Progress

It actually felt like autumn this weekend, we needed jackets when we went outside. Getting dressed to go out for coffee with the crew took me a few minutes, the temps really meant long sleeves were needed. It took me a minute to remember what my options were, I've been wearing my short sleeve cotton shirts for so long, I forgot what was in my closet for the other seasons. 

Part of my stitching time was spent working on hand stitching the binding for Squared Away. I've turned two corners, so just over half way done with that.  Quilting on Glowing Hearts took up three days this week, so time working on my other projects was a bit limited.  The second border did get added to Celtic Solstice (Bonnie Hunter). 

The triangle in a square blocks needed for the next pieced border are still in progress. 

Just 24 of these left to make.  The square in a square corner stones for that border are finished, but I forgot to get a photo of those.  I considered starting assembling the border strips from the blocks already done, but the 2026 BOM really needs to be done by the November Guild meeting, so it needs to take priority. So I'll keep making the blocks while assembling that project.

My priorities this week are to get Squares Away bound and make some progress on getting the 2026 BOM assembled. Linking up with Patchwork & Quilts, plus Sew & Tell Monday. 

Stitching Stuff: Week 42 of 2026

 

We finally got our autumn weather.  One day we've got heat indexes of over 100 degrees and the next our highs are in the 50's.  Talk about whiplash!  I had to dig out my warm slippers and a sweater yesterday morning before sitting down at the computer. The day before I was in shorts and a sleeveless tank while catching up on blog posts.  The forecast says we'll be back in the 80's by the end of the week. But the cooler weather this weekend is prefect for finishing up a binding and some quilting. Activities where the quilt spends a lot of time on your lap.  

It wasn't a bad week on the stitching front.  We spent one day of last weekend with family celebrating Mom's birthday, so I didn't get in a full seven days of stitching time.  

• 15 minute days/week = 6/7 days
• 15 minute days/Oct = 16/17 days 
• 15 minute days/2026 = 283/290 days
• Success rate = 97.59%

I still have an "A" for my quilting time for 2026 even with the day off.  We'll have to see how the rest of the year goes. With the holidays coming up, I'll probably miss a few more days before we get to the end of the year. My goal was to exceed a 85% success rate, so I have room if the year gets too hectic.  

How is your stitching time working out? 

 

To Do List for the Week of 10/13/2026

My mother's 84th birthday was this weekend.  We went to visit and take her out for dinner along with the rest of the family. So I missed one day of stitching this week.  There was still good progress on last week's to do list.  

To Do List for 10/6/2026

1. Squared Away: Make label and binding, trim quilt ✔

2. Glowing Hearts: Continue quilting ✔

3. Celtic Solstice: Finish quilt assembly, decide on borders ✔

4. Marigold Mystery: Finish Sept blocks, start Oct- progress

5. 2026 Guild BOM: Start assembly - progress

6. Wild and Goosey: Continue working on teal/purple blocks ✔

Definitely not a bad week considering I missed one of more productive days in terms of sewing room time.  Hopefully I can do as well this week.  

To Do List for 10/13/2026

1. Squared Away (Soscrappy): Finish binding.  

The binding and label got made.  The binding it sewn to the front, but I didn't get very far on stitching it to the back.  Only the part between that green clip near the top and that first blue clip on the bottom has been stitched.  Still lots to do on that this week.  

2. Glowing Hearts (Sandra Walker): Continue quilting

The top three rows of hearts are all quilted.  Just one more row of hearts, the sashing and the borders left.  I've decided what to quilt in the sashing strips and am working out an idea for the borders.  

3. Celtic Solstice (Bonnie Hunter): Work on borders

The blocks for the pieced border are coming along, slowly. I'm still hoping to have Celtic Solstice to the finished quilt top stage by the end of the month. 

4. Marigold Mystery (Meadow Mist Designs): Finish Sept, cut fabrics for October blocks

One of the five Ohio Star blocks has been finished.  A second one is partially assembled.  I should be able to finish the September blocks this week and get going on the October blocks too.  

5. 2026 Guild BOM: Start Assembly

I didn't make a lot of progress on this project, but I did make some progress on the border strips for the Carpenter Star block.  Still lots to do on this project.  

6. Wild and Goosey (Bonnie Hunter): Continue working on teal/purple blocks

Sashing the teal blocks should be done this week.  Just two teal blocks left to complete. Then it will be all purple till those get finished.  

There is lots I'd like to get done before the end of the month. Realistically, it's not all going to get done. I'll try to be happy with whatever progress I can manage this week. 

Linking up with the Quilt Schmilt for To Do Tuesday.   

Contemplations on My Project List

This last week went really fast. It just that time of year.  We'll be mid way through October this week!  That just doesn't seem possible.  But it did get me thinking about what my sewing room plans are for next year. It may seem early, but we always started developing next year's goals about this time of year when I was working.  Some habits don't fade completely when you retire.  

I was looking for some left over pieces in case I needed a bit extra for the binding for Squared Away and realized, there is a nice stack of empty project boxes on the shelf.  

To be fair, some of the still full project boxes have more than one project in them, so I should probably do a redistribution so each project has it's own box.  Instead, I decided conduct a quick assessment of where all my quilting projects stand.  

Glowing Hearts and Squared Away are in the quilting and binding stages.  So those are almost finished. There are 13 quilt tops hanging in the "to be quilted" closet. 

That leaves 13 projects sitting in the remaining project boxes/bags. Of those, the 2026 Guild BOM has to be a finished quilt top before December.  So that one should join the projects in the "to be quilted" closet. I've been making steady progress on Wild and Goosey this year, it should be ready for assembly next year. Celtic Solstice needs the remaining borders added. 

So it should also be hanging in the "to be quilted" closet before the end of the year.  

The plan is to sew along with the Bonnie Hunter mystery this year.  That's my last new project for 2026.  After the expected additions and subtractions from my lists, that leaves 12 projects that need blocks finished and 15 quilt tops in the "to be quilted" closet. Obviously, I'll need to balance the quilting with the finishing quilt tops.  Things to contemplate for next year's plans to get more projects finished: do I start with the oldest projects, or stick with working on the projects that have the most done? That may not matter as my oldest project is probably the closet to finished of the ones left in the project boxes.     

Linking up with Patchwork & Quilts, as well as, Sew & Tell Monday.