To Do List for the Week of 10/6/2026

Not quite a full week into October and it feels like the month is rushing by.  Probably because we've got stuff on the calendar for this month. Not fun stuff, necessary stuff. 

I took a lazy approach to last week, but I still didn't do too badly with my to do list. 

To Do List for 9/29/2026

1. Squared Away: Make binding, sew to front - no progress

2. Glowing Hearts: Continue walking foot quilting ✔

3. Celtic Solstice: Continue quilt top assembly ✔

4. Marigold Mystery: Finish September blocks - progress

5. 2026 Guild BOM: Start quilt assembly - no progress

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

Not a bad week considering how unmotivated I was on the sewing front after my trip to see My Girl.  I probably jumped the gun by putting both Squared Away and the 2026 Guild BOM on the to do list for last week.  They will show up on this week's list because both need to get moved along. 

To Do List for 1/6/2026

1. Squared Away (Soscrappy): Make binding, make label, trim 

Putting this project on last week's list was probably jumping the gun.  This project is a gift for one of My Girl's college buddies, so I need her input on the quilt name and a message for the label.  She's been busy so hadn't really put much thought into it.  We now have a name, so I can start on the label. Hopefully this will be ready for binding next week.  

2. Glowing Hearts (Sandra Walker): Continue quilting

I'm half way finished quilting the top row of the quilt.  I should finish that row this week and maybe get started on the last row next week.  I'm getting to the point I need to figure out how I'm quilting the sashing and the borders.  

3. Celtic Solstice (Bonnie Hunter): Finish quilt top assembly, decide on borders

All the row are sewn together.  Just two long seams and the center of the top will be assembled.  I need to finalize what the borders are going to look like and get the fabrics cut for those.  

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

The chain blocks from last month's clue are finished and the Ohio Star blocks have been started.  Hopefully I'll at least get the fabrics cut for the October blocks this week. 

5. 2026 Guild BOM: Start assembly

This has been on the list for the last two weeks with no progress.  Once all the rows are sewn together for Celtic Solstice, I'll get started on getting this top assembled. It needs to be done by the guild meeting in November, so I best get started.  

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

Just a couple more teal blocks to sash and then I can concentrate on finishing up the purple 3.5" blocks.  When the paper pieces run out, it will be necessary to see how many more are needed so I can do one last printer run.  It's strange to know just one more batch of papers need to be printed to finish these blocks. 

I'll need to be motivated this week to get to everything. Linking up with the Quilt Schmilt for To Do Tuesday. 

Sewing from Home Again

It's been a week since I got back from Houston.  So last Monday wasn't a great stitching day.  Most of Tuesday was spent in recovery, but I did make it to late night sew and got a lot done. My focus has been to get Celtic Solstice (Bonnie Hunter) assembled.  

  

Five of the seven rows are stitched and four rows are sewn together. I'll finish the last two rows, sew those together and add the 3 row piece to the 4 row piece. I'm pretty happy with how it's coming together.  

I still need to figure out what I'm doing for the borders.  I have 20 border blocks that were made before the project was put away. 

   

Bonnie used these all around the quilt as the third border. I don't want to make a bunch more.  The plan is to mock up the border in EQ and see what I can do with the 20 that are made.  If I have to make a few more to get something that works I will.  But the plan is to try to come up something that uses what I've already got.  

Linking up with Patchwork & Quilts, plus Sew & Tell Monday. 

Stitching Stuff: Week 40 of 2026

 

It was a good week on the stitching front.  I only managed 15 minutes on Monday, but I got it in before I had to make that drive home.  I've not done that much time in the sewing room, but I've made it to open sew at the quilt shop a couple of times this week. I feel more in the groove after that.  

• 15 minute days/week = 7/7 days
• 15 minute days/Sept = 28/30 days
• 15 minute days/2026 = 270/276
• Success rate = 97.83%

September wasn't a perfect month on the stitching time front, but I'm OK with that.  I'm still in the high 90's in terms of stitching time percentage.  When you think about it, just 6 days with no stitching time is really good when you realize it is October! 

It's nice to be sewing at home, but I do miss my sewing observer. 

My daughter's cat, Queenie, decided my pressing mat was prime napping territory. Thankfully she only napped on it when I wasn't sewing. It wouldn't have been fun to ask her to move.  

Did you get your stitching time in this week? 

September PHD Report

September felt like summer rather than fall this year.  It also went really fast. I'm not ready for it to be October.  We'll blink and it will be New Year's at this point.  I'm never ready for how fast the end of the year goes. 

Now that the month is over it's time to take stock and make a report on my progress for the September PHD Report sponsored by Ms. P Designs.  My September PHD report looks exactly like August's report. 

Another month with no finishes. But I made really good progress on several projects in September.  

The Butterfly embroidery project saw some progress since I was on the road the last week of the month.  I'm slowly making progress on the 9th butterfly.  Since we'll be seeing family for Thanksgiving and Christmas, this project will probably see more progress before the end of the year.  

My last Bonnie Hunter mystery project that's not been moved to finished quilt top is Celtic Solstice.  I pulled that project box at the beginning of the month.  All the blocks are made and two row of the quilt are sew together.  Just 5 more rows left to stitch.  

Squared Away (Soscrappy) came back from the long arm quilter the last day of the month. The quilt needs to be trimmed. I'm working on the label with My Girl since the quilt will be a gift for one of her college buddies. This should be finished this month. 

All the teal 3.5" blocks for Wild and Goosey (Bonnie Hunter) were finished very early in the month.  Those blocks are being sashed to make the 7.5" blocks for the quilt.  I've been working on making more purple 3.5" blocks. About 2/3 of the blocks are finished.  There are twenty something left to make.  I put all the blocks (except the ones under construction) up on the design wall.  There's been lots of progress this year, lots fewer blank spaces.  I'm excited to be getting so close to the assembly stage.  

The quilting of Glowing Hearts (Sandra Walker) has been moving along slowly.  The blocks in two of the rows have been quilted and one block in the third row has been started.  Fingers crossed this will be my second finish for October. 

All the big blocks for the 2027 Guild BOM are made.  I've finished the blocks needed for the pieced sashing, those will be November's blocks.  I have all the sashing and border strips cut, but haven't started assembly yet.  That needs to get bumped up on the priority list because the quilt top needs to be ready for the November guild meeting.  Here's what's been shown to the guild so far. 

I've fallen behind on this year's Meadow Mist Design Mystery, Marigold.  All the pieces are cut for the September blocks, but only two of them got made.  So I'll be playing catch up this month.  The October clue is already out. 

September was another productive month. No finishes, but several projects hit milestones.  There is definitely a lot more color in my chart then there was at the first of the year. 

With two quilts closed to finished, I'm hoping to see a bit more color in that top block of my chart for next month.  It's been a pretty good year.  Hopefully I can keep up the steady progress this month. 

To Do List for the Week of 9/29/2026

The drive from Houston to home Monday was just over 11 hours. Needless to say I was pretty wiped out yesterday. I slept late yesterday, got up just in time to go work out at the gym and make a run to Walmart.  After lunch, it was nap time.  I just never worked up the energy to dig my computer out of the bag and get it set up.  So I'm a day late with my to do list. 

Last week I was sewing from the road, without my normal set up.  It was still a pretty good week on the progress front.  

To Do List for 9/22/2026

1.  Celtic Solstice: Continue making blocks ✔ 

2.  Marigold Mystery: Work on September blocks ✔

3.  2026 Guild BOM: Start quilt assembly - no progress

4.  Wild and Goosey: Work on teal/purple blocks ✔

5.  Butterfly Medallion embroidery: Continue to stitch ✔

Check marks on 4 out of 5 is not a bad week.  I ended up not working on the Guild BOM because I just really didn't have the room and there were plenty of other projects to work on.  I made pretty good progress on the projects I took with me.  I'm looking forward to spending some time in my sewing room. Here's my list for this week. 

To Do List for 9/30/2026

1.  Squared Away (SoScrappy): Make binding, sew to front

I picked up Squared Away from the long arm quilter yesterday. I haven't had a chance to get it out of the bag and unfold it, but from what I can see it looks good.  So I'll definitely have another finish for next month.  

2. Glowing Hearts (Sandra Walker): Continue quilting

No progress on this last week since I wasn't home.  I'm hoping to finish another row, or at least close to another row, this week.  Fingers crossed I'll actually have two finishes in October.  

3. Celtic Solstice (Bonnie Hunter):  Assembly quilt top

All the blocks have been made. Now it's time to start assembling the quilt top.  I also need to decide how to use the left over border blocks. I'll probably use them in my border, I just need to see how many I have and what's the best way to use them.  

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

 

The first September block is almost finished. There are 3 more chain blocks left to make, plus 5 of the star blocks. I'll need to get busy on those as the next clue comes out tomorrow.  

5. 2026 Guild BOM: Start quilt assembly

All the strips for the sashing and borders are cut, I just need to start sewing things together.  

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

There are 42 of the 3.5" purple blocks finished. The quilt layout needs a total of 64, so 22 blocks left to make.  Progress is slow but steady.  I'm hoping that all the blocks are made before the end of the year.  I may have to bump this up in priority to make that happen.  

That's my list for this week. It's a bit more ambitious then usual, hopefully I can make good progress on all the projects this week. Linking up with the Quilt Schmilt for To Do Tuesday.