Tuesday, September 8, 2026
To List for the Week of 9/8/2026
Monday, September 7, 2026
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.
Sunday, September 6, 2026
Stitching Stuff: Week 36 of 2026
- 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%
Wednesday, September 2, 2026
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!
Tuesday, September 1, 2026
To Do List for the Week of 9/1/2026
Monday, August 31, 2026
Something Old and Something Older
Last week it was something old and something new. This week the old was finished and I restarted an even older UFO. Is there some point where an old UFO becomes like a new project? If there is, I haven't found it yet.
Good Fortune (Bonnie Hunter), the old project, is now a finished quilt top. I'm glad the pieced border got added, it does make a nice frame for the rest of the quilt. Plus it used up all those already cut up fabric pieces and finished blocks.
This joins the "to be quilted" pile. There are 14 of those hanging in the closet. I'm not sure when this one will get quilted. There are 5 quilts that need to be quilted first as those are graduation gifts for next year. My Girl did find out intended graduation dates. May of next year is the earliest, but December of next year is the more likely date for all of them. So I have time.
There are still a few left overs from Good Fortune.
The green/neutral HSTs will probably become windmill blocks. Not sure what I'm going to do with the neutral strips. I'll have to play around with those at some point in the future. Maybe a baby quilt for donation via the guild? We'll see.
The something older is the Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt I started back in 2013, Celtic Solstice. The last time I worked on it was in February of 2014. It's aged for 12 years, it's definitely time to pull out all the pieces and move this along to finished quilt top.
The 4-patch chain blocks were the easiest to tackle first. I only needed to make 8 more for the layout I've decided on. The last 4-patch chain is almost finished. The main blocks are going to be much more involved. Lots of piecing required for the component parts. It will probably take me all month and then some to get those blocks all finished.
Linking up with Patchwork & Quilts, along with Sew & Tell Monday.
Sunday, August 30, 2026
Stitching Stuff: Week 35 of 2026
Its still hot and dry here. At least there were no triple digit temps this week. It's amazing how much cooler 10 degrees lower feels even when the temps are still in the mid to high 90s. I suppose it's a conditioning thing. Even with the slightly lower temps, my sewing room is still my preferred hang out spot. Which means it's not been hard to work in all my stitching time.
- 15 minute days/week = 7/7 days
- 15 minute days/Aug = 29/29 days
- 15 minute days/2026 = 237/241 days
- Success rate = 98.34%
| 1. Gretchen 2. maggie 3. Karen | 4. Frédérique 5. Bonnie in Va 6. Melisa- Pinker n' Punkin Quilting | 7. LeeAnna sewing every day 8. Quilting Gail 9. Marsha's Spot |
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Tuesday, August 25, 2026
To Do List for the Week of 8/25/26
Monday, August 24, 2026
Something Old, Something New
Sunday, August 23, 2026
Stitching Stuff: Week 34 of 2026
If the weather man has it right, this next week we'll see a cool down into the 90s for most of the week. It's been so hot here this August many of the trees are dying. The leaves are brown and falling off like it is autumn. So I'll take the 10 degree drop in temps and a bit of rain that's in the forecast. We definitely need both.
Taking refuge in the sewing room seems to be my thing this summer. It's certainly paying off.
- 15 minute days/week = 7/7 days
- 15 minute days/Aug = 22/22 days
- 15 minute days/2026 = 230/234 days
- Success rate = 98.29%
| 1. Gretchen 2. Julie in GA 3. Frédérique 4. maggief | 5. Melissa G 6. Karen 7. Andrée at Quilting & Learning 8. Bonnie in Va | 9. Quilting Gail 10. Marsha's Spot 11. Melisa- Pinker n' Punkin Quilting |
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Tuesday, August 18, 2026
To Do List for the Week of 8/18/2026
Still working on the flying geese blocks for the first set of blocks. Just 2 more colors to cut and assemble after this green set.
I cut all the paper patterns needed to finish up the teal blocks. When one color gets close to being finished, this is the best way for me to know when to stop without counting every time I finish a block. Just 9 teal left to paper piece.
Monday, August 17, 2026
Making Progress a Little at a Time
Staying in the sewing room has definitely been the way for me to beat the heat this summer. Even though my sewing room is the warmest in the house, it's still cooler than going anyplace else. It's summers like this I really miss having a basement. Our fist house here had one and it would have been an awesome sewing space had we not had to transfer to Texas all those years ago. At this point I'm hoping those long range forecasts that are predicting an early and cooler then normal fall are correct. We could definitely use a cool down.
Why does adding borders always seems to take longer than it should? I made some progress with the borders for Good Fortune (Bonnie Hunter).
The narrow black border was always planned. The neutrals border was added when I decided to use the split HST blocks as a pieced border.
I needed one more inch so those blocks would fit. The neutrals border is also pieced. When I opened the project box there was a pile of 1.5" x 8.5" neutral strips. Rather than cut new strips from the left over yardage, it just seemed prudent to use up what had already been cut. So that border took a bit longer to assemble. That strategy was definitely wise, the border used up most of those left over strips. The last neutrals border is pieced, but I didn't get it pinned and sewn on last night. That should happen today. Fingers crossed Good Fortune is a finished quilt top by the end of the week.
Linking up with Patchwork & Quilts and Sew & Tell Monday.
Sunday, August 16, 2026
Stitching Stuff: Week 33 of 2026
Summer is still in full effect. The weather man says we'll have 100 plus days till mid week and then it cools off to the low to mid 90s. Not a lot cooler, but I'll take any type of cool down at this point. Hopefully this week will be the last of the 100 plus temps.
The one advantage of the high temps is that you don't want to leave the house to do anything. It makes picking the sewing room really easy, which is perfect for getting in your stitching time.
- 15 minute days/week = 7/7 days
- 15 minute days/Aug = 15/15 days
- 15 minute days/2026 = 223/227 days
- Success rate = 98.24%
| 1. Gretchen 2. Julie in GA 3. maggief 4. Karen | 5. Bonnie in Va 6. Quilting Gail 7. Patricia in New Mexico 8. Melisa- Pinker n' Punkin Quilting | 9. Frédérique 10. Marsha's Spot |
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