Tuesday, September 8, 2026

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.   

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

 


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? 
 

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

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.  

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%

So far August has been a good month on the stitching front.  Hard to believe it's almost September. Hopefully that month brings some cooler temps and a reason to be tempted to get out of the house and not sew for a day or two.  

With all the time in the house due to the heat, we started another decluttering project. I need to get back to cleaning out the attic, but that would be life threating in this heat. So we started in on the cabinets in the laundry room. They haven't been cleaned out since we moved in 20 years ago. The two upper cabinents have been emptied, sorted and now we have one completely empty cabinet. I started on the "junk" drawers later in the week.  




We apparently have quite the collection of lanyards and extension cords.  I found 7 cords in the drawer, two of them were still in their packaging. Thankfully, My Girl is in need of a couple of extension cords.  So those will find a new home. Haven't decided what to do with the lanyard collection just yet.  

Have you spent all your in door time stitching or have a few not fun chores snuck in there too?  
   

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

This is the last to do list for August.  Next Tuesday we'll be starting September.  I'm hoping that means at least a cool down for us.  But it does feel like the end of the year goes faster than the first of the year does. It will be the holidays before I'm ready that's for sure. 

The one thing about this August, it's been so hot that the only place you want to be is home. So I've been spending a lot of time in my sewing room. That shows up in my progress on last week's to do list.  

To Do List for 8/18/2026

1.  Glowing Hearts: Continue quilting ✔
2.  Squared Away: Cut fabrics for backing - no progress
3.  Good Fortune: Work on pieced border ✔
4.  Marigold Mystery: Work on August blocks ✔
5.  Wild and Goosey: Work on teal blocks ✔

It was a good week on the progress front. So good that Good Fortune and Marigold Mystery will drop off the to do list for this week.  Marigold Mystery will be back in a couple of weeks when the next clue comes out.  Good Fortune probably won't be back on the list till next year when it's turn to be quilted comes around.  So this week's list is a bit shorter than it has been. 

To Do List for 8/25/2026

1. Glowing Hearts (Sandra Walker): Continue quilting



One block is quilted and the second is half finished.  It does go faster with the blocks on the ends of the row. It's just easier to maneuver the quilt. Hopefully my speed will pick up as I go. Otherwise this one is going to take a couple of months to quilt.  

2. Squared Away (Soscrappy): Decide on backing

My plan was to use stash fabrics for the backing.  This quilt is intended as a gift for one of My Girl's college buddies.  She wasn't really thrilled with the options I could pull together from the stash.  The quilt shop has a 5th Saturday sale this weekend, so I'm going to check out the wide fabric selection and see if there is anything that will work for it and the other quilts that are going to be gifts.  

3. Celtic Solstice (Bonnie Hunter): Work on incomplete blocks




Celtic Solstice was the first Bonnie Hunter mystery I sewed along with.  That was back in 2013.  Now it's my last BH quilt that hasn't been finished to at least quilt top stage.  I pulled out all the block components that were made and counted how many more I needed to make to finish my version.  The plan is to cut the fabrics needed and get started making those subunits.  

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




First thing is to cut a few more teal triangles.  I still have a decent pile, but there is very little variety in what's left.  I'll search my scrap bins to see what's there that can be added.  There's not that many blocks left to make, so I won't need to cut much.  

That's my list for the week. It's shorter than it has been.  Hopefully that means I make more progress on each project.  Linking up with the Quilt Schmilt for To Do Tuesday.  

Monday, August 24, 2026

Something Old, Something New

We spent half the weekend in Tulsa. Saturday was a charity event for the Sutton Avian Research Center. That's the organization that runs the Bald Eagle survey teams in our area.  My Guy has been part of that team for at least 5 years.  We stayed in Tulsa for the night and spent Sunday morning hanging out at a coffee shop and then getting lunch before we headed home. Something different than our normal weekend.   

I did get some good sewing time in before we left and then after we got back.  The pieced borders for Good Fortune (Bonnie Hunter) were finished and attached just before dinner was ready last night.  




The plan is to add one more narrow black border to frame the quilt. I'll call it good at that point. Good Fortune should reach finished quilt top stage sometime this week.  

So if Good Fortune is the old, what's the new?  The August blocks for the Meadow Mist Designs 2026 Marigold Mystery also got finished just before dinner on Sunday. 



 
I'm pretty happy with how they came together. Now I have to wait for the next clue to come out to see what's next.  

With the Marigold blocks done and Good Fortune just about a finished quilt, it's time to pull out another UFO to push to finished (or at least to finished quilt top).  Linking up with Patchwork & Quilts and Sew & Tell Monday.  

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%
It's easy to stay on track when it's too hot to do much of anything else.  

How are you doing with getting in your sewing time?  

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

It's tempting to start another post off with the weather, it's been an exceptionally hot summer this year.  But I'll try to stop with that and move on to all the sewing that happened last week as a very happy consequence of not wanting to leave the house.  

To Do List for 8/11/2026

1. Glowing Hearts: Start quilting ✔
2. 2026 Guild BOM: Finish October block 
3. Good Fortune: Work on borders 
4. Marigold Mystery: Work on August blocks 
5. Wild and Goosey: Work on teal blocks 

It was a good week on the progress front. I've not reached any big milestones with the projects on the list, but I'm getting close on Good Fortune. For this week, one project drops off for a bit and another UFO comes back onto the list.  

To Do List for 8/18/2026

1. Glowing Hearts (Sandra Walker): Continue quilting




I'm quilting this quilt on my new Bernina, so I had to play around a bit to figure out all the settings and do a few practice runs on a mini quilt sandwich.  I'm hoping to make progress on all three blocks in that middle row this week. 

2. Squared Away (Soscrappy): Cut fabrics for backing




Squared Away was the 2018 Rainbow Scrap Challenge Sampler.  I finished all the blocks back in November of 2018.  It took me 6 years to pull the blocks out of the storage box and set them into a quilt.  The finished quilt top has been patiently waiting in the to be quilted closet since November of 2024.  This is another quilt for one of My Girl's college buddies.  Hopefully I can get this one sent out quickly so it comes back before Christmas.  

3. Good Fortune (Bonnie Hunter): Work on pieced border 




The blocks for the first border have been sewn into pairs.  Not sure all 4 pieced borders will get done this week.  A lot depends on how well they fit and if I have to redo any seams.  

4. Marigold Mystery (Meadow Mist Designs): Work on August blocks





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.  

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

 

 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. 

A few older items on the list, but a few new ones too.  I'm hoping to make good progress today, after my dentist appointment this morning.  Linking up with the Quilt Schmilt for To Do Tuesday.   

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%

Another good month on the stitching front.  Even with all the stitching time, I still feel like I'm not making good progress on my projects.  My UFO list isn't going down as fast as I'd like. It would help if I'd stop starting new projects, but that doesn't work either.  So I need to just accept that and keep plugging.  

When I visited My Girl back in June, she purchased a recliner.  She's been wanting one for a long time.  There's been one problem with it. 




Queenie has decided it's prime napping space.  My Girl has to get there first. Even then, if My Girl gets up for a snack or anything else, Queenie will grab it. I hear about the recliner wars just about nightly.  But I agree with My Girl, Queenie is just too cute to kick out of the chair.   

How is your stitching time going?  
 


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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Tuesday, August 11, 2026

To Do List for the Week of 8/11/2026

Summer continues in full force here, so my air conditioned sewing room is my preferred place to hang out most days. Though I did concentrate more on getting chores done this last week. I'm behind there after my back and knee issues last spring. I still got lots done in the sewing room, just not as much as planned.  

To Do List for 8/4/2026

1. Glowing Hearts: Finish sandwiching, start quilting - progress
2. 2026 Guild BOM: Make September's block ✔
3. Good Fortune: Continue assembling quilt ✔
4. Celtic Solstice: Work on chain blocks - no progress
5. Wild and Goosey: Continue working on teal blocks ✔

Good progress on everything but Celtic Solstice, which is still a good week.  I'll get to that project eventually, probably once Good Fortune is a finished quilt top. But that probably won't be for a few weeks, so it will drop off this week's list.  

To Do List for 8/11/2026

1. Glowing Hearts (Sandra Walker): Start Quilting




The quilt is sandwiched. I'm still mulling over quilting designs.  Diann, who blogs at Little Penguin Quilts, has been quilting her scrappy hearts with a cross hatch and I really like how that looks on those blocks.  So that may be my inspiration for how to quilt these hearts.  

2. 2026 Guild BOM: Finish October's block

I've already made good progress on this to do. All that's left is to sew the component parts together.  I should be able to finish that tonight at late night sew. 

3. Good Fortune (Bonnie Hunter): Work on borders 




I've made good progress on the split HST blocks, and should finish those off this week. I decided to use square in a square blocks for the corners of that pieced border.  Those are under construction too.  It won't make finished quilt top this week, but maybe next week?  

4. Marigold Mystery (Meadow Mist Designs): Work on August blocks




Normally the August instructions for the Meadow Mist Designs mystery are just cutting instructions. Cheryl changed it up this year so that we'll cut as we go.  That meant I needed to finalize my fabric choices.  The black paint spatter is the background, the white dots is fabric A, which is the block background, the bright blue is the accent color and the dotted fabrics are the "scraps" for the blocks.  I plan to mainly use the fat quarters, but have the scraps if I need a good accent for a block.  The pin dot fabrics are left overs from another project.  

5. Wild and Goosey (Bonnie Hunter): Continue to work on teal blocks

I need to check how many more teal blocks are needed to finish out that color.  It will probably take most of the month to finish out the teal blocks. 

That's my list for this week. It's pretty doable.  Linking up with the Quilt Schmilt for To Do Tuesday.  

Monday, August 10, 2026

Time LIne of a UFO

Last week was appointment free and so is this week. So I'm looking forward to not only getting lots of stitching done, I'm hoping to make progress on a few household chores that I've let slip lately. But I won't get carried away on the chores front, those are amazingly easy to put off till another day.  

On the other hand, it's been so much easier to stick with my stitching plans, most weeks anyway.  My goal the last few years has been to clear out my UFOs.  I have a lot of them.  Good Fortune is the latest UFO to finally get it's turn to become a finished quilt top.  GF was the 2018 Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt.  In 2018, My Girl was off at college, so we were past all the weekend high school activities, but I was still working full time.  Good Fortune was my 6th BH Mystery.  I had my fabrics picked early in November. 




We were actually home that year for Thanksgiving, family came to us, so I was able to start the mystery quilt that weekend after Black Friday, Bonnie's typical kick off day for the mystery.  The challenge of a BH mystery is there is one clue a week. I've always admired those quilters who finish the clues that week. I've never been one of them.  Based on my photos, I kept up till the third week.  Then the holiday or work, most likely both, got busy.  I played catch up the week after Christmas. 



 
By December 31st of that year, this is where I was on clues 1 to 6.  By the middle of February I had finished approximately 2/3 of the blocks I planned to make. 




Then for some reason Good Fortune went into a project box.  Which is pretty typical for most of the BH mysteries I've done.  Then they sit in that project box for a while. This one waited for 7 years before I pulled that project box, took stock and started piecing on it again in May.  Yesterday, I got all the blocks and sashings sewn together. 



When I pulled these blocks out of the project box and put them up on the wall, I wasn't sure I liked it.  Now that the blocks are all sewn together, I do like it.  The project still needs borders before it's a finished quilt top.  In an effort to use up the fabric that was already cut, two of the borders are going to be pieced.  One with short strips, the other with what I've been calling the split HST blocks. 




There are still a lot of these border blocks left to make, but I'm hoping most of them will be finished by the time I get the two narrow borders added.  The plan is to have this project to finished quilt top by the end of the month. That should be doable.  Then it goes onto the to be quilted list.  I have 4 graduation quilts that come first, plus a whole lot of other quilt tops.  Not sure when the time line on this particular UFO will actually end.  It probably won't be this year.  

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