The Fourth Finish

Do you ever sit at your computer at the beginning of the week and think, "What happened to last week"?  We had guild meeting on Tuesday and I spent a chunk of Tuesday morning rewriting the instructions for the November BOM block. I decided the instructions weren't very clear, so more diagrams were needed.  I've not heard from anyone, so I'm hoping that means the instructions were OK. Late night sewing was canceled for various reasons, so no big evening of productivity.  Progress was made, but it still feels like an off week.   

The big accomplishment was completing the binding on my fourth finish for the year.  

Squared Away was started in 2018 as a Rainbow Scrap Challenge BOM hosted by Mari at the Academic Quilter and Angela at Soscrappy.  The blocks were finished that November, but sat in a project box waiting for me to decide what color sashing to use to set them together.  Finally in 2024, I decided that black would work and finished the quilt top before the end of that year.  It sat in the "to be quilted" closet till My Girl asked if there were any quilts she could gift as graduation gifts to her best college buddies.  This one is going to one of her undergrad buddies for Christmas this year.  

It's hard to see from the big photo, but the outside border is black with a silver curly design with lots of little colored dots, it works really well with all the blocks.  The quilting was done at one of our local quilt shops. The quilting thread is silver and the curly stitching works well with that outside border.  

The binding is the same fabric from the border.  This picture shows the printed design much better.  

The backing is an extra wide black and white paisley.  It works really well with the colorful front.  

Squared Away is my fourth quilt finish for 2026, the second one that was quilted professionally, but by someone different than the last one. So now I've got some options for local quilting. Hopefully that means I'll get more of those tops in the "to be quilted" closet finished next year.  Most all the local longarm quilters are busy working on orders for Christmas, so I don't plan on sending anything out till January.  But that doesn't mean I won't start prepping one now.  I have 2 more graduation quilts to finish before May and 2 more that need to be done by December next year.  

Linking up with Patchwork & Quilts, as well as Sell & Tell Monday.  I'll also link up with Favorite Quilt Finish when it gets posted.  

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.   

Third Quarter Progress on the Quilting Strategy

Since September felt like August, it's surprising to realize it's October.  Third quarter is over and we've started fourth quarter.  Just three months left in the year!  I'm always amazed at how fast the last half of the year goes. It's definitely time to take a look at what my strategic plan for the sewing room was for 2026 and see how I'm doing on the execution part.  

1. Guild BOM 2026

All the blocks are finished and all the sashing/border strips are cut, now it's just assembly time. 

2. Wild and Goosey: 

Continued to use two blocks as my leaders for the quarter, plus I've been sashing blocks as I finish a color. I've got quite a pile of blocks finished at this point. Just the purple blocks to finish now. 

3. UFOs to move to finished quilt tops

Three projects progressed this quarter. Lupine and Laughter, plus Good Fortune are quilt tops.  All the quilt blocks for Celtic Solstice were finished before the end of the quarter.  There wasn't any progress on the Simply Sensational Summer Scarp Quilt.  Both Good Fortune and Celtic Solstice needed a lot of blocks constructed. I'm not unhappy with the progress on these UFOs that needed borders or blocks finished.   

4. Quilts to Quilted with my Walking Foot

There was good progress on quilting Glowing Hearts, but it's only about half finished. So there was no progress on Betty during the quarter. I am getting a better feel on how much quilting I can actually get done in a quarter. That will help me set my strategy for 4th quarter and next year.  

5. Quilts to send Out for Quilting

Squared Away is back from the quilter, but it's not trimmed or bound yet.  At least it's quilted. Magnificent Mystery didn't see any progress.  My Girl has now given me the complete list of quilts to be given to the grad school friends for graduation and an expected graduation date for each. That will set the order for for which quilts go out next.   

6. Planned New Starts

The Meadow Mist Designs 2026 mystery, Marigold, kicked off back in July.  The block clues started in August. This is my 12th Meadow Mist mystery, it's one of the few new projects I've allowed myself over the last few years.   

Looking at the progress for third quarter, I've been pretty successful at moving UFOs from sets of blocks to finished quilt tops. Less successful on moving projects to being quilted. Things to consider when I decide what's the plan for 4th quarter and next year. Even though my strategy for 3rd quarter wasn't fully implemented, there was still really good progress.  I've done better this year than last, so I'm feeling pretty positive about how 2026 has gone in the sewing room. Now to figure out what's the strategy for 4th quarter.  

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. 

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.

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.  

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.  

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.