Monday Meanderings -- June 29, 2026

I hope all of you are safe and healthy after all this bad weather that has been spreading across the US over the last few weeks. Local weather people keep saying we (the greater DC area) were going to get heavy rain.  We all need it. But, as usual the clouds seemed to split over our area and go north and south. We did get some heavy rain this week but it was no where near enough. I'm sharing our 9 day forecast via Apple's weather app on my iPhone. It'll change every day, or so it seems every week.  I'm just hoping the days with 100 as the high actually changes to lower temps before the days arrive. I'm not holding my breath on that happening though.  And this doesn't show the humidity going sky high also.  It's going to be humid too. My basement studio sounds really good this week. **The weather has changed overnight! We'll have 2days of 100+ temps, and rain only on Monday. I expect it will continue to change everyday. Sigh. At least 7/4 is "suppose" to be dry instead of rain! 

Here's what I accomplished this week. 

6/22/26 

✅Start quilting Fall Blocks (June ufo challenge project)— first part done. 

✅✅Finish two more Veronica blocks✔️✔️ and 4 additional ones cut out. 

✅Keep checking project boxes or zippered pouches to free them up for other projects — one emptied. 

✅Work on Snowman #2 — worked a couple of hours on this one. 

✅Knit a beanie — finished one and started another. 

✅Start table runner for retreat — cut out, some sewing done. 

The only pictures I got of worked-on projects were of the table runner I am making for retreat. We rent a house in northwest Virginia and I will be leaving it at the house for future renters. The pattern is Heart Strings designed by Tricia Lynn Maloney for Villa Rosa Designs.  It is a very versatile pattern. It is 16" x 60".  The table I'm making it for is 15" x 60" and it's been easy to make the change so it will fit.  There are 5 blocks like this in the runner.  It took me longer to cut out the fabrics than the time spent sewing.

Here's an upclose picture of the fabrics I chose.  All of these came from my stash. The blue with white will be the backing and binding.  I hope to finish it Tuesday. I'll be quilting it with stars of some sort. 

And this week I'll be working on these goals: 

6/29/26

Finish sewing table runner together

Quilt another section of June UFO project 

Work on Snowman #2 

Start clearing out “stuff” to prep for new carpet in bedrooms 

Sew more Veronica blocks

Make more string blocks 

Enjoy 4th Of July party in neighborhood

The only non-quilting item on the list is clearing things out of closets and dresser tops.  We have been doing some updating of our house. Before the new carpet comes in the master bedroom and bathroom will be painted.  Here's a pic of one of the new counter tops in the bathroom. We got rid of the previous counter tops -- builder's grade that was turning yellow.  We have two sinks/cabinets in our bathroom. So two new sinks and quartz countertops have been installed. Plus we also replaced the granite (that was pitted and rough) in the kitchen with a similar looking quartz.  

It is going to be interesting getting everything moved out of the guest room closet -- it's packed floor to ceiling.  Hopefully some of the stuff will be given away.  But I do need to start working on it now! 

I've changed my mind about making more new kits to worked on at retreat.  Currently I have 2 kits ready to go.  But I'll need a lot more projects. I've gone through some of my project bags and found several that I could work on at retreat. Here's a pic of the string blocks I've been working on. These blocks are finished and ready to sew together.  I have another group that are sewn but not trimmed. And I need to get 7 more made, preferably before retreat.  I've pulled several other project that are partially done to finish up at retreat. 

Another week with 100% of 15 minute stitching! Whoopee! 

Week ending 6/28/26:  179 days of 2026.

  179 stitching days out of 179 days. 100%

And, here is the last quilt Sharon quilted on Ruthie when she was here.  

The blocks were made by quilters from Faithful Circle Quilters who signed up for this swap. They all had a yardage of the same fabric that had to be used in each block. Sharon chose the setting with the stars and added the border. Here are a few close ups. 

 

I believe Sharon said these were done during covid.  I'm sorry I don't remember which block was hers.  Sharon chose Bright Lights edge to edge by My Creative Stitches. She chose a dark green So Fine thread from Superior threads. She reports that she's got the binding on it. I think she said it's all sewn down by hand. 

Remember to visit these Linky parties to see what quilters are working on all over the world. 

Stitching Time 

Oh Scrap

Quilting Patchwork Applique 

Design Wall Monday

Monday Musings

Because I've enjoyed seeing pictures of flowers that several bloggers share I decided to include a coupe of our flowers. First, I will admit we aren't big gardeners.  But lilies are pretty easy to grow.  So I'm sharing a couple pics of ours.  I have learned I can cut them and bring them in the house. But, they don't usually last long, except Cala Lilies. We don't have any in the yard but I hope to add some this year. 

Happy Quilting All! Bonnie 

Monday Meanderings 6 - 22 - 2026

Happy Father's Day -- at least here in America. We were able to spend part of it with our son and his family. I hate to complain about the weather so I'll say we've had some wonderful days with low humidity and reasonable summer temps. We may have a lot of rain this week.  My weather saying is wait a few days it will change! Do you say that about weather where you live? 

Here's what I got done this week.  It was satisfying to move forward on all of these goals. 

6/15/26

✅Bind 1 quilt — Done.

✅Cut one quilt kit — Done. 

✅Make more ✔️Veronica blocks and ✔️✔️Hollow 9 patches — 3 blocks were made. Another two are started. All the blocks for Hollow 9 patches are finished. 

✅Baste Fall Blocks top (June ufo challenge project)— Done. 

✅Check a couple of project boxes, empty, and put away fabric if project is finished — One zippered pouch was liberated. 

Here's the finished quilt with binding. My grands helped me out with holding the quilt.  You can read more about it here. 

Before we left for our son's house I was able to finish pin basting the fall quilt.👇The blocks are old -- 10 or 12 years old. Last year I put the finished blocks into a quilt. And then I let it sit for a while. I did put it on my 2026 UFO Challenge I do with Sharon.  Its number came up for June.  

At one point I was thinking of doing some more applique blocks but decided I probably couldn't do the hand appliqué as nicely as I did the original blocks.  And, we have a quilt hanger over the fireplace where this would fit beautifully. It's about 38" square. I will be quilting it with my domestic machine and a walking foot.  My preliminary plan is to stitch around each square but in the black and gold fabric. I'll stitch in the ditch on the outside of the small gold border. I will probably do something in the middle of the black border. You might notice I'm not talking about the rust rectangles. 

Well, lazy me says stitch in the ditch and call it done. The more artistic me says, maybe some parallel lines 1" or so apart. Or a checkerboard on the diagonal.  I will probably do some parallel lines using whatever size masking tape I have to mark them. But it is going to take way more time than this last week of June!  I'll try to keep you posted on my progress. 

I have way too many projects started and am using way too many project boxes and plastic zippered bags. I did check one of the boxes and found it full of fabrics with an ocean theme. I know I've made one quilt from the fabric but there is a lot more. The quilt kit I cut was made from 5" squares of the same fabric. It will stay in the box until I make some more quilts out of it.  It's going to take a while! Plus there is another project in the box that I didn't even look at but I think it is also ocean scenes. Oh my!

Here are my goals for this week. Wait, how did I get sooooo many items on the list? 

6/22/26 

Start quilting Fall Blocks (June ufo challenge project)

Finish two more Veronica blocks that are already started

Keep checking project boxes and/or zippered pouches to free them up for other projects

Work on Snowman #2

Knit a beanie

Start table runner for retreat  

I may not get to everything but I hope I can get some of each of these projects done.  

I did sew everyday this week including spending some time this morning finishing the pin basting before we left for our son's house. I'm glad I did as we stayed later than planned and I was unmotivated* when we got home. (*I admit I fell asleep on the couch while trying to read!) 

So I was successful on sewing every day this week. 

Week ending 6/21/26:  172 days of 2026.

  172 stitching days out of 172 days. 100%

I notice I often make mistakes on the info regarding sewing every day.  Last week was a big one when I said I'd stitch 158 of 165 days.  OOPS! I'll try to proofread better but don't hold your breath! 

Now another quilt my friend Sharon quilted while here last week. 

This is her version of Cheryl Brickey's Magnificent Mystery.  You can see my top here.  It's amazing how differently they look but they are the same pattern.  I'll get around to quilting mine someday! 

Please spend some time checking out these Linky Parties.  Lots of fun pics and info about what quilters around the world are doing. 

Stitching Time 

Oh Scrap

Quilting Patchwork Applique 

Design Wall Monday

Monday Musings

I've got 3 more weeks to get ready for retreat with friends. We rent a house in the Shenandoah mountains and sew for 6 days. So, lots of projects need to be readied.  I generally take about 6. I think I have two or three ready so far. I think I'll check some of my projects that are sitting around waiting to be worked on. That's better than starting new projects for sure.  We also need to plan a dinner with another attendee.  I have it easy as I usually do dessert and a salad while a friend does the main dinner. Dinners are very good. We bring our own breakfasts and lunches. It is a great week to spend sewing times with good friends I don't see as often. 

How is your quilting going? Do you keep a goals list or just tackle what ever you feel like each week? I hope you get a lot of stitching done this week. 

Happy Quilting All! Bonnie 

Monday Meanderings 6 - 15 - 2026

 What a week of fun! My friend Sharon is visiting and we're sewing up a storm. And talking. She's on her 3rd quilt on Ruthie, the long arm. And both Ruthie and Sharon are doing a great job. I'll share a picture later in the blog.  But let's look at my goals for last week first. 

6/7/26

✅Bind 2 quilts — one done. Second one is trimmed but still need to make binding and stitch it on. 

✔️Knit more kid-size beanies — one finished, one more started. 

✅Stitch on Snowman #2 — he’s coming along well. 

Cut one quilt kit — nothing done. 

✅Make more ✔️Veronica blocks, ✔️Hollow 9 patches, & ✔️E Quilter blocks —  made some of each type. 

First quilt bound. I'm calling this one Bubbles and Squares -- the blue is dark and light blue squares. I'm not sure what I plan on doing with it but it will be put to good use. 

Here are my Veronica blocks. I made three more and almost finished a fourth one.  This pattern is very easy to make and I was lucky to have these bright 10" layer cake pieces to make them from.  I'm probably going to make a decent size throw quilt rather than a bed quilt. You can buy Preeti Harris's pattern here. I can see a lot more of quilts in this pattern. 

Here are the 12 blocks I made for Pat, this month's E Quilter. The blocks will be going into kids quilts she will be making and donating to various organizations.  There are all sorts of ways to arrange them. I liked this one best but I would probably fuss around with them so all the 'characters' are facing up.  I'm looking forward to seeing pictures of any quilts she makes. 

Here are my goals for this coming week.  I plan to attend the Caroline County Fair Thursday afternoon to help with the booth Va. Star Quilters will have there. I haven't been to this fair before but it should be fun.  There will be several of us there. I am hoping to get a hat knitted while there. 

Here are this week's goals.  Hopefully I'll get more of them done this week. 

6/15/26

Bind 1 quilt

Cut one quilt kit

Make more Veronica blocks and Hollow 9 patches

Baste Fall Blocks top (June ufo challenge  project)

Check a couple of  project boxes, empty, and put away fabric if project is finished

I've continued my 15 minutes of stitching this week:  

Week ending 6/14/26:  165 days of 2026.

  165 stitching days out of 165 days. 100%

Sharon and I have been having a lot of fun. She's finished quilting 2 quilts. Tomorrow she'll finish her 3rd one.  I will try to get a picture of it and her first one for next week. Below is the quilt, Happy Hues, she finished on Ruthie today.  It is stunning. Here is the link to the quilt along directions.

Check out these linky parties this week. 

Stitching Time 

Oh Scrap

Quilting Patchwork Applique 

Design Wall Monday

Monday Musings

Pat and I are celebrating our 53rd wedding anniversary on Tuesday.  Boy has the time flown by.  I think we deserve a dinner out -- now to decide where to go! 

Happy Quilting All! Bonnie 

Monday Meanderings 6 - 8 - 2026

Recently beginnings of my post have been weather related, especially through winter and a semi-wet spring.  Summer has finally hit (with a vengeance) and we are in the hot, humid and repeat stage. Which will probably be the case for the whole summer. I'm lucky because my studio is in the basement which is naturally cooler.  In fact after a few hours down there I usually need to put on a light sweater or come up stairs to warm up.  I see a lot of sewing going on this summer. 

I did pretty well on my goals this week. Most progress came at the end of the week rather than the beginning. Here's what I did. 

6/2/2026

✅✅Quilt two of my quilts — One baby top and one throw top quilted! 

✔️Make some hollow 9 patches - just one finished but a couple more cut out. 

✅Knit more kid-size beanies — one done, one more started.

✅Stitch on Snowman #2 — a little stitching done. 

Cut one quilt kit - not even planned! 

So the big finish was quilting two tops.  The first one I did was scrap blocks made by my FCQ E Quilter's group.  I don't remember when I got these blocks but I made the top last year.  I purchased the backing at a local store probably last month. 

The block is the Ultimate Scrap Busting Quilt Block by Create with Claudia.  You can find the block here: https://www.createwithclaudia.com/2019/08/scrap-busting-quilt-block-tutorial/.  I really like how vibrant the colors are and the way it looks like it has been sashed. Nope, that is part of the block. 

I chose Feather Late Than Never, by My Creative Stitches,  for the quilting design. It stitched out beautifully.  I chose a beige thread -- it doesn't stand out very much so  maybe I should have picked a different color. 

Here's some of the back and a close up of the front. The backing is little flowers in fall colors on a beige background. I will probably use that leftover fabric in a small quilt with other autumn colors. This picture definitely doesn't show it off well.   

I also quilted a baby top. I've decided to call this Bubbles and Checks. (That blue fabric has little checks in it.) All the fabric came from my stash.  So I think of it as a free quilt! For the back I used the last larger piece of the purple from the bolt I got from Marshall Dry Goods a year or so ago.  I still have odd ball scraps from it so I'll be using it for years to come!  (You can just see it in the upper left of the picture.) 

I used Hills and Valleys #1, again from My Creative Stitches.  I check the web site to see what they recommend for nesting, whether it had overstitching and the size it was designed at.  Yes on nesting, no on overstitching. It was pretty close to a square design.  I thought that made a lot of sense for a square quilt. (36" x 36" basically.) 

I also tend to read the reviews to see if there is any more information shared there.  Yes, many folks said it stitched out quickly.  Yep. It really did. I think it took about 3 minutes to stitch each row.  It dawned on me closer to the end of my 7 rows why it stitched out so fast.  Each row was like a half a row.  It needed to be tightly nested to make it look like a full row.  And this was done really quickly with no problems. See the close up 👇. It creates lots of nice texture. 

And this week I'll be trying to get these items done, or at least moved forward. 

6/7/26

Bind 2 quilts

Knit more kid-size beanies 

Stitch on Snowman #2

Cut one quilt kit

Make more blocks for Veronica, Hollow 9 patch, & E Quilter blocks 

Attend Country Piecemaker's meeting and class 

I did a little off list sewing this week. Pat W chose blocks for the EQuilters to make her during May and June. She wants them child oriented with bright colors. She chose Jenny Doan's Two Step Quilt. Here's the link to the directions if you want to make it yourself. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=r7eObCvo9H4.  I've decided that each of my blocks is good individually but they are pretty busy together. Or, I haven't arranged them correctly.  

I was successful sewing every day. Most days were much more than 15 minutes. 

Week ending 6/7/26:  158 days of 2026.

  158 stitching days out of 158 days. 100%

Sharon should be coming to visit at the end of the week. And we'll be going back to Country Piecemakers (west of Richmond) as she is teaching a mystery class.  And, no, I don't know what it is! I'll be sewing along with the other guild members. 

Don't forget to check these Linky parties. 

Stitching Stuff 

Oh Scrap

Quilting Patchwork Applique 

Design Wall Monday

Monday Musings

Oh yes, there is one more item to share. 

The Spotsylvanians sang the National Anthem at the Fredericksburg Nationals, a farm team for the Washington Nationals.  This is the fourth year we've sung and we had a large turnout of singers.  These are mostly the sopranos. This was the only picture I could find that you can actually see me!  After singing we had a great dinner and could watch the game from seats on the first base line.  (And, yes, we had to pay for all the tickets and dinner. But some how we got free parking.)  The Fred Nats won and we actually lasted through the whole game. 

As much as I am enjoying my Monday nights off, I miss these ladies, gentlemen, and singing.  We'll start up again in mid August. 

Happy Quilting All! Bonnie