Monday Meanderings 8 - 3 - 2026

It's been a busy week. I tried to get everything done on my goals list. And I added working on a challenge project.  Plus, the Spotsylvanian's had a singing opportunity. More about that at the end. First the goals list. 

7/27/26

✅Finish quilting fall appliqué quilt — machine work is done. Started hand quilting around the appliqués. 

✅Bind Jane’s table runner — need to hand stitch the binding down 

✅Bind Eiffel Tower Quilt — done. 

✅Stitch on Snowman #2 — bunny body done, on to ears. 

✅Finish beanie hat — done. 

Wait! I forgot to take pictures of what I did this week except the last one. So here is a picture of the beanie hat I finished this week.

A friend gave me this yarn because she couldn't use it the way she wanted.  This is the second child beanie I've made with it and I'll probably have enough for another hat. This one is going to my friend. She may have to hold onto it for a year or two but her grandson will grow into it.  It's fun to knit with wild yarn.  

Now on to this week's plan.

8/3/26

Sew down binding on table runner

Draw out plan for Idiom Challenge, stitch rain and puddles on background

Stitch ears of bunny on Snowman 2

Pick fabric for Marigold mystery 

Start making 6” blocks for Aug UFO Challenge

Unfortunately there is a lot of hand sewing needed this week. I doubt I'll get it all done but I can make some progress.  

I spent 15 minutes sewing every day this week. See below for the numbers.

Week ending 8/2/26: 214 days of 2026.

 213 stitching days out of 214 days 99.5%

I also did something I've been putting off for way too long: figuring out my fabric use statistics.  I don't think I've shared any for this year, although I thought I had. 

Here's a stashbusting statement for the first 2 quarters of the year.  

2026	Yards in Quarter	Yards In Year	Yards Out Quarter	Yards Out Year	Total Yards In or Out Year
Quarter 1	27.25	27.25	33.50	33.50	6.25
Quarter 2	16.625	43.875	19.20	52.750	8.875

One year I decided not to keep my stats on fabric usage.  Then, I decided I missed knowing how I was doing. So this year I thought I would keep stats for each quarter instead of monthly.  The drawback is it's usually a lot of items I have to keep track of and figure out.  I thought I'd reported on the first quarter but I couldn't find anything in my posts. So here are both quarters. I need to get back in the habit of recording what is going out and coming in.  Hopefully 3rd quarter stats will be easier to figure out. 

That said, I am tickled that I didn't bring more fabric in then I used.  The fact that I don't count fabric used until the quilt is done or in case of blocks going out of the house, until they are on their way wherever they belong.  I have several tops waiting to be quilted and I have backing for them.  Hopefully I'll get some of them done this quarter AND I don't go crazy buying fabric. (Or picking up too much from one of the free tables!) 

Saturday the Spotsylvanians were invited to sing the Star Spangled Banner and another patriotic song for a young man who was receiving the keys to a new home that was built for him and his family. The house was built by Homes for Our Troops. Their mission says it all: "To build and donate specially adapted custom homes nationwide for severely injured post - 9/11 Veterans, to enable them to rebuild their lives."

It was an amazing morning.  There were quite a few speeches given by community people many who had been in the military also. Surprisingly, I found most of the speeches interesting as well as educating me on the organization.  It was well done although the temperature and the sun kept rising.  The house was open so that anyone who wanted to could view it and its many adaptions. Unfortunately, we had somewhere else to be shortly after the end so we didn't view the house.  If you are looking for a place to donate money that is well organized and well rated check this group out.  

We had just finished our last song.  It was a warm day but definitely worthwhile to support this great organization. (I'm second from the left. Just in case you want to put a face with the name!) 

Stitching Time 

Oh Scrap

Quilting Patchwork Applique 

Design Wall Monday

Monday Musings

Take a few minutes to visit these Linky parties.  It's always fun to see what folks are working on.

I wanted to share this last bit.  I'm sure it's 100% correct! 

Thanks to https://redthreadstudio.com/.  Check out the amazing selection of solid fabrics at their web site.  

Happy Quilting All! Bonnie 

August 2026 Mysteries and Sew Alongs

For some reason I've skipped a bunch of of Mysteries and Sew Alongs.  Hopefully, I'll be better at posting them to my blog for the rest of the year.  Enjoy the August offerings. 

Here’s one I missed totally. It ran for 4 weeks in June. Check the web page for info along with a picture of the quilt done in red, white, and blue.  The pattern will be available free for the rest of the summer. The paper piecing designs along with links to the videos are on the page linked above. The blocks are 15” and the quilt is 55” square. Even if you don’t want to make it right away this is a stunning quilt that would look good in other color ways.  

https://delafieldquiltcompany.com/pages/2026-summer-quilt-along .

Meadow Mist introduced a new pattern called Pavilion Blooms.  To go with the new pattern, Cheryl announced a sew along.  You must buy the new pattern. All info about the sew along can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/MeadowMistDesigns or by signing up for her newsletter. You may need to scroll through the Facebook group page for more info. Lots going on at Meadow Mist as she’s also started Marigold Mystery.  Pavilion Blooms $. Marigold Mystery is free.

Melva Loves Scraps is sponsoring Lala’s Irish Chain sew along. Melva always includes historical information, this time about Lala, her great grandmother. It’s started but I bet you can catch up pretty easily. Here’s the link to the announcement and the fabric requirements.  https://melvalovesscraps.blogspot.com/2026/07/lalas-irish-chain-new-sew-along.html .

Christa Quilts is running a sew along beginning September 4. The pattern is called Dancing Stars and can be purchased as a digital or hard copy.  Check her web site for more info and the link to her pattern. https://christaquilts.com/2026/07/21/join-me-for-dancing-stars-quilt-along-this-fall/  $. 

Happy Quilting All! Bonnie

Monday Meanderings -- July - 27 - 2026

This week our dog Sunny celebrated her 4th birthday.  We wanted to do something special for her although she wouldn't know why she got a special treat.  We took her to the local soft serve ice cream place called Jimmy T's.  Here she is enjoying her own bowl of vanilla soft serve.  She went at it lapping up the goody. But every once in a while she stood back and licked her lips.  We decided she was experiencing ice cream brain freeze.  We enjoyed bowls of ice cream too. Yum. Feet holding her bowl helped a lot! 

I did pretty well on my goals this week. 

7/20/26

✅Knit on a new hat — a hat is ready for stitching up the seam. 

✅Work on Snowman #2 — stitched star handle. 

Finish prepping Snowman #3 for hand appliquéing — nothing done on #3. 

✅Cut blocks and sewing turquoise and green baby quilt — finished top. 

✅Load a quilt on Ruthie and quilt it — Eiffel Tower top quilted and trimmed. 

Last October I started this baby quilt at retreat.  I brought it to the recent retreat and was able to get all the blocks made. I laid it out and took pictures so I could recreate it at home. This week I was able to sew the blocks into rows and then into a top. I used my Accuquilt 9.5" Companion Set signature die along with a triangle die from the main set to cut the squares. 

Here's a close up the animals prints in this quilt. I can't remember where and when I got those prints but they sure go well in this little quilt, about 36" square.

This Eiffel Tower quilt I cut out before the retreat. During the retreat I made all except the border. I got the main fabric off of a guild free table.  The pink was purchased "used" -- someone was selling it. The yellow has been in my stash for years. I'm happy to use these fabrics. 

The quilt is trimmed but not bound yet. I used Superior Thread's King Tut in Sunstone on the top with a basic yellow So Fine for the bobbin.  The quilting pattern was Baby Blue Eyes E2E by My Creative Stitches.  Here's a closeup. But it doesn't show the quilting design well. I plan to use the yellow for the binding, hopefully this week. 

Here's what I hope to do this week.  I have a few other things going on so I hope I can get all of these things done this week.

7/27/25

Finish quilting fall appliqué quilt

Bind Jane’s table runner

Bind Eiffel Tower Quilt 

Stitch on Snowman #2 

Finish beanie hat 

I was able to sew every day this week. Here are the numbers. 

Week ending 7/26/26: 207 days of 2026.

 206 stitching days out of 207 days 99.5%

I thought I would share a couple of the quilts others finished during the retreat. First up is Michele who made this quilt using many (all?) of the Kona solids. I don't remember if she had already started it but here's the finished top! Gorgeous. 

Kay bought this sweet kit at a quilt store on the drive to the retreat. This is a cute quilt for a child or baby. 

As usual, here are the Linky parties I'll be joining. 

Stitching Time 

Oh Scrap

Quilting Patchwork Applique 

Design Wall Monday

Monday Musings

Happy Quilting All!  Bonnie 

Monday Meanderings July - 20 - 2026

It was a great week! Retreat is over and I'm exhausted.  But what fun we all had. There were 7 of us sewing in a space that was actually designed for scrapbooking.  I failed to take pictures of sewing area. So here's a verbal description.  We each had a table to set up on.  Then there were tables for an iron and for cutting mats.  Those two tables were on risers so they were at a comfortable height. There was also a snack table and an extra refrigerator. There was also a bedroom and bath downstairs.   Upstairs there was a kitchen, dining room, living room, one bedroom and access to a beautiful screen porch. The next floor had two more bedrooms and a bath room.  A nice set up for us. 

Here're my goals from last week. 

7/13/26

✅Pack up sewing projects & supplies and travel to retreat! — arrived, sewed and came home. 

✅Work on projects most are groups of blocks to make into tops — most were moved forward or finished. 

Prep Snowman #3 for hand appliquéing— started but not finished. 

I'll show my retreat projects after my goals for this week. So here they are. 

7/20/26

Knit on a new hat

Work on Snowman #2

Finish prepping Snowman #3 for hand appliquéing

Cut more blocks and sew turquoise and green baby quilt together 

Load a quilt on Ruthie and quilt it. 

I had a really successful retreat. I brought 8 projects to work on. Most were blocks needing to be put into tops.  One was a new quilt cut and ready to sew. Here are some of the projects.

Since I finished all the Veronica blocks before I left I decided to sew them into a top. Once I find backing fabric this one is ready to throw on Ruthie. 👆🏼

This economy block, along with about 7 others, was made at retreat.  Then I laid out all the blocks on my design bed.  And, then I moved blocks around.  Took photos and turned them into greyscale. And again and again.  After an hour or so I decided I needed to reevaluate the blocks.  They were a variety of fabric colors and styles. I finally decided to put these basic in their pouch and look at them once I got home.  My guess is I'll make some more blocks that are medium and then the quilt will look more balanced.  A lot of the blocks looked really dark when turned to greyscale. So I went on to something else. 

I started this quilt with the little 9 patches which are 3" in the quilt.  I actually cut out the other parts for last October's retreat. I sewed this top at retreat. Except, I didn't cut the colored border. In fact I have no idea what fabric I'll use for the border. I'm hoping to get it finished sooner, rather than later. I might have a fabric that will work. I'll keep you posted on this one. 

Next up I pulled out the blocks to make this little baby quilt. It's a 64 square quilt,

set 8 x 8. It finishes 36" square. The squares are cut 5" and finish at 4.5". Are you asking why I made these blocks 5"?  It's because I have a 9" Aaccuquilt Cube. The big square turns is 5". My other choice would have been 6" finished which seemed too big for my fabrics.  The fabric was a kit from Craftsy when they were going out of business. It all is sea motifs. Whales, clams, bottles in the sea, etc.  I may  have enough fabric left over for a second one.  I think I have yardage of one or two of these fabrics to use as backing.

This is another 36" square baby quilt.  The lozenge shape is from my 9" Companion Set. It's called a signature block. You might notice I have some holes in the design. I was going to just make some at the retreat but it took quite a long time to make the first one. So I decided to put this one away and cut the extra blocks out on the Accuquilt at home.  

Not a great picture but this is the one totally new quilt.  I used one of my Quilts for Baby books by Ursula Reikes. The Eiffel Tower fabric was free on a give away table at one of my quilt guilds.  I didn't bring both pages of the directions -- only the sewing it together part.  I still need to cut the border and apply it.  Again, I'l need to find backing for it eventually. 

And, that's my trusty Featherweight that really sewed a lot this past week.  One thing I learned is the Singer needles are not any good.  I'd changed the needle in it for the only needle I had with me, from Singer. The stitches were awful, skipped, big and poorly formed.  Luckily a friend had recently taken a Featherweight maintenance class. The instructor said the Singer needles were awful. She gave me a new needle and that Featherweight sewed like a champ for the whole retreat. Phew! 

 

On the afternoon of the last day I moved on to this top. 👇🏼  Well, it's not a top yet. It started out as blocks that had been pieced on phone books pages. I did get the blocks sewn together in rows. But then I decided I might want to take off some of the paper before I sew the rows together.  It was getting late after I got one row of the papers removed. I quit sewing, packed up my supplies and then went on to bed.  I think tearing these papers out will be great to do when I'm watching TV or at my stitching group.  So these will take a while before I get them sewn together.  

My last project did get started.  You can see one of the blocks here on last week's post. It's the watermelon Happy block.  I didn't take any pictures of the rest of the blocks I made during the week. Again, something I'll be working on over the upcoming weeks and months too.  I think all the blocks are ready to be sewn into rows and a top. 

So, yes, I made forward progress on a lot of projects.  Most need more progress to get to top stage. But WOW I was amazed how many projects I worked on and made good progress.  I have another retreat in October -- so I'll need to get another group of projects ready to finish or at least move forward for it. Who knows, I may wait 'til then to finish some of these projects. 

NEWS ALERT!

I didn't do any stitching today! In fact, I forgot all about it until a few paragraphs back! So here are the numbers. 

Week ending 7/19/26: 200 days of 2026.

 199 stitching days out of 200 days 99.5%

I'll start back up tomorrow.  At least I got reading on my Kindle done. Now it's time to remind all to check out these Linky parties.  

Stitching Time 

Oh Scrap

Quilting Patchwork Applique 

Design Wall Monday

Monday Musings

One thing I didn't mention is I took most of my tools and projects down to the sewing room when I got home. Tomorrow I'll only have to take down a few things.  Of course, then I'll need to put everything back away.  Hopefully it will all be put away by lunch. 

Happy Quilting All! Bonnie