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 

Monday Meanderings 5 - 30 - 2022

May we remember our friends, neighbors and family who joined the military to help defend all of us. 

Credit: "Official photograph U.S.Navy

My dad, Robert A. Rowe served in the Navy for 30 years.  He was a member of the first Naval ROTC unit from the University of Southern California.  He did not graduate from USC because he went off to World War II. He served in the Korean and Viet Nam wars.  Luckily for my family he came home from all the wars. He retired in 1973 to live in California.  

Although Memorial Day is to remember those who died to keep America free, I thought I'd add this small tribute to my dad for his many years of service. 

Now on to my regular blog post. A whirl wind week is finished.  I'm hoping this week will be calmer and more sewing will get done.  Here's what was happening. 

• One day of recuperation from our weekend in Maryland. 
• A longer rehearsal for a concert and a concert for our neighborhood given by the Heritage Singers. 
• A day at the ballpark where the Spotsylvanians sang the Star Spangled Banner for the Fred Hats, a farm team of the Washington Nationals.  

  I'm the 3rd from the left in the back row. Yea, the one with the cap pulled down to keep the sun out of my eyes.  Pat is to my left.  

Ok, that doesn't sound all that busy but it did cut into my sewing time quite a bit. So how badly did it take time away?  Not as bad as it could have been.  Here's what I hoped to accomplish last week. 

5/23/2022

✅Make more blocks for Beth and Fran for FCQ Equilters - ready to be packaged up and get in the mail. 

✅Make some blocks for SAHRR better known as Feathered Star - almost a top.

✅Sash blocks on May UFO -- done and put in the to-be-quilted closet.

✖️Work on pyramid class project -- not even thought about! 

Not too bad.  So this week I want to finish these goals...

5/30/22

Finish SAHRR top — better known as Feathered Star

Work on pyramid class project

Begin working on June UFO challenge - quilt old doggy top 

Mail out blocks for FCQ Equilters and quilts to Hands 2 Help 

Quilt one of my quilts 

Not too long of a list this week.  If I have extra time I may start something new! OH MY! Actually I have a project that I played around with many weeks ago so it might come out instead of a new one.  But, don't hold your breath. 

Here's where the Feathered Star project stands now. 

I have 2 more Shoo Fly blocks cut out and ready to sew.  The top row is actually sewn together except for the corner blocks.  So, I need to sew the other three borders together and sew them all on to the quilt.  At that point I plan to leave it alone for a while.  I have quite a bit of white border before the Shoo Flys that I "could" do some appliqué.  I'll be making that decision eventually.  Part of me wants to just get the darn thing done but I might do a little machine appliqué.  But I'm not committing to it now! 

I'm so late getting this post written I'm going to call it done.  You know the drill.  Please check out these Linky parties to see what folks across the Internet are doing.

Monday Making 

Design Wall Monday

To Do Tuesday 

Wednesday Wait Loss 

Mid-Week Makers 

I was doing pretty well linking up posts after Wednesday last week and then *poof* I failed to link the Wednesday parties until a day or two late.  I'll try to be better this week. 

On this Memorial Day may you remember those who have fallen in service to the United States of America and those who have served and continue to serve. 

Happy Quilting All! Bonnie

A Finished RSC Quilt

 Here's the quilt I finished in January. The block is called Propeller. You can find directions at The Colorful Fabricholic blog. I made these blocks for the 2019 Rainbow Scrap Challenge. You can see a picture here.   

I decided it was time to take my quilt on the road to find some place different then our house and yard to take pictures.  I was getting my 2nd Covid vaccine yesterday afternoon so we would go by a park or two, the hospital grounds, and be near the new Frederick Nationals baseball stadium.  We chose the Fred Nat's stadium. The Nat's are the farm team for the Washington Nationals, the winners of the 2019 World Series. I am not a huge baseball fan but Pat is so I listen to games while I'm doing hand work sometimes. 

After receiving my shot (in less than 30 minutes), we drove over to see the new stadium.  Most of it wasn't available for us to go in. Here are the photos we were able to get. 

We drove down the side of the stadium and found a place we could photograph and get some of the actual field in the view. Did I mention it was windy too? 

Next we went back to the front to get a photo in front of crossed baseball bats. 

The quilt shows up well in these pictures because it is so bold and geometric.  The crossed bats is different... and it isn't totally finished yet. My guess is it will have a lot of beautiful flowers or shrubs below the bats when finished. 

Next up we went into the Nats Store.  I was still looking for a location for some fun photos.  

Pat was looking for a new hat which he found.  

I was wandering around trying to decide where else I'd photograph my quilt. Hum, a mannequin dressed in a Nat's Uniform, with a little stuffed dog with a Nat's leash and collar.  That might work well. 

I had to go outside to get a picture.  The quilt isn't shining. 

It's hard to see the backing but it is the same light blue with white polka dots used for the binding.  I have enough left for another quilt backing so you will see it again. 

Now, a close up of the quilt and quilting. 

Quilting Design: Fern Gully. (Yep, it's my current favorite design.) 

Thread: Omni Natural White.

True confession time.  I wasn't all that excited about these blocks.  They are a little fussy to make.  I was making two blocks a month based on the colors given each month for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. Once I finished the top last year I decided it was a little more likable.  After I quilted and bound it I started to realize it was a nice quilt. After seeing these pictures I realize it is a great quilt!  Eventually it will be given away but for the time being it will be living here at home. 

Do you find that you like a quilt better the further along in the process?  Seeing these pictures has certainly changed my mind about this quilt.

Next up -- Linky Parties this week: Needle and Thread Thursday, Can I Get a Whoop, Whoop?, Finished or Not Friday, Beauties Pagent, and Scrap Happy Saturday. (I'll link up as the parties get started.)   I'm going to be doing some surfing this weekend.  How about you? 

Happy Quilting All!  Bonnie