Monday Meandering -- 8 - 31 - 2026

I sure did the first thing on my goal list this past week.  Sharon and I had a great time together.  She got a lot done and pushed me to finish the August clue for Marigold Mystery.  I'm glad she did -- I was going to wait to do some at home.  But, the next clue comes out this week and sometime we'll get together over FaceTime and sew up the clue while we chat.  It's a great way for us to stay in touch.  

Here's the whole list of what got done. 

8/24

✅Enjoy in house retreat at Sharon’s — we had a great time. 

✅Make Marigold Mystery blocks — all of the first clue blocks are done. 

Start sewing idiom challenge top — no sewing done but several things were done that moved the project ahead. 

✅Finish sewing string quilt together — done. 

Bind sea creatures quilt — still need to hand sew binding down. And ✅fall appliqué quilt -- done and hanging.

Here are a few of my Marigold blocks.  You can see some of the fabrics I'm using here. Since I am using a big hunk of orange I'm trying to make blocks that will go with the orange but not be too dark. If you wonder where the purple is coming from, look at the bottom center of the picture of all the fabrics.  There is definitely some purple in it.  The first clue included 5 sawtooth stars and 4 Dutchman puzzles. I had two of the stars done from when Sharon and I had FaceTimed together.  That means I made 7 blocks at her house. 

I did get the string blocks sewn into a quilt but I didn't remember to take a picture until after it clouded up so I couldn't get a decent picture.  Additionally I finished sewing the binding on the fall applique and it is already hanging in the great room.  But it was too dark to get a decent picture.  After I write my blog I'll try to get started on the sea life quilt. 

I also spent some time today adding to my Idiom Challenge piece.  I've chosen colors for the items. I've done a bit more drawing of elements.  I hope to actually do some sewing this week.  It's due on 9/16.  It will be hanging at the Original Sewing and Quilting Expo in Fredericksburg Sept 24 through 26, 2026. (I'm also going to be working as a class assistant on the 24th.) 

Here's what I hope to get done this week. 

8/31/26

Start sewing on idiom quilt

Cut one kit for Oct retreat

Lay out potato chip blocks and possibly sew together

Finish binding on sea life

Get one of my tops loaded and quilted 

That seems like a lot considering I really need to get going on the idiom challenge quilt. Hopefully I'll get some different things moved forward too. 

Despite two days of travel I was able to continue stitching for 15 minutes a day. Saturday evening after driving for 5 or so hours home I wasn't sure I really wanted to do any stitching.  But after relaxing for a while I set a timer for 20 minutes and proceeded to knit on a wash cloth.  Not quite mindless knitting but pretty easy. Most days Sharon and I spent 6 to 7 hours in her studio sewing, chatting, and having fun. 

Week ending 8/30/26: 242 days of 2026.

 241 stitching days out of 242 days 99.6% 

One thing we did do is visit a couple of stores for fabric.  Did I need to buy any? Not exactly.  Did I buy some? YEP.  Here's most of my new fabric with a wide back I bought several weeks ago. Darn -- this isn't a great picture. The orange and blue are 3 yard pieces for backings. The weird looking brown is actually a 1/2 yard piece of brown dimples. (I figure it will go with Marigold mystery fabrics.) The fabric underneath them is actually a light blue-green design on a wide backing. You might be able to see them better if you enlarge the picture. I'm hoping to use some of these backings this week. 

And my best purchase was this, dare I say, hideous green with green spots/circles on it.  It yelled frog to me! (oops! I general use my blog URL on my pictures. Evidently I used the notation I use on the pictures name instead for some unknown reason.)  Isn't that going to make a great frog? I'm looking forward to making Ms. Frog. 

I meant to take a picture of one of the New Bern bears but didn't think about it until we were shopping.  This bear was out side of the Academy sports shop.  Driving to the next fabric store I must have seen 8 to 10 other bears, but this was easiest to snap a picture. 

One thing I "found" when I was putting away these fat quarters was an old Halloween stitchery I finished several years ago.  It's time to make it a small wall quilt/picture.  Here's the stitchery with 3 suggested borders. The one on the right seems wrong for the black and white stitchery.  Below is a closeup of the two blacks I'm auditioning.  I think the border would be about 2" cut or about 1.5" with the binding. I still need to trim the stitchery too.  My thought is to get this finished and possibly use it this October.  What looks like a shadow behind the piece is actually the excess fabric of the suggested borders.  See the close up below showing the two on the left. 

The one on the top is a herringbone design that was used as the border and binding of the autumn applique quilt. 

The one underneath has black with various shades of grey with it.  I'm leaning toward the black and grey one... gives a bit more interest to the piece.  Of course, I'll need to check that there is enough of it to also do the binding. If time permits I might work on it this week. 

Please check out these blogs.  It's fun to see what other quilters are working on. Heck, maybe you'll see some great inspirations. 

Stitching Time 

Oh Scrap

Quilting Patchwork Applique 

Design Wall Monday

Monday Musings

We had a slight respite from the super hot and humid days last weekend.  And much of this week.  But if the weather forecast is accurate, we're in for really hot and humid week. Five days in the 90's and one day hitting 100°. And that's without taking the humidity into consideration.  So where will I be the most comfortable? You're right if you said my basement studio.  It is so much cooler down there AND I have my own ac/heater too if I get too hot.  So I should get a lot done this coming week.  

Happy Quilting All! Bonnie 

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