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 

Monday Meanderings 6 - 2 - 2026

We enjoyed some beautiful weather over the last week or so.  Temps in the low 70s and low humidity.  It's been lovely. Unfortunately the first week of June shows temps going up to the 90s with humidity. Bummer.  I tend not to bake (cookies, brownies) when the temp hits 80+.  We have a kitchen that opens into the living room.  Heating the oven heats the main part of the house. It doesn't make for comfortable tv watching or reading in the evening. 

So, my goal list doesn't have a bunch of ✅ this week. I didn't realize how long it would take me to make the 2 pillow shams I finished.  Here's what got finished and what was left out!

5/25/26

✅Stitch on Snowman #2 — made some progress. 

✅✅Make pillow shams for Ombré Log Cabin quilt — 2 done but they need a little more work to look better. 

✅Knit 2 kids size beanies — finished one and started and finished #2. 

Make some hollow 9 patches — nothing done. 

Trim Bargello quilt — Didn’t trim; need to buy binding first. 

Quilt one of my quilts — didn’t happen! 

We've had the Ombre Log Cabin quilt on our bed for about a month. It looked funny with pillow "shams" that were just white pillowcases.  So I decided it was time to make shams.  Unfortunately, I need to stitch about an 1 inch inside the edges of the sham so it stands up (hopefully).  Right now, this works but the shams are a bit floppy.    

I finished 2 beanies and found another one finished in my knitting bag.  We were asked to use bright colors and make kid friendly hats.  I generally give them to a friend of mine who turns them in every couple of weeks.  Hopefully I'll see her tomorrow at our weekly stitching meeting and she'll be able to turn them in. 

I use a pattern that allows me to knit the hat flat and then seam up the back. I find it easy to knit and doesn't take long to do the finishing work.  I've been making these stripe hats with two rows of color followed by 2 rows of the white. It sure helps to use up the little bits of yarn left from making other hats.  I decided to skip the pompoms on top as I worry about them falling apart too soon. I'll see how many more I can get done before the summer program passing out school clothes. 

Here's what I will be working on this week.  

6/2/2026

Quilt two of my quilts

Make some hollow 9 patches

Knit more kid-size beanies 

Stitch on Snowman #2

Cut one quilt kit

My June UFO project is a fall top. All I wrote was Fall Blocks Top.  Hum, I sure hope it will be obvious when I check for it in my quilt closet! 

I had another successful week stitching. 

Week ending 5/31/26:  151 days of 2026.

  151 stitching days out of 151 days. 100%

I did not attend the estate sale again this week.  For the most part I forgot all about it.  So no new things to share.  

We went out to dinner and a concert this weekend.  We left way too early so after dinner we went to a deli/bakery to have a piece of carrot cake. It's our favorite cake.  Here's the cake: 

Here's the review: not as good as my home made carrot cake or the one we get from our local Publix! The sad part is it cost nearly $8.00! And, yes, we shared our dessert! The concert was by another community chorus.  It was interesting music choices.  And, that's all I'll say. 

As usual I'm linking up with these parties. 

Stitching Time 

Oh Scrap

Quilting Patchwork Applique 

Design Wall Monday

Monday Musings

Not much else is going on this week until Saturday.  The Spotsylvanians will be singing the national anthem at the Fred Nats minor league baseball game. This is the fourth year we've done it. It's always a fun event. 

Happy Quilting All! Bonnie 

Monday Meanderings 5 - 25 - 2026

Yea!  We got a bunch of rain this week. We have been in a severe drought recently. I'm hoping the last few days of rain has helped.  There is some rain forecasted over the next 10 days but probably not enough to lift us out of the drought.  Hopefully it will really happen.  Needless to say I spent a lot of time in my studio this week. Let's look at the goals report. 

5/18/26

✅Quilt top for quilt guild — baby top quilted. 

✅Quilt one of my baby quilts — Koala top quilted. 

✅Continue working on UFO Challenge for May — the Bargello is sewn together. Needs binding which I need to get. 

✅Stitch on Snowman #2 — progress made but lots more is needed. 

✅Finish sewing dash blocks together — Top finished. Need backing fabric. 

✅Look at making pillow cases to go with Ombre Log Cabin — plan made, 8 blocks available to make 2 pillow shams. 

This is a guild baby quilt that I quilted.  I used Baby Blue Eyes edge-to-edge from My Creative Stitches.  I've used this designs several times recently. Although it doesn't look like it here the squares that look grey are actually green.  Weirdly, I used to have this same fabric. 

I also got one of my baby quilts done.  I really like this koala quilt. The design is from one of Quilts for Babies books by Ursula Reikes.  The quilting design was New Zealand Koru also by My Creative Stitches. I thought koalas might live in New Zealand also, but nope. They are not native to New Zealand and the country doesn't want them brought in because they don't have the resources for them. 

I like quilting baby quilts because they go quickly, unless I pick a dense pattern. Or, if I play bobbin roulette. You know, when you're betting that there is enough bobbin to finish the quilt. 

HA! It got me on the last row of the quilt above.  I ran out of bobbin with only 8% of it to finish.  Bummer.  However, it was a good loss. I could actually take out a few extra stitches and then start the row again outside of the actual quilt. No matching where the thread stopped with the starting thread. It also meant I didn't have a lot of leftover thread on a bobbin. I'll be using the small amount left as basting thread on the next quilt I do.

I've got a plan to continue quilting tops for this coming week.

5/25/26

Stitch on Snowman #2 

Make pillow shams for Ombré Log Cabin quilt

Knit 2 kids size beanies 

Make some hollow 9 patches

Trim Bargello quilt

Quilt one of my quilts  

I've had another successful week stitching every day.  Most days were well over 15 minutes. 

Week ending 5/24/26:  144 days of 2026.

  144 stitching days out of 144 days. 100%

I donate kids' hats through From the Heart, a local charity that provides lots of different items that are knit, sewn, or crocheted.  Currently I'm making children's hats to be given away in mid July during a special dressing event. I'm about done with a white and pink stripe one. My next one is going to be white and orange. You can see some of my previous hats here. The cool part about doing this is it's helping me reduce my yarn stash.  Although, I can also get yarn from the group.  I need to knit a little faster to use up what I've gotten and my own stash! 

I went to an estate sale of a quilter and crafter this weekend.  Luckily for me, most of her fabric was gone before I got to her house.  There was a lot of other items left though. I hit up a lovely collection of felted wool and wool felt.  Here's what I got. 

Wool fabric, some hand dyed. I'll be rinsing these in very hot water to felt them if they haven't already been felted. I will be choosing some pretty colors for my next snowmen. 

These are all wool felt. At least they feel wonderful and probably are wool -- except maybe the black. I'll have a better feel for these when my order for some wool felt arrives. 

I also bought a kit with lemon yellow, white and a light and medium lime green fabric. I won't be using the pattern, I just really like the fabrics. 

The sale is continuing this coming weekend which I plan on attending as there should be some Accu Quilt dies for sale. Hopefully I won't add to my fabric or yarn stash again! 

It's time to remind everyone to visit these Linky parties: Stitching Time, Oh Scrap, Quilting Patchwork Applique, Design Wall Monday, and Monday Musing.

I'm looking forward to not having any weekly commitments until the end of August. It's nice to sleep in a little and not have so many things to do.  

Happy Quilting All! Bonnie 

Monday Meanderings 3 - 16 - 2026

What a week we've had -- or at least our weather has had. Thursday it was in the high 70s. Then it started getting colder, and it snowed. That night it got down to the 30's.  See the pic below -- it had dropped 44 degrees on Thursday.  The snow didn't last long but it was wet, and was snowing hard for an hour or so.  

Here's what I planned to do this past week. 

3/9/26

Finish Feb UFO to top stage — nothing was done. 

✅Stitch on Snowman block — Several sections were finished.

✔️Trim March UFO blocks — 10 of 42 blocks were trimmed. More to go. 

✅ Sew Magnificent Mystery blocks into rows — done. 

✅ Finish knitting sock — done.

Here's a pic of my finished socks. The first sock was finished months ago. I started the second one and got to where the heel started and quit. Fast forward many months. It took me about 2 weeks to get the second one done once I started knitting again.  I wore them today. Pretty comfortable and not horribly hot. 

I did make up my mind about the Feb. UFO Challenge piece.  I'll be using the light pink as sashing and the print as the border.  Unfortunately I don't have a lot of the print fabric so I'll probably make the border as big as I can. Straighten the edges and divide the amount by 4 and that will be how wide the borders will be. Stay tuned to see the end result.  

I know you are wondering why I didn't get much done this last week. A customer called me with a top to be quilted asap.  I didn't get a very good picture of it but I did get it finished.   On Thursday (see weather report above...) there was a blip of electricity and Ruthie quit working.  Bummer. I quit for the rest of that day as I didn't want the quilting to be messed up and started again on Friday afternoon.  It was done by Saturday evening. And returned on Sunday. Margery used a lot of horse prints including a panel of horse prints like on the bottom left below.  

Margery designed the center.  I wish I had taken a picture of the whole quilt or most of it.  It is really stunning. This is what I did instead of my goals.  (Although truth be told I did get quite a bit of reading done while Ruthie was sewing.) 

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

3/16/26

Sew Magnificent Mystery rows together 

Continue trimming March UFO blocks/take out papers 

Quilt Springtime Irish Chain

Make more Dash blocks 

Finish 1st Snowman block 

Oh! And the fabric from Marshall Dry Goods arrived. About 7 pounds of fabric according to the shipping label.  I went a bit wild buying wide backs.  Here's group 1.

The pink and blue are each 2 yards of 108 fabric. The red, white, and blue is just a yard of 45" wide. It was a little treat -- ie, I have nothing specific planned for it.  But I'll probably make a 3 yard quilt with it.  And now, group 2. 

The top one was "suppose" to go with the Magnificent Mystery top except it is way more orange than I thought it was.  It is a beautiful fabric and I'll find some way to use it although maybe not as a backing.  Underneath is white Dream Cotton Solid 108" wide.  I'll probably use it as background fabric. It has a great hand.  

I did actually sew every day last week.

Week ending 3/15/26;  74 days of 2026.

  74 days of 74. 100%

Here are the Linky Parties I'm linking with.  Take a few minutes to visit the blogs listed. 

Stitching Time 

Oh Scrap

Quilting Patchwork Applique 

Design Wall Monday

Monday Musings

So this week the weather is also going to be weird.  At least on Monday.  

Our community is in the greater DC region. According to the Washington Post 

"An intense storm system could bring widespread and severe thunderstorms to the D.C. region on Monday, capable of producing violent wind gusts, hail and tornadoes in addition to torrential rain and lightning." What it doesn't say but other meteorologists are saying there can be tornadoes also.  Oh fun.  A group of us are planning to go out to lunch.  So far the worst of the storm will be coming in the mid to late afternoon/evening.  I hope we can have our outing but it'll be canceled if the weather starts faster than it is currently predicted.  If you live in the way of this storm take care. Tomorrow I'll be doing a little pre-storm prep -- basically have food and drink for 3 days available.  Also, fully charge all of our devices.   Take care if you live in this area. 

Happy Quilting All - Bonnie