Monday Meanderings 7 - 13 - 2026

We walk Sunny every evening around 7:00 pm.  Most of this summer it's been really hot and oppressively humid. Tonight it was cool, somewhat humid with a nice breeze blowing.  It was a great night to walk. I don't think this mild weather will continue but it's nice when it happens during a really hot summer. 

I didn't have as many check marks on my goals this week.  The house has been in an upheaval with painting followed by new carpets Monday. There's a good chance by the time you read this the new carpets might already be installed and then it's put everything away time.  I'll keep you posted.  Maybe even pictures next week.

7/6/26

✅Bind table runner — it’s almost done so I’m giving myself a check. It'll be finished at my Monday afternoon stitching group.

✅Organize more block sets to sew together at retreat — 7+ projects are ready to go. 

✅Move some stuff back to closets — Clothes hanging on upper rods are back. The rest are waiting for the new carpet. 

✅Finish more Veronica blocks — All are done. 

Prep Snowman #3 for hand appliquéing — oops. Not done but started. 

Quilt another section of June UFO project — not done. 

Not many photos to go with my goals from last week. But here's a couple of new ones from the Veronica blocks. These blocks will be packed up so they can become a top at my retreat this week. 

Here's a close up of the light blue at the bottom right. 

I have to say I've really enjoyed making these blocks.  The Veronica pattern was designed by Preeti Harris. Here's her version. 

And now, this week's goals. 

7/13/26

Deal with new carpets (ie, put things back) 

Pack up sewing projects & supplies and travel to retreat! 

Work on projects -- most are groups of blocks to make into tops

Finish Snowman #2

Prep Snowman #3 for hand appliquéing and sew some of it

Yes, a very short list although work on projects involves 8 or 9 different projects.  I doubt I'll get all of them done but I'm counting on getting some of them to top stage. And then I'll have a LOT of tops needing quilting and binding. And others will be further along. It's always better to have more projects than needed at retreats.  

This was another successful sewing week.  One day I spent more time reading. I went to the studio after dinner and spent several hours on prepping projects. So I've maintained my 100% sewing every day. 

Week ending 7/12/26:  193 days of 2026.

  193 stitching days out of 193 days. 100%

The retreat I'm going to Tuesday is with several of my friends from my old guild west of Richmond.  We've been going together for four or five years.  The house is set up for scrapbooking.  Not surprising it's also great for quilting. We bring our projects and machines, our breakfasts and lunches, and we all make dinners for the group.  It works out really well.  Hopefully I'll remember to take a lot more pictures during our time there.  I'll be back Sunday afternoon just in time to write next Monday's post. 

One of the projects I plan to work on is making more Happy Blocks to make a lap quilt for a tween or teen.  I need to cut some more of the blocks but I did make one a new block.  It makes me want to have some watermelon. 

Now, it's time to finish this post and share it on the Internet. Please check out these Linky parties. 

Stitching Time 

Oh Scrap

Quilting Patchwork Applique 

Design Wall Monday

Monday Musings

I'll link up to the last two parties once they are available. For now I wish you a productive week of quilting.

Happy Quilting All! Bonnie 

Monday Meanderings 10 - 20 - 2025

 It was a terrific retreat!  So much fun chatting with all the quilters -- friends for years and new friends too. The weather was wonderful -- cool but not cold at night, sunny and warm during the day.  And, no rain.  What more can you ask for? Um, and we didn't short out the sewing room. (I say that only because at one quilting class, many years ago, the quilters caused an entire community center and the local police station to lose electricity!) 

Here's what was on my goal list.

10/13/25

✅Have a great time at retreat - wonderful retreat, good food, fun and quilting.

Finish at least 4 of 6 projects — nope, 1 finished at home, 1 is ready for a border, 2 were moved forward. 

✅Start loading a quilt on long arm when back home — loaded and quilted a small quilt.

First up is a 3 yard quilt from the book Quick Christmas 3 Yard Quilts called Irish Christmas.  My quilt is definitely not a Christmas quilt.  I used fabrics from my stash and one purchased fabric. Here's what it looked like after retreat. I had the border strips cut but it's easier to cut the length and apply at home. 

Here's what it looks like with the borders I put on over the weekend. 

It's gone to the "To-be-quilted" closet.  I do need to see how much fabric I have left. I know there's a hunk of the floral print and some of the pink. Maybe I have enough to do the backing or at least a start. 

Here's a small baby quilt I was able to finish the inside. I brought a couple of possible border fabrics but they were vetoed.  One was a bright orange that just didn't work. I have more of the polka dots but I hope to find something in my stash for a border.  I'll report when I find it. 

Here are two of the blocks for Benny's Quilt. I made it with 2" squares rather than 2.5" squares it called for. I did find a link to the pattern too. It was on Michelle's Romantic Tangle.  I'm pretty sure it isn't a current blog but the patterns are still available. Benny's Quilt is the first one -- just click on it if you are interested in making your own. There are several more you can look at to see if you might want to make a different one. 

I was able to sew all the 2" squares needed for the "foursies" at retreat. I then started sewing the blocks together. I was mostly using them as my leader enders and then starting to make the squares.

I made some inroads on another project using it as a leader ender but I haven't taken any pictures yet. I hope to move all of these projects forward over the next few weeks. 

Here's what I hope to work on this coming week. 

10/20/25 

Work on the Benny Quilt 

Find border for baby quilt

Sew sections 3 and 4 of the tall tree

Pick a top to quilt 

It finally happened! I forgot to sew the day I drove home from retreat. Honestly, I can't believe I forgot to even knit for 15 minutes! I did get most of my stuff put away. One more container has a few things in the bottom that need to be put away before I can stash it in the basement. 

W/ending 10/19/25. 292 days of 2025

• 15 minute days/October 18/19
• 15 minute days/2024 = 291/292 days
• Success rate = 99.6% (it would be 100% if I rounded up!) 

Here are two of Sharon's quilts she finished at retreat. The first one is a Fabric Cafe 3 Yard Quilt. (Sorry, don't remember which book it is from although I know I made one of these too.) 

This second one used charm squares and Cheryl Brinkley's book Just One Charm Pack Quilts.

I wasn't very good at taking pictures this time.  But I did take several pictures of this sunset last Monday evening.  Isn't it beautiful? It was the only day we had such a spectacular sunset.

I did notice this license plate frame. I'm all about the fabric! In fact, I went shopping at Fork MTM Quilting (in Rocky Mount, Va)  and came home with a couple of yards of mostly red, white, and blue fabrics. I'll share them later. 

I'll be linking up with these parties. Please take some time to visit the blogs listed on them. 

Stitching Stuff

Oh Scrap

Design Wall Monday

Monday Musings

Happy Quilting All! Bonnie 

Monday Meanderings 7 - 28 - 2025

It was a great week and a great retreat.  I really enjoy gathering with these ladies, catching up and sewing.  I'll see some of them at the Country Piecemakers meeting in August. I was really successful too. Here's my goal list.

7/21/25

 ✅Attend retreat — great fun and terrific to see these friends again. 

Piece these tops in the order given as time allows:

 ✅Soho — center done, will do borders at home.

Triple Rail baby quilt — what was I thinking?  This was not a doable project! The rails were all made but the novelty fabric wasn’t right. 

  Irish Christmas (mine in spring colors!) — HSTs were sewn and trimmed. Putting the quilt together will come later. 

 ✅Cornerpost — all done. 

 ✅Pretty Please — need to find a border.

 ✅Dinos and Friends (PCQ Charity Quilt for Kids) — easy-peasy. Finished, ready to find a backing and quilt

 ✅Write article on Mysteries and Sew Alongs  — done. 

 ✅Keep working on cross stitch project bag — one thread was stitched. (Doesn’t sound like much but it is making progress.

First up, Soho. Not a great picture but you get the idea. This is a Fabric Cafe 3 yard quilt.  The beige fabric corners on the blue block should be the border on this one.  I knew I would need to use a different fabric for the border as I didn't have enough. I'll check my stash to see if anything will go with this one.  It may take a while to finish. 

Triple Rail baby quilt -- oh my goodness.  I don't know what I was doing when I cut out this "kit."  The triple rail part of this one was made although I had to cut some more strips to succeed.  But the center novelty fabric? I have about 20 8 x 8" blocks. I needed 4 much smaller squares. I decided not to cut the 8 x 8" blocks as they would work really well for a quilt bigger than 36" square. I'll find another novelty fabric to go with the rails.  Stay tuned. 

Irish Christmas is a more involved quilt.  I got all, 48, of the half square triangles sewn and trimmed.  This project might wait for my October retreat or I might sew it before then.  It is a bit more complicated to try to make it in a retreat setting -- catching up with friends, talking and carrying on. So maybe this will be done at home in the near feature.

Cornerpost is from a magazine design I had saved.  I probably won't do another one but it was fairly easy to put together.  (I turned the center row upside down so I ended up with the three light blocks all at the bottom. Bummer. But, not worth turning it around.) 

Pretty Please is another 3 Yard Quilt. I made it earlier this year that you can see here. This is a very easy, quick quilt.  The borders, in purple, will be added soon.  I like the multicolored popsicles It's a fun quilt. 

Dinos and Friends was super easy and fast to sew together. It took much longer to find all the fabrics, iron them, and cut them out than to sew it. (I love having kits to sew at retreat.) I probably should have cut out two instead of just one. I may have to find some more fabric to make another one of these quilts. 

Here's a link to Jan Ochterbeck's blog and directions for this quilt and others. This will be given through my quilt guild to a youngster in our community. 

Luckily the drive back from the retreat house was easy -- no rain, no wind just some traffic. I've already taken one nap.  I'll probably go to bed early tonight -- I'm pooped! Here's what's on the list for this coming week. 

7/28/25

Put all my retreat supplies away

Put borders on Pretty Please

Finish FCQ Equilters blocks 

Pick a top and backing and quilt it

Keep knitting on the current hat

Work on cross stitch project bag 

I definitely got my 15 minutes of stitching done this week. 

W/ending 7/27/25. 208 days of 2025

• 15 minute days/July = 27/27
• 15 minute days/2024 = 208/208 days
• Success rate = 100%

Here are a few photos of some of the other projects people were working on. (BTW -- there were only 7 of us.) 

M's lunch box from a pattern from Annie's called Out to Lunch 2.0. She had a good time making it. She also made -- get this -- tennis shoes! 

Pretty cool. I'd love to make a pair but my feet like good arch support! 

B cut and sewed this top at retreat. (It was 6 days and 5 nights, although we all left by about 11 this morning.) This doesn't do the colors justice though.

D is a Studio 180 teacher and was working on these blocks. She was able to get quite a few of them done. 

I was surprised that I didn't have more photos.  I hope my friends will share photos when their blocks becoming tops.  A lot of fun sewing was going on.  

I'm worn out. So, let's get the link-up done and call it a night! 

Stitching Stuff

Oh Scrap

Design Wall Monday

Monday Musings 

I'll be back to link the last two tomorrow.  I hope you can take some time to visit these Linky parties and check out different blogs around the world. 

Happy Quilting,  Bonnie 

Monday Meanderings 7 -- 21 -- 2025

No news on the weather here.  It's been the same for most of the week.  Maybe a little more humid than last week. UGH.  This week it is suppose to get to 95˚ (that's 35 C.)  Heaven only knows what the "feels like" temp will be. On the other hand I'll be up in some local mountains.  Nothing that high but hopefully slightly cooler. But I'm going to be in quilting heaven -- it's retreat time! 

Last week's goals- 

7/14/25

✅Make more FCQ Equilter's blocks — A couple more finished, a couple need to be finished.

✅Put some fabric away/ clean up a bit a lot — Great progress made! 

✅Make more string blocks and trim — did not trim yet but more were made.

Load and quilt one of my quilts — nope, not done.

Cut more Happy Blocks — a few more cut and a few more fabrics found.

First up 4 of the FCQ Equilter's blocks. I've got two more partially made. They'll be waiting til next week to be finished. 

I spent a whole day cleaning up my cutting table.  I got 2/3rds of it done and looking great. Here is the before picture. 

This is what my secondary cutting space looked like when I started cleaning.  I didn't take a pic of my main cutting area. It wasn't this bad because I use it for cutting all the time. But look at the difference! 

The front area is mostly cleaned up. The area with the yellow mat is my main cutting area looking ready to be used. Of course, after I used it it didn't look that good. Sigh. But I did put any fabric on it away -- the rulers can stay there. 

If you could see the whole front and the right side better you would see that side still needs a lot of work. I've found that I tend to leave fabric out, bits that are usable if cut into squares and HSTs but I never seemed to get to it.  I'm hoping I can have another day cleaning out the fabric bits and pieces next week when I'm back from retreat.  There are a few other areas that need work too. 

Since I didn't think to take any pictures of my string blocks let's move on to my goals for this coming week.  The biggest thing is the retreat I'm going on with 6 of my quilting buddies. So, sewing my several quilt kits together is my main plan. 

7/21/26

Attend retreat

Piece these tops in the order given as time allows:

  Soho

  Triple Rail baby quilt

  Irish Christmas (my fabrics are spring colors!) 

  Counterpoint 

  Pretty Please 

  Dinos and Friends (PCQ Charity Quilt for Kids)

Write article on Mysteries and Sew Alongs 

Keep working on cross stitch project bag 

Yep, I've got a lot of projects but it's ok if I don't get to all of them.  Soho is leftover, untouched, from the October 2024 retreat. If I don't get all of the projects started they will stay for the October 2025 retreat. Many of these are 3 yard quilts so they should be fairly easy. 

I did start the counted cross stitch on my new project bag.  I didn't get much done but here it is. I won't mention how many stitches I took out either.  It'll go with me and maybe I'll be able to get some more stitching done.  

I also did the July Cali-Co block. My friend Sharon and I call on FaceTime and chat as we make the block each month. So here is block 7. Hum, I need to trim this block especially on the right side.         ↘️

Here are all seven blocks together. 

I'm enjoying making these blocks.  I have no idea what the final quilt will look like -- but I'm looking forward to making all the rest. 

I have been sewing or knitting or cross stitching every day this week.  Not bad! I'm still at 100%. 

W/ending 7/20/25. 201 days of 2025

• 15 minute days/July = 20/20
• 15 minute days/2024 = 201/201 days
• Success rate = 100%

I leave Tuesday for the retreat. We rent a house in western Virginia that is set up for quilting and scrapbooking retreats. Unfortunately we do have to bring our own food. We cook dinner in pairs but bring our own breakfast and lunch supplies.  I'm all set with my quilting plans and food plans.  I just need to pack and drive off on Tuesday.  I'll be back Sunday early in the afternoon.  

Please check out these Linky Parties.  Lots of great things to see from bloggers around the world. 

Oh Scrap

Stitching Stuff

Design Wall Monday

Monday Musings

Happy Quilting All! Bonnie