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 

A Great Mail Day

We have recently gone on a mini internet shopping spree so seeing a box in front of the garage wasn't a surprise.  But the box that arrived yesterday was unexpected.  And, fun!  No, no free fabric... think one step beyond free fabric to free blocks!  Yes, it was a box of blocks from Pam, a member of the FCQ Equilter's group with me.  And it held a great number of blocks for me to use in my next charity quilts.  Yes, I do mean quilts!  You might recognize the block as I've been going crazy recently making them. 

You start out with 2 big squares and end up with two wonderful blocks.  I think Pam went wild.  And, I thank her as does the neonatal intensive care units these will go to as finished quilts.  

This group has been going for quite a while although I joined a couple of years after it originated.  There are six of us and we all had been members of Faithful Circle Quilters when we lived in Columbia, Maryland.  Just a point though -- I maintain my membership and get to FCQ events a couple of times a year.  I'm looking forward to the retreat at the beginning of June! 

We reside mostly on the east coast with Chicago and New Zealand represented. We are each assigned a two month period where we tell the members what blocks we want made for us. And then we wait until we are showered with the blocks of our choice.  And, sometimes it is just one or two and sometimes it is a lot of blocks. There's a reason I pick super easy blocks usually!  It's been really fun as we've had a lot of differing techniques and blocks requested.  I have been pushing red, white and blues for Quilts Of Valor and the like.  

So this time I left it up to the gals as to whether they wanted to continue to do red, white and blue or whether they wanted to do fun kids prints.  Pam did both.  I'm sure I have enough blocks of the kids prints to make one or possibly two baby quilts.  Yea! 

I'll have a lot to do over the next few months getting these quilts done.  Hum, I might just make kits for the baby quilt to take on retreat.  No think sewing! Perfect for a retreat. 

I was totally surprised when this cute little hat was included.  Pam is a member of the Carey Blanketeers, that is part of Project Linus. Too cute. 

And here it is being modeled by the paper towel holder! 

Tomorrow Aimee and I will be attending the first, hopefully, annual Festival of Fiber  in beautiful, downtown Powhatan.  If you love wool, of all kinds, come on out.  The weather is going to be gorgeous.  You can see demos of sheep and alpaca shearing, felting, an antique sock knitting machine, sheep dogs doing there thing and lots more.  It looks to be a great event.  Oh, and did I mention, VENDORS?  I do have a yarn stash of sorts.  Not as much as my quilt fabric but some pretty nice yarn and some everyday stuff too for that matter.  I'm hoping to add some interesting yarn to the collection and even better if it has a purpose to go with it!  Come join us! 

I leave you this image of Tiger being swept away by the Roomba.  Oops, I guess I didn't get all the dog toys up before I started it.  No animals were hurt in the making of this picture. 

Happy Quilting All!