August 2021 Monthly Quilt Update

 

Sometimes, just sometimes, right?  This is the absolute truth.  I feel as though perhaps that has been the last couple of months for me.  So super non-productive.  Hopefully, I can turn a corner and be all of these with a new month at hand.  Give it a shot with me, okay? Here ya go --- your I AM for August.

If you are new to the blog, you may be asking, "just what is a monthly update?"  I decided long ago that I just can't keep up with blogging daily.  I just can't.  Sooooo, what happens is I document a day in my life within one post and if something special happens, a separate post takes place.  See, you can stay caught up with a once a month check and then, if you're interested, see the other posts too.  It's a great system for me.

In years past, I have set goals for each month and I will continue to do that simply to keep myself on track.  I AM still in an ongoing UFO mode around here and trying oh so hard to use or clean out the stash.  It will be an continuing project this year.  If I want something to come in -- something has to go out.  That is one goal.  The balances change each month (hopefully) and will always show up at the bottom of the update if you read that far - and they are joined by links to the previous monthly updates for the year.

Now, grab a cuppa and sit back for a fun read and perhaps a new idea or two.   (P.S. I format on a computer, so if you are reading on a phone, well sometimes the pictures will be before or after the story.  It is what it is.)

So --- here's August (round 2 as I lost ALL that I had typed as I went along through the month and my gorgeous wit may just not be as great this go round) and all the wonderful fun it provided.  Please remember that any links in here will open in a separate window so that you can keep your place on this page at the same time and there are no ads or popups EVER.

1st - I am home from retreat in the afternoon and had an wonderful time with amazing women, even with an injury thrown in for good measure.

Mister and I know that a storm is coming this afternoon, but a there may be time for a quick trip to get pizza and beer for dinner.  Looks great right?

We are watching out the window and soon the darkness starts to become a little wet and Mister is off and running.  Running?  I've only seen him run a few times in our marriage.  At any rate, home we go and settle in for the evening, hoping not to lose power.

2nd - We have power but the internet has been out since last night.  Mister has an appointment with the doctor today and another biopsy takes place.  It seems like he goes and they cut - over and over again.  Now we wait.  Other than that, I'm pretty much a couch potato today.  The swelling in my ankle is high again and I'm keeping it elevated.  That leaves my hands something to do and it's more crocheting.  Nice pedicure though, right?

3rd - Keyboard strokes, lots and lots of  keyboard strokes today.  And some crocheting, it's getting there.

4th - We have one lone peach that somehow survived the animals this year.  It's so pretty but not quite ripe.  

The thing today, other than crocheting is to get these LEGOS bagged up and off the table.  The ads are out and I'm hopeful, but prepared to hold onto them if I have to as they will only go up in value.  Once that's done, it's lots and lots of computer time.  Developing pictures, writing blog posts, so, so far behind again.  Oh, and I unpacked from retreat.  Baby steps, right?

5th - Time lost --- simply crocheting and binging Grey's Anatomy.

6th - I made the mistake of going to Costco today.  I need groceries but had no idea that it was Tax Free Weekend.  So many people.  Goodness.  Dropped the purchases off and while I'm being crazily exposed, I might as well finish the job and do the regular store too.  Once that is done, I'm fried.  Back to binging and crocheting and guess what????  I have a TA-DONE.  I love how it turned out.  Now to find that quilting mojo that I so desperately need and lost a couple months ago.

7th - Mister and I are just being worthless today.  Honest - we have camped out, snuggled on the sofa watching one show after another.  It is what it is and I'm loving it.

8th -  We actually get dressed and walk down to the coffee shop this morning.  It's not too hot out yet and thoroughly enjoy our brief respite from the house.  A few tasks in the office and back to the sofa we go.  So much energy around here.

9th - It's a recall day for my Subaru.  I'm making the most of my two-hour stay and have brought snacks and a couple of projects to work on.  My border idea for a project is finally being graphed out and I'm loving it.  Now, if I can only make it happen in real life.  When I get home, Mister hears back on his biopsy and it is not melanoma.  Woohoo.  It's still an issue but no further treatment is needed at this time.

10th - Okay - this is it!  I am going to buckle down and get some things finished.  I AM going to be productive for the rest of this month and hopefully going forward.  Enough bottom dwelling for me.  Today - Farm Girl for the rest of the year starts to be cut.  This is the last time I'm making this mess.  So sayeth the lady with no open flat spaces in her house and no ability to walk in the front room due to still owning two dining room tables.  OMG.  We have GOT to get it together around here.

11th - My second oldest turns 40 today.  What?  Where has the time gone and why is life so difficult sometimes?  I want her to know how much I love her and miss her.  Just keep swimming, right?

I have also determined that if I go out to the studio each morning before anything else, I can applique one or two colors onto the six projects that  need it.  I'll be methodical once again and mark these off my list.  Today, the white is done and yellow begun.  Why only a bit of time?  Well, it's dang hot out there and I'm too cheap to use the a/c out there when I'm not using the area.  I can work until the sun comes up and then back to the house.

Farm Girl is cut! I want to do a happy dance.  Now, to find ALL projects that need cutting while I have the whole mess all over the table.

12th - Today's morning applique is finishing the yellow and do the gold and dark brown.  I've wound bobbins and am ready for red tomorrow.

For my afternoon delight --- it's a boob-smashing day.  So much waiting around here for results that make us nervous.

13th - It's Friday the 13th.  Does that even impact anyone anymore?  So many changes in our world that the real thing is more troublesome than a superstition.  Good morning studio - what colors shall we play with today?  We start with red and then work on black as well.  I discover that I have to add borders to one of these FIRST before I can finish the black so it goes back into the house with me again.

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Cutting, cutting, cutting.  This is my life today.  I have numerous baby quilts to finish and have pulled as much from the studio as possible.  Working with a charm pack and some loose 5" squares, I have the blocks gathered for a disappearing four-patch top.  This will become a car quilt (CQ) for a new grandson.

SAMANTHA DIXON - PLEASE DON'T READ ANY FURTHER - SURPRISES ARE BEST WHEN THEY ARE JUST THAT - SURPRISES!!!

A layer cake discovered last month is now being cut as well.  I've opted for Bonnie Hunter's Scrappy Mountain Majesties (SMM) and am hopeful that it will all work out.  Cutting the 8" squares from a layer cake leaves me with a stack of strips that I'm hoping to use as a piano key border.  No waste.  I love it when a plan comes together and this one did.  Yay.

Now - a trip to the studio and I have the perfect fabrics for the Round Robin I am working on.  That graph?  Yep for this.

Cut, cut, cut ---- please let this all come together for me.

A few minutes at the machine (first REAL sewing in forever) and I have added border to the skinnie that required them to continue.  Back to the studio it goes.

14th - Saturday morning and Mister is sleeping in, so I steal away to the studio for a bit of applique.  The black is finished.  Perfect.  I stitch the orange as well and the scarecrow is ready to take inside and bury threads.

We have crazy storms and at one point our little wren has a baby that gets knocked out of it's nest and Mister is off to the rescue. 

15th - Yesterday, Mister and I read about the Big Boy steam engine that arrived in Fort Worth and are a little bummed that we didn't know about it beforehand.  A little research showed that it will be arriving in Midlothian this morning and we have opted to get up early and head down to watch.  You can share in our marvelous adventure by clicking on this Big Boy LINK.  So, so much fun and a great Sunday morning.  The rest of the day is spent enjoying time together.

16th - It's Monday again and I'm back on track.  I did so well last week, once I made up my mind to do something and it felt good.  I want to keep it going.  Morning applique includes sage green, bright green, and light brown.  The pumpkin skinnie makes it back into the house for thread buying.  Woohoo, making progress.

To the machine!!!  I sew all the half square triangles for SMM and the four-patches for CQ.  Now, back to the cutting board.  My HST's go from this - 

to this (with minimal sliver trimming to square up).

And the four-patch blocks are chopped up as well.  First, a sample.

Then mass-production with sliver trimming to get the four-patch the right size to begin with.  All charm squares are not created equal.

Back to the machine --- All the units for my RR are together as well as the CQ blocks.

Time at the ironing board and I have this for today.  Whew --- good day.

17th - Morning sneak away has dark purple done and grey started.  My fan breaks and I got a late start so the warmth is too much for today.  Back to the house.

And the bad luck keeps coming.  ALL of these units are made wrong.  ALL of them.  ARGH!

I'm almost afraid to sit down and sew, but I'm hosting a quilt-a-long that starts at the end of the month and I need to get a jump on it so I am ready to post.  We are doing Straits of Mackinac (SOM) and first up is a bazillion half-square triangles.  They are cut and ready to chain, chain, chain.

I DO get them all sewn AND even manage to get the SMM blocks back together.  Lots and lots of Grey's Anatomy helped me along the way.

And just for good measure --- one BAD block even happened as a leader/ender at the very end of the SMM blocks.

Still left for today --- iron all those hst's and locate sashing/border/backing for the CQ.  The second is done and I'm off to the ironing board.  It'll take awhile.

Wowsers --- A bit of time but they are pressed and ready for dog-ear removal.

I was even so methodical with this that the ones that were a bit wonky were trimmed up and perfected as I pressed.  No wonder it took so long.

Months and months ago, I bought tickets for the Van Gogh event taking place tonight.  We are off for some cultural enjoyment and you can share along in this Van Gogh LINK.  It's such a nice night together and I thoroughly enjoyed both the education and the experience.

18th - It's Wednesday and something in me would really like to get back to my UFO plan.  But first, out to the studio to make progress on the applique projects.  Grey is complete and some pink happens as well.  I am ready for orchid tomorrow.

Okay - Pfeffernusse!!!  We can do this.  Or maybe not.  The first thing I discover is that the blocks I made are too big.  I never trimmed them down to size so the first thing I have to do is trim these buggers.

Well now --- that's a large trim pile, but I am ready to sew again.

And VOILA ---- The blocks are done!  OMG --- this is so cool to see.

It's time to sit down and relax a bit --- I have lots of handwork piling up and so the HST's for the RR are de-dog-eared first - 

Next, threads get buried on all three skinnies --- now these move to the sandwich and quilt stage.  And I'm done for today --- gotta get some sleep.

19th - I'm struggling a bit with the applique this morning.  I get the orchid started and am not really wanting to do all those letters, so take a break from it and move onto mint green, getting about half of it finished as well.

Now, since idiocy strikes me often, I have agreed to working on two quilt-a-longs at the same time.  That means I need to get a jump on the second one and THAT means strings --- lots and lots of red strings.

At the end of the first day --- I've tackled some but have a great deal to go.

To the cutting table - trimming and slicing happening and then I'm done for the day.  It's sofa time.

And for tonight's cheap entertainment --- taking apart all of those units that were sewn wrong.  Yeah, I'm living the good life right now.

To finish out the night in a perfect way --- all my SOM units are dog-earless.  Woot woot.

20th - Studio stitching finishes the mint green and tackles the dark green, allowing the first row by row to make it into the house for thread burying.  Goodness.  The next green is loaded and ready for another day.

Back to the red strings and another stack are enjoying Grey's Anatomy as much as I am.  The loose string pile does look as though it is going down though.

Trimming and stacking with the others on the table in the den.

Evening t.v. time -- threads are buried on the Eureka Springs row by row and it is ready for embroidery and then whatever comes its way.

Now -- to start in on those stacks of red.  I have a ton of paper to remove and it takes a bit, but the finished ones are indeed ready to move forward.  It's Friday night and the weekend begins tomorrow --- won't be sewing as much as that is Mister Time.

21st - Mister is sleeping in and I've lost this entire post and have to redo it.  What the What?  Argh.  So much early morning fun when I could be making progress on my applique.  I guess not today.   Once I have the post back in order, I might as well focus on cleaning the office.  Mister had gone outside to work on the yard and getting one of the cars ready for the new owner to pick up.  Can I get a hallelujah?  Wait, before y'all shout with me, it's not the one in the garage.  Baby steps, right?  A couple pieces of fabric get cut for a backing on the CQ and I cut the sashing/cornerstones for it too.   I am sooooo close to having the red strings finished so a bit of time at the machine and those are now trimmed and ready to de-paper.  That deserves an atta girl.  A VERY quick trip to the grocery store is next and I do mean quick.  We are really trying to avoid closeness to people right now.

I have cleaned up the red mess at the machine and I'm ready for the next string group.  A decision has been made to just get the needed strings done all at once and then go back to regular piecing.  Go girl, go.

My love is BEAT.  Five hours out in the heat is a bit crazy, but that is what he did.  The car is ready to go, the yard looks lovely, and I've made him a special treat for all his hard work.  Here ya go sweetie.

22nd -   We are off to Winnsboro to spend the day with Gwen and Larry.  PLEASE click on this Gwennie LINK as there are some delightful quilt to look at -- I promise.

On the way home, there is a new brewery along the route and we want to quickly check it out.  Fortunately, it is not crowded at all and we are able to chat with the owner's son.  It's a good brewery - check it out sometime if you are in Rockwall, TX.

23rd -  It's Monday and I am on a roll still.  Out to the studio first thing and the final green is finished.  I started on the dark magenta, but it's already warm since I slept a bit later (not too much sleep last night) than normal.  Back into the house, but I can finished the magenta tomorrow.

Now, the other day I made some oven fried chicken so today, the main task is to clean said appliance.  Self-cleaner is set  and I have 3 hours to wait.  Oh, I hate this process, even with a self-cleaning oven because the racks still need to be done by hand.  Yuck.  

I DO have some time to sew, however.  The neutral squares for RC are today's goal.  I've tried to use any strings that have reds in them to go along with the red strings from yesterday and find that I need to use both the whites and very light creams in order to leave enough whites for tomorrow's task.  Everything does get sewn, cut, and de-papered.  Check mark for me.  

Once the oven has finished, I fired it all up to make a pork loin for our main meal.  OMG -- so good.  Then the rest of my day is developing pictures and blogging to stay current.  I have high hopes, ya know.

24th -  I'm back to a normal rising time and am off to the studio first thing.  One more row by row is completed and a good amount of the orchid on the last happens before I'm too warm to stay out there.  I think perhaps tomorrow I will finish this task and move onto another item out there.

Now for those strings again.  Today, I have large sheets of paper to cover and by the time I finish, my strings have been drastically reduce.  The pile in the front are full size and there are maybe 20 of them.  The stack in the back are the smaller strings and chunks.  They'll go into a baggie for another project down the road.

Stacks of sheets ---- so much fun in here.  Now to get them trimmed and cut into the right sizes.

I planned for two cuts on these so several of them had the strings extended a bit top and bottom so that I could get the additional squares all at once.  It worked!

Somewhere in the midst of all this, Mister asked me what was in the oven.  Oh, Man!  I had put a cake into bake at 10 this morning and it was at least three hours later.  He had a conference call and closed the door to my room and so neither of us heard the dings of the timer and my brain just can't hold that much information at once.  This is a recipe for my favorite cake and the only fortunate part is that it usually bakes for one hour at 250 degrees and has a pan of water in the oven while baking.  That makes for a VERY moist cake.  This one is dryer, much dryer, but not burnt and still edible.  It's not giving me the joy I was anticipating, BUT, we will eat it and it won't go to waste.  Golly gee--- I really need a better plan around here. 

It's time to quit sewing for a bit.  The neutral strings are cleared away and replace with tomorrow's color.  Yep, more strings.  I might as well get them all finished while the machine is set for them.  Right?

T.V. time lets me remove all the papers from today's productivity.  YES!  Another checkmark for me.

25th -  Good Morning!  The morning visit to the studio nets me another finished row by row and only one project left on the table.  This is the wrapped clothesline for a trivet I started back in May at retreat.  Tomorrow --- it's gonna be done.

The REST of my day is spent sewing aqua strips onto sheets.  That's it.  Lots and lots of aqua sheets.

26th -  Out to the studio and the first thing I do is clean up all the threads and mess from the many applique projects that have been occupying my time.  I can even see the cutting mat to my right for a change.  Second ---- my trivet is TA-DONE!  Woohoo.  I love it and am thankful to Linda for teaching me how to do this.  So fun.

Back into the house and my fist stop is the cutting table for all of those many aqua strips.  In the process, step-out pictures are taken and posted in our quilt-a-long group so that they have another method on a unit.  I keep at it until all my strips are cut and I'm happy to say that I netted 63 small triangles out of the parts I would have thrown away.  Woohoo.  Now, all these triangles can go to the evening project pile.

I want to work on something new today and pull out the small Autumn project that was cut days ago.  By the time, I'm ready to move on, I have to the "handwork" point.

The little units that have given me a bit of grief this month are sitting and staring at me.  It's time to put them back together again --- hopefully the correct way this time.

Success!

I'm calling machine time done for today and settle in to bury threads on my row by rows and talk with friends/family on the phone while doing so.  By the time I'm finished chatting, I have two more items to take out back until I find a place to use them.  Best part?  They are done!

Worst part --- I bombed big time on the magenta on this one, but I just really don't care anymore.  It'll wind up on a backing and I'm just okay with it all.  It's done.  (The bird got his eye after this picture.)

For my finale --- papers are off the triangles from today's cutting experience.  Wow --- so glad this part is over.  Same for this day, as a matter of fact.  I'm beat.

27th - Okay - I told myself that once the projects on my machine out back were finished, I'd start working on cleaning the studio -- a little bit each day before I get too warm.  I'm always surprised at how much change can happen in 15-30 minutes, but today I think it went backwards.  It happens.  I took the pictures to the left and right before I started.  

When I finished for today, things had not changed one little bit on the right but I had a huge mess by the door and I think the long arm table actually lost ground.  Not sure.   I'll make progress each day, I hope, as I need to quilt this month.

While I'm at it --- this is why I can't have company right now.  There are just a few projects in motion right now --- are they balls in the air?  Have I dropped any?  Not really sure.

I did discover out back that I need a couple of project totes for some items and there is one in the house that is pretty much empty.  It only takes a few minutes to sandwich all of the skinnies that are left and that box is pretty much empty now.  Yay!!!  These are gonna get done --- some domestic machine quilting each day.  I have the machine all set up in the front room and ready to go.  

The Round Robin units need to have another piece attached and that is first up on the machine today.  While I'm sewing, I wind up with one extra blue/white unit and am a bit perplexed as to what happened.  A few minutes at the ironing board and all is revealed.

I've had two pieces of fabric laying on the dining room floor for over a week and they hit the machine next.  Two seams and I have a backing for the CQ.  At least, I hope so.  I didn't measure though.  (oh, that's just damp spots from the best press --- no stains on the backing.

I start to think that perhaps it's odd to have sewn the backing when I haven't even finished the top.  That's next and I have the whole top set in no time.  Yay!!!  A quick measurement shows that I'm short a bit on the backing and so another strip is added.  The center stripe will just be off-center.  No worries.

Now I need to cut the binding and make a label, but that takes some mathematics today and by the time I'm done, I cut the strips and call it "enough time at the machine."

While I was setting the top, I sewed some aqua strips together as leader/enders.  

Turns out that I had enough for over 100 more little triangles.  I'm tackling these like eating an elephant --- one tiny bite at a time.

That's it for machine work today.  I'm off to a comfy chair and some handwork while spending time with my sweetie.  It's Friday evening and the end of the work week for him.  Yay!!!  I have embroidery on a couple of projects and manage to complete all on a row by row and start in on my pumpkin.  Mister joins me and switches off the over head light, so I change gears and switch to removing dog-ears.  That is soon finished as well and I'm ready for just Mister time.  See y'all tomorrow.

28th -  A late night post last night has two different quilt-a-longs off and running.  Straits of Mackinac (here is the Class LINK from 2019) is going on in Our Quilt World and I have a Messenger group doing Emerald City (and the LINK to that class too) at the same time.  Remember these photos earlier this month?  They are this weeks tasks.  (I know - most people think green when emeralds are mentioned but IF you remember, I had a huge mistake when cutting this - here is THAT LINK as well.)

Whew - with that done, the day can begin.  I am up early and letting Mister sleep a bit while I get this wonderful blog current.  It feels so good to be organized this month and I'm so happy with what is being accomplished.  It was time to climb out of the pit -- and I feel so much better for it.  It would be oh so easy to fall back in, as a group of us were supposed to be leaving on a cruise today.  The losses of the past year and a half are just too numerous to count and I want that time back.  Since I can't have it, I MUST keep trudging and moving upward.  It can be done.  Now, how to spend this beautiful Saturday.  See ya in a bit.

After a walk for coffee, our lazy morning finds me nestled in a chair with some embroidery thread.  I am loving how this little piece is turning out.  Drat, I have an errand to run and a quick run to pick up an rx takes place and back to the stitching it is.  I get the stitching done and am read for the next phase.  The only problem with that is that I am missing a page in my magazine and am not sure what comes next.  I've emailed Country Woman and have fingers crossed they will send me the remaining instructions.  Mister and I decide to get out for a bit and grab a bite to eat and a drink.  Locating a brewery we had only been to once before AND one that has outdoor seating, we are able to have a bit of time together in the fresh air.  The bacon wrapped hotdog was pretty dang good as well.

Upon our return, my ultra fine sharpie has arrived (for some reason my other one had dried out completely) and I'm able to finish up this row by row.  Woot woot --- another ready for when I find a home for it.

29th -  Sunday Morning!  I do love Sundays and usually we have all sorts of plans, but lately, they've become a bit lazy.  That's okay too.  However, I'm on a roll around here and feel as though I need to make some progress daily in order to keep the momentum going.  A quick trip out to the studio and more cleaning takes place in a short time.  All I give it is about half an hour but I've almost cleared the longarm table and reduced the amount on the floor. 

Mister heads out to work on the yard and that gives me a chance to tackle a few non-machine items.  The units for my RR need to be laid out and that will require a few brain cells.  However, I get them done and have stacks of four pieces to give me the four strips and four squares I will need to finish the project.

While I was out back this morning, I pulled pinks for a quilt for my granddaughter.  Since my sweetie is still outside, I head for the neutrals and pull those as well.  I am ready to press and cut.

With a little more time, back to the studio to find the border and binding fabrics for SMM.  This one is going to see progress this week.  I am SO running out of time.  Two weeks and this HAS to be in the mail along with the other items.  I keep hearing "Go, Go, Gophers, watch 'em Go, Go, Go" in my head.

After spending the rest of the day with my sweetie and cooking a wonderful meal, I want to get one more thing done.  WAAAAAY back in 2018 when I cut the parts for SOM I had originally been going to follow the pattern but then I took a class and learned other methods.  This is one time that my crazy OCD on cutting projects in advance got the better of me.  I no longer wish to use that method and yet, I HATE wasting fabric.  As a result, I took the large chunks and cut them down to the height I needed and then used my Recs ruler to cut the pieces I DO want.  I'm left with a small 1 1/2" x 3" strip but that's usable.  I'll hold onto them for a bit.  Back to relaxing and I even managed to finish my book tonight.  That means I get to start another one --- right?

30th -  The work week has begun again and I'm holding strong.  Out to the studio and in less than half an hour I have the floor cleared AND the longarm table cleared AND the shelves cleaned up AND my sewing area straightened up.  Whew.  I can now work on some quilting.

Now --- next task.  The Farm Girl blocks for September post in a couple of days and I'm not ready.  Time to sew.  Hello Grey's Anatomy -- let's play with tiny pieces today.

My leader/enders at the end of the blocks allowed me to start on the RR parts.  I'm liking them, but have one block to take apart and the knowledge that I need to pin like a crazy person.  Pressing the right way is important too.  This is going to look amazing, but it'll be a bear getting there.

The very first thing on my machine this morning were the strips for binding on the CQ.  I put them together and left them on the regular ironing board and now is the chance to press that into binding.  One more thing off the list for today.  I LOVE this binding and had to do some tricky cutting to make it work as all I had was a fat quarter.

I so want to sit down in a comfy chair for a bit.  There is a small amount of embroidery on my one FG block so I quickly stitch that in and then open up the stocking kit once again.  Maybe this year it will happen?  It's been an off again on again project all year.  I get 4 itty bitty candy canes made and ready for their red stripes.  With that, I'm done for today and want to read.  A new book starts today -- woohoo.

31st -  I am always so shocked when another month comes to an end.  Looking back just makes me wonder, "Where on earth did the time go?"  However, THIS month, I feel good.  I've gotten back on track and am ready for September without any dread at all.  Well, perhaps a little as the first two weeks will fly by with deadlines looming, but I'll get through it.  One of those deadlines is the arrival of a new grandson and his quilts need to be finished.  That means my machine needs to be up and running, as I haven't touched it since picking her up from the shop.  This morning, she gets put back together, threaded, the new bowl foot attached and a practice piece found.  Tomorrow --- turning her on with fingers crossed.

I've now set a goal of working one hour a day on the quilting part of my skinnies.  For today, that meant getting the machine (a domestic 301) cleaned, set-up, and borders ready to be attached.  I had to order some thread which will arrive later today so the only one I can work on is the skeleton, as I have the black thread.  Borders on are in a QAYG method.  More tomorrow as my hour is up.

SOM needs another section completed today so I set in to do just that and by lunch, I've managed to turn these pieces into units.

After lunch, units for RC take shape as well.

The leader/enders for today are still my RR corner blocks and I get one of the SMM borders done too.

This morning, I had thrown the binding strips onto the machine and they were sewn first thing, so as I head to the ironing board, there they are.  Now they are pressed and ready to go.

The last two items are large stacks of all the units I've worked on today.  Once they are pressed, it's off to the evening table for some de-dog-earing.  Is that even a word?

 

And with that --- even if I accomplish something else tonight, it'll go on next month's post.  I'm calling it done and it's not even 5:00 yet.  I have a Dr. Pepper on the table and my book in hand.  As we move into September I've learned a few things to share. Taking stock of one's own self requires patience, love for self, objectivity, discipline, and incredible forgiveness.  That pit that calls us all now and then is strong and doing the analysis required to step back from it can be challenging.  This month, as we go into my all-time favorite season of the year, let's find joy in the simplicity of things.  Let's let THIS be enough - find your I AM and let the joy shine through.

Thank you for reading this far.  If you made it here, kudos to you.  Hope you have a great month and find a way to bring joy into your life.  Stay creative y'all.

UFO's to quilt:   I am getting close to starting these --- Bring on September

BOM #1 - quilted and bound - 
BOM #2 - quilted and bound
BOM #3 - quilted and bound
Winter Wonderland - quilted and bound

Witch's Night Out - quilted and bound

Quarantine Challenge - quilted and bound

Dawn's Early Light - quilted and bound

Grassy Creek - quilted and bound

Xing - quilted and bound

Current Projects:

Farm Girl Blocks completed - September DONE

New Baby Car Quilt - All that is left is to make label, quilt and finish

New Baby Regular Quilt - Blocks are made, fabrics chosen for rest

New Baby Tricot Quilt - 

New Baby Afghan - DONE

September Skinnie - Applique done on September, October, November  Borders on October, November

Autumn Pillow - About halfway finished -- just got the instructions from CW as I type this.

Boo Pillow - Cut and ready to start

Mairead Quilt - Fabrics and pattern selected.

Ophelia Quilt - 

Round Robin - Units made and a few sewn into blocks.

UFO Items to work on:
 
All Neutral strings - did the neutrals for SOM and RC --more next month
1 Row by Row block - Completed several - only one remaining in retreat bag
BAD blocks as leader/enders - got a few, but only a few, made

Whims 2nd quilt - 

Straits of Mackinac QAL - good progress

Emerald City (Ruby Slippers) QAL - good progress

The next four are to be worked on with rotating Wednesdays until finished - I didn't do too well on this part this month.  Will try harder.

Scrap Crystals - 

Pfeffernusse - blocks made

Midnight Flight - 

Orca Bay - 

UFO Handwork Items:

Hand Quilting -- 

Stockings - four itty bitty candy canes made

Links to Previous 2021 Monthly Posts

January 2021

February 2021

March 2021

April 2021

May 2021

June 2021

July 2021