September 2026

Even though I didn't have as much sewing time this month I managed to get a couple of projects to finish line.  I love finishing as it opens the door for me to get to other projects on my wish list or ufo list.  So, we keep on going, right?

Since last time, I quilted and bound the string quilt.  It finishes at 80 x 96 made of 30 blocks each 16" finished.  It is my 15th finish this year.  

I finished a Tiny Tumblers Mug Rug using up a little baggie of thimble sized tumblers I had cut a long time ago.  I think I thought at the time it would be a fun way to cut my scraps up but it stalled out.  Maybe I'll revisit that little template again some day but for now I made something with what I already had.  50 pieces which can be cut from strips 1 3/4" tall.  It finishes at 13" x 10" and is my 16th finish this year. 

My next finish is Offset, a quilt designed by Amanda Jean Nyberg of crazymomquilts.com.  I found it on her blog two years ago and set out to make it.  It uses lots of small pieces.  I had enough cut to make a table runner and still have a few left so I guess I'll keep cutting for another something as scraps come along.  

Table runner will finish at 12" x 36"

Offset finishes at 64 x 84

I finished my third Kawandi style project and started a fourth!  I love Kawandi!  I'll have a video about my projects on my YouTube channel as soon as I can get the fourth one done.  

Donated to my guild

I donated 5 small quilts to our guild's small quilt auction to be held October 17, 2026.  You can see all the donated items on the guild website at https://www.quiltguildindy.net/2026-quilted-treasures-auction.  

I donated this quilt to someone in need.

I gave this one to a family member

There's a wee bit more room in my donation cupboard!  It's so good to see these quilts find a new home where they will be enjoyed and not forever in storage.

On the other side of things, I kept my mom company while she was in the hospital for 5 days.  I got stung by a yellow jacket in the face and boy was that painful!  Episode 24 came out mid August and I hosted a livestream on September 5.  I saw the lunar eclipse on August 28 which was very cool.   I have a couple of other things in progress so things are still moving along a little bit over here. 

Wishing you a wonderful September full of making,

Stephanie

Summer Finishes!

 Hi there!  

It's been a month since my last update and I'm happy to say I've gotten several projects moved to or very close to the finish line!  Even though we are taking care of my mother now full time I have managed to carve out sewing time just about every day.  It's important to us to keep our routine as close to normal as possible while providing for her care.  I can often get some sewing done in the afternoon.  All it takes to make progress is a few minutes a day.  It adds up more than you might think so if you're struggling to find time to quilt, sew or craft I encourage you to try to get in 5, 10 or 15 minutes a day.  You'll see progress and it will make you feel better, too!

The baby quilt I showed last time has been hand delivered to the messenger.  We met up with my cousin and his wife and had a delightful catch up over lunch.  They will gift the quilt to their friend.  I'm sure I'll get a picture or two when that happens.  

I have another quilt going off to a new home!  I'm excited that this one which I made years ago will now be enjoyed by a little one.  I shared it during my livestream but I'll share it here too.  The large squares are cut 6.5", the smaller corner squares are cut 3.5", the rectangles are cut 2" x 3.5" (8 per block).  I did a color wash arranging the blocks from light to dark.  I still have SO MUCH FABRIC left from collecting for I Spy quilts; it would be fun to make another one some day soon in a different pattern.  I'll have to add it to my list so I don't forget.  

I decided to get the flannel quilt done next.  It just needed a couple more borders before being quilted and bound.  I got that done and I'm so very happy with it!  I tested it for size on the queen size bed it's meant for.  Added enough strips around for a good drape.  

I quilted it with a gorgeous feather design by Bethanne Nemesh called Acadia.  The backing fabric (not shown) is a quilting cotton extra wide backing in a warm toasty brown tone on tone floral I bought at the One Stop Shop Hop I just attended.   I decided I'd rather have a single piece of fabric for the back than to do a whole bunch of piecing for it.  This is finish #14 for 2026, started in 2015 so it's about time it got done! It feels good to  get an idea out of my head and into a quilt.  Now it needs a name!  Any ideas?? I'm terrible at thinking of names for things so if you can suggest something I'd love to hear it.  The name from the pattern designer is Soul Searching and that does not fit my version of it.  The pattern is in a book called Material Quilts by Kathy Doughty.  It's made entirely of 2.5" cut strips, that's the only hint I can give you. 

Next up I worked on my string quilt.  I only needed a few more blocks to complete the top.  These are 16" finished blocks made with mostly 30's fabrics.  I have a tutorial on how I made these blocks here (along with a funny OOPS moment and how I corrected it 😂).  It did a pretty good job using up all the strings I'd accumulated in that drawer!  I made 30 blocks for setting 5 across and 6 rows down.  Along the way I took a couple of pictures of what it would like set 5 x 5 and 4 x 5.  I often wonder what quilts would look like with different number of blocks so this time I remembered to take pictures along the way!  

   

25 blocks

20 blocks

With a border

I tried adding a border to it too but, I didn't like it so I took it off.  ( I asked for opinions during my live stream which you can check out on my YouTube channel Everyday Sewist August Livestream).  It's been quilted so next time I'll show you the completed quilt when I finish the binding. It looks really good so you'll have to come back and see. 😁  I started this one in March 2026.

Even more quilting happened on the longarm!  Quilt #3 this past month is my leader/ender project started in October 2024 called Offset.  I decided enough was enough on this one.  I could have made it a bit bigger but I really wanted to move on to other projects so I assembled the columns over the course of 4 days.  I sewed in batches of about 10 columns to keep it from getting unwieldy.  I ended up with 32 columns for a width of 64" and length of 84" (28 units per column).  I'd call that a generous couch size, maybe even a twin size.  Here is the finished top before quilting.  It's quilted but I still need to make the binding and attach it.  Super important:  I stay-stitched around the edge of the top before quilting to keep those seams from popping open and to keep the pieces pressed in the direction I wanted.  

I've completed a couple more Make It Happen Monday projects.  I haven't done one a week but close to that.  It's been great way to get to some smaller projects and make sample blocks (which may end up in my orphan quilt.) Make it Happen Monday

I did not work on the quilt with the shattered backing yet.  I think it's going to get a new backing tied instead of adding more quilting to it.  Maybe next time I'll have it done.  

I've made a couple more each of Hollow 9 patches and Box Kite since finishing up Offset.  I've pulled out my yellow scraps and smaller pieces of yellow for those.  Box Kite is looking like a cute kids quilt as I've pulled out some novelty prints to use.  I think that will be quite fun!  I hope to keep adding a few more of each during the rest of the month.  I have nothing cut and ready to sew right now so I'll have to have a cutting session to keep things rolling along.  

For the rest of this month I have lots of hand work to do:  binding to stitch down, a Sashiko project I enjoy working on, I'd like to start another Kawandi project plus I'd like to get the repairs done on one of the quilts needing that done.  I have two more quilt tops plus a couple of tablerunners to get on the longarm and I'd like to keep stitching up something with my yellow scraps.  Even though August is a long month I doubt I'll get to all of it but I'll try.  

Thanks for being here!  

Happy sewing, 

Stephanie

A Finish! The Baby Quilt is Done!

 Hi there! 

Last week I pushed ahead to finish the baby quilt before it ended up sitting in the "to be done" pile!  It's  so cute for a baby of Ukrainian heritage.  It turned out differently than I first thought but I think the changes I made worked out really nicely.  I was inspired by a quilt made by Krista Moser called Just Four Fat Quarters.  Of course, mine ended up containing many more than four but I made mine bigger too!  I used about 6 different yellows and 6 different blues.  I backed it with a dark blue grunge.   The quilting shows up really well!  The pantograph full of hearts is called Beloved by Christy Dillon.  

So, yay!  Another project crossed off the list!  It will be sent off to be cuddled with in its new home shortly.  

I also made substantial progress on the borders for a flannel quilt this week.  One more round of strips to go and the top will be done. Right now it measures 90 x 91.  The strips are cut, arranged and ready to sew together.  

I started this one back in 2015!  It's about time, don't you think?  I still have a boatload of flannels taking up two+ containers so it didn't make a dent in that stash.  Oh well.  I tend to think of making "one of these" and "one of those" each year and eventually I'll notice there will be less than time before.  Each year, I'll make a project in solids, one in Christmas, one in Halloween, one in 30's, one from flannels, etc.  Then it's finish this one and get that one done from years past.  I have enough of all of those to last a very long time.  

I made a simple pillow cover for a friend.  She gave me the fabric and the old cover to duplicate.  I'm happy to report the new one fit perfectly and she loved it!  Old on the right, new on the left.  This is one of my "Make It Happen" Monday projects.  I've completed several stalled projects/tasks over the past few weeks by trying to tackle them (allot time for them) on Mondays.  I made a short video about "Make It Happen" Monday which you can find on my YouTube channel.  There are lots of these little tasks we put off; they weigh us down when in reality they (mostly) take very little time at all.  This pillow cover is one of those things.  Some of the things I really WANT to do!  I want to make time to do those too!  

This coming week I will be attempting to put a new backing on an older quilt.  I made the quilt for my son about 15 years ago.  The fabric on the back has shattered in several places.  It is a commercially dyed fabric.  The best thing I can think of to do is what one viewer suggested and that is to put a new back right on top of the old and quilt it again.  What I haven't decided is whether to tie the "new" quilt or add additional quilting to the top of the quilt going through the new backing.  What would you do?  

Shattering of the backing fabric where the batting is showing 

Since the baby quilt is entirely done and the flannel one should be ready for the next step by the end of this weekend  I would like to get the rest of the string blocks made next.  I need 7 more, one a day.  I haven't touched my Aqua scraps yet.   I want to do some cutting for my other projects so I will look to use some aqua scraps when I do that.  My mother is coming back here for a couple of months.  I'm going to set up a machine in the dining room so I can be nearer to her and still get some sewing done while she listens to her books.  

Hope you are well!

Happy Sewing, 

Stephanie