One Monthly Goal - August Finish

My goal for August was to complete my Halo quilt top.

This was a quilt that I started a couple of years ago then stalled on. I'm glad that I came across a Halo sewalong on Instagram that helped motivate me to get back at it. We were to do two blocks per week....easy peasy.

I'm so happy that I accomplished my goal...

When it came time to sew the blocks together I used a method of organizing the blocks that I learned on a retreat last year. 

Normally I would gather up all the blocks for the first two vertical rows off of the design wall and sew them together, then gather up each subsequent row and sew it on. 

This method, instead, has you get all of the blocks carefully stacked in a pile waiting to be sewn together.  It's a bit scary, but it works! Thanks to SS for teaching me a new trick!

And, of course, I just had to put a few stitches in....there's just something special about the very beginning of a hand-quilting project.

I'm using Hobb's wool batting, which is like quilting through butter, and Wonderfil Spaghetti thread for big-stitch quilting. For someone like me that has spent 40 years working on traditional tiny stitches, this kind of quilting is taking some concentration. 

I love everything about this quilt....I wish I'd had the patience to make it a bed-sized quilt, but I settled for a lap-sized quilt :(

Meanwhile, I've been a bit behind in the Summer Sampler 2020 sewalong. One block is released each week. The theme this year is blocks that are constructed in a manner easier than they seem. They are all quite unique and are looking good up on the design wall.

In the picture above you can also see a narrow peek of my Leaders and Enders blocks. I've been keeping two little containers near my sewing machine...one with 1" light strips, and the other with 1" dark strips. I'm really wanting this to be a full bed quilt so I imagine I'll be working on it for a while!

I'll leave you with a couple of pictures of a bouquet of roses from our garden. They are really starting to flourish (it's a fairly new garden), and they have suffered a little from a couple of heat waves we've had this summer, but we are getting some spectacular blooms.

I am linking up with Elm Street Quilts for One Monthly Goal - August Finish, and with Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?.

Loving my slow stitching!

It looks like a dreary sort of day out there today. 

I wonder if there is some link to the weather and the amount of time I spend at my hand-work in the mornings? I have certainly put more than my usual amount of stitches in my quilt this morning. 

Maybe once in a while it's just nice to take things slow.

This morning I did some more quilting on my hearts...

It's difficult to put this aside and do what needs be doing! Namely, binding some quilty gifts. I know a lot of people out there enjoy doing the binding, but I just see it as something that needs to be done to have the quilt completed....in other words, a chore.

Here is one quilt that will be slated for stitching the binding down...

This was a great pattern to follow by Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs and is called State of Being. I think I may be starting to embrace the look of modern quilts!

The quilt is for my 2-year old grandson when he soon will have his first big-boy bed, so I attached a fun border. In this picture you can see that I really like the fact that I can attach the binding to the quilt with the longarm...

I needed to make a baby quilt for our latest grandbaby and my original idea was just not working out. Luckily, a friend shared a quick go-to idea....and I love it! It just took a charm pack and some background fabric. I neglected to buy some matching fabric for the binding so I think I'll use the leftover fox fabric from the State of Being quilt.

The plan will be to have this one quilted up before the weekend is over so I can return to client's quilts on Monday.


I've been working on the 150 Canadian Women quilt and decided to sash it as it goes along....something I'm sure I'll appreciate a year from now!...but I also decided to put in scrappy cornerstones, as well.

I have a good reason for this. Sometimes, if I just sew in long horizontal sashing, the vertical blocks don't always line up. I don't know how to explain what I mean, but if it's happened to you then you'll understand! By putting in the cornerstones I think I'll have a much better chance at things looking nice and square. 

As an added bonus, I think it will look awesome!

I am linking up with Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching ( and I do think there will more Slow Stitching in my day today! ) and with Quilting is More Fun Than Housework for Oh,Scrap!.

I am also linking up with a blogger I've just discovered recently, Tweety Loves Quilting!

Have a great day!

And so I am a Blogger

Today I have decided to jump into being a blogger. It's a bit terrifying, but I'll give it a try!

Yesterday I decided that I will take part in Bonnie Hunter's new mystery quilt which starts tomorrow over at Quiltville. I wasn't going to because I sure don't have time to do all the piecing I would already like to do!.....but I know I've regretted not taking part in her last couple of mysteries. Bonnie is a pro at leading us thru' these mystery quilts....she has the process perfected and I would suggest joining in to anyone!

To make it more manageable, I've decided to do a smaller version of her new mystery. Oh, and I guess I should mention the title of the mystery.....Grand Illusion.

My first order of business will be figuring out how to add pictures to my blog! Stay tuned, I'll get this figured out!

Have a great day!