Shouldn't Have Been That Hard

I finally finished the bean bags for the corn hole set that will be a wedding gift for my niece.  The board was already painted grey and I planned to have navy bean bags to go with their backyard, but it turned out I didn't have any fabric that would work with navy and grey for the second set of bean bags.  I kept trying different fabrics, but nothing worked.  So I finally gave up on navy and just went with gray and black and that worked.  That's a big check off the list.  Hmm.  As I am writing I realized I just wrapped the box and didn't get a photo. Maybe tomorrow when we gift the set.

Fabric on the Table ....

It was a long weekend, so I worked on cleaning up the sewing room a bit.  I found more fabric that I brought back from Guatemala.  I worked on organizing it right away.  It was a lot of random pieces, so I'm making a guess on yardage.

Fabric on the Floor!

2026 15 Minutes to Stitch

15 minute days this week = 7/7

15 minute days/Mar = 25/31

15 minute days/April = 4/4

15 minute days/2026 = 81/94 

Success Rate 2025 = 86%

Some stash out for the bean bags for the wedding gift corn hole set.  

2026 Stash Totals

Used last week: 0.94 for 8 bean bags with lining 

Used year to date: 29.96 yards

Acquired recently: 5 yards more from Guatemala 

Acquired year to date: 35 yards

Stash movement for 2026: 14.97 more yards acquired than used

Linking up to:

Kate at Life in Pieces

Donna at quiltpaintcreate

Frederique at  quiltingpatch

Angela at soscrappy 

March PhD Report

 Head over to Ms P Designs USA 2026 PHD March Report to see what others are working on.  It's inspiring!

TRUE UFOs

#1 Baby Bricks - needs quilting and finishing  - SOME PROGRESS  I made the backing, but with my regular machine not working, this is on hold again.

#2 Blue & Orange - have 13 blocks and some coordinating fabric, need a plan  NO PROGRESS but I did find more orange & blue fabrics to add to the mix

#3 Blue Strips - started in 1996! Have 1 strip and some cut out pieces, need a plan  NO PROGRESS

#5 Christmas Sampler - need to find the blocks and make a plan  NO PROGRESS but I did find the blocks when pulling our Christmas reds to use in the RSC red crayon!  There are not as many I had thought.

#6 Chunky Churn Dash - started as a leader & ender in 2025, plan is to just keep making blocks.  The blocks are doubled and tripled up by similar colors, so it is hard to see.  NO PROGRESS This is stalled since I am focusing on using the scrappy spool blocks as leaders & enders.

Chunky Churn Dashes and New Flag Scrappy Spool Blocks

#7 Flags - bought at a thrift store years ago for 50c, never touched.  I realized I will never make any more of these flags.  We are a multi-national family and a USA quilt just isn't likely to happen.  However, when I saw the pictures of my UFOs, I realized I should be able to easily convert these to the flag block for the Scrappy Spool quilt.  I went ahead and unsewed them  and already made them into the remaining flag blocks for the Scappy Spool block.  The leftovers are the right size to get worked into other spool blocks or chunky churn dash blocks.  I am so pleased with this solution - WIN WIN! 

#8 Frame Cross-Stitch - the stitching was finished in 2025, now to frame it .  After some research into options, we dropped it off for professional framing.  Little S chose the frame and no mat.  I can see that it is not even in the frame, which is disappointing after having gone the "professional" route for better quality.  But done is good.  COMPLETE

#9 Kaffe Fassett style scraps - from my MIL's stash, need a plan, leaning towards a chandelier quilt  NO PROGRESS

#10 Lighthouse blocks - have 2 blocks and fabrics, need a plan  NO PROGRESS

#11 Ocean Waves - remaking an old quilt, steady progress so far.  I have remade all of the blocks and am starting the setting triangles. For now I like this block placement.  Blocks and setting triangles are joined to form a quilt center.   PROGRESS   - It is a flimsy!  Thinking on borders or not.

Thinking on adding additional borders.

#12 Red, White, and Green D9P - started on a whim with scraps, don't like it, need a plan  NO PROGRESS

#13 Sapphire Jubilee small version - got it sandwiched last year, need to quilt and finish.    DONE  Iset it up for mindless sewing when time was tight and got it done.

DONE!

#14 Scrappy Spools - planned start last year, plan is to just keep making blocks, no set deadline since I want to enjoy the process.  More blocks were added as leaders & enders this month.  QUITE A BIT OF PROGRESS

#15 Stuffed Bunny - Grown Up E asked for this years ago, does she still want it?  She does.  I cut out all the pieces and started sewing it together as leader & enders.  Surprisingly, I got it completely finished pretty quickly.

Floppy Bunny and Extra Outfit

Original panel and outfit from previously made bunny.

#16 USA fabrics - My father bought this to make something for my sister years and years ago.  Is she interested?  No she isn't.  Neither is my brother for my nephews.  Hmmm.  I just can't give this up yet, since my father picked it out.  Travel in the US was a big deal for us growing up.  NO PROGRESS

PLANNED STARTS

#1 Alter my dress for niece's wedding by May  DONE

#2 Baby quilts for church as needed  NO NEEDS THIS MONTH

#3 Rainbow Scrap Challenge - I was slow coming up with a plan I liked, but now I am loving it.  I guess as an elementary school teachers crayons should have been a no-brainer!  CAUGHT UP

#4 Carnival Quilt - quilt I always make in class for a school fund-raiser.  FINISHED & DELIVERED!

2026 Carnival Auction Quilt

#5 Rag Quilt for Baby Ana Paula - I had made a formal quilt from a panel that they loved before we knew the baby was a girl.  Their theme is bears, so I wanted to make something else that was more girly, but not a traditional quilt. This was a fun quilt to make.   FINISHED & DELIVERED!  They love it.

#6 Burp Cloth  I also made a more girly burp cloth.  FINISHED & DELIVERED!

MAYBES

Lupine and Laughter - Bonnie Hunter's Mystery Quilt - Little S loves the reveal, and I have been saving the clues.  Maybe after I finish my deadline projects.  STILL A MAYBE

What I'm Working On

This did not post as planned last week, so here is a 2 for 1 report.

How did I do on the TO DO LIST FOR MARCH 15-22:

• deconstruct dress for wedding DONE
• alter dress for wedding  DONE
• make binding for baby sapphire jubilee  DONE
• bind baby Sapphire Jubilee  DONE
• sort fabrics from Guatemala  DONE
• make heart blocks for Little S's quilt group interview project  DONE 
• keep working on Scrappy Spools as leaders & enders  DONE
• prep more Scrappy Spools for when I got back to school the following week  DONE
• make the red crayon for the RSC  DONE

This has never happened before!! It was really helpful that I was on Spring Break! Back to school this week, so my list is smaller.  Without the professional development course, it is going to feel like I have so much time on my hands - I hope!!

How did I do on the TO DO LIST FOR MARCH 23-29:

• prepare a backing for a UFO - Baby Bricks  DONE
• pin baste Baby Bricks  NO PROGRESS
• quilt Baby Bricks  NO PROGRESS
• keep working on Scrappy Spools  DONE  
• pick out another UFO to focus on next NO PROGRESS
• choose fabric for corn hole bean bags for L&W's wedding gift NO PROGRESS

Working on chemo caps and getting back in the school groove took most of my energy this week.

TO DO LIST FOR MARCH 30- APRIL 5:

• pin baste Baby Bricks  
• quilt Baby Bricks  
• keep working on Scrappy Spools 
• pick out another UFO to focus on next 
• choose fabric for corn hole bean bags for L&W's wedding gift 

This feels like a "do over" week!

Unexpected Project

Well, this sewing project was certainly not on my radar.  My sister was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and has started chemo. She was asking my advice about hats, head coverings, etc.  She teaches at a local university and her daughter is getting married in early May. So her impending hair loss and appearance is on her mind.

She ordered some hats and we found this cute DIY reversible chemo cap.  Of course, I had to try to make one.  This is the first attempt - mostly following the video pattern.  It was way too small.  It said adult, but this was definitely more for a child.  I tried again adding 1 inch to all sides of the pattern pieces and that turned out much better.  She kept it and I didn't get a photo.  

This is an easy pattern for intermediate sewers.  I think it would be okay for beginners, except that the video instructions don't really work and the cutting of the ties is not efficient. Also, the post and the pattern and the pattern instructions do not seem to go together.  If anyone is really interested I can tell you how I made it work more easily.  The second one took about 1.5 hours, and I think a third would be even quicker, especially if working with yardage and not scraps.

Going back to school after Spring Break was rough.  It was also an odd week and most days I did not a really break all day, so I was just plain exhausted coming home each day.  One day I was asleep by 6:30.  The others, I set the timer for 15 minutes and worked on the Spool blocks.  Good progress, but no photos.

2026 15 Minutes to Stitch

15 minute days this week = 6/7

15 minute days/Mar = 22/28

15 minute days/2026 = 74/87 

Success Rate 2025 = 85%

Some stash out for the chemo caps.  

2026 Stash Totals

Used last week: 1.3 yards for 2 chemo caps

Used year to date: 19.09 yards

Acquired recently: 0 yards   

Acquired year to date: 30 yards

Stash movement for 2026: 10.91 more yards acquired than used

Linking up to:

Kate at Life in Pieces 

Donna at quiltpaintcreate  

Frederique at  quiltingpatch

Angela at soscrappy 

Spring Break Sewing Frenzy

It sure felt good to sew, sew, sew over Spring Break sewing.  I worked on a lot of things, but stayed focused on the priorities.

I finally altered the dress for my niece's wedding in early May.  I found the dress for $5 when thrifting last fall.  Everything about it was right, except it was too big.  I thought I could work with that.  The solution turned out to not be what I originally thought, but by basting and trying and unsewing and trying again I finally got it.  Having Little S home to give opinions on each step was helpful. I am not a shopper and I don't wear dresses, so even though this was not easy it was worth the trouble to me.  My goal was to finish this week come and I did!

Baby Sapphire Jubilee

I also made myself finish the baby sapphire jubilee quilt.  It only needed binding, so I just used the same fabric as the backing and called it done.  Binding actually comes right after piecing for my favorite parts of quilting!

The backing is perfect.

Next up was the patchwork hearts for the exchange for the Savannah Quilt Guild meeting Little S and I will attend.  She needs to finalize the interview part of her research project and it felt right to participate in the monthly block exchange.  A nice change of pace for me.  The pink heart will have a disclaimer that it needs finishing.

Heart Blocks for Exchange

Unfortunately while doing the top stitching around the edge of the pink heart, my machine gave a "thunk" and stopped stitching properly.  The needle will not move side to side.  I'm glad the more important things were already done this week.  I will have to figure out what to do about the machine.  Turning it on and off again - repeatedly - did not work. 

"FQs" ready for gifting

We thought it would be nice to do something for her interviewees, so I picked a variety of fabrics and made some FQ type bundles to give them.  

RSC Crayons all caught up!

I also got caught up on the RSC.  My red crayon is finished!  

I did a lot of prepping of Scrappy Spool blocks to use as leaders & enders.  It was a good thing too!  I used up way more than I imagined and will have to prep more.  Being very intentional about using the spool blocks as leaders & enders has really advanced this project.

2026 15 Minutes to Stitch

15 minute days this week = 7/7

15 minute days/Mar = 16/21

15 minute days/2026 = 68/80 

Success Rate 2025 = 85%

Worked on overdue numbers over Spring Break.  All is well.  It was important that I help my MIL eliminate some of her stash while we were visiting.  I do like having "her" fabrics to work into special projects.

2026 Stash Totals

Used last week: 4.70 yds for Baby Jubilee + 0.43 yds for Heart Exchange Blocks + 2.5 yds for 10 FQs

Used year to date: 17.79 yards

Acquired recently: 30 yards brought back from MIL in Guatemala  

Acquired year to date: 30 yards

Stash movement for 2026: 12.21 more yards acquired than used

Linking up to:

Kate at Life in Pieces

Donna at  quiltpaintcreate 

Frederique at  quiltingpatch

Angela at soscrappy 

What I'm Working On

It's been a while, but let's see how I did with my TO DO LIST FOR FEBRUARY 22-28:

• work on quilting Sapphire Jubilee as after school sewing  DONE after 2 weeks of sporadic sewing
• deconstruct dress for wedding started
• finish sorting fabrics that came back from Guatemala didn't touch

I knew things would be busy and that's why I made a short list.  I'm okay with the progress that I did make.  However, this week is Spring Break and I FINISHED my class!!!!  I have a few small things to work on for school, but I am planning to do what I want to do as much as possible. Little S has her college Spring Break this week also, so spending time with her is a priority.

TO DO LIST FOR MARCH 15-22:

• deconstruct dress for wedding
• alter dress for wedding
• make binding for baby sapphire jubilee
• bind baby Sapphire Jubilee
• sort fabrics from Guatemala
• make heart blocks for Little S's quilt group interview project 
• keep working on Scrappy Spools as leaders & enders
• prep more Scrappy Spools for when I got back to school the following week
• make the red crayon for the RSC

The hearts are for the Savannah Quilt Guild that Little S visited as part of a course project.  She interviewed members of the group at the February meeting.  I helped her prepare the questions. They do a monthly block and then someone wins them all somehow.  When I take her back to school on Saturday we will go to the meeting together.  She will finalize the interview part of the project.  I think we will make FQs from my stash as thank yous.  I can't wait to participate in their meeting.  She has already decided what to take for show & tell - Dear Jane! I'm also eager to have her here all week, so I can understand the project better.

The End is in Sight

I missed checking in last week.  Changes at school along with the professional development course were just too much.  Even having the baby sapphire jubilee quilt ready to quilt in mindless spirals was just too much. 

big, boring spiral

After I passed the halfway mark on the course and saw that the new students were doing as well as could be, I was able to relax a bit.  Setting the timer for 15 minutes each day I ended up finishing the quilting.  Woohoo!  I do have to go back and add a strip of backing to make up a gap and finish that area, but at least now I can take the walking foot off the machine and work on piecing which I enjoy much more.

extra backing ready to sew on

I have known that quilting was my least favorite part of quilting, but these weeks confirmed that for me.  At least it is done now. Next time I need to set myself up for something mindless, it will be with piecing, not quilting. 

Spring Break starts this week.  I am excited that I will finish the course in the next day or day, and then be able to move on with my life!! The sooner I finish, the sooner I can sew guiltfree!!  

2026 15 Minutes to Stitch

15 minute days this week = 6/7

15 minute days/Mar = 9/14

15 minute days/2026 = 61/73 

Success Rate 2025 = 84%

Still working on the course, so I haven't worked out any numbers.  Maybe next week.

2026 Stash Totals

Used last week: 0 yards  

Used year to date: 10.16 yards

Acquired recently: 0 yards  

Acquired year to date: 0 yards

Net used in 2026: 10.16 more yards used

Linking up to:

Kate at Life in Pieces

Donna at   

Frederique at quiltingpatch

Angela at SoScrappy