June PHD Report

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

I had a finish on an unplanned start and progress on a few projects.  So I am heading in the right direction! Hoping for more finishes in July, but I'm pretty sure I bit off more than I can chew for my UFO list this year.  

TRUE UFOs

#1 Baby Bricks - needs quilting and finishing  - DONE Once I got started on summer, I got this done quickly.  

#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.  PROGRESS  I made a plan and will convert this to a medallion quilt to show off the baby blocks.  I am enjoying the process.

#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  LOTS OF PROGRESS  I took it apart and added blues and I really like it now.  Now I need a backing and them quilt it.

From this that I didn't like at all ...

... to this!

#13 Sapphire Jubilee small version - got it sandwiched last year, need to quilt and finish.    DONE  I set 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.   That is more than I anticipated doing this year, so I'm calling this one FINISHED!   

#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 teacher 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.   I'm pretty well decided that I will not be making this unless someone specifically asks for it.  So this is a WON'T START.

UNPLANNED STARTS

 

Red & Yellow Pinwheels from my MIL's UFO blocks.    FINISHED

What I'm Working On

 How Did I Do Last Week?    

• cut more 2.5" blue squares to surround the baby blocks  DONE and I even got them sewn on
• prepare a backing for the new & improved D9P  NOPE
• sandwich the new & improved D9P NOPE
• start quilting the new & improved D9P  NOPE
• deal the mess I made in the sewing room  MOSTLY

Last week I had said "There is much less going on this week, so this list should be doable."  That did not turn out to be true, maybe this week.  

Here is the new & improved D9P to remind me to get moving on it!

To Do List for Week of June 29-July 5

• prepare a backing for the new & improved D9P  
• sandwich the new & improved D9P 
• start quilting the new & improved D9P  
• finish dealing with the mess in the sewing room 
• take the Scrappy Spools off of the design wall
• math out the next round of sashing for baby blocks

 

Slow Week

I was busy, but most of it wasn't sewing.  I worked on making order out of the mess in the sewing room, getting the annual summer scrapbook/photo process underway,  training for our new reading curriculum, and reading.  It is summer and I am trying to max it out!

Round 2 Done!

When there was space on the sewing table I got the next round of the baby blocks done.  Using the 2" blocks for the next border was a lot easier to math out than the 3" appliqued heart blocks.  The hearts will be next because the farther out I get, the more blocks I have to have.

Light Blue Crayon Done!

A few days later there was space on the table again, so I made the pastel crayon for the RSC.  My first idea to use light blue was spot on - there was plenty.  I even got to use an odd triangle left over from Dear Jane as the crayon tip. 

Filling up my crayon box!

I think I need to take the Scrappy Spools off of the design wall, so I have space for current projects.  That's a good project for this week.

   2026 15 Minutes to Stitch

15 minute days this week = 3/7

15 minutes days/June = 19/27

15 minute days/2026 = 143/178 

Success Rate 2026 = 80%

No stash movement this week.  

  

2026 Stash Totals

Used last week: 0 yards

Used year to date: 43.79 yards

Acquired recently: 0 yards  

Acquired year to date: 35 yards

Stash movement for 2026: 1.14 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

 How Did I Do Last Week? 

• bind Red & Yellow Pinwheels  DONE
• join blue baby blocks rows DONE
• make more applique heart blocks  PROGRESS
• make a plan for the red/green D9P quilt  DONE
• finish unsewing D9P quilt  DONE

Baby Block Center - DONE!

Complete Redone!!  So much better!

 To Do List for Week of June 21-28

• cut more 2.5" blue squares to surround the baby blocks
• prepare a backing for the new & improved D9P
• sandwich the new & improved D9P
• start quilting the new & improved D9P
• deal the mess I made in the sewing room

There is much less going on this week, so this list should be doable.  

Forward Progress

The binding was added and the Red & Yellow Pinwheels are completely finished, but didn't get a new picture.  Teacher E chose that one for a friend and it is already gone.

The binding was red.

I finished taking apart the red & green D9P that I didn't like.  I changed the color scheme to red & blue and that made all the difference.   

Yuck!  Even my perfect backing couldn't make me like this.

There were large blue squares and some neutrals in the random scraps from my MIL.  They were slightly smaller than the red squares, so I did some trimming to make it all fit. I would have preferred a more consistent neutral, but since I am working with what I have I am still very pleased with the makeover on this quilt.

Before the blocks were joined.

The baby blocks are joined.  Whew!  Never doing those again.  The hearts won't work as a next round because they are too big and need to alternate for a better effect.  My next idea is to use 2.5" blocks and mix the blue randomly.  There were some in the original bag, but I will need a lot more, so I can add more shades of blue.  I can adjust the width of the sashing to make it all work.  

Coming together slowly.

With all the activity this week I did not get as much sewing done as I would have liked, but I still made progress.  

2026 15 Minutes to Stitch

15 minute days this week = 5/7

15 minutes days/June = 16/20

15 minute days/2026 = 140/171 

Success Rate 2026 = 82%

I am so close to breaking even!  

  

2026 Stash Totals

Used last week: 3.37 = 3.07 yards for the new and improved D9P + 0.3 for pinwheel binding

Used year to date: 43.79 yards

Acquired recently: 0 yards  

Acquired year to date: 35 yards

Stash movement for 2026: 1.14 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

Now that it is summer, I should be able to keep up with a weekly list.  It's worth a try!

Join the rows!

To Do List for Week of June 14-20

• bind Red & Yellow Pinwheels
• join blue baby blocks rows
• make more applique heart blocks
• make a plan for the red/green D9P quilt
• finish unsewing D9P quilt

I should have left it like this and
never sewn it together since I didn't like it.

This week will be a bit busier than the last.  Little S will be back from her study abroad in France & Spain.  Teacher E will come for a visit to welcome her sister back.  And I'm the snack person for VBS at church.  But with no school, grading, lesson plans, etc,  I should be able to complete this list. 

Summer Mode - Finally

I'm still not sleeping in, but at least my body is starting to relax.   

30 year old UFO in a sandwich bag!

Even though I knew I should work on the Baby Bricks, I pulled out another UFO to consider.  The more I thought about it, the more I realized that this was truly my oldest UFO not the one I finished last year.  I started this soon after we moved from Russia to Guatemala which was late 1996.  My stash fit in a small cardboard box.  I remember wanted to make a "row by row" quilt in blues with each row being a different block.  According to the contents of the bag, I had an entire row of 9 patches on point, a few appliqued hearts, quite a few baby blocks, and some related scraps for future blocks.  

very rough idea

Not knowing what else to do, I kept making baby blocks with the fabrics that were already cut. Then I realized a row would not show off all of this work.  So what if I changed the plan and made the baby blocks into a larger block as the center?  I could adapt the other blocks and build borders around the baby blocks.  I cut and sewed just enough more to form a decent sized rectangle.  Working with 2" rhombuses is not for the faint of heart.  I can check baby blocks off my bucket list now!   

finally done

I got as far as I could on than baby blocks since joining the rows was stressful and made a few machine applique hearts (no more handwork for me!) and called a halt on that project.  I switched over to finally sandwiching the baby bricks quilt and while I was at it I sandwiched the impromptu red & yellow pinwheel quilt.

flannel back - paint sample style!

Since I was on a roll, I started quilting.  I got the baby bricks done in an afternoon.  I wasn't sure about the mix of flannels for the backing, but I am desperately trying to use what I have.  It works!   

This one turned into a great little quilt.

I really had no idea how to quilt the pinwheels with a walking foot since my "go to" diagonals would not work and the backing would show everything.  I started with straight lines through the yellow blocks following the angle of the triangles with yellow thread.  Then I used red thread and kept with the straight line theme, but with wider intervals on the smaller side of the yellow blocks.  

more flannel - thinking of Little S in Spain!

I knew I needed to change things up, so when I continued the next morning.  I used the red thread again, but at a right angle to the yellow lines on the larger side of the yellow blocks across half of the remaining section.  Then I switched it up again with a concentric chevrons in the last section.  All that to say - something very different for me, but I think it turned out well and it gave me confidence to try new things.

2026 15 Minutes to Stitch

15 minute days this week = 6/7

15 minutes days/June = 11/13

15 minute days/2026 = 135/164 

Success Rate 2026 = 82%

A whopping migraine kept me from sewing one day, but otherwise it was a great week in the sewing room!! 

More stash movement this week.  Baby Bricks were never counted out so I get to count out the front and back!  Woohoo!   And the backing for the Red & Yellow Pinwheels.  Another finish or two and I'll be breaking even.

  

2026 Stash Totals

Used last week: 4.41 = 3.17 yards for Baby Bricks & 1.24 yards for Red & Yellow Pinwheel backing 

Used year to date: 40.42 yards

Acquired recently: 0 yards  

Acquired year to date: 35 yards

Stash movement for 2026: 4.51 more yards acquired than used

Linking up to:

Kate at Life in Pieces 

Donna at quiltpaintcreate 

Frederique at  quiltingpatch

Angela at soscrappy