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October ended with a rainy day, very autumn like weather.  Something we didn't get much of till after mid-month.  It really seemed like we had an endless summer, so I find myself very surprised to be in November and realizing there are just 2 months left in the year.  

Just a bit under 2 months left in 2026.  It's the time of year that if you haven't reached your goals, you have to decide what part of them can you actually make progress with.  The holidays will be busy with the seasonal stuff we do with and for our families.  I'm trying to keep an attitude of what gets done, gets done, what doesn't can wait till next year.  

That last week in October went way too fast, but I still did really well at working through what was on my to do list.  

To ...

This is the last to do list for October.  I'm not panicking, but feeling a bit uncomfortable that the end of the year seems to be spiraling in on us faster than I'm ready for.  It's time to start thinking about Christmas and I just don't want too.  Maybe it would help if it felt like fall. We still need to run the air conditioning in the afternoons it's so warm.  

We've been enjoying the cooler weather, but apparently the cool down tripped something in the atmosphere and I've been struggling with my allergies lately.  It's not horrible, but my energy levels haven't been what they normally are, lots of napping in the afternoon to cope. That really cut into my sewing time this week, so my to do list didn't get it's normal attention.  

To Do List for 10/13/2026

1. Squared Away: Finish binding ✔

2. Glowing Hearts: Continue quilting ✔

3. Celtic Solstice: Work on borders ✔

4. Marigold Mystery: Finish Sept, cut fabrics ...

It actually felt like autumn this weekend, we needed jackets when we went outside. Getting dressed to go out for coffee with the crew took me a few minutes, the temps really meant long sleeves were needed. It took me a minute to remember what my options were, I've been wearing my short sleeve cotton shirts for so long, I forgot what was in my closet for the other seasons. 

Part of my stitching time was spent working on hand stitching the binding for Squared Away. I've turned two corners, so just over half way done with that ...

My mother's 84th birthday was this weekend.  We went to visit and take her out for dinner along with the rest of the family. So I missed one day of stitching this week.  There was still good progress on last week's to do list.  

To Do List for 10/6/2026

1. Squared Away: Make label and binding, trim quilt ✔

2. Glowing Hearts: Continue quilting ✔

3. Celtic Solstice: Finish quilt assembly, decide on borders ✔

4. Marigold Mystery: Finish Sept blocks, start Oct- progress

5. 2026 Guild BOM: Start assembly - progress

6. Wild and Goosey: Continue working on teal ...

This last week went really fast. It just that time of year.  We'll be mid way through October this week!  That just doesn't seem possible.  But it did get me thinking about what my sewing room plans are for next year. It may seem early, but we always started developing next year's goals about this time of year when I was working.  Some habits don't fade completely when you retire.  

Just one quarter left in 2026 to complete what ever plans one had for getting quilty things done this year.  When the year starts in January, it's so easy to think you've got the whole year ahead, so much time to get projects moved along and finished.  By October, it's where did the year go and why don't I have more done?  The last two months of the year have big holidays in them, so it's hard to make up time for what you didn't get done earlier in the year.  Considering all that ...

Not quite a full week into October and it feels like the month is rushing by.  Probably because we've got stuff on the calendar for this month. Not fun stuff, necessary stuff. 

I took a lazy approach to last week, but I still didn't do too badly with my to do list. 

To Do List for 9/29/2026

1. Squared Away: Make binding, sew to front - no progress

2. Glowing Hearts: Continue walking foot quilting ✔

3. Celtic Solstice: Continue quilt top assembly ✔

4. Marigold Mystery: Finish September blocks - progress

5. 2026 Guild BOM: Start quilt assembly - no ...

It's been a week since I got back from Houston.  So last Monday wasn't a great stitching day.  Most of Tuesday was spent in recovery, but I did make it to late night sew and got a lot done. My focus has been to get Celtic Solstice (Bonnie Hunter) assembled.  

  

September felt like summer rather than fall this year.  It also went really fast. I'm not ready for it to be October.  We'll blink and it will be New Year's at this point.  I'm never ready for how fast the end of the year goes. 

The drive from Houston to home Monday was just over 11 hours. Needless to say I was pretty wiped out yesterday. I slept late yesterday, got up just in time to go work out at the gym and make a run to Walmart.  After lunch, it was nap time.  I just never worked up the energy to dig my computer out of the bag and get it set up.  So I'm a day late with my to do list. 

I'll start my trip back to Oklahoma in just a bit.  Not looking forward to the drive. I won't get home till dinner time tonight.  I've had such a good time hanging out with My Girl this week. We've hit all our favorite food spots, plus found a new place for brunch that has the potential to become "our" brunch spot, even when her dad is along for a trip.  We did some "necessary" stuff shopping and some just for fun shopping.  We did a lot of just hanging out and talking.  So it's been ...

Last week was busy with prep for my trip this week. In between trying to get laundry caught up and finish up the necessary chores, I did find time to get into the sewing room.  But the focus was more on prepping projects for the trip and not so much on actually using the sewing machine.  Progress on last week's to do list shows that.  

My sewing mojo dipped a bit last week.  Not sure why, but it was just harder to get up to the sewing room.  It didn't help that I felt crappy last weekend.  It wasn't a horrible week, there was still good progress on the to do list, but a few things slipped through the cracks. 

To Do List for 9/8/2026

1. Glowing Hearts: Continue quilting ✔

2. 2026 Guild BOM: Cut fabrics needed for assembly - no progress

3. Celtic Solstice: Continue making blocks ✔

4. Marigold Mystery: Cut fabrics for September blocks ✔

5. Wild and Goosey: Finish teal ...

Labor Day has come and gone, it's supposed to be autumn.  Looks like we've got a few more triple digit days and then temps drop to the low to mid 90's.  Not my idea of autumn, but I'll take just anything lower at this point.  

If you are in the US, hopefully you are enjoying your Labor Day holiday. Being retired, it's just another Monday in our schedule. Though we do usually skip our normal chores if it's a holiday, so we feel like we've celebrated. Which means I get a three day weekend in the sewing room.  

My priority this weekend was to get Squared Away (Soscrappy) ready to go to the long armer this next week. If I want it back before Christmas that needs to happen.  First job was to press and then cut the wide backing to size ...

The big thing that sticks in my mind for August is just how hot it was all month.  Normally we get those triple digit temps for a couple of weeks. It was pretty much the whole month, with just a few days of temps dipping into the 90's. It was a good month for sewing, it was too hot to do much else.  No finishes last month, but there was still enough progress to do an August PHD report to link up with Ms. P Designs.  

No finishes, but there was a new project started last month. It was ...

August seemed to go both fast and slow. The high temperatures did make the month drag a bit.  I'm ready for autumn temps, but I'm not ready for it to be September.  If this year is like past years, I'll blink and it will be December!  

Last week it was something old and something new.  This week the old was finished and I restarted an even older UFO.  Is there some point where an old UFO becomes like a new project?  If there is, I haven't found it yet.  

Good Fortune (Bonnie Hunter), the old project, is now a finished quilt top. I'm glad the pieced border got added, it does make a nice frame for the rest of the quilt.  Plus it used up all those already cut up fabric pieces and finished blocks.  

This joins the "to be quilted" pile.  There are ...