Hi Quilting Friends,
Happy end of July, and welcome to the “dog days of summer”, aka August. This isn’t about dogs, but about the rising of Sirius, the “dog star”, which happens to be the brightest star in the night sky. Autumn is on the way, so hang on!
Mr. Fix It and I watched most of the World Cup games this year, and it was exciting! Futbol is probably my favorite sport to watch. I don’t really have a favorite team; I just enjoy watching the matches and cheering for all of the goals or the great saves.
In other news, we celebrated Independence Day at the lake with friends, went to dinner for Gaby’s birthday, and completed phase 1 of the guest bath update by replacing the flooring and the “throne”. I’ve been enjoying our neighborhood pool and getting out for bike rides along the bayou.
Let’s stop and take a breath today. We’ve been working hard all year so far on our PHD projects. We’ve made progress and even finished projects from the PHD list, and we’ve celebrated our successes. The year is more than halfway to its end, we’re moving into the busy autumn holiday season, and we’re all probably due to take a little pause to refresh. So,
Give it a rest!
Take a break, even a short one. Go to your happy place, whether it is the pool, the movies, the seashore, the mountains, or the back yard. Just breathe, relax, and enjoy yourself! No pressure.
Our bodies and our brains benefit from hitting “Pause” every now and then. Take a break, and you will come back to “normal life” with renewed energy, creativity, and excitement.
I’m going to take a 10-day break in August to visit my family in Montana. I’ll hang out with my Dad and Mom, hike with my “little” brother, and enjoy the cooler weather, all with gorgeous mountain views. I’m SO excited about this trip!
You may not “see” me here as often as usual, unless I manage to schedule some posts in advance. I may not make a lot of progress on my PHD projects either, since I will be away from my studio. It’s all OK! In fact, it is better than OK and I’m looking forward to a change in my routine.
I can’t wait to read about what you do for your break! I’ll share some of the highlights of mine at the end of August. Catch you later!
Here’s my PHD update for July.
Project #2: “Each Dawn A New Day”
All of the cross-stitching is complete! Now comes the tedious part; outline stitching the piece with (mostly) black thread. It’s definitely not very exciting, but it makes such a difference in the appearance. I had already finished most of the outline stitching on the top half of the piece, so that helps.
My “One Monthly Goal” for August is to make progress on my cross stitch project, but I won’t promise how much progress. Princess Nina is due for a “spa” visit, where she will have her yearly cleaning and maintenance. That’s a good time to plan on doing hand work. Ready? Set. SEW!
Note to self- LINK!
Project #5: “New” FPP Blocks (4 designs)
It pays to get organized! I spent some time last week going through my files, and I found four drawings for FPP projects in my “In Progress” folder that were waiting to be digitized and tested. Yay! Two of the drawings that I found will become “Project #7”, and the other two are shown here.
I used to dread the process of digitizing drawings, but after years of writing up activities for my students I’ve developed a time-efficient method to prepare my pencil drawings for piecing and pattern-writing. (Teacher skills to the rescue, even though I’m retired! Winning!)
Block B: Tractor #2
Ta-da! The tractor is born! This “new” tractor has been updated with an enclosed cab, AC, a stereo, and all of the other conveniences that make farming even more fun. The tractor works hard and gets the job done.
I designed this old-fashioned tractor, way back in 2016, and it has been quite popular with our customers. It is like the tractor that Dad drove on the farm when I was a little girl; it had no bells or whistles, but it got the job done. I loved it when my Daddy let me ride along as he did the chores!
Our farming vehicle patterns are available for purchase from Ms P’s Pattern Shop!
Block C: Kaleidoscope / Star
I thought that I was drawing a star, but it turned out more like a kaleidoscope, or perhaps a kaleidoscope star. Either way, I’m going for it because I love playing around with a kaleidoscope! Tiny pieces of glass along with mirrors create an infinite number of colorful patterns as you turn the cylinder. This pretty 7″ x 7″ square kaleidoscope quilt block combines small pieces of fabric, and the colorways are infinite! I had fun making this block –
And this block –
And now I’ve run out of time, but I have loads of scraps and many more ideas for intriguing color combinations if I were to continue making this block. I just might! You can make it too, if you like.
Project #6: “New” FPP Coffee Mugs Wall Hanging or Throw
Now that I’ve mostly decided on the design for this project, I’ve started making some foundation paper pieced hearts to use with the coffee mugs.
The hearts are made with scraps in colors that are similar to the mugs, so I’ll wait until I make the last three mugs to finish the hearts.
I confess that I’m tempted to “cheat” and just make the mugs and hearts from the additional colors that I want, rather than wait for them to show up as the monthly color for RSC. It just might happen. . .
I got so excited about the FPP hearts that I’ve made the center block for the quilt too! I won’t show the whole block today, so here’s a “sneaky peek”. Trust me; this is SEW cute that I can hardly wait to finish it!
Project #7: “New” Christmas Bells Place Mat Set
As I mentioned earlier in this post, I found a couple of drawings in my files for another set of Christmas place mats, similar to others that I’ve already created but featuring bells in two sizes.
The family keeps growing, so the additional set would give me a total of 16 coordinating place mats. That’s enough to set the table for everyone on Christmas Day, not that the table will seat the whole gang!
No picture of the new design yet, but here are the Christmas place mats that I’ve already completed. The patterns are available in Ms P’s Christmas Shop.
I’ve digitized my pencil drawings in preparation for making the place mat set and writing up a pattern.
I pulled pieces of Christmas fabric from my stash and scrap bins that are similar to those that I used for the other place mats. I have plenty on hand, so I won’t even need to go shopping to complete this project. Another win!
It will probably be September before I have time to start piecing the bells, but it’s nice to know that this project is waiting in the wings and that I have several months to finish it in time for Christmas.
Project #10: Play with “Toys”, Cubix Runner
My “One Monthly Goal” for July was to quilt and bind the Cubix runner. Ta-done! Read more HERE.
Project #11: Scrappy Zipper Bags X 12
The “Rainbow Scrap Challenge” color for July was AQUA. Here’s scrappy medium zipper bag, in AQUA! Read more about this project HERE. Only one more bag to sew and I’ll meet my goal of 12 bags! I have a feeling that this project will be completed very soon. . .
New Projects
Still a “No” for this month. I’m controlling my impulses and working on “the list” for now. My only “new” project so far in 2026 has been the “Pooh” baby quilt for Caroline and Nick’s baby boy.
My PHD list includes enough challenge and interest to satisfy my need to create, but this is unusual for me and I’m not sure how long it can continue…
Ongoing Projects
Click the images below to read more about these ongoing projects that I’m stitching for RSC 2026.
Coffee Mug Block #17, AQUA
“Signature” Blocks
PHD Progress Update
This is my updated PHD task list, shaded to show the finished tasks.
This is my updated PHD tracker, still on track for the year with 7 finishes.
Party Time!
Now its your turn! Share your link and visit the others to support and encourage.
We would appreciate a link back from your post to this post. Here’s a link to copy and paste.
I hope that you’ll have an amazing August, complete with friends, family, fun, and (of course) quilting!
Happy quilting,
Sharon
Ms P Designs USA 