A Good Beginning

 The weather this week ranged from cool and rainy, to very hot and sunny.  

The sunny days were perfect for taking pictures of the day lilies in our garden.

This variety is called Minaret.  Although, the blooms are not as large or showy as some of our other lilies, they bloom later than many other varieties.  They also produce numerous flowers on tall, thin stalks.  They hover over the other plants and sway as if they are floating in the slightest breeze.

I am 5'7", the flower on the tallest stalk reaches my nose.  The name of the purple beauty below has been lost over the years.  It's even prettier in person.

I used the rainy days to get some piecing done. My One Monthly Goal for August is to complete a Halloween table topper.  I found a pattern at The Cloth Parcel.  I finished the three blocks that are needed and have lots of three inch squares leftover.  I might add another block to make the table runner longer.

 I sewed blocks for a baby quilt the last week of July.  This week, I put them together and finished the top.  It's 41.5 inches square.  When it's quilted, it will be donated to the Little Lambs Foundation for Kids

The absolute last thing I thought I would be sewing at this point in the year is a mask.  Unfortunately, the Delta strain of the Covid 19 virus is becoming an issue in our county.  Cases have gone from a low of about 30 per day in July to about 300 per day now and are continuing to increase.   We live near the ocean and our town is a  popular vacation destination.  Even though our family is vaccinated, we are being cautious.  No one in my family likes wearing the disposable masks.   My daughter requested a new Pikachu mask and I will probably have to make a few new masks for the rest of the family.

I've been playing with some red, white, and blue scraps.  

                                     

This week, I'll use them to make two more plus sign placemats to match the two I made in July.  I'll also add the sashing between the blocks and the border for the Pumpkin table runner.

I'm finding that setting small goals each week works best for me. I can make progress on projects if I set aside a short amount of time each day.  Even though I'm not making a huge dent in my stash, I'm moving forward.

I'm linking up with Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Alycia Quilts for Finished or Not Friday.  I always find lots of inspiration checking out the work of the other quilters who link up.

One Monthly Goal For August

 Although I love the idea of having placemats and table runners for different seasons and holidays, I never think of starting them until it is too late.  I found three free Pumpkin table runner tutorials that are likely candidates.  Connie Kresin Campbell who blogs at Free Motion by the River has a free tutorial for a scrappy pumpkin table runner using 2.5 inch squares.  Julie at Green Fairy Quilts has a tutorial for an 18 x 45 inch Pumpkin Table Runner made with strips of yardage that could easily be made with scraps.   Although, I like the first two tutorials, I have decided to make the free tutorial at The Cloth Parcel that uses 3 inch scraps.  The pumpkin table runner will be a perfect project for my August One Monthly Goal.  That gives me plenty of time to have it ready for the harvest days of October and November.  If you're looking for a free Pumpkin table runner pattern, check out all three.  You're sure to find one you like.

I was delighted that linking up for the July Monthly Goal motivated me to finish my strippie butterfly baby quilt.  I'm linking up again with Patty Dudek at Elm Street Quilts, One Monthly Goal for August.  Somehow, linking up made me feel more accountable for accomplishing my goal in July.  Hopefully, the results will yield an autumn table runner.