End of Summer Update?! It's Almost Fall!

I am so glad to FINALLY get this post out!  I just read on someone's blog that the first day of Fall is next week!!  I can't believe the time has gone so fast. Note to self:  post things as they get done, don't wait to accumulate a few before posting.  That said, on with our show.

Well, the summer was busier than expected with a lot going on and things moving along but never as much accomplished by (self-imposed) deadlines as hoped.  But in the end, little by little, it all gets done. At least that's what I keep telling myself to keep sane! So what's been going on since last we met?

The "Valor" top (talked about in my last post) got finished during the third week of July.  And hopefully it will get quilted and bound by the end of the year and will be available for display for next years Memorial Day or Fourth of July holiday.

The next week was our long planned camping trip to Evangola State Park on Lake Erie and Niagara Falls.

There was a beach.

And a Pirates Festival...

...where they dug for buried treasure on the beach (and other fun activities).

Our campsite.

And of course the Falls!

Back from the trip, I spent the month of August focused on starting and finishing the blocks for Bonnie Hunter's "Floribunda" quilt-a-long.  This one was fun!  I was attracted to the funky retro look of the original quilt Bonnie had found at an antique store in Florida. 

Starting the blocks with Lori Holt's (Bee In My Bonnet) Mini Design Boards (click the link to go to her tutorial on how to make them). Mine still need the pretty borders added.

When I purchased the yellows for the project, I also looked for a few fat quarters that I thought channeled that retro feel or just looked good with the yellows and would add to what I could find in stash.  I didn't plan to only use florals in it but after re-reading one of her blog posts and realizing that all of the fat quarters I had purchased were in fact florals, I decided to continue with that theme and was surprised to find I had a lot of more of them in stash than I thought.  Particularly useful was a bag of fabric samples I bought years ago from an eBay vendor which gave me a lot of vintage looking floral prints.

Instructions from Bonnie's site, finished blocks and binding fabric already purchased.

  In September, after the kids were back in school, I was able to put the blocks together into a top, create a pieced back (the center calico was also from stash, woo hoo!) and now another finished flimsy is in the can.

Finished Top

Finished Back

After that it was all about getting back to catching up on the Civil War Chronicles BOM.  Yesterday, I finished the three blocks I had remaining to do for Month Three (top right and bottom corners).

Now the challenge is to stay on schedule and bring the rest of the months I have in house (Months Four - Eight) up to date.  One of my UFO goals for the year is to complete any BOMs signed up for this year by the end of the year.  Since the last of these blocks will come in December, I want to be ready to at least complete the top or even better, layer and quilt it by year's end.

Also on the agenda is to finish the "Merrimac Dresdens" blocks (also talked about in my last post) that I also started this summer (you can see the first one to the right of the "Chronicles" blocks).  I think those will probably wait until  next week while I try to get at least one more month of "Chronicles" done this weekend.

Hope your Fall is shaping up to be a productive one!