Hopeful Homemaker

I can’t believe it’s the last Monday in October.  Life at my house has been full speed ahead since August, and it’s still going strong.  While lots of things are strange and we all have much we wish we could change, I am grateful to be where I am and living this life.  I was out of town at the end of September and forgot to post about my progress, so this is a combined 20 in 20 September/October Report.  

I am still sewing!  It feels like an accomplishment again to fit it in.  Most of it has been deadline related sewing, or hand stitching in my car.  Unfortunately I don’t feel like I have a lot to show for my 20 minute sewing sessions.  I saved one empty spool of thread for this month’s photo, as a reminder that I am making progress.

As the end of the year looms I have long lists of what I WANT to sew and what I NEED to sew.  I’m working on the need to finish list, leaving a long list of hopeful projects ahead of me.  In all the deadlines, however, I have also neglected to make some of my half rectangle triangles, so I will be sewing a lot of these very soon.  Once in rows, I will add embroidery to journal a few more things.  Covid-19 continues to affect our lives, and other events deserve to be noted on this quilt.  I have a lot of work to do!  For now, I write each day on my planner how long I sewed for, and what kind of sewing it was.

That wraps up my 20 in 20 September/October Report.  Hopefully I’ll have a nearly finished quilt top to share next month.  Wouldn’t that be nice!  Now I’m off to finish and photograph a few things to share with you!  Have a great week.

Several weeks ago I tested a new quilt pattern for Brigit Gail .  It’s called Starlight Lily. This design a foundation paper pieced pattern with a modern, minimalist style.  Today I’m sharing my version of this fun pattern.


I love the 2020 Kona Color of the Year, Everglade.  This quilt seemed like a good opportunity to try it, and it makes a beautiful background to the lily flowers!  I love the deep, rich, bluish-green.  It’s not an easy color to photograph, but it’s definitely a fabric color I will buy more of!


The flowers were easy to make, and the whole quilt came together quickly.  This pattern is great for anyone wanting to try foundation paper piecing.  It’s a simple project without too many points to match up.  I made an extra row so my quilt is a little longer, which I like.


Recently I bought a bright shell pink solid and lately I’m using it in everything.  It was perfect for the bud, especially when I paired it with light green leaves.  All in all, this was a great exercise in using a color scheme that’s new to me.  Brigit designed the Starlight lily quilt with Amish style in mind, so I tried to make something along those lines.


I have been thinking about what it means to find my creative voice.  Sometimes we relate that solely to style, but I don’t think they’re interchangeable.  Style is a big part of our creative voice, but not all of it.  I enjoy making quilts that help me explore new styles.  It invites me to grow.

I quilted this one with organic wavy lines mostly in dark green, with a few neon yellow ones as well.  Short on time, I had to bind it quickly to gift it to a friend who was leaving, so I don’t even have a finished photo of this quilt!  Still, it was a fun one to make.

If you like this Starlight lily pattern, don’t hesitate to purchase it!  I think there’s a sew along happening, and those are always fun to join.  As for me, I enjoyed the pattern so much that I made a second, scrappy version.  I’ll share it soon!

Here we are, at the end of August, and suddenly I’m wondering where 2020 has gone.  How can this be?  School is back in session where I live, and all of a sudden I’m in my car again as the days whiz by.  Honestly, I was NOT ready for this.  I kind of liked having life slow down.  My 20 in 20 August report is a little different because of it.


Am I still sewing?  Yes.  Mostly in the car, which means hand sewing.  I love hand sewing, but most of the things I SHOULD be working on require a machine.  So I’m falling behind on deadlines as I stitch in my car in various parking lots.  I suppose that’s the way life goes, and I know everything will work out.

I haven’t sewn the half rectangle triangle blocks to add to my quilt.  They require a machine.  But I am keeping a record of my sewing in my planner so I can make the right colored blocks as soon as I have time.  Hopefully I’ll find time to embroider a few important dates on them like I’ve done for the last few months.  The first day of school definitely needs to be on there, don’t you think?

I’m reminding myself that the purpose of my 20 in 20 goal was simply to keep sewing.  To see, at the end of the year, how it adds up.  So I’ll keep stitching!  

The essence of my 20 in 20 August report is simply this:  I’m still doing it!  And that is enough.