What's On My Sewing Table - June 2026

Time for my monthly accountability post sharing what I've been working on this month. If I'm totally honest, the answer is 'not much'. I think I've only used my sewing machine once in the past month to sew the binding on my Fly the Flag quilt finish. More on what's been keeping me away below. But yesterday I did pull out some projects that I want to finish up before July. So a lot of red, white, and blue happening on my table right now. Here's a look at what's in the works!

I've got a couple of projects that I'm trying to finish for my 4th of July decor. One is these cute Foundation Paper Piecing (FPP) flag blocks that I started a couple of years ago. The pattern is free from Liza Taylor. (I did add an extra red stripe at the bottom of mine.)

This is a fun pattern for using up scraps. (If you're new to FPP, you can find an introductory tutorial here.) This is a great, simple pattern to learn with and foundation-piecing is a great way to make those skinny stripes, perfect.

I'm thinking I'm going to piece mine into a mini quilt.

Also on my table are blocks to make another Stars and Stripes pillow like this one. I've had the extra blocks since making the video tutorial for this one and I'm finally pulling them out and putting them together for a gift. I just pulled my own pillow out for my July decor and it makes me happy every time I look at it.

Picking up a(nother) new hobby

While I haven't had much time with my machine I have been working on this fun, little handwork project. I've been itching to try my hand at needlepoint and this simple design with lots of straight lines was the perfect place to start.

I found this hand-painted canvas on ETSY. I found the threads that I'm using in a little sample pack at a craft store when I was traveling a few weeks ago. They are the perfect shades of red, white, and blue that I was needing for this little project, but unfortunately I don't have corresponding DMC numbers.

I've since been doing a deepdive into Needlepoint - it's having a big resurgence right now and I'm starting to get a little obsessed. (My instagram algorithm knows it and keeps feeding me more videos.)

Don't worry, I'm not planning to let it take over my life, but I always love a good handwork project for summer. I started cross-stitching again in 2020 after a 20 year hiatus. And the thing I love even more about needlepoint is having that painted canvas and not having to count stitches. Way less unpicking. 😉

I'm doing some technical research and plan to write up a little more for anyone wanting to know the basics for getting started. Any other needlepoint-ers out there? What are some of your favorite resources?

Finished top off to the quilter

You may remember a couple of months ago when I shared this little Fat Quarter bundle of Whimsical Woodland new from Tasha Noel.

Thanks to help from my stunt double/friend Suzy we are making at new version of my Summer Bunting pattern. I just got everything ready to drop off to the quilter today. Watch for the finished quilt in a couple of weeks. It's turning out super cute.

Finally, here's a sneak peek at a new finish that I'll be sharing next week. I've got a new published pattern coming that's perfect for using 10" precuts (aka Layer Cakes) and the updated version has versions for 5 different quilt sizes. Stay tuned!

As I mentioned at the top, there has been VERY minimal sewing over the past month other than binding a couple of quilts. I've been traveling with my family (more to share on that in the near future) and when I got home I've been working hard in my garden to get planted, irrigated and hopefully on a good trajectory (and less maintenance ahead.) And I've totally loved it.

So if you, too, are feeling like you're not getting much sewing done this summer, know that you're not alone! I've got 20 years of data that says most quilters slow the sewing in the summer. In fact, I wrote about this summer phenomenon in my weekly newsletter here. 😉☀️