We’re nearly half way through August already so I thought I’d better see how I was doing with my nineteen challenges for the year, so this is the end of July report…

July was a busy month as I worked hard for our open garden and quilt show, so less sewing, but more gardening got done!

• 1 Scrap Quilt; Still not started but I’ve had a few ideas.
• 2 Tutorials; I’ve got a couple of weeks holiday from work coming up, hoping to sort some then.
• 3 Sessions a week in the garden; I’ve probably exceeded that this month! The open garden went well though and I was pretty proud of our garden.

• 4 Workshops; I went on another embroidery workshop at Fabbadashery, this time it was on Palestinian embroidery, I’ve another one booked in September and a gardening one too. So my tally is two so far this year.

• 5 presents; Nothing this month but Christmas is sneaking up so I’ll start soon. I’ve made three so far.
• 6 Quilts; My Spring Wreath quilt was my big finish last month, I’m still really proud of it! I’ve made five quilts so far this year, so doing pretty well!

• 7 New Patterns; July was quiet for sewing, so this remains at two, but I’ve cracked on since so August will be much better!
• 8 Kits; Last month I stitched a robin bookmark, it’s been used every night since in my bedtime reading book! This brings my total up to three.

• 9 Mini Embroideries; Last month I stitched a pair of fairy wings for a travelling sketchbook, I loved them! My total is now 4

• 10 Things; I made a needlecase last month, it’s proved really useful, it lives next to my sewing machine so it’s always handy. I also made two cushions, one from a quilting practice piece and one from an embroidery I did a year or two back. They look good on the settee in the conservatory. So this doubles my total up to a respectable 6.

• 11 Cross-stitch Smalls; No new ones, but I’ve already completed this challenge! I do need to stitch another three so I have the complete set for the twelve months of the year by Snowflower Diaries.
• 12 pages in my book; I’m hoping to start this during my holiday, I’ve just sourced some lovely fabric pages which I’m toying with using. I need to get my box of inspiration out and work out if their size will work, if not I know how I’ll make my own!
• 13 Clothes made; this was still just three in July, though I’ve already doubled that in August! I shared my cullottes this month which I’d counted in June!

• 14 Drawers organised; I had a sort out of my machine threads last month, my standard Gutermann threads are now vaguely colour arranged, I’ve put my machine quilting and embroidery threads in a separate box, I’m tempted to stick some golf tees to the base of a box to stand them on. This brings my total up to 9, so reasonable progress!
• 15 Minutes tidy up; I’ve got a bit slack at this one, I need to get back on as it does help.
• 16 Books; My piles are getting bigger!! This is going so much better than I ever thought,I have two books on the go at any one time, one for bedtime and one for on the go – trains, buses etc. I read another 4 books in July – helped by reading a whole book in a day! This brings my total to 16 with more to share for August, so challenge complete! I think I’m due another book post!

• 17 blogs a month; after a quieter June I managed a whopping 25 posts last month!
• 18 Walks; I’ve not done any more walks this month, still recovering from a virus, but I’ve already reached my target of 18 walks. We’re still hoping to do at least another three day walks so we can finish the Cleveland Way.
• 19 Splendid Sampler Blocks; This has been on the back burner whilst I concentrated on my Spring Wreath quilt, so I really need to get cracking with it now. I’ve made 14 so far this year, so not bad, but I want to get the quilt finished.

So I’ve a real mix of progress, some challenges complete or almost there, others not even started, hopefully August and September will be pretty productive, I’ve had a good start to August anyway!