Come Sew With Me: September Challenge Wheel Block of the Month!
Grab your coffee or your preferred drink, clear off your sewing table, and sew with me! Today is one of those sewing days where I have a plan…and that plan is basically: “Tamara, you need to catch up!” We are getting very close to the end of the 2026 Block of the Month, and somehow the year has gotten away from me. I have been designing, testing, sewing, photographing, writing, and, apparently, falling a little behind on actually making all the blocks! The directions can be found on this page. Scroll down toward the bottom of the page.
So today, I’m declaring it a Sewing Day—no bouncing from project to project. No looking at the UFO pile and deciding that surely something else would be more fun. Today is all about the Challenge Wheel Block of the Month.
My Sewing Room To-Do List
Here’s what’s on my cutting table today:
1. Test the September block.
This is the exciting part! Before I can show you the September block, I need to make it myself. I want to make sure the measurements work, the units fit together properly, and the block goes together the way I intended. Because there’s nothing quite like discovering that a block doesn’t work after you’ve written the instructions! Trust me. I’ve learned that lesson more than once.
2. Make several blocks I’m behind on.
Yes… Block directions are sitting there waiting for me. I’m not going to pretend otherwise. The beauty of a Block of the Month is that we’re supposed to make one block at a time, month by month. The reality is that sometimes life gets in the way, and suddenly you’re looking at several months’ worth of blocks thinking: “Well, this got away from me.”
Today is my attempt to get back on track. While I have all my test blocks done, I have four of the Challenge Wheel blocks to do – where I use a fabric that the Challenge Wheel decides!
3. Use those Challenge Wheel fabrics!
While I have all my test blocks done, I have four of the Challenge Wheel blocks to do – where I use a fabric that the Challenge Wheel decides! And looking at all of those fabrics together is going to be fun!
Let’s Take a Look Back at Our Challenge Wheel
Before we get to September, let’s look at where we’ve been. Remember, the whole idea behind the Challenge Wheel Block of the Month was to get us to use fabrics we might not normally reach for. Each month, the wheel gave us a fabric challenge.
- January — Tone-on-Tone
- February — Novelty
- March — Blue
- April — Turquoise
- May — White or Cream
- June — Red
- July — Floral
- August — Geometric
And now we have reached September.
Which means…
IT’S TIME TO SPIN THE WHEEL!
What will September bring? I honestly don’t know yet. That’s the fun—and sometimes slightly nerve-wracking—part of the Challenge Wheel! Will we get a color? A particular type of print? Something easy? Something that makes us dig through our stash and say, “Do I even OWN that?” I had to dig deep to find something that would work for geometric!
We’ll have to spin the wheel to find out. And I promise, I’ll share the result!
But First… Let Me Practice The September Block
Something you may notice when you look at the September block is that some of the smaller units have appeared in previous blocks. And I’m actually very happy about that. Why?
Because repetition is how we get better. Those little units that seemed tricky earlier in the year probably don’t feel quite so intimidating anymore. By now, you’ve had some practice with them. You know how your machine likes to behave, you’ve figured out your favorite pressing technique, and you’ve learned how to line everything up. And if you’re really lucky, those points have decided to cooperate instead of wandering off in their own direction! And if you’re still struggling with one of these units? This is your chance to practice again.
Don’t look at a repeated unit and think, “Oh no, not that again!” Think: “Great! I get another chance to perfect it.” You can also try a different technique for making those units. If you do a quick search, you will see all kinds of ways to create these units!
That’s one of the things I love about making a quilt over an entire year. We aren’t just making blocks. We’re building skills.
So, Come Sew With Me!
It is time to find out what the Challenge Wheel will decide for the Block of the Month.
Happy quilting, and have fun with the August Challenge Wheel block! I need to go pull some fabrics to find the perfect geometric fabric for the August block.
If you need ideas for patterns, check out the Scrap Quilts page or the Quilt Block page. You can also sign up for my Facebook group to see the updates.
Happy quilting until next time.
Tamara
Quilting With Tamara