Stash Report Week #9 and Goals

With sick girls from Tuesday on and DH being out of town Friday and Saturday, I was slowed down in my quilting. I thought I'd get Screamer's birthday dress done (less than two weeks to her first birthday!), but it was not to be this week. Still, I quilted my two rows and basted my charity quilt. I even quilted the charity quilt, made a new lunch bag for DH (which he managed to use without destruction), marked the borders on my quiltlet using my Quilting Designs software, and sewed a little on Screamer's dress.

She's walking now, and she looks like a convalescent walking. It's kinda funny. I love it.

I also started cutting fabric for Judy's "mystery quilt." I confess, I took more than 5 minutes to pick my fabric, but I think I have a good excuse. First I picked fabrics from my regular stash in about 3 minutes. Then I thought, "Self, you have a perfectly good tub of star and snowflake prints that you rarely cut into. There are lots of lights and darks in there." So I returned the fabrics and started with a new plan of star and snowflake prints. Thus, more than 5 minutes. I'm almost done cutting my lights, then darks next, but only when my other quilting is done (and work is done. Sigh.).

And while I'm on the subject of stars and snowflakes, if anyone has star or snowflake prints of any color (preferably small design) that they would be willing to swap 4" squares of, I have a small box of hand dyed fabric I'd love to share in exchange. I'm working on a hexagon charm quilt of stars and snowflakes, but definitely don't have enough. If you're interested, email me or leave me a comment (please)!

OUT this week: 1/2 yard
OUT YTD: 25 1/2 yards

IN this week: O yards
IN YTD: 73 yards

YTD total: 47 1/2 IN

Goals for this week are:
- quilt my two rows (I'm over half done!)
- make the binding for my charity quilt. (If I finish it, that's 6 yards out!)

If I finish those goals:
+ sew Screamer's dress
+ make a bike tool bag for DH
+ finish my quiltlet

And of course, if I want a week of for Spring Break, I need to work 20 hours this week. I can do it!

from the room of Zana's Ninis,
katie z.

...

It's so warm today, I hung out the laundry to dry! I would have done laundry yesterday, but we had a day-long trip across town to the Minor Emergency Office attached to our family doctor's office... Ear infection for the poor Screamer. Oh, my, what a night Monday night was!

Last night, for Fat Tuesday, we had guests for dinner and enjoyed fettuchini carbonara. Mmm. Amish chocolate cake/pudding... M&M cookies... There are leftover cookies, but I'm sacrificing chocolate for Lent. Last year, I was pregnant, and that was sacrifice enough (I was so sick!), but chocolate is a great weakness of mine. I'll have to let DH and the Assistant eat the cookies. It was a great night.

I have done very little sewing thus far due to our illnesses. The girls and I are staying home this weekend despite DH's trip to Dallas because the Screamer is not fit for traveling. That's okay - maybe I can get caught up, and if it's nice, we'll go for a great bike ride. Woohoo!

Now I just have to remember not to snack this afternoon... I have the munchies.

Stash Report Week #8 and Goals

This week, I completed the remaining charity blocks and made them into a top. I also quilted my two rows. In addition, I finished the Assistant's sleeping bag (4 yards OUT). She thinks it's weird, but I really like it!

I made a high chair mat for under the Screamer's chair, as the floor was getting pretty gross ( 1 1/2 yards OUT), made a lunch bag, which was promptly destroyed by an over-zealous husband, before it was ever used (3/4 yard)... I finished the Assistant's birthday dress instead of the Screamers (1 3/4 yard OUT), quilted 2 blocks of my quiltlet, and worked on my Japanese blocks.

Then the girls got sick. No cabin this weekend. Alas...

OUT this week: 8 yards
OUT YTD: 25 yards

IN this week: 1/4 yard music fabric for the Assistant
IN YTD: 73 yards

YTD total: 48 yards IN

At least I'm making progress!

My goals for this week include quilting 2 rows and making the backing for my charity quilt. If I finish those, I will again work on my Japanese blocks, mark the border of my quiltlet for quilting, and work on Screamer's birthday dress. The charity quilt now has an anticipated home, so I'll be feeling more pressure to get it done.

I hope we're done with our over-large share of sickness for the winter (hasn't everyone been sick more this winter than usual in your house), and that I can work some extra hours so I can take off a week at Spring Break.

from the room of Zana's Ninis,
katie z.

Stash Report Week #7 and Goals

Goals from this week:
+ I completed my six charity blocks
+ quilted 2 rows and finished a bit to make 3 rows done!
+ quilted one block of my quiltlet... it's taking a long time as a "back-burner" project
+ sewed more of the Japanese blocks
+ sewed a lumber tote
+ cut birthday dresses out

I went to JoAnn's and Hancock's this week for the President's Day sale for non-fabric things, yet somehow I have 5 yards of wool, 2 yards of cotton, and 4 1/2 of canvas to add to my totals. Does that have anything to do with DH accompanying me? You betcha!

I don't feel guilty, Judy, because I have a small stash, and these are all intended for long term projects. Gotta buy while I have the money, right?

I purchased a book called, "Sew and Stow" by Betty Oppenheimer (Storey Publishing) for myself for Valentine's Day. DH received a book on wiring and on home-wine making. I made him a "lumberjack" tote from my new book to use 1 1/4 yards (DH loves it, and it will save my back!), and I started a sleeping bag from the book. Unfortunately, the sleeping bag is a bit of a rush job, as we realized if we want the Assistant to use it when we visit the cabin, we have to have it done by Friday! DH's family owns a cabin, and we're going to check it out to see if we want to spend part of spring break in it... this Friday we're taking off for a whirl-wind 10 hours of driving.

IN this week: 11 1/2 yards
IN YTD: 72 3/4 yards

OUT this week: 1 1/4 yards
OUT YTD: 17

YTD: 67 3/4 yards IN

Goals for this week:
+complete my charity blocks
+quilt 2 rows
+complete the sleeping bag

BONUS:
+quilt 1 block of the quiltlet
+sew on the Screamer's birthday dress
+sew more Japanese blocks

from the room of Zana's Ninis,
katie z.

Giveaway (I Won...)

This is a post that should have been written, oh, two weeks ago, but since I should be working from home and can't convince myself to do so, I will take care of this unfinished business...

The Whirl into Winter giveaway end January 15, but one blogger who has 3 small children had to take a little longer to draw. Bingo~bonnie had a much more challenging giveaway, so it took some extra footwork on her part to track down who participated. She asked us to name a chore we hadn't done for a LONG time, and take pictures if we did it. I blogged about cleaning up the girls' toys in the cold living room, and it turns out... my name was drawn!

Bonnie's prize was $15 (when your post office is a trailer, you don't have a way to mail packages conveniently, you know?), and it arrived promptly from this lovely lady. I spent it immediately, but did I blog about it? No, of course not. That would make sense.

So here we go: I bought the fabric pictured above for the skirt and the kokopelli batik for DH. I think he's getting a new lunch bag when I find a pattern. Thanks, Bonnie, and feel better soon from your surgery!

from the room of Zana's Ninis,
katie z.

Stash Report Week #6 and Goals

I finished my 6 charity blocks, quilted my two rows, cut my 6 Japanese blocks... so far, so good. I even accomplished some of my bonus goals, like sewing 6 blocks, cut the strips for the last 60! Japanese blocks, and sewing myself a skirt (which is 4 1/2 yards out - there's a 1/2 yard of scraps in my drawer), but then...

I pushed a few buttons and bought some fabric. First, the Timeless Treasures "tile" looking chocolate and turquoise was for the above-mentioned skirt. I needed 5 yards and only had 2 1/2. I also bought the kokopelli fabric for DH, who likes such things, and it was on clearance. The red and cream I bought because I am collecting star fabrics for a hexagon quilt - someday I'll explain it, but not now (I say that often!). That was 4 1/2 yards in.

The blue and purple I'll blame on DH. He has this "problem." Yesterday, he spent all day outside building cold frames. There were some complications, so a 2-3 hour project turned into a 9 hour project. It was a LONG day, but since he's gone that much during the week, and it was a beautiful day, I can't complain. The girls and I gathered sticks for kindling, chopped up some branches DH trimmed away from the house last week, raked the mulch off the beds so they start warming, and generally cleaned up the yard. I also finished my hand quilting for the week, and I hand-stitched the hem of my new skirt. Yipee! There was also the laundry, meal preparation, and I baked some bread - yum. At the end of the day, DH felt really bad for leaving me with the girls all day when Screamer was showing off her lungs, but I really wasn't upset. He was working hard the whole day, and sometimes projects with recycled lumber just take longer. Out of self-inflicted guilt, he took me to JoAnn's to buy fabric to make birthday dresses for the girls (March and April birthdays). That was 4 yards in.

So:
IN this week: 8 1/2 yards
IN YTD: 61 1/4 yards

OUT this week: 4 1/2 yards
OUT YTD: 15 3/4 yards

YTD: 45 1/2 yards IN

When I told DH he was not helping my stashbusting attempts, he just laughed. Now if I can just get him to watch the girls so I can sew for 9 hours, I might get a bust. (Really, I'm not complaining. He's a love to let me buy fabric, and I get to sew plenty. Hand-quilting is just slow, so I won't have a quilt finish for a while.)

Goals for this week:
- complete 6 charity blocks
- quilt 2 rows
Hopefully, no more fabric arrives!

Bonus goals:
+quilt another block on the quiltlet
+finish quilting 3 rows
+sew more of the Japanese blocks

Stash Report Week #5 and Goals

Stash report is easy this week:

IN this week: 0 yards
IN YTD: 52 3/4 yards

OUT this week: 0 yards
OUT YTD: 11 1/4 yards

YTD Total: 41 1/2 IN!

Goals from last week:
I finished my charity sets (and two more set!) and quilted 2 rows. I didn't finish the quiltlet, but I sewed 6 blocks for my new quilt.

Goals for this week:
- complete 6 charity blocks (already finished tonight!)
- quilt 2 rows
- cut out 6 more blocks

BONUS:
+ sew the 6 new blocks
+ quilt the quiltlet


from the room of Zana's Ninis,
katie z.