I feel antsy this week. There's so much to be done!
I need to finish BiL's quilt for a special deadline and...
I need to finish my Japanese quilt for a couple getting married in May, but I am not finished with the blocks. (Aak!) I also can't quilt it until BiL's quilt is off the frame.
I have a T-shirt quilt that needs to be finished by the beginning of June.
I must work 15 hours this week (more if possible, to get hours together for taking a week off in May/June).
I need to start my seedlings - done!
The basement has a stream running through it since we had 8+ inches of snow, ice, and rain over the weekend. Our driveway doesn't funnel water to the street.
The girls need attention.
I want to research homesteading. Did I ever mention I want to move to a farm? The plan is in 13 years, but we are both itching to move earlier. However, I need to get off the computer.
There is baking to be done.
There is laundry. At least I cleaned!
Off to be busy.
from the room of Zana's Ninis,
katie z.
I figured out the source of my antsiness... (is that a word?)... I had a doctor's appointment today and learned I will have to have minor surgery in the not-so-distant future. It should be fine, but I'm worried anyhow... anesthetic makes me sick, and I don't like scalpels near me! If you are of the praying type, please pray for me!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Stash Report Week #13
The Buttonhole in McPherson, Kansas (not TOO far away, but a long drive with two little girls) is going out of business, so we made a journey to see what trouble we could get into.
How does almost 30 yards sound? I am going backwards this year, but it's mostly good purchases, and I have 3 quilts that need to be finished by June, so I may get closer to breaking even.
IN this week: 29 3/4 yards
IN YTD: 106 yards
OUT this week: 0 yards
OUT YTD: 35 3/4
YTD total: 70 1/4 IN
I'm on DH's computer, so pictures will follow later. I did post about my vacation and bike bag, for those that are interested.
I need to finish quilting BiL's quilt this week, seriously make a dent in my Japanese blocks, and cut out the T-shirts for my cousin's quilt. Only problem with cutting T-shirts is my hands hurt terribly after. I'm too young for that!
from the room of Zana's Ninis,
katie z.
How does almost 30 yards sound? I am going backwards this year, but it's mostly good purchases, and I have 3 quilts that need to be finished by June, so I may get closer to breaking even.
IN this week: 29 3/4 yards
IN YTD: 106 yards
OUT this week: 0 yards
OUT YTD: 35 3/4
YTD total: 70 1/4 IN
I'm on DH's computer, so pictures will follow later. I did post about my vacation and bike bag, for those that are interested.
I need to finish quilting BiL's quilt this week, seriously make a dent in my Japanese blocks, and cut out the T-shirts for my cousin's quilt. Only problem with cutting T-shirts is my hands hurt terribly after. I'm too young for that!
from the room of Zana's Ninis,
katie z.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Vacation
First off, one should always understand that traveling with small children does not count as a vacation. I did not have to work, however, and that was GLORIOUS!
We arrived at our cabin near Poteau, OK in the early afternoon. The cabin looked tiny after DH's stories of his cousins' exploits as a child. I couldn't see how more than 2 or 3 people could stay there. O
f course, I didn't know I couldn't see the basement, which was as large as the room above, and the cabin can comfortably sleep 12, more if desired.
It is deep in the woods, not near a public road, and surrounded by trees. I understand from DH that the trees are young, as tree poachers came through a while back and cleared all the good trees. Why do people have to be so selfish?
Upon opening the door, I should have been greeted by a full-wall spectacle of the valley betwe
en us and the next mountain. Instead, I was captivated by the carnage of dead and dying wasps. Apparently, the wasps have set up housekeeping somewhere in the ceiling, and once they got inside, couldn't get back out. Needless to say, there was plenty of sweeping and swatting with brooms and shoes. DH broke the fly swatter with one ferocious swat. Now I understand why his family had a "wasp dance." Oh, my. Fortunately, there were no wasps in the sleeping areas, so we didn't have to worry about them at night, and the wasps only moved much when the sun or the furnace warmed the room. Late afternoon was a busy time of "cook, kill wasps, set table, kill wasps, eat, kill wasps..." You get the picture, right?
The view, however, is amazing. I was so blessed to enjoy it for 3 days.
I did spend the better part of 2 days killing wasps and cleaning mouse poop out of the silverware drawer, the utensil drawer, from under the kitchen sink, out of the bathroom cupboards, etc., etc., etc. If I never see mouse poop again, HALLELUJAH! That's what happens when no one is in a cabin for a while, so I know it's just par for the course. The last time a cousin was up, he did set out poison for the mice, but they must have taken their time eating it! There was a bonfire of bedding that was so badly chewed and soiled that DH and his friends built. Later, after the nasty burning was done, they enjoyed a real bonfire (one you didn't worry that the smoke might make you ill!). If it had been EITHER mice or wasps, I think I would have enjoyed our time better, but either way I think we intend to go back again.
I hiked down to the river with the girls and the other two wives. The assistant was captivated by moving water. I ended up carrying both girls up the bluff, mostly by myself, as Screamer was on my back and the Assistant couldn't climb well. One of the other men joked that he had to redeem himself after hearing of my heroic feat. You know, when you gotta climb a bluff, you gotta climb a bluff. You just get it done. Needless to say, my feet were tired afterward.
Oh, yes, and on our way down, I stopped at a quilt shop in Sand Springs, OK. The owner was terribly unfriendly, so we won't go back again. And in Poteau, we randomly found a quilt shop. After seeing it's unkempt interior, I understand why Poteau quilters go to Fort Smith for fabric!
from the room of Zana's Ninis,
katie z.
We arrived at our cabin near Poteau, OK in the early afternoon. The cabin looked tiny after DH's stories of his cousins' exploits as a child. I couldn't see how more than 2 or 3 people could stay there. O
f course, I didn't know I couldn't see the basement, which was as large as the room above, and the cabin can comfortably sleep 12, more if desired.It is deep in the woods, not near a public road, and surrounded by trees. I understand from DH that the trees are young, as tree poachers came through a while back and cleared all the good trees. Why do people have to be so selfish?
Upon opening the door, I should have been greeted by a full-wall spectacle of the valley betwe
en us and the next mountain. Instead, I was captivated by the carnage of dead and dying wasps. Apparently, the wasps have set up housekeeping somewhere in the ceiling, and once they got inside, couldn't get back out. Needless to say, there was plenty of sweeping and swatting with brooms and shoes. DH broke the fly swatter with one ferocious swat. Now I understand why his family had a "wasp dance." Oh, my. Fortunately, there were no wasps in the sleeping areas, so we didn't have to worry about them at night, and the wasps only moved much when the sun or the furnace warmed the room. Late afternoon was a busy time of "cook, kill wasps, set table, kill wasps, eat, kill wasps..." You get the picture, right?
The view, however, is amazing. I was so blessed to enjoy it for 3 days.
I did spend the better part of 2 days killing wasps and cleaning mouse poop out of the silverware drawer, the utensil drawer, from under the kitchen sink, out of the bathroom cupboards, etc., etc., etc. If I never see mouse poop again, HALLELUJAH! That's what happens when no one is in a cabin for a while, so I know it's just par for the course. The last time a cousin was up, he did set out poison for the mice, but they must have taken their time eating it! There was a bonfire of bedding that was so badly chewed and soiled that DH and his friends built. Later, after the nasty burning was done, they enjoyed a real bonfire (one you didn't worry that the smoke might make you ill!). If it had been EITHER mice or wasps, I think I would have enjoyed our time better, but either way I think we intend to go back again.
I hiked down to the river with the girls and the other two wives. The assistant was captivated by moving water. I ended up carrying both girls up the bluff, mostly by myself, as Screamer was on my back and the Assistant couldn't climb well. One of the other men joked that he had to redeem himself after hearing of my heroic feat. You know, when you gotta climb a bluff, you gotta climb a bluff. You just get it done. Needless to say, my feet were tired afterward.Oh, yes, and on our way down, I stopped at a quilt shop in Sand Springs, OK. The owner was terribly unfriendly, so we won't go back again. And in Poteau, we randomly found a quilt shop. After seeing it's unkempt interior, I understand why Poteau quilters go to Fort Smith for fabric!
from the room of Zana's Ninis,
katie z.
Bike Bag
Okay, Lori... Here's my bike bag.
It's two quadrilateral pieces, 8" wide and 6" long (finished). They were supposed to be triangles, but I realized it would be ridiculously difficult to manage the zipper if I had to end it on such a steep angle. The blunt end of the quadrilateral is approximately 2".
One has a zipper inserted about 1 1/2" from the top. I didn't instert the full 8" of zipper because it would have complicated the seams. I still think this is big enough to get tools in and out easily. In between the two pieces is a 2" wide strip of material. You could cut it into 4 pieces, one for each size of the quadrilateral, but I did just one strip. Before I sewed all the pieces together, I stitched 4" pieces of velcro onto the 2" strip where it would allow the 2 long sides of the quadrilateral to be attached to the bike. The velcro is sewn on with the fuzzy side out and the hook side in so it won't inadvertendly catch clothing.
Clear as mud?
from the room of Zana's Ninis,
katie z.
It's two quadrilateral pieces, 8" wide and 6" long (finished). They were supposed to be triangles, but I realized it would be ridiculously difficult to manage the zipper if I had to end it on such a steep angle. The blunt end of the quadrilateral is approximately 2".
One has a zipper inserted about 1 1/2" from the top. I didn't instert the full 8" of zipper because it would have complicated the seams. I still think this is big enough to get tools in and out easily. In between the two pieces is a 2" wide strip of material. You could cut it into 4 pieces, one for each size of the quadrilateral, but I did just one strip. Before I sewed all the pieces together, I stitched 4" pieces of velcro onto the 2" strip where it would allow the 2 long sides of the quadrilateral to be attached to the bike. The velcro is sewn on with the fuzzy side out and the hook side in so it won't inadvertendly catch clothing.
Clear as mud?
from the room of Zana's Ninis,
katie z.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Stash Report Week #12
OUT this week: 1 1/2 yards (reusable bulk food bags)
OUT YTD: 35 3/4
IN this week 2 1/4 yards
IN YTD: 76 1/4
YTD Total: 40 1/2 yards IN
I was camping most of this week, somewhat like Judy (more later), and stopped at two quilt shops in the area. They were lousy, and had lousy service. Too bad, and I won't go back! I bought fabric because I felt like I inconvenienced the owners by coming in. Oh, well!
I had a great week planting a garden and then camping! I'll have to post pictures later, when I have time, of the wasp infestation we found at our cabin. The only good wasp is a dead wasp. Very dead. Not twitching dead, but DEAD. I hope to go back to the cabin another time, and have a glorious time!
from the room of Zana's Ninis,
katie z.
OUT YTD: 35 3/4
IN this week 2 1/4 yards
IN YTD: 76 1/4
YTD Total: 40 1/2 yards IN
I was camping most of this week, somewhat like Judy (more later), and stopped at two quilt shops in the area. They were lousy, and had lousy service. Too bad, and I won't go back! I bought fabric because I felt like I inconvenienced the owners by coming in. Oh, well!
I had a great week planting a garden and then camping! I'll have to post pictures later, when I have time, of the wasp infestation we found at our cabin. The only good wasp is a dead wasp. Very dead. Not twitching dead, but DEAD. I hope to go back to the cabin another time, and have a glorious time!
from the room of Zana's Ninis,
katie z.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Week #11 Stash Report and Goals
I quilted my two rows this week (just barely!), bound my charity top, made Judy's "mystery," and made a bike bag for DH's tools when he rides to work, just in case his bike breaks down.
Finishing the charity top was 6 yards out, and the bike bag was 1/4 yard.
OUT this week: 6 1/4 yards
OUT this year: 34 1/4 yards
IN this week: 0 yards
IN YTD: 74 yards
YTD Total: 39 3/4 yards IN
This week, I hope to quilt my two rows, finish some reusable bulk food bags, and make a plan for Judy's backing. It's Spring Break, and that means 1000 things to do in the garden as well as leaving for the cabin on Thursday.
Have a great week!
from the room of Zana's Ninis,
katie z.
I'm only 3 weeks away from finishing my BiL's Star Struck (pattern by Bonnie!)
Finishing the charity top was 6 yards out, and the bike bag was 1/4 yard.
OUT this week: 6 1/4 yards
OUT this year: 34 1/4 yards
IN this week: 0 yards
IN YTD: 74 yards
YTD Total: 39 3/4 yards IN
This week, I hope to quilt my two rows, finish some reusable bulk food bags, and make a plan for Judy's backing. It's Spring Break, and that means 1000 things to do in the garden as well as leaving for the cabin on Thursday.
Have a great week!
from the room of Zana's Ninis,
katie z.
I'm only 3 weeks away from finishing my BiL's Star Struck (pattern by Bonnie!)
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Finishes!
I persevered and finished my top today. I always like to be done ahead of deadlines, and I made it!I'm enjoying looking at everyone else's tops. They're so different, just like I suppose all the stashes they came from are different.
Thank you, Judy, for providing directions to a fun change of pace.
And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming...
I finished my first quilty goal for the year! I posted here about my goals for 2009. One was to make a charity quilt. To make this happen in a timely fashion, I've been working on this quilt Sunday afternoon's when the girls are asleep. I figure that if it's God's day, I'll do some work for Him instead of for me.Since I machine quilted it, I had trouble with the top shifting. I still haven't learned to pin-baste properly, obviously, but I can't change that now! It's going to a friend of my sister who is having a baby (the friend, not the sister) who could use some cheering up.
It was all scraps/stash. I have some extra blocks that didn't quite fit - the colors didn't work. This is not perfect, but I like it. I think it's funny that you see lots of reds, tans, and oranges, but those colors are a tiny fraction of my stash, with much more blue and green instead.
Isn't the backing fun? I bought it at Hancock's several years ago and couldn't bear to cut into it. It worked out really well for this size of quilt - I only had to add a 6" strip to one side, and then it almost made a fun second quilt!Plugging away on hand quilting and my Japanese blocks. Maybe I'll work on the quilt for my older sister yet, in the hopes that she gets pregnant soon!
Oh, and happy birthday to Screamer!
from the room of Zana's Ninis,
katie z.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Stash Report Week #10
One more week until Spring Break! This week I will try to clock
enough hours to be able to take a decent break next week. I need a break (but I need the paycheck!).
This week, I finally finished the quiltlet! It will be for my Older Sister's birthday in April, but it is now washed and dried. (1 yard out) I still need to learn how to lay out the backing for quilting (this one definitely has some puckers), but the top looks nice. I used my Quilt Designs program to find borders, so that was fun and new. This is all scraps, mostly leftover from a wall-hanging I made for my younger sister last year.
I also finished Screamer's birthday dress. You'll see pictures this week, as her birthday is Tuesday. (1 1/2 yards out) She can walk, so I can put her in a dress without worrying about her crying because she can't crawl. She'll still fuss some, but I'll know she's capable of maneuvering, and she'll be so cute!
We visited a Mennonite town nearby
to buy a two-man saw for DH and I to use to cut the large limbs from the tree-trimming extravaganza that took place here Friday. The girls spent the morning glued to the sewing room window to watch the man in the tree scamper around like a squirrel. It was well worth the money, just for the girls' entertainment.
At Yoder, we also visited a quilt shop, where I bought two fat quarters of star fabric, and the Assistant picked out her own special fabrics. I shudder a bit at the large print she picked, but oh, well.
OUT this week: 2 1/2 yards
OUT YTD: 28 yards
IN this week: 1 yard
IN YTD: 74 yards
YTD Total: 46 yards IN
This week, I plan to quilt my two rows, bind the charity quilt, and finish the top for Judy's mystery. If I have time, I'll try to quilt an extra row so I won't be behind after our trip to the cabin over spring break.
from the room of Zana's Ninis,
katie z.
enough hours to be able to take a decent break next week. I need a break (but I need the paycheck!).This week, I finally finished the quiltlet! It will be for my Older Sister's birthday in April, but it is now washed and dried. (1 yard out) I still need to learn how to lay out the backing for quilting (this one definitely has some puckers), but the top looks nice. I used my Quilt Designs program to find borders, so that was fun and new. This is all scraps, mostly leftover from a wall-hanging I made for my younger sister last year.
I also finished Screamer's birthday dress. You'll see pictures this week, as her birthday is Tuesday. (1 1/2 yards out) She can walk, so I can put her in a dress without worrying about her crying because she can't crawl. She'll still fuss some, but I'll know she's capable of maneuvering, and she'll be so cute!
We visited a Mennonite town nearby
to buy a two-man saw for DH and I to use to cut the large limbs from the tree-trimming extravaganza that took place here Friday. The girls spent the morning glued to the sewing room window to watch the man in the tree scamper around like a squirrel. It was well worth the money, just for the girls' entertainment.
At Yoder, we also visited a quilt shop, where I bought two fat quarters of star fabric, and the Assistant picked out her own special fabrics. I shudder a bit at the large print she picked, but oh, well.
OUT this week: 2 1/2 yards
OUT YTD: 28 yards
IN this week: 1 yard
IN YTD: 74 yards
YTD Total: 46 yards IN
This week, I plan to quilt my two rows, bind the charity quilt, and finish the top for Judy's mystery. If I have time, I'll try to quilt an extra row so I won't be behind after our trip to the cabin over spring break.
from the room of Zana's Ninis,
katie z.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
a Day in the Life
We are finally doing better, here in the room of Zana's Ninis. There was major trauma in the night when Screamer decided she couldn't sleep (but she sure could cry when DH said, "Shhh!"). There was a minor meltdown when the Assistant screamed that she couldn't take a nap in her room. Maybe the meter reader came (the meter is near her window) and scared her? She was definitely terrified.
We visited a new grocery store today, Aldi's. Didn't know I needed a quarter to get a shopping cart, but it was fun. Definitely cheaper than Dillon's/Kroger, so we'll be going back again.
Slowly I am still cutting for Judy's Stash Busting Quilt, but I'm trying to get my hand quilting done for the week first. Since I'll be gone for 4 days later in the month, I need to keep working on the BiL's quilt if I want to finish it by the beginning of April. The binding is waiting on my charity quilt, as well as on my quiltlet, but again, the hand quilting comes first. I also need to move on the Screamer's dress. Maybe when the noses stop being wiped on my dress!
It's warming up this week, and our first baby leaves of spinach are peeking out in the cold frame. Mmm!
from the room of Zana's Ninis,
katie z.
We visited a new grocery store today, Aldi's. Didn't know I needed a quarter to get a shopping cart, but it was fun. Definitely cheaper than Dillon's/Kroger, so we'll be going back again.
Slowly I am still cutting for Judy's Stash Busting Quilt, but I'm trying to get my hand quilting done for the week first. Since I'll be gone for 4 days later in the month, I need to keep working on the BiL's quilt if I want to finish it by the beginning of April. The binding is waiting on my charity quilt, as well as on my quiltlet, but again, the hand quilting comes first. I also need to move on the Screamer's dress. Maybe when the noses stop being wiped on my dress!
It's warming up this week, and our first baby leaves of spinach are peeking out in the cold frame. Mmm!
from the room of Zana's Ninis,
katie z.
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