Final Count Down Task One

I don't have lots of piles, most of the time, as they get dumped by the chilluns.  However, at Christmas time, there are so many extras...

So here it is now!  Please ignore the fact that the floor needs to be refinished.  It's over 90 years old, and there's only so much money to go around in this house.

from the room of Zana's Ninis,

katie z.

2011 Final Count Down Task Two

Shelly over at Prairie Moon Quilts is hosting a 3-task challenge for the end of 2011.

Because I am left-handed and therefore "backwards," I have my task two finished before task one.

One task I have put off doing that has been revealed in disassembling piles?  Well, I have been deep cleaning the house to make New Year's a beautiful start to the year and in preparation for returning our house to the market.

These doors separate our living room from our dining room.  In the summer, they are always open to help with air flow, but our living room is a refrigerator in the winter unless there is a fire in the fire place, so the doors are closed.

And dirty.

It took me several stops and starts all day, but they are CLEAN!  I avoided washing them while the kiddos were around because somehow, clean windows attract sticky fingers and messy kisses.

Now back to my piles!

from the room of Zana's Ninis,

katie z.

Miscellany

I finally found the squeaky spot in my sewing machine!  It's been months... I've lubricated every spot, including all the ones that voided the warranty on my sewing machine, but still it squeaked.  Sometimes, it squeaked so badly I thought I needed ear protection, until I became accustomed to the noise.  Then, in a fit of despair, I oiled again, listening every few stitches to pin point the source, and, voila!  No more squeak.

I had forgotten sewing could be sew quiet!

Having shared our holiday cheer (in the form of the stomach flu) with DH's family, we are back home and illness free, except for a running nose for Bear Cub Q.  He likes runny noses this winter.

Other Christmas thoughts... whoever invented battery powered toys should suffer with them for ages... the Assistant, despite knowing full well that Santa is based on St. Nicholas from the 5th century and doesn't actually come to anyone's house, still expected Santa to come to our house after he came to my in-laws... we received more presents than we could fit in our van (WHERE am I going to put it all?)...

The Screamer's blue and red quilt it half basted.  She requested roses for the quilting, so I'm going to have to get creative.

Anyone have suggestions for a quick quilty/sewing gift for someone who miscarried twins?  I have some beautiful fabric that says the Lord is my shepherd and other sayings, but don't want to cut it and regret it!

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

Stash Report Week #52

Nothing... 4 days of stomach flu (one person a day, self included) and traveling meant no sewig this week. I did receive fabric for a skirt for my niece, but don't have the totals as I didn't even study the fabric since I was sick and didn't want to get germs on the fabric. Next week I'll have a final total for the year!

Merry Christmas.

from the (traveling) room of Zana's Ninis,
Katie Z.

Winner, winner!

And the winner is... Lori in South Dakota!  

UFO 2011 UPDATE

Judy's UFO Challenge

You can check out my original list of projects, as well as pictures of each in its unfinished state here.

1. Charm pack from Connecting Threads: made into a table runner 

Read more here.

2. Favorite Things: after starting out as a top needing to be hand quilted, I finally finished it the last month of the year!

Read more about it here!

3. Pink Things: finished

Front

Finishing at 5 feet by 7 feet, it will be large enough to grace the Assistant's bed even with three of us laying down.  Read more about this hand-quilted lovely made from the Assistant's stash HERE. (Scroll down a bit.)

4. My baggy of 1" squares that have been sewn together, is sorted, but what am I going to do with it?  I need to use up or get rid of these in 2011.

UFO #4 Complete!

5. This is a long term project: a scrappy/charm double wedding ring quilt.  I cleaned up my scraps!  I went from overflowing bags of scraps that "might" work for this to one tidy bag with a few piles of rectangles.

Read more about it here.

 6. Placemats for the atrium.

The finish was blogged here. 

7. 19 placemats for my family: finished

Whew!  This was a fun collaboration.

 

8.  Snowflake hexagons.  I'm making a charm quilt out of snowflake and star fabrics.  This is a long term project, and I collected over 100 new fabrics to add.  Every time I go to my new quilt guild meeting (6 times a year), I'm bringing the hexies!

Progress was made!

 9. ABC applique quilts. 

This shifted from a project about prepping for future quilts to finishing a quilt!

 10. Slippers: finished.  After missing a whole section of directions, I had success!  I love my slippers, and my mom loves hers for when she visits my house and its cold floors.

You can read about the drama here.

11.  Pillowcase for DH's Memaw.  Finished, but mailed before I even though about taking a picture.  Once I had the fabric, this was definitely my easiest UFO to complete.

12. Runners: 14 finished!

Mostly out of my new pattern, Ring Around the Runner.  See them in all there wrinkled glory!  Then there were the table runners above, made from the charm pack and the scrappy 1" squared.  Finally there was this red, white, and blue runner.

Finished all my "to-be-finished" projects, as well as making progress on my long-term goals, was very satisfying.  Next year, I don't have quite the same type of list, but I definitely have some challenges for myself brewing.  More to come in the New Year!

from the room of Zana's Ninis,

katie z.

Stash Report Week #51

Woohoo!  Two finishes this week.  Pictures are HERE!

By finishing my "Making Ends Meet" quilt (pattern by Judy Laquidara), I busted 15 1/4 yards.  It would have been all from stash, but I had to buy more fabric for the backing.  It is what it is, and I am happy with it.  I do think it's a wee bit large for me to machine quilt in my present tiny room and small machine.  But hey, who's complaining?  Not me!  I am grateful to have any space at all.

I also made a slip cover, 1 1/2 yards of fleece later, and sent it with my mom to mail without any pictures.  It's a good thing my sister makes a living taking pictures, so eventually I'll see it again!

IN this week: 0 yards
IN YTD: 212 3/4 yards

OUT this week: 16 3/4 yards
OUT YTD: 145 yards

YTD Total: 60 3/4 yards in

End of the year goal (to double my usage from 69 1/2 to 139): Met and exceeded!

Now to ponder goals for next year.  Some things I will have to consider are...
1. How to keep quilting when we clear out the house to put it back on the market.
2. What new skill to I want to learn?
3. TBD

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

Oh, yes, and I have a giveaway that closes Sunday night.  It's for a lovely Christmas tree ornament/picture frame!  Please stop by and leave a comment!

I have two finishes this week, but pictures of only one!

I made a slip cover for my sister, finished it just in time for my mom to pick it up to ship, and POOF!  No picture.

Not the most attractive picture, but we are in the shortest, darkest days of the year!

Can you spot my mistake?

I also finished this lovely, from a free pattern for National Quilting Day by Judy Laquidara of Patchwork Times.  I machine quilted it (the largest quilt yet) and decided that, if it weren't for the time crunch, I really shouldn't do quilts this large by machine.  I have 5.5" of throat space and a tiny sewing space.  Maneuvering this quilt made for sore shoulders, wrists, and hands.

I should name it, but haven't gotten that far.  It is quite lovely, and I'm so glad I made it!

(I forgot to mention... would you like to win a picture frame ornament?  Check it out!)

Check out other finished at Crazy Mom Quilts!

Organic Bloom Giveaway

 This week I have a great little giveaway for you!  Voboril Photography is donating this sweet Organic Bloom ornament in flamenco red to one lucky commenter!  She is an Organic Bloom vendor and wanted to share their unique style with you!

 

Please leave one comment below this blog post telling me you why you would like to win the ornament.  This is your mandatory entry for the giveaway.  If you don't have an email account associated with your comment, make sure you leave one so I can contact you if you win.  

You can stop there if you'd like or... 

If you're an overachiever, here's how you can get a few more entries:

1. Leave a comment below if you are a public follower of Voboril Photography's Blog.

2. Leave a comment below if you are a public follower of my blog.

3. Like both Voboril Photography and Zana's Ninis on facebook and leave a comment below saying you did so.

You have three chances to win! Good Luck!

If you want to know more about Organic Bloom frames and how to get some for your own home, let Alzbeta at Voboril Photography know!  We have a few in our house and love them!

The Organic Bloom giveaway starts today and ends on December 18th.  The winner will be announced on this blog on December 19th. The winner will have 24 hours to claim their winnings or another winner will be selected.

 

This giveaway is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.

Participants are providing information to Zana's Ninis and not to Facebook.

Favorite Things

My final UFO for the year is done!  (Really, I finished it December 2, but have been too lazy to make the bed to take pictures... it's COLD upstairs!)

 There's nowhere in the house big enough to lay it out flat, which is a good problem.  I have finally made a quilt large enough to fit our bed and both of us under it!

 I hand-quilted with x's through the rectangles, and circles on the borders.

Pattern by Judy Laquidara of Patchwork Times.

from the room of Zana's Ninis,

katie z.

Stash Report Week #50

My only finishes this week were some very basic napkins out of a friend's fabric, so nothing out.

I have quilted over half of my "Making Ends Meet" quilt (pattern by Judy Laquidara), which I hope to complete the coming week so I can reach my fabric usage goal for the year. I'm machine quilting for the sake of time and lack of space to put up the quilting frame (somehow, a tree took over that corner of the living room!).

Where is a picture of my Favorite Things quilt? Ah, well, that would require making the bed, and our room is too cold for me to stand around making beds. Maybe I should work on that, eh?

Next up, a slip cover for my niece's chair, once I have to correct measurements. Present wrapping. A LITTLE Christmas baking (nothing like last year). Christmas cards, but no letter this year... I am tired, and attempting to keep Christmas in proper perspective... A time of anticipation, joy, and peace, not stress.

from the room of Zana's Jaimie,
Katie Z.

Finish it up Friday

These squares have been lingering in my "to do" pile for far too long (since earlier this summer... aack!).

They belong to a friend, who inherited them from a grandmother-in-law who quit sewing.  We cut out pieces for napkins, but my friend recently moved, so her sewing machine was buried in boxes.  I offered to zig-zag around the edges for her.  I finished over half earlier this fall, delivered them, then forgot about the rest.

It's a perfect time of year to finish these, which spurred me on.  Done!

Check out other finished projects at Crazy Mom Quilts.

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

400th Post

Such things are said to be epic, but I have nothing epic to say, no giveaway planned (giveaway burnout over here), but here's my evening (the good part, anyway.  I'll spare you the accidents, face plant that loosened baby teeth 3 years too early, and the broken stocking holders).

Stash Report Week #49

Was that only one week?  I could have sworn it was three or four, at least.  Before Job took of residence in our house, I actually finished some things, so let's start there, shall we?

I donated 2 yards of fabric to the Assistant's classroom for decorating gingerbread men.  I finished the place mats (see pictures!) for a last 7 yards out.  I also finished my Favorite Things (pattern by Judy Laquidara), which was another 19 yards out.  It also counts as my last UFO for 2011, so they are ALL DONE!  I also finished the center of my monochromatic top, no yards out, but progress!

IN this week: 0 yards
IN YTD: 204 1/4 yards (GULP!)

OUT this week: 28 yards
OUT YTD: 128 1/4 yards

YTD total: 76 yards in

And for my goal by the end of the year, to double my usage from when it was 69 1/2 yards, I only need to busy 9 3/4 yards in the next month (ONLY? Whom am I kidding?)!

Not bad.  Now, for Job... you know, Job in the Bible, who had terrible things happen to him... Bear Cub Q's perforated eardrum is a HOLE, 20% of his ear drum, so it may require surgery.  Off to the ENT next week!  The Assistant has a UTI.  I had a migraine Wednesday night into Thursday... when I rolled over in bed, I though I was going to be sick.  Yuck.  THEN, to crown the week off, Bear Cub Q is allergic to amoxicillin, covered in hives, and itching like a molting bear.  Fortunately, like Job, I know God will return good health to us all soon (and praise God that DH and Screamer are NOT sick!!!!).

I also sold 4 hats at the beginning of the week.

Next week, I hope to be ready to quilt my version of Judy's Making Ends Meet.  At least I want to baste it... maybe bigger goals are asking for trouble.

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

November Monochromatic

This month was black and white and one other color.

This top, made from all music fabrics, is not done (sadness), but I want it to be lovely for my sister, and that requires taking my time.  There were lots of other things going on in November, and so I am later than usual.  At least I finished the main part of the top... more to come next year, no doubt!

Check out the other monochromatic challenges from 2011 at the Patchwork Times.

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

November UFO

My number #7, which I worked on twice, is done!

Here are all 19 of the placemats for my immediate family.

Merry Christmas, Mom and Co.!

 My sister did an AMAZING job on embroidering everyone's names, but since I don't know they all want to be identified, you'll just have to trust me.

These are reversible, and my Screamer is helping me display them.  She was very proud of herself for helping.

Sunday dinners at my parents are about to get colorful!

It's time to finish Favorite Things as my last UFO of the year!!!

Check out the other UFO completions at Patchwork Times.

Bear Cub Q...

... needs a break.

We are now at 10 months and counting for dealing with the trauma of lead poisoning (mild, but I think it plays a part in the following...).

He's been sick more than the Assistant and Screamer combined in their ENTIRE lives.  That's almost 9 years, compared to his 19 months.

Tuesday night before Thanksgiving, while we were having a house guest, Q spent a few hours asleep, then the next few crying.  Wednesday morning, I was fairly certain he had an ear infection, and after noticing his ear weeping, guessed we had a ruptured eardrum.  After our wonderful doctor squeezed him in, we were no farther along, as drainage blocked his ear canal.  We just knew it was ruptured.

Today, after a follow-up, I am facing the prospect of surgery.  Now, before you pity me, this is NOTHING compared to what my siblings have dealt with/are dealing with in their lives, so I am counting my blessings.  Still, poor Q... Who wants to have surgery on their ear?  We'll be visiting an ENT next week and know more then.

Is there any wonder I'm sewing less this year than last?

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

Stash Report Week #48

The year is waning, and one of my favorite times of the year is beginning.  Advent begins today, and with it comes the Advent wreath, the Jesse tree ornaments that are still being completed (this is our 5th Advent, and we still haven't made all our ornaments), the s.l.o.w. decorating of the house, the Advent music, my favorite snowflake decorations.

This week, I quilted 11 placemats and am THIS close (literally, less than 3 feet of border left!) to finishing Favorite Things.  Next week, it will be a binding madhouse around here!  Unfortunately for my numbers, this means nothing out this week, but next week I "should" be able to count 26 yards OUT!!!!

Bear Cub Q burst an eardrum Wednesday, and coping with the consequences of this, along with enjoying time with out-of-town family and some lovely canning have made sewing time a scarce commodity around here.  My poor baby... he's been more sick in his short life than both my girls combined.  While I like to blame it on the lead troubles, maybe he just has his hands in more things than they do!

Next week, I'll be taking part in a "virtual craft fair."  Hopefully I can earn a little extra money without having to sit in a booth all day!

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

Stash Report Week #47

Another craft fair over and done! Only one more to go, and it's online, so I don't have to find a babysitter for my kids or setup a booth!

I finished a project bag for myself and already have it chock full of yarn, hooks, and needles. It will be great for hand piECing projects TOo. Please excuSe The random cAPiTAlizAtION? SomeonE IS HelpiNG me tYpE. 2 1/4 yards OUT.

I also bought 2 yards of fabric, a purchase for the first time since August, and it was a necessary one. I pieced a back in for my Making Ends Meet quit (pattern by Judy Laquidara), and when laying it out against the top, I was still several inches short, and I have used all the fabrics and close matches already. Maybe I could have "made something work" from my stash, but I often compromise on quilts for me and the later reject it. I used some of my hard earned cash from the craft fair to buy, on sale, two yards of a fabric from the top,so this section will make a nice top of the quilt to fold down on the bed.

I am approaching the end of the long side of my border, with only a partial short side left. After crunching the umbers, I won't finish by the end. Of November, but I will definitely finish before Christmas!

I need to hustle to quilt the remaining place mats. My sister is down to embroidering the last two, but I put off quilting in order to prepare for the craft fair as well as to limit the number of projects I worked on at once. It's time to catch up!

Check out the other stash reports at Judy's (patchwork times.com).

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

Stash Report Week #46

 I have been hustling to finish an order for seven turkey hats.  As of Friday, 4:15, they were done!  Of course, Saturday morning I received an order for another one.

I also finished this set of letters to hang up, and they used a yard of fabric:

IN this week: 0 yards
IN YTD: around 202 yards

OUT this week: 1 yard
OUT YTD: 97 1/2, I think

More importantly, for me at this point, I've used 28 1/2 yards of the 69 1/2 yards I want to use before year end.

I am busily quilting on my giant quilt, with the hopes that it can go on our bed by December. We still haven't turned on our heat, depending on the fireplace and space heater instead, but given the ever-colder nights, that won't last us much longer.

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

Stash Report Week #45

Wild, no?

What a week!  I finally am back to crocheting too, and have had a request for a turkey hat or two...

Personally, I'm more fond of this one.

Terrible lighting, but this is in the dark corner of the living room, so not bad...
Quilting away. I love my sewing kit, even when the kiddos have rearranged for me!

My monochromatic challenge.
Who do you think this is for?
What will I do next?

You can check out other stash reports at the Patchwork Times.

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

Memorial Quilt

I finished this memorial quilt last week.  It will be delivered over Thanksgiving, but as I have several special orders for hats waiting in queue, I'm glad I finished it early.

This was challenging for me, as the clothes spanned a range of time from baby dress to high school memorabilia, and the colors varied widely.  Also, as you can see from the number 15 in the upper right corner, there were some issues with wear on the fabric.  That blue stretched out despite being stabilized, so my quilting options were limited!  Mostly there's SiD around each block, with an X through the sweatshirt and a few stabilizing lines through the large pieces of fabric.

The purple was chosen as Cari's favorite colors were lavendar and sage.  I chose the border fabric from Sweetwater's Hometown (I think) line because the words speaking of home and family really seemed to fit this quilt.

Enjoy!

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

Halloween Lovelies

Daddy, the cowboy

Mommy, the Queen Mother

the Assistant, Mulan

Screamer, Snow White (according to her)

Off with the tiger's head!

Bear Cub Q, the monk and the tiger (the monk costume didn't last long, but it was a hand-me-down from his beloved only-boy-cousin.  At least we got a few pictures!)

He's even praying!

With his favorite weapon, a garden stake

The kiddos were great!  They walked 2+ miles, said "Trick-or-treat" and "thank you" (usually, anyway), and hauled in well over a gallon of candy.  We've been judiciously eliminating some of that candy, as my kids are prone to cavities (don't ask how I know... it was a LONG summer).

The neighborhood to the south of us (the "nice" neighborhood) swarms with children after dark, so we started out before sunset.  By the time we were headed back home (after stopping at two friends' houses about a mile distant from our house), we had to run down the crazy street (too creepy, but the road is closed to traffic, so at least we wouldn't be stuck behind 100 kids and their parents, all dressed as bloody vampires. YUCK!) to get home.

from the room of Zana's Ninis,

katie z.

Scraps to Treasures Quilt

I entered the Scraps to Treasures competition on the HGTV boards, sent in my fabrics, and just stared at the fabrics that arrived.  There were beautiful, but I struggle to even imagine making a random scrappy quilt.  So... I started sorting.  Yup, I'm a sorter.  Sorted.  Sorted again.  Light to dark, merging colors, rearranging colors.  Finally, I settled on dividing the colors into 8 different ranges and started pulling piles from my stash to add.  Fortunately some colors were already well represented, but I added plenty of orange, yellow, and purple.

Oops... Shoulda' rotated.
Anyway, these are my chosen fabrics, minus background.

My sketch.
I have a Mac and a non-compatible EQ5, so I draw out by hand.
Usually, this saves me from being too ambitious.
This time?  All triangles?  Awfully ambitious.

The center star laid out on the back of a cheapo table cloth.

Then I rolled it up and left it.  What was I thinking?  When I finally started piecing, I realized I had waited much longer than I should have to start.  Attempting to keep that many triangles in order (hundreds... probably thousands...)  drove me a little batty (wait, I was already there...).

Sewed a few triangles.  Then a few more.  Then I would sew something else, just to not sew triangles.  As I would finish a quadrant, I would wonder just what I was thinking.  Would it all lay flat after a firm pressing?  You see, I didn't iron all the resulting squares after each sewing marathon.   I have three small children.  They don't approve of Mama keeping her sewing in order, and ironing and the following trimming would have encouraged them to "help" by rearranging.  I didn't have time for that!

Did I mention the entire quilt is triangles?
This was only the dog ears from the blue and purple quadrant!

Top complete.
You can see the tan star in the corner... There are LOTS of stars in this quilt!
If I had been thinking when I laid them out, I would have made the center star radiate out more...
But I didn't think of that until I was half done.

Then it hits me.  How am I going to quilt this baby?

LOTS of layers.  Lots of missing points.

Hand quilting... cross-hatching in the "white" spaces.
Scroll-y tendrils in the large main star.
Little tilde marks in each eighth of the small stars. 

May I present "Star Light"... Thanks, Alzbe, for the suggested name and final photos.

Ahem.  About this backing.  I am frugal to a fault (in certain things, anyway).  I showed DH this backing, and he said, "Did you make it that ugly on purpose?"  Don't you know you don't say things like that to a quilter?

Awesome additions you should know about:
This quilt will be donated to charity/a needy individual.  Do you know someone who needs this quilt?  Leave a comment, and if your story tugs my heartstrings, I'll contact you for info!

You can check out all the other quilts HERE.  Aren't they amazing?

My quilt won first place for best use of color!

If you are a visitor from the HGTV boards, thank you for stopping by, and I hope you stay a while!

from the room of Zana's Ninis,

katie z.