String Flimsy

I always think it's funny how I rarely have one quilt top finished at a time.  Usually, there's a rush, and I finish two or more all at once, or close to one another.

This flimsy is my third in a week.  It's been my leader and ender for a long time.  Finally, I grew tired of sorting through the strings and trying to keep them tidy, so I decided I had enough to at least lay out and see where I was.  When I laid out the block quarters, I discovered I only needed 3 more to make a 3x4 layout, so I made 3 more and... here we are!

This design is adapted from Bonnie Hunter and her Scraps and Shirttails book.  My blocks are slightly larger, partly because I don't read directions well, and I'll be skipping the border.  It's going to be a donation quilt (to where, I don't know yet.  Any suggestions?).  The planned backing is a rather boring brown because I didn't have anything else that wouldn't look odd with the very scrappy front.  Besides, it's more masculine than most of my quilts, and brown diamonds will follow well.

Halloween costumes and a few orders for my shop come first, then I'll be basting and quilting!

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

Little Bits

Meet my newest finished quilt, Little Bits!

This is for my newest niece (due in February), who is currently known as Li'l Bit.

It was a race to the finish to complete this Wednesday as Thursday and Friday were/are devoted to Halloween preparation (which is a story all in itself.  Ah, "missing" patterns).

Spunky and the Assistant collaborated with me, although I had to restrict their selections to turquoise, pink, and purple.  Spunky would have added everything and that might have been a little too chaotic.  I enjoyed working with the girls, as sometimes I am too busy "doing my own thing" to allow them to take part.  This quilt is certainly a team effort!

Into my solid blue strip I added a lovely butterfly applique.  Doesn't it look nice?  I think the quilting helps soften up the "solidness" of that piece too.

I quilted free motion hearts and loops.  The hearts could use some improvement, but Li'l Bit won't care, and if her mommy does (she won't) she can use it for a floor quilt.

I wish I had yards of the stripe I used for binding but, alas, I purchased only a yard a long time ago, and the Assistant cut off the selvages in one of her cutting sprees.  It has just enough metallic to it to have a lovely sheen, and it worked well to bind this quilt.  The quilt really is bound, despite this picture.  I thought I had another of it finished, but it's too late and dark tonight to take another.

The backing was chosen by the Assistant just for this quilt.  I think she did a good job!

from the room of Zana's Ninis,

katie z.

Baby Quilt!

On my design floor, I have a scrappy quilt for my new niece, Lil Bit, who is due to make an appearance in February.

Spunky and the Assistant have been collaborating, choosing turquoise, pink, and purple fabric from their fabric bin to include in the project.  Their fabric has outgrown the bin, even with my periodic culling of tiny pieces, so I opted to use their fabric as a gift to their new cousin.  Spunky has been especially thrilled to sort and select fabrics for ironing, and following along with my piecing closely.

Ordinarily, I would attempt to make the scraps fit into a nice pattern... stars, square in a square, or some other recognizable pattern, but that's not how Spunky works.  Spunky, if you remember, selected the layout for her own quilt in a manner that defied every organizational nerve in my body, but it's her quilt, right?

I'm hoping to finish the top this week so that I can pin baste two quilts (this top is ready to go too).  Then, when I set up my machine to quilt, I will be more productive.  I'm always reluctant to take the time to change needles and feet, so try to wait for two quilts rather than just one.

Before any quilting can take place, however, I have to finish a special order twirly skirt!

Would you put anything on the blue spacer strips?  They stand out more than I expected, but I thought the quilt needed a... um... quiet space for the eyes to rest!

from the room of Zana's Ninis,

katie z.

Flimsy Finish

Whew!  At one point, I had high (intoxicated) hopes that I would have a finished quilt come Friday, but... pregnancy is really good at taking "free" days and turning them into "lay on the couch" days.  Ergo, a finished flimsy.

Yes, it needs pressing, but two minutes after I finished the quilt, I stepped on a hat pin my Bear Cub Q dropped on the floor while I was sewing earlier.  My toe still burns.  No pressing, then.

This quilt is LOOSELY based (would inspired be a better word?) by City Green in Cherry House's quilt book.  I love it.

My daughter hates it.  It's supposed to be for her teacher, but it might just become a quilt for baby 4 (as yet un-nicknamed), who is a boy.

What do you think of it?  How should I quilt it?

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

Time for a Breather

Craft shows are over for the year after netting me a tidy profit.

Now what? Rest.

Who knew this view could add so much joy to a day?
Bear Cub Q grins from ear to ear when we stop for the train.

 Home sewing.  My baby still doesn't have a quilt.

Winter wheat is greening up the landscape

A few orders for friends and family. 

Enjoying life for a while.

from the room of Zana's Ninis,

katie z.

Craft Show Take 2

Some observations and thoughts...

Two years running, rain has made working the St. Peter Schulte Arts and Crafts Show a challenge.  Loading and unloading in the rain is just a pain.

Spunky, unlike the Assistant, is not quite old enough to help me at craft shows.  The hundreds of people passing by made her so uncomfortable that by 10:00 am, she was hiding under the table.  My sister and nephew, who live nearby, came to her rescue and took her home until the day was over.

As the day passed, I grew concerned that I would make barely enough to consider the show "worth it," but in the last 30 minutes a very generous woman brought a gaggle of gals back with her to shop again, and they provided 1/3 of my sales for the day!  The economy is simply bad; plenty of people came to look, but cute, handmade hats are a luxury, not a necessity, as are so many other items at this kind of show.

I will be narrowing down my offerings for next year.  I have expanded my offerings drastically in the last year by customer request, but too many requests have not been met by a corresponding sale (and if you request things and buy them, you're not the people I mean!).  I plan to make less than 20 types of hats next year, so plenty of last chance hats will be going on clearance.

Thank you to all my repeat customers!  I felt very encouraged to have people say, "I was looking everywhere for you!  I'm so glad you're here!"

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

Ear Warmer Extravaganza!

That's what it feels like this week!

Last weekend at the Kansas Barn Sale, I accepted a number of orders for ear warmers since my selection of ready-made was pretty limited.

First up was a lovely grey with blue trim.  As a single order, it was easy to finish and mail on Tuesday.

This next order has taken a little longer as it was an order for four grey ear warmers, two for adults and two for one-year-olds.  My favorite part came down to selecting individual metal buttons for each ear warmer.

Next is a grey with black trim.  I'm looking forward to this one, as it will look very classy too!

I’ll be listing custom-order ear warmers in my shop, so if you want one, keep an eye (and ear!) out!

from the room of  Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

I {heart} this skirt!

I finished this twirly skirt for a custom order just minutes ago and...

I love this fabric!  I love this skirt!  Spunky won't take it off, so I'll have to chase her down later to make her change.  After all, the skirt isn't for her.

The entire skirt is made of one piece of fabric, which is so nice... I know all the colors will play nicely together.  If I had planned better, I would have ordered another half yard to make sure each tier stayed distinct all the way around, but it's still lovely!

The fabric is a hand dyed gradient by Vicki Welsh (please go buy some for yourself!).  It's a little pricy compared to regular cottons, so I won't often make skirts from this for sale, but let me tell you... The fabric sews up well, the colors are amazing and rich, and it's worth the price to make something special!

Craft Show Craziness

Well, the Assistant and I survived the Kansas Barn Sale in Hesston!

"Survived" might be a bit strong.  We really enjoyed the sale, seeing all the other vendors, and even did a little shopping ourselves.  I think my favorite vendor was Once Upon a Tree, who sold beautiful woodworking, including wooden piggy banks!

 The biggest problem for the Assistant was that it was COLD.  46 F as the high was colder than we anticipated when I signed up for this event.  She really struggled when the wind and rain started, but a few cups of hot chocolate helped us make it through the day.

Here's our booth before I finished winding "cakes" of hand dyed yarn (on the left).  We finished a Wild Turkey hat while at the sale, sold flowers, dishcloths, and hats, and accepted four orders (two are already done!).

 

On the way home, we stopped at Charlotte's Fabric Outlet.  It was the Quilt Shop Hop weekend, but we couldn't stop at all the shops, so this took care of my fabric cravings.  Aren't these fabrics beautiful? I think they might make a few lovely twirly skirts, or a quilt, or... all I know is I love the colors, so I bought some!

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

Spunk

This quilt began long ago and far away, two years ago this week.  I began collecting red and turquoise fabrics for the Screamer (who I think I should call Spunky now, as she has outgrown being the screamer) for her "big girl" bed quilt.  It was quilt shop hop weekend, so I visited numerous shops and found a great selection.

Months passed.  Minimal work was done as other quilts took priority.  We put our house on the market, took it off, and put it on again.  Spunky chose the layout for the blocks in a manner I desperately wanted to rearrange, but it's her quilt.

She requested ROSES in turquoise and orange for the quilting pattern.  Roses?  Of course, she had no idea how much work she created with that request.  I created my own stencil and opted to quilt from the back in order to see the stencil markings.

Then, with the intense morning sickness that accompanies all my pregnancies, I put aside the quilting for something cooler.  We moved.  We unpacked.  That quilt was haunting me.

Bonnie Hunter, for September as National Sewing Month, invited others to join in a challenge of sewing with needle and thread (by hand) for an hour a day.  Seeing this as the perfect time to tackle Spunky's quilt, I dove back into my hand quilting.

Finally, finally, the quilt is done.  In honor of Spunky's new nickname and her spunk in tackling all the challenges life throws at her, the quilt is named Spunk.

The back has signatures from family and friends, and when Spunky's classmates can write their names, I'll bring her quilt to school for her class to sign.

The binding is a lovely gradient from Vicki Welsh.  If you've never bought any of her hand dyed fabric, please do so.  The colors are luscious and the fabric a joy to use in quilts.

(I'm linking up to Crazy Mom's finish it up Friday!)

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

One Hour of Needle and Thread #4

SO CLOSE!

I only have one full rose and some fill in left to do!  The remaining section is the upper right corner, where the safety pins are.  Hopefully, I finish this week.  The Screamer needs a bed quilt for the cold weather, and right now, she's stolen DH's.  He wants his blanket back!

I have the first of my two major craft shows this Saturday, so I don't know if I have time for an hour a day, but I'm so close to finishing that I know I won't abandon it completely.

You can follow my progress here:
Where I started
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3

Check out other needle-and-threaders at Bonnie's blog (I'll update the link when she has her linkup up!)

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

A Day in the Life

Q's life is made complete by this occasional sight.

Andromeda found a tortoise.

She wants to know what to do with it. 

Retreat!