Get it Done: April Edition

March's goals:

1. Judy's mystery medallion quilt step three was supremely easy.  It's done, I still love the fabric, and the directions are fabulous.  You should join us!

Somehow my scraps didn't make it to the official list, but it was supposed to be there.  My scraps for the rainbow scraps challenge hosted by Soscrappy are mostly used up.  I ended up with a handful of orange scraps, but I'm not starting another new project just to use a few extra scraps.  Inspiration will strike at some point, and I'm still reducing my scraps.

2. I finished my red rows for the sampler quilt, cut all the blue and red blocks, and sewed five blue and red blocks.  I had hoped to sew ten, but I have other projects to finish!

3.  The Easter clothes are completed.  I'll post about them after I have a picture of all of us at Easter wearing them. This year, I opted for skirts over dresses.

4.  My Madrona Road challenge is done!

April's goals are:
1. Mystery medallion quilt step 4.

2. Use of my scraps of the given color (GREEN!).

3.  Finish all my blue and red blocks and assemble them into a row.

4.  Quilt the Tshirt quilt for my husband's cousin!

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

Block Count

I am pretty certain that I made more blocks in the first three months of 2013 than I made in the entirety of 2012.  That being said, I am joining Shelly's block count again this year, and for once I am ahead of the game!

From finished projects: 83 blocks
Bowties (121- 40 done in 20120): 81
Sampler quilt (46-18 already done): 28
2" scrappy blocks: 3
6s and 9s blocks: 6
Madrona Road (it doesn't really have blocks, so I picked the number of rows): 9

Total: 210 blocks

I doubt I'll be able to finish any more blocks before the end often month as I'm trying to quilt my Madrona Road quilt.

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

Progress...

...in the form of trimmed shirts in rows.  A top is coming soon!

from the room of Zana's Ninis,

katie z.

Mystery Medallion Step #3

Easy peasy, lemon squeezy, as my daughter likes to say.

Although my needle issues are by no means resolved, I have no chewed-up corners from the fabric being sucked into my machine, which is progress.

Oh, how I love these colors.  On our recent trip to Colorado, I may even have inadvertently purchased a most fabulous backing!

Thank you, Judy and Vicki, for this lovely mystery quilt.

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

Sampler Quilt

I am making excellent progress on this quilt!  Now that I've (finally) established a functional routine, the planning, cutting, and piecing of different blocks in a variety of sizes has become less odious.  Perhaps it is a sign of being on the spectrum, but I planned a repeating pattern of sizes to give me some ability to cut blocks ahead of time and know what sizes I need.

This month, I finished both red rows, even to attaching the sashing.  I cut the remaining red and blue blocks for the center row as well, and will sew as many as I am able after the Easter clothes are completed.

I decided to cut out five or more blocks at a time, rather than one or two, as it saved getting out the yards of fabric for only a cut or two, then needing to pull it out the next day for just a little more.  I do believe having everything set up just once, even if it took me a few days to cut it all, saved frustration in sorting through the scraps over and over to see whether or not I had to cut a new strip.

Progress is definitely being made!

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

RSC: Orange

I did go shopping and purchased 3 yards of a Kona orange to add to my stash.  No photo, as my daughter is running around with the fabric (and who wants to see it in all its wrinkled glory?).  But I will have orange in the future!

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

Week in Review

Although I feel as though I didn't get to spend much time sewing, I see as I review the week that plenty was accomplished.

1.  All the Easter clothes are cut.  Unfortunately, this created a large mess of awkward scraps to trim.
2.  I completed six of the ten red blocks I still need for my sampler quilt.  Cutting the last ten blocks at once rather than one at a time had made the process much smoother.
3.  The top to my Madrona Road quilt is trimmed, the backing piece, and the batting cut.  Now to baste and choose a quilting design.
4.  All the shirts for a customer's t-shirt quilt are cut.  Woohoo!  Next up, finding a space to lay them to prepare for sewing them into a top!
5.  Several more spool blocks were completed.

I think my problem is that I want to get everything done right now, and that simply isn't possible. It wasn't possible even before JoJo was born.

In addition I planted seeds for 300+ tomato plants, some peppers and broccoli, and a few onions for fun. Potatoes still need to be cut up and planted, but I need dry ground first!

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

Snarkiness

Dear LQS,

I think today sealed the deal and you will no longer benefit from my business.

I have four small children, indeed I do, and I have them all on purpose.  Smirking and commenting, "Oh, she has her hands full," in THAT tone of voice (you know what I mean) because I have three kids under five with me does not encourage me to return. They don't hurt anything.  How about, "Oh, you have a lovely family," or, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all!

Then there's the matter of your dogs.  Hey, it's your choice to gave your dogs in your business.  However, I always have a child or two in tow, and every time we visit, the growling and barking at my children makes shopping nearly impossible.  My kids know to be still around skittish animals, but even if they hide behind me, the barking continues.

Next time, I'll wait to travel to a less-LQS where my business and children are welcome.

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

Over Orange

This is it.  I have a handful of orange left, but not enough for anything useful.  All I could eke out was five spools, one 2" squares block, and 6 blocks for my "9s and 6s"... I don't know what the real name is, but that's what I call the blocks in the lower right.  I'll combine them with reds and browns when those colors roll around.

I even checked out my stash, but there are no different fabrics than seen here, so it didn't make sense to chop them up.  Maybe I need to go shopping for orange!

Have a great Saturday!

from the room of Zana's Ninis,

katie z.