Red-Letter Day

90 9s and 6s complete.  While the design wall holds the completed ones, they are by no means in their final order.  Since I believe I need 156 for my final layout, I may need to revisit my yellow and orange stash for more 2" squares.  I will also add brown, and have separated my 2" brown strips in preparation for cutting more when it's a brown month.

I needed the extra red week but am now ready to move onto another color.  What do you think it will be?

Check out other red projects as part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

Get it Done September!

What happened to August?  It's already over, and my to-do list around the house might be longer than when the month began!

1.  Step 8 of Back to Square One.  Complete!

2. Quilt and complete the sampler.  Very complete!  Also very relieved to have this monster-sized (for my machine quilting) quilt done.

3.  Use up the scrap of the month.  This month was red, and I managed to complete 3 - 2" blocks as well as plenty more of my 9s and 6s.  Here's all ninety of them:

4.  I can't discuss my Scraps to Treasures quilt, but it is moving along.  Enough said for now.

For September, my goals are:

1. Use up the scrap-of-the-month.

2.  Complete B2S1 Step #9.

3.  Complete my Scraps to Treasures quilt.

4.  Get as close to a top as possible on my DWR quilt for my sister.  I currently am sewing the small blue melons to gold arcs.  With 176 melon/arc pieces needed, I need to get hauling!

from the room of Zana's Ninis,

katie z.

Block Count for August

Lots o' blocks here!

525 in finished projects
13 - 2" squares
90 - 9s and 6s
44 Irish Chain "B" blocks
77 in my mystery quilt
9 (sorta kinda) in my Scraps to Treasures quilt
1 Double wedding ring finished

759 Total

Woah!  I didn't expect quite that many... but that's okay.  I have plenty more to complete before the end of the year.

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

Midweek Update

The spools pillowcase is complete, down to the flange that matches the binding on the quilt!  I do regret not anticipating losing so much of the end spools in the french seam, but I'm not ripping it out now!  Once the pillow is inside, it won't matter.

I've had a busy kitchen week: salsa, cookies, granola, pumpkin bread, whole wheat bread, monkey bread, and dinner rolls.  We should be set for snacks for a while!

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

Red Rover, Red Rover

send a quilter right over!

This week marked the first full week of school.  That means lots of time in the car for the boys and me (although ultimately it will be less than last year), lunches, uniforms, homework, and after school snacks.  It also means I had no Assistant to watch JoJo when I needed to run outside for chores.

Q, JoJo, and I are adjusting well to our quieter days.  Q contentedly plays with trains and puzzles, JoJo messes up the train tracks, and I sew.

Many more 9s and 6s blocks ended up on my wall.  I love that the design is becoming clearer now, although I'm still not sure about the light yellow blocks.  They're done now, though, so they'll stay.

What else did I sew this week?  I quilted and completed my spool top.  Finishing at 40" x 61", it should make a lovely quilt for my grandma, who, due to blocked arteries in her legs and back pain, sleeps in her armchair rather than a bed.  There won't be any trailing edges for her to trip over or get caught in the foot ret, but it should still cover sufficiently.

I love that all the spools are scraps, and that even the binding and sashing came from stash.  Grandma will appreciate the beauty in frugality.  Not every fabric is from one of my projects, as some are from the girls buy-and-chop stash, but there will be stories to tell Grandma every time we visit.

I quilted straight lines through the diagonals of each block, then up and down the sashing to move to the next block.  I used a peach colored thread from Connecting Threads, probably something I purchased in a set and then never had a use for.  It isn't too pronounced against the dark colors and blends nicely with the browns and lighter colors.  Obviously, my quilting straight lines could use a touch of work, but I love the pattern as it shows up in the background.

The backing is really the star of the show.  It's dotted with signatures from many of my family members on my dad's side.  When we had a reunion in May, I brought fabric and pens for everyone to sign.  Since I hadn't planned the top yet, I didn't really think about what size I would be using.  Next time, I'll think about size!  I had to chop the edge of two signatures.  Still, everyone's is still legible, and hopefully, it will bring Grandma long distance hugs from all of us when she looks at it!

I'm using leftover spools for a pillow case.  Hopefully that'll be done next week.

Check out other red projects as part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!

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

Back to Square One Mystery, Step 8

Oh, how I love this project.

The directions are very clear and the illustrations are very nice.

The fabric is luscious.

I'm stretching my wings a bit (square in a square blocks, for example, and mysteries for another), but not so much that I want to balk at completing the project.

Oh, how I don't like that my cutting and sewing could be so much more accurate. The inner border of square in a square blocks is too full, as I think my quarter inch seam allowance was too small.  I do see hope for improvement, as the latest step fits like a dream.  More seams met nicely, and the borders didn't need generous easing.

I still struggle with needle/tension issues.  My machine wants to eat the corners, regardless of squares or triangles.  I'm getting better at catching it, but am not sure what part of using hand dyed fabric makes my machine jealous.

What will Judy deliver next?  I'm sure I'll love whatever she chooses!

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

Roses are Red...

... and so are my scraps!

First, you might remember my picture of two weeks ago, the messy playroom/sewing room.  My favorite little man, who took this fabulous self-portrait

helped me make the playroom look like this:

There's still tidying to be done, but the worst of the massive ironing is over, and we cleared up the train tracks off the floor.  Whew!

Meanwhile, I've knocked out a few more 9s and 6s.  I also finished my 2" squares and my spool top, both of which can be seen in this post.  I already have the spools quilt top basted and a quilting plan made.  Next week, if the school days are as peaceful as today's was, I will have it quilted and ready to send to my grandma.  I may try to use a few more spools to whip up a pillowcase, but haven't decided on that just yet.

Be sure to check out other scrappy red projects at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!

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

Family

The Assistant's name day was August 15, the feast of the Assumption of Mary into heaven.  Look at our spread for her special day!  She even made placemats and name cards for everyone, and we pulled out the china.

I'm not sure who snapped this picture of JoJo, but there are 8 in the series, and he was crying in the beginning.

Today was the first day of school.  I have a 2nd grader and kindergartener (and a 3yo who can't stand to be left out!).

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

WIPs

Grandma's quilt top...

... and a peek of the special backing 

 and my 2" square blocks

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

a Finish!

The {dreaded}sampler quilt is complete.  Complete, complete, complete.  (And, look!  I even made matching pillow cases.)

This quilt began with the blue and red fabric.  I picked it up on my brother's wedding day six years ago.    Over time, I accumulated coordinating fabrics.  They weren't my most favorite palette (I love brighter), but still, the colors were pleasing and I intended to use them.  And they sat, and sat, and sat.

My original plan was a slew of 6" blocks, joined into sets of four and quilted in the quilt-as-you-go style.  Nope, that didn't float my boat.  And it sat.

Last year, when the "Just Takes 2" quilt began, I thought that was the solution.  I would make the assigned blocks in red and blue rather than just one color, and by the end of the year, I could assemble a  quilt and go on.  This never worked out for several reasons: I was frustrated with the tweaking that was done to directions in the early days, as sometimes, I had already made the blocks and... they were wrong.  Then, I hated all the paper piecing. Yes, hated it.  Dreaded it.  Was NOT a fan.  AND, terrible morning sickness and moving came along.  So, it sat.

Until the Short List.  This quilt went on the short list.  I pulled out my book of 500 rotary cut blocks, made a plan that would assimilate 6", 9", and 12" finished blocks (with an added 3"x9" strip), counted up how many of each, and hit the road.

Cutting out multiple blocks at once proved to be the key to getting over my frustrations with this quilt.  I'm a cut-it-all, sew-it-all kinda gal.  I also like repetition, so the sampler nature of this quilt (only three or four blocks have a like block in the quilt) jarred with my preferred MO.

Because I might have a touch of OCD, I separated my colors, with one "mixed color" row in the center.  Now I wish I had made all the blocks a combo of the blue and red, as the colors just sing.  C'est la vie.

I had to buy more fabric for the backing, as not enough red remained.  I think it works (the dark blue on the sides is new).

I quilted each row with a different free-motion pattern.  My tension needs work, but with such a small throat space, I may just need to start saving for a new machine.  (I can dream, can't I?)

The quilt finished about 90" x 100".  I have a bad habit of making quilt tops "just" big enough, which backfires once I quilt and wash it.  Then it's too small.  This one should be plenty big!

 The Assistant even gives her seal of approval.

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

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: Red Edition

I apologize for the blurry pictures.  I thought they were okay until I started editing them...

My spools are slowing having sashing added, in between rounds of quilting my sampler quilt (which is quilted and binding being stitched down now!)  I like the sashing, although apparently my DH thought I should put a darker brown.  At this point, though, it's too late, as I had already cut the sashing!  He has a much better color sense than I, but I think my grandma won't mind.  The cornerstones are from my scraps, and to have the little pile gone is good!

I finished 2 more 36-patch blocks for 12 complete.  For some reason, I thought I only needed 20, but that would only be a 36"x45" quilt, which is far too small for a 7-year-old.  I guess I need lots more... lots more... Next year, that will be my focus.  This year, I did have to dig into my red stash (which is pretty small) and cut 2" strips from each of my reds.  Some reds, I cut up entirely, as there was less than a fat quarter left.  I think this means I need to buy some red.  (Don't tell my daughter... she'll try to help!)

 What's left isn't much... a lonely 2" square, some 2.5" strips (I set aside the longest ones for binding on my 9s and 6s), some 1.5" bits, and a small roll of 1" strips.

This week, I'll finish a third 36-patch and work on my 9s and 6s after the sampler binding is complete.

Happy red work this week!  There are lots of other red projects in the works as part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

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

Wordless

In Progress...

Sampler quilting... Over halfway!

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: Red

Ooh, I forgot to snap a picture of my red scraps.  Maybe, if you look at this mess, you'll understand why...

 By next week, I should have a cleaned-up picture of my space to share.  There's just too much going on right now!

I managed to stitch up my red spools.  Now that I've sorted them into color blocks, I think I'll be dividing them up with tan sashing.  The quilt needs a little more width and length, and there might be just a little too much color smooshed together for me!

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

July Block Count

Woot!  It's been a busy month, after I declared a needed break from the outdoors.

So my numbers are...
Finished projects: 236 blocks
2" squares: 10
6s and 9s: 30
Irish chain: 44
Spools: 222
Sampler: 67
Mystery: 25
Scraps to Treasures: 3

Total: 637 blocks!

WoW!

Get It Done, August!

July's goals went well, unlike June and May...

1. Step 7 of the Mystery Medallion.  Completed!

2. One row of the sampler.  This is actually in one piece, the backing is pieced, and it's folded up awaiting basting!

3.  Use up some teal/turquoise/aqua scraps.  There weren't many!

4.  Make progress on my Scraps to Treasures quilt.  The quilt is basted.  Now I must make quilting decisions.

August goals will be short:

1.  Step 8 of the Mystery Medallion.

2.  Quilt and complete the sampler.  I'm ready to get it off the list!

3.  Use up the scrap-of-the-month.

4.   Begin quilting my S2T quilt.  It's due at the end of September.

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