Finished: 9s and 6s

One last finish will round out the old year for me.  Yesterday, we had a busy day planned with furniture moving, medical appointments, grocery shopping, and more, but some unexpected ice and flurries turned our roads into sheets of glass, so I spent the day at home instead.  Spunky and I enjoyed a marathon of Pride and Prejudice while we took turns holding Miss G and I stitched down the binding to Spunky's teacher quilt.

I call the blocks 9s and 6s as, when I started them two years ago, I didn't see a name for them anywhere.  Bonnie Hunter has since called them Carolina Chains, but I like 9s and 6s better.

These blocks were part of the 2013 and 2014 Rainbow Scrap Challenges and used my brown, orange, yellow, and red 2" scraps.  I had plans for a thin white border and a final row of blocks at one point, but having a baby and wanting to gift this quilt during the Christmas season encouraged me to reconsider.  I quilted it simply through the diagonal rows (except for the one block I found turned after I'd already basted the top!) and bound it in one Vicki Welsh's fabulous gradients.  I have a box just for my Vicki Welsh fabrics, and that box is a happy place.  The quilt finished at approximately 47" x 56".  I think it will be a nice couch size, and I certainly hope Spunky's teacher loves it!

A few of my reds (ones I had already washed, of all things) ran, but a second run through the washer seemed to take care of the worst of it.  The above picture shows before the second washing, so much of the background looks pink.  I remember now why I don't have lots of red fabrics!

from the room of Zana's Ninis,

katie z.

January Goals

December was a good month for goals.  I even found myself at a bit of a loss over break as to what to sew since I was able to finish all my goals and didn't really want to start my 2015 goals before I knew scrappy color for January,

I wanted to...

1. Work on my scraps, so I

... Finished my 9s and 6s quilt

... Finished Collaboration, the Assistant's quilt

... Cut all the pieces for a queen-sized Carrie Nation quilt

... Trimmed down all my loose scraps (twice, in fact)

... And cut/laid out the pieces for this year's donation quilt

2.  I finished a stocking for Miss G, not in time for St. Nick to fill it, but in plenty of time for Santa.

3.  I finished my Tell it to the Stars top.  The backing, batting, and binding strips are all cut and ready to go.

4.  Long ago and far away, I had great plans for hooded towels for all my children.  Over time, however, my mother-in-law has provided several for each of the kids, so it seemed silly to add more to the overflowing towel collection.  However, JoJo likes to take the fun towels, leaving Bear Cub out in the cold, so I made Bear Cub his very own turtle.  I probably won't make more, as the construction was tedious (and we have enough!).

January, as the start of a new year, has lofty goals already in place.

1.  Baste Tell it to the Stars and begin hand quilting.

2.  Make two of the vests needed for our annual Easter clothes.  Eek!  I need clothes for 7 this year.

3.  Use some of my chevron pieces to make a baby boy quilt.

4.  Scraps: Omigoshish, triangles, 16 patches, Carrie Nation, donation quilt, and bricks, all depending on the color.

5.  The long suffering hexagon quilt.  I think I'll try to add one snowflake to the top a month until spring arrives and summer gets crazy.

6.  Make or pull from my store four hats for donation.

Now I think I should go sew!

from the room of Zana's Ninis,

katie z.

December Block Count

I don't think I'll eke out any more blocks today, so I'm wrapping up my 350 block count for 2014.

I added...

17 more 1.5" 16 patches,, for a total of 90

16 "blocks" for the collaboration quilt with my daughter

For a total of 33 new blocks and 794 for the year!  I'm pretty surprised at how much I sewed this fall, but Miss G has turned to be just as easygoing as JoJo was as a baby.  (Don't tell her I told you, but Miss G slept 7 1/2 hours straight last night!  My babies never do that.)

from the room of Zana's Ninis,

katie z.

Scrappy Wrap Up

Not much here...

I finally finished a hooded towel for Bear Cub.  It ended up being a blue turtle since the only new towels I had were blue or pink or white, and I only had a hand towel for the blue.  He was very happy to open it on Christmas morning even though, on seeing the roll, he knew exactly what it was.

The 9s and 6s top is basted, and I began quilting Friday afternoon.  Much of my normal sewing time has been sucked up by the Assistant's recently acquired Monopoly obsession.  I have (reluctantly) thrashed her twice.  She wouldn't end the game when I offered, so I had to thoroughly wipe her off the board.  I felt bad, but I helped her frequently along the way, and she won't learn the game if we don't play "for real."

My finishes for 2014 have been pretty satisfying, even if I did feel a bit of pressure to finish some of them early, due to the arrival of Miss G in October.  Fortunately, she's a placid baby and let's me sew.

There was "Collaboration," arranged and pieced into rows by the Assistant, then finished by me.  And before that was the row quilt for Bear Cub Q, backed with airplanes.  I finished a scrappy baby quilt I cut several years ago.  The Rainbow Scrap Sampler had a few hiccups of my own making, but the blocks were beautifully chosen by Angie.  The first Carrie Nation (of what is apparently becoming a series for me, as there are two more in the works!)  I think the only other scrappy finish (not that this wasn't enough, but I've been sorting through blog archives and enjoying the look back over the year) was a baby quilt for Miss G.  The Assistant and I hand-pieced the front out of scraps.  Spunky laid out some abandoned rainbow blocks for a beautiful backing!

Next year's quilts will include a queen-sized Carrie Nation (already cut!) as well as a donation quilt for my altar society guild (laid out in the above link).  I'm also trying to exhaust a bag of triangle scraps this year, so a quilt out of these bits is in the works.  I think, when I have time, I'll also work more on my Omigosh-ish bits.  They're so patiently waiting!  I'm making 16-patches that finish at 4".  There will need to be plenty of these to make a great quilt!  There will be a few zigzag quilts.  I'm sure there are other things...

I will be trying to use more stash this year, as the boxes are full and there's a stack waiting on the counter to find homes.  Since I don't really want to add more boxes, it's time to use some fabric up!  Of course, backings for all the planned rainbow scrap challenge quilts will make a dent, and I think I'm going to suck it up and not by fabric (except for my birthday) for a bit.

Be sure to check out all the other lovely finishes and plans for the old and new years!

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

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: odds and ends

I finished a stocking this week.  Whew!  I thought perhaps I had taken on a task beyond my ability, but while it is not as elegant as I might wish, it's none so bad.

I also finished the binding on the Assistant's quilt, washed it, and have it ready to gift after Christmas.    I blogged about it earlier in the week.

The cutting for the Carrie Nation quilt is complete, unless I end up missing a square here or there.  I guess it's time to start stitching!  The box is neatly packed, full to the brim, so I'm going to hide it before JoJo takes it upon himself to mix up the thousands of squares.

More 16-patches are in process as leaders and enders (and to keep me from getting bored).  I have a dozen or so done, and have maybe 6 more to do.

three more rows are waiting near the sewing machine

Finally, I've been pegging away at my 9s and 6s.  The top is in two large pieces and three rows left to join (brown).  I really love the way they're coming together.  I wasn't sure the color transition would flow nicely, and before blocks are joined it's always hard for me to tell.

This may be another block I'm not done with, although I'm not sure what color scheme I'd like to try next.  Once again, it's obvious that even my scrappy ends up organized by color.  Maybe the "neutral space" could be a color rather than cream/white.  Maybe I'll make another in blue or green.  Hmmm.  Any suggestions?

Be sure to check out the other scrappy rainbow quilts that are coming together this week!

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

Tell it to the Stars: a Top!

I added extra wide borders since my husband has become a blanket hog in the cold of winter (sometimes I even give him his own blankets).  My batting is already cut and the backing ready too, since I bought extra wide backing to save myself the hassle of piecing it.  I even (gasp) have the binding cut so that I can return the extra fabric to the stash.

I love this quilt!  I'm very excited to ponder quilting plans.  (This mystery was designed by Judy Laquidara.)

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

Finished: Collaboration

I think I'll call this quilt "Collaboration," since it was the brain child and labor of both the Assistant and myself.

 Ugh.  I thought I captured a square picture, but my perch was obviously not quite high enough.  This finished at a lovely snuggly size for the Assistant's afternoon teacher, whose favorite colors are purple and red.  I'm glad to have used up the bulk of my remaining black and white stash.  I think I have two fat quarters left that may get stripped down and added to the scrap boxes.

 I used this lovely ombre for the backing.  I originally purchased this fabric for a skirt, but when it arrived, I realized it wouldn't do at all.  It's perfect as a backing, however, so I am happy!

The Assistant is very happy with the outcome of her teacher's quilt, and so am I!

And I'll leave you with a parting pic of Miss G with helpful Bear Cub and Spunky in the background.   Miss G got shots on Wednesday, so she's a bit grumpy.

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

a Finish: Miss G's Stocking!

Yay!  I finished this fabulous stocking for Miss G this week.  My applique and embroidery both leave something to be desired, but it is so cute!

The pattern is from Prairie Moon Quilts.  She releases a new one every year.  My goal is to make at least one a year and give one to each of my family members eventually.  Mine is next (turquoise and brown)!  By the time I'm done with a few of these, my skills should have improved.

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

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: Cutting, Quilting, Cutting

Miles and miles of cutting happened this week.  At least, that's how it feels.  In order to know I have set aside enough scraps for a queen-sized rainbow Carrie Nation quilt, I've been cutting all my squares in advance.  Then, as Miss G becomes more mobile, (don't worry, it's not happening yet... Although I've caught her rolling over a few times), I won't need to fret about the rotary cutter and her exploring fingers.  Also, I don't want to sew and sew, only to discover I'm short when I'm ready to assembly blocks.  Just in case you're wondering, I need 1248 white squares in both 1.5" and 2.5".  I've cut all the colored squares but am still short several hundred white squares in each size.

In the quilting phase of my life, I made short work of quilting the Assistant's scrappy quilt.  Then I received the teachers' newsletter, in which they respectfully request no personal Christmast gifts.  What???  We've worked long and hard on the quilt, and the Assistant was pretty upset when I told her that her teachers requested no gifts.  I think we'll give them quilts anyhow, with a note that says they can donate them to a charity of their choice if they so choose.  Now I'm struggling to find time to stitch down the binding.  I'll get there, just slower than I wanted!

Then I cut some more.  Really, I worked on these scraps at the same time as the squares.  These triangles are leftovers from Scraps to Treasures challenges of years past.  I'm not sold on the final outer border, especially since I'll have to cut some scraps to make it work, but I'll live with it for a while before I decide.  I'll probably assemble this quilt a little faster than one color a month so the kiddos don't knock off all the triangles too many times!

from the room of Zana's Ninis,

Katie Z.


 

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: Clean Up, Wrap Up, Start Up!

In cleaning up mode, I cut down all the scraps from backing, leftover bits I saved until a top was finished, and large scraps from a bag of saved fabric.  Most of these were easy rectangles or strips, so not hard to cut down.  The challenge with garment scraps is always the curves and angles!

 In the wrap up stage, I finished the Assistant's quilt top and even basted it.  Maybe (maybe) I'll get it quilted next week.  I wanted to skip the borders, but both the Assistant and DH thought it needed something.  I think if they were the ones who had to puzzle out borders from the scraps, they would have wanted to pass too, but it's done now!  The borders made the quilt almost too big for my backing (I have maybe an 1" to spare total between the two size), but I think I'll manage.

In the start up, I have been sorting scraps from my Scraps to Treasures fabrics of the past three years (I didn't participate this year, and now they've shut down the HGTV message boards, so I guess that's it for me!).  My current plan is to create a rainbow scrappy quilt that I can donate to my altar society guild for raising money to feed the needy.  Since the original Scraps to Treasures quilts were supposed to be donated to charity (and they were), I think it will be nice to use up the scraps for one more quilt.

As I start the quilt on my (now empty) design wall, I'll take a picture or two to share.

Be sure to stop by the Rainbow Scrap Challenge each Saturday for more goodies!

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

Tell it to the Stars: November

I'm relieved this assignment is finally over.  I apparently need to work on my cutting.  It's shoddy, and multiplied over all these triangles, it's a mess.  They tidied up okay with the pressing, but in the future, I need to focus on better cutting.  (I think I say that every time I cut a passel of triangles.

I do think the borders are going to look fabulous once they're all done, and I think (I think... I said this on the last big quilt) that I'm going to hand quilt it.  All that white calls for something, and it's winter, and maybe I can get the handstitching done in bits and pieces once all the kids are in bed.  It won't be done in a hurry, that's for certain!

This quilt was designed by Judy Laquidara.

December Goals

November goals wrap-up:

1. Tell it to the Stars step 11.  Success!  My border blocks are done but need to be sewn into rows.  I hope to do that today.

2. Finish the ABC quilt.  Success!

3.  Finish the ribbon weave baby quilt.  Success!

4. Finish Bear Cub Q's row quilt.  Success!

5. Scraps.  Success!  I made triangle blocks, bricks, 16-patches, Omigosh bits, and cut the beginnings of a scrappy Carrie Nation quilt.

6.  Finish Miss G's dress.  Success!

If I had time, I wanted to work on Miss G's placemat (done), a dress for the Assistant for a school rocket (done), and an animal towel for Bear Cub Q (cut, but not sewn).  I'm impressed, looking back, when over the month I've felt like I haven't done much.  That'll teach me!

For December, I'd like to:

1.  Get Tell it to the Stars to a top, and possibly baste it.

2. Scraps: make my 9s and 6s blocks into a top, finish the quilt for the Assistant's other teacher, cut all the pieces for a queen sized Carrie Nation quilt, tame the scraps created this month as well as those sorted out of a bag of saved scraps, and sort all the scraps left from my Scraps to Treasures quilt in preparation for a rainbow donation quilt.  Plenty to do here!

3.  Sew a stocking for Ginny from a Prairie Moon Quilts pattern.  I may forgoe this and try to have it finished for next year.  After all, she won't know if there's no stocking over the fireplace for her (and I can't hang it until I find another stocking holder!).

4.  Finish Bear Cub Q's turtle towel.  I'm dragging my feet on this, but I really should just buckle down and do it.  It won't be half as bad as I dread, as these projects never are.

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

November Block Count

81 new blocks, for a total of 761 for the year, means I was busy in between everything else in our lives!

I added...

32 border blocks for Tell it to the Stars (a la Judy Laquidara)

13 triangle blocks

6 bricks blocks

30 - 1.5" 16 patches

Too bad so many of my blocks are itty bitty (4.5"), so even though I sewed a lot, there's a lot more to go to make a quilt!

from the room of Zana's Ninis,

katie z.

A Week's Happenings

I finished this dress a few weeks ago, but someone is a sourpuss every time I try to get a picture.  My timing must be bad!  I made a pink and a green under slip, then made this sheer overdress.  It's awfully cute even if it's not practical for winter.  Fortunately, the weather has been mild, so we've been able to enjoy Miss G being a cutie a few times.

I finished 20 more blue 16 patches to have a total of 30.  The original ten (in blue and cream) were bits I sewed together to keep JoJo busy.  As long as they live on the design wall for a while, he doesn't seem to mind that I've taken them back.  I wasn't sure I'd get all of these finished, and I felt a little disappointed that I wouldn't have kept up with my goals.

Then, with a gift of time from DH Wednesday morning, I was able to whip them out.

 I also completed six rows of the Assistant's quilt for her teacher.  She doesn't mind sewing rectangles together, but she's not quite ready to follow directions about pinning (ie, she skips pinning and won't listen when I tell her to pin!).

We may yet have a complete top before the end of Thanksgiving break... and we'll definitely have all the teacher quilts complete by Christmas!

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

Finished Quilt: ABC quilt

A customer ordered a twin-sized ABC quilt.  My original was a baby size, so it required a little bit of resizing.  I finished many of the blocks before Miss G was born, but it took me a while to work up the nerve to quilt it.  I knew I needed to do stitch in the ditch (following the outline of the sashing strips) but  I'm not very good at it.  I tend to rush it and get stretching or warping.  This time, I took it slow... So slow... I needed three days just for the sashing, then only a day and a half for the blocks themselves.

 I have to admit, the SID was absolutely worth it.  The letters and sashing pops against the more densely quilted background, and the SID rather than an overall meander keeps the sashing looking very square.  I really love the way the quilting turned out on this quilt.

 The background fabrics was a cream and a pink fairy frost.  The sashing is a darker pink fairy frost, and the cornerstones and binding are a green metallic dot.  I collected the ABC fabrics over several years before and after the Assistant was born, as the first quilt was for her.

 My favorite fabric may very well be this F.  The colors are so rich and bright!  Unfortunately, I only have enough for a few quilts left, and then I will have to find a new F!

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

Scrappy Happy Saturday

I've been sewing away this week, but most of it has been stitch-in-the-ditch for an ABC quilt (more on that in another post).  I do so dislike stitch in the ditch quilting (probably because I'm not very good at it).  The entire quilt is quilted and binding ready to go, so next week should be a little less tedious.

I worked, in between, on my 16-patches.  Here are JoJo's, which I shall try to take from him when the quilt is ready to assemble.

The Assistant has been working on this lovely.  I'm hoping to convince her to sew all the pieces in to pairs by the end of Thanksgiving Break so I can work on the rows for her.

Be sure to check out all the other projects in blue this weekend.

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

Ooh, and I have a crocheted hat giveaway on another post to celebrate my facebook page topping 200 likes!

Finished Quilt: Rainbow Row Quilt

The Rainbow Row Quilt has been finished for almost two weeks, but it was immediately pressed into service when the cold weather blasted through. Bear Cub's current favorite part is the backing.  Even though I want him to like the actual quilt, I'm glad DH and I were able to pick something he won't outgrow too quickly for the backing.

I made the rows each month as part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge and found it was nice to make some blocks I wouldn't have chosen myself, but could get a feel for whether or not I'd like to piece an entire quilt of them without making myself crazy.

It fits nicely on Bear Cub and JoJo's full size bed and Bear Cub was very excited that I made it for him, so I think this quilt was a success!

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

200 Likes Giveaway!

In honor of reaching 200 likes on my facebook page, I have a rather happy (and warm!) giveaway to celebrate. Use the lovely rafflecopter below to enter and warm up some happy little one's heads in this chilly weather. The giveaway includes any of my regular hats (so, pretty much anything but the wild turkey) in a child size... your pick! There will be two winners. You must leave a comment to enter, so don't forget! Enjoy!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: Blue Bits

I spent most of my sewing time finishing two quilts this week.  Unfortunately, I still haven't taken pictures of the big one, my row quilt, as it's already in use by Bear Cub, who loves it.  The second quilt, a little baby snuggle quilt, is done and even blogged!

I did manage to stitch up and trim my blue triangle blocks.  Somehow I attached an entire row backwards, but since I'm aiming for a bit of quirky in the quilt anyway, I'm going to leave it.

You can see a peek of the Assistant's sewing (red and white).
More on that another day!

I've been battling mice in the house (oh, how I dislike mice!), so there's been more cleaning and moving of boxes than sewing.  Hopefully I catch the remaining mice soon and can get back to more entertaining occupations!

Check out the other lovely light blue projects that are part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge every Saturday!

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

Finished Quilt: Ribbon Weave Baby Quilt

As I rock Miss G to sleep (she says she still has a burp, so she wants to stay up a little longer), I've been looking over my blog.  First off, why is it so hard to blog during the week?  There are lots of excuses, mostly attributable to JoJo (oh, that boy!), but I do find I like to "do" during the week and "wrap up" on the weekend.  I'm trying to do better, as I have two finished quilts this week!

This little baby quilt finished at 36" x 45".  When we were packing our old house to market it, three years ago, I worked on tidying my scraps by cutting out two of these ribbon weave quilts.  The first, in blues and greens, needed more contrast, some pressing changes, and was finished two years ago.  Oddly enough, I only gave it away last week.  Since it is an afternoon for observation, I realize back then, I had a single gallon sized ziplock bag for all of my scraps.  I can't even imagine trying to quilt with so few scraps now!  I still don't think I had "lots" of scraps, but I have enough I can make a quilt out of only some colors and actually have enough.  I'm much more organized in my scraps than I used to be.

I like this block, although I think if I were ever to make it again (unlikely, as there are SO many blocks to try), I would use larger strips than 2" to make larger blocks.  Still, this is a nice size.  I like quilts that are small enough to wash quickly, as I use them for covers for the pack 'n' play or the floor to protect from spit up.

I quilted this on the diagonal to keep it simple but pretty.  I'm not sure where this quilt is going either, so I guess I'll save it for the next baby gift!

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

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: Blue, Blue, Blue

There isn't much "light" blue sewing in evidence this week, but it's there, hiding!

 I sewed up all my triangle scraps, including some more greys I found (or created, possibly) since I sewed up some last month.  Now they're in the process of being trimmed.  I think there are only three or four truly light blues, but I'm sewing all the blues - no doubt there will be more by the time another blue month rolls around.

I have a few more 16-patches.  These are actually ones I started earlier in the year to give JoJo something to measure and "trim" (with just the rulers, no rotary cutter), but since they fit in, I'll be sneaking them back at some point.

There are other bits and pieces scattered here and there, but I'm currently working on the binding for the rainbow row quilt for my son, so the bits and pieces will just have to stay scattered for now.

Be sure to check out the rainbow of projects that are part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  Not everyone is sticking to light blue, so it's lots of colorful inspiration!

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

Finished Quilt: Rainbow Scrap Sampler

Woohoo!  My second of four teacher quilts is complete, down to the washing.

Unfortunately, it would appear my top and bottom border were a little shorter than they ought to be.  Hopefully, a little spritzing and stretching will fix the worst of it, and if not, c'est la vie!  (The quilt IS square; I don't have a wall to hang quilts on, so all my quilts looks slightly off kilter due to where I stand to photograph!)

The Assistant organized the layout, and we chose a simple wavy quilting pattern to keep the quilt soft and the quilting quick.  She's also stitching the units for her other teacher's quilt, so we may have them both completed by Christmas!  This teacher's favorite color is blue, so we found a nice blue print for the backing.

The blocks were made as part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, although I stopped at 72 and didn't make most of the blocks that required pieces larger than 2.5."  I really wanted to shop my scraps, so unless I was cutting a larger strip for something else, I didn't want to have to rifle through my stash to obtain one smallish square or triangle.

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

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: Blue

the best laid plans of mice and men...

Why can't the stomach flu simply assault my whole family at once and be done?  Instead, we've had at least three of us fall ill (probably two more in less dramatic ways) spaced out by a week and then three days.  So, just when I think we're past... I managed to catch it, which makes sense since I stayed home with the sickies, cleaned up, and washed dishes and clothes.  Ug.  I do not like being bedridden.

So, complaining aside, I'm feeling much better but definitely not 100%.  Instead of lots of sewing time while Miss G slept, I spent some time sorting scraps that my daughter fetched for me when I didn't leave my bed for most of the day.  I have been cutting up all my blues, not just my lights, so that some of them are ready to go for next year's projects.  I'll still have oodles of background to cut, but at least the main color will be ready to go.  I even sorted out and trimmed the necessary triangles! That way, if Miss G turns out to be a drama queen, I'll still be able to sneak in some sewing.

I finished and pressed my brown 16-patches.  I think I'll probably be tired of these by the end of the year, since both cutting and pressing are pretty tedious with 1.5" squares, but it is definitely time to use up some of the short bits that don't work for other projects.  This should leave me with pieces that are a little easier to adapt to "scrap" projects that take more than what I consider a scrap size.

I'm trying to decide what to substitute for on point 4 patches in these tiny blocks, as the idea of cutting setting triangles for something that small makes me slightly crazy.  Blank blocks or negative nine-patches?

Halloween was lovely for the kids.  I'm buying off all their sticky candy this year, so save their teeth, so they are happily sorting upstairs.  JoJo had an epic meltdown, so I have no picture of the cutie in his tiger costume.  Just pretend.  (Imagine red eyes, snotty nose, and screaming!)

He looks so sad in this picture, but we're just trying to get a shot of the head!

Check out the blue projects that are part of the first November weekend at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

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

October 350 Block Count

Much to my surprise, despite having Miss G on the 13th, I have a fairly large block count for the month.

12 last blocks for the row quilt

8 triangle blocks

5 rows for a zigzag quilt

43 16-patch blocks (they're only 4" finished, so they're little!)

30 blocks for an alphabet quilt (machine appliqué, so easy breezy!)

42 blocks for a baby quilt I cut out ages ago and never sewed.  They were sewn in between other sewing for a change of pace!

140 new blocks this month for a total of 680 blocks for the year!

from the room of Zana's Ninis,

katie z.

November Goals

October goals actually went very well.  Some of the scraps goals, while they took a while to prep, were a breeze to stitch up.

1.  I managed to clean up all the scraps I discovered hiding in plastic bags.  Some were tedious, as there were plenty of curves and funny angles from making dresses, etc., for Easter and the wedding.

2.  Tell it to the Stars was made into a flimsy needing borders last month, so I had a month off!

3.  Scraps, lots and lots of scraps!

- the row quilt is a flimsy and even basted for quilting!

- the Carrie a Nation quilt is complete

- the sampler is complete

- both the binding remnant triangles as well as 2" triangles for my Omigosh-ish quilt were stitched up

- pieces for five rows of a zig zag quilt were sewn up

- my 1.5" scraps were sewn into 43 - 16-patches.  While I have plenty more 1.5" scraps, I was able to use up all my squares and short strips.

4. ABC quilt: I made it to top stage! 

Now to tackle November:

1.  Tell it to the Stars: borders

2. ABC quilt: finished

3. Ribbon weave quilt: finished.  This is a quilt kit I cut before we moved (2 1/2 years ago!) and never worked in.  It's all scraps and will make a lovely little baby quilt.

4.  The row quilt: finished

5. Scraps:

- triangles

- zig zag rows

- 1.5" 16-patches

6. Finish a dress for Miss G

If those get done (yes, there are lots of quilt finishes), I'd also like to make a decorated towel for Bear Cub Q and a placemat for Miss G.

from the room of Zana's Ninis,

katie z.

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: Checkerboad

Don't worry; I didn't neglect Miss G in order to accomplish the pictured sewing.  The zigzags were sewn before she was born, but I never managed a picture.  I think 11 zigzags will make a nice throw quilt, and if I make a few rows of each color, I should be able to make a few quilts.  These will make nice teacher gifts for next year.  Zigzag quilts seem to be a "thing" for me right now.  I'm not as in love with them as I am with Carrie Nation blocks (I'm not done with those yet!), but I just cut out enough in my purple, red, and black-on-white scraps to make a teacher quilt for this year, and I think I'll be making a giant zigzag quilt for my parents' bed.  They finally repainted their room and purchased new bedroom furniture, so they need a new, slightly larger quilt!  I love it when my family asks for quilts; it's awesome that they appreciate my "hobby."

I have sewn plenty of these 16-patches this week.  They are easy to sew a seam or two while she sleeps or stares at the lights.  My hope is to sew 20 each month and end the year with a splendid collection.  I don't know what I'll do with them, but I have plenty of time.  So far, I love the look of them all smashed together.

Now I'm off for snuggles and nursing.  She's already grown over 1/2 a pound since she was born!

Be sure to check out the last of the brown, black, and grey projects this week that are part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!

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

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: No Grey Skies Here

... nor is there much sewing.

There is much admiring of this little cutie, Miss G:

Here are some 16-patches from last week.  I've turned on the sewing machine once, this morning, but I think I'll go back to holding my healthy baby for a while!

Check out the other lovely black, grey, or brown projects that are part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge every Saturday.

from the room of Zana's Ninis,

katie z.

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: Busy, Busy, Tired

In two days, I'll be induced.  (That is, of course, barring early labor, but since that hasn't happened in the previous four pregnancies, it probably won't happen this weekend!)

In preparation, the week has been a whirlwind of activity.  Bills were caught up, some baking done, and lots of cleaning.  Most of the cleaning was courtesy of my mom because she is so good to me! We tidied, sorted, and took care of long-delayed tasks, like filing.  Um, so I haven't filed anything this year.   Oops!

I also spent plenty of hours sewing, as it was warm outside and I'm too pregnant to be gardening!  Two scrappy quilts are basted for a future date with quilting on the machine.  My 2.5 scraps in brown, black, and grey are sliced and diced and resewn to make a zig zag quilt following Crazy Mom Quilts' tutorial.  My 16 patches are cut and waiting for those blissful moments when Miss G will be asleep and I will feel like staying awake for a few minutes.  If they don't get done, they can wait.  I am coming to realize I won't be able to use up ALL of my 2.5" and 1.5" strips in my planned scrappy projects for 2015.  There are just too many of them!  I did, also, happily sew up any brown, black, or grey triangles.  The triangles have been awkwardly lurking in a bag in my sewing desk for far too long, and now that I know what I want to make from them, there probably aren't enough.  That's what borders are for, right?  And I'll probably make oodles more triangles from binding strips in the coming year.

The three squirreled away bags of un trimmed scraps are empty, and their tidy contents are distributed to the proper boxes.  I probably could have eked out a few more 1" strips or triangles from some of the scraps, but I have way too many 1" strips as it is, and don't get to them as quickly as I would like. They're most likely not going to be a priority until 2016.  As it is, I'm happy with what I cut and grateful that there are (hopefully) no more untamed scraps spawning in dark corners.

I do know I have a few bags of coordinated scraps that don't play as nicely with the rest of my stash, but those can wait too (my 2016 scrap projects might be all lined up before 2015 even starts!).  Currently, there are only two bags waiting, and maybe, in the meantime, I can repurpose their contents.

I also worked on the commissioned quilt due in December.  Four of the six rows are done, and I'm not sure I'll get to the last two before Monday.  It's okay, though, and I'm not stressed about it.  I thought I'd sew more Friday, but baking to make up for a cancelled pumpkin patch trip sucked up any sewing time.

Be sure to check out the other brown, black, and grey projects this weekend!

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

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: Brown and Black

New projects since the old are done...

Triangles sewn up for the Omigosh (or something) quilt.  All these triangles are leftovers.  The bag  leftover triangles (from various projects) will be emptied in 2015.

 I'm constructing the last 12 blocks for Bear Cub's row quilt.  I hope to have it as a top by the time the baby arrives!

I also finished my Carrie Nation quilt.  This is a terrible photo!  After I wash and dry it, I'll snap another photo.  JoJo was just so proud of himself for photobombing that I wanted to share.

9 days to my due date!

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

ABC Quilt

Because every pregnant momma needs a new project 10 days before her due date, right?

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