February Block Count

I would have liked to eke out two more blocks to hit 50, but, alas, that was not possible.  The blocks are cut and waiting.  Instead, my totals are

6 more Carrie Nation blocks, to total 12
8 more sampler blocks, to total 16
2 more scrappy blocks from Judy Laquidara, to total 14
2 more 2" 36 patches, to make 3 new for the year
2 more blocks for Tell It To the Stars, to total 4
1 mistake blocks, still usable, but not for the original purpose

48 total

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

Get It Done: March Goals

First, a wrap-up of February...
1.  I completed step 2 of Tell It.
2.  I completed the use of pink scraps, including Carrie Nation blocks, scrappy blocks, and bits and bobs for the Omigosh quilt.  I also sewed up some letters for my daughter in pink and completed a few UFO twirly skirts.
3.  I completed Falling Leaves, a pattern by Judy Laquidara.
4.  The DWR quilt passed the 50% mark.  It's all down hill from here, folks, and that means it should go faster!
5.  I basted last year's Back to Square One.  I won't be quilting it any time soon, but I wanted the backing and top together!
6.  Complete 3 items of wedding clothes.  I finished two girls' dresses and DH's vest, minus buttons.  I have a button thief (JoJo).
7.  Don't buy fabric... I succeeded!

For March, I attempted to be a little more reasonable with my goals...

1. Tell It step 3.
2. Scraps in the color of the month.
3. 16 more DWR rings, to bring the total to 57.
4. Finish two more girls' dresses.
5. Make my future SiL an apron.
6.  Finish the quilt top for the Assistant's teacher.

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

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: Final Pink Edition

I had hoped to complete two more pink blocks this week for the final picture, but, alas, the kids that were sick last week shared with the remaining family (including me), and sewing time was hard to come by this week.

Such as it is, I have two more pink blocks cut, one even sewn but not pressed, so I'm okay with where I finished the month.  My pink scraps are fairly scanty anyhow, so pulling out this much was a successful adventure in using my pinks.

I'm looking forward to next month's color, whatever it should be, but I also realize I probably won't get to sew much then either.  Spring is approaching, and that means planting season is nearly upon us!

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

P.S. Check out the other fabulous pink blocks that are part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

Pink Elephants

We have some under-the-weather kiddos right now, including a wee one year old who only wants to be held, so my sewing has been limited.  (And I know this too shall pass, and they are only little once... it's not a complaint to say my time was limited.  Just reality.  I am happy to spend time cuddling!)

I finished two more 2" blocks to add to last year's to aim for my goal of 35.

 I also finished my six Carrie Nation blocks for the month.  Seeing them with the blues gives me ideas as to how I would remake the pattern in two colors, one for the larger squares and one for the smaller.  Hmmm...

Check out the pink projects that are part of the Rainbow Scrappy Challenge.  It will brighten your day!

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

DWR: Progress!

After weeks (and weeks?) of lack of desire to work on this quilt, I drastically lowered my expectations to only four rings a week.  Since I'm quilting straight lines in the blue at this point, it's not too time consuming, and a half a ring a day is very reasonable.  This week I may very well finish 8 rings!   Approaching the halfway point is such a nice feeling.  Maybe, if I feel up to it, I'll tackle cutting the bias binding too!

from the room of Zana's Ninis,

katie z.

Tell It To The Stars

Month two is successfully completed!  I'm feeling a little uncertain about the value of my gray, but it works okay for now!

You can join this month-by-month pattern at the Patchwork Times.

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

Stash Report Week #6

This was a busy week with a number of good finishes: a mug rug, some letters for my kids' walls, a quilt, and a few twirly skirts.  All in all, with sticking to my no-buy resolve for another week, my totals are moving nicely in the right direction.

IN this week: 0 yards
IN YTD: 17 yards

OUT this week: 12 1/2 yards
OUT YTD: 37 1/2 yards

YTD total: 20 1/2 yards OUT!

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

P.S.  Check out other stash reports at Judy's place!

Easter Egg Skirts and other scraps

I wrapped up my mugrug using pink scraps and grey stash fabrics.

 I also finished all my letters for the kids.  The Assistant picked some fabulous hand dyed fabric from Vicki Welsh.  I would have picked the grey and pink for the front instead of the back, but they're not for me!

 I cut my scraps, and after portioning out what I need for blocks, these stacks of 2.5", 2", and 1.5" are all that remain!

When I made a matching skirt for a friend, she said her daughter looked like an Easter Egg in her skirt!

The Assistant is modeling hers (it's ALMOST too short), and there is another for her sister, with three tiers of purple and two of pink.

Last year and the year before, I made a number of these twirly skirts.  I cut these purple and pink skirts for my girls, grew tired of the endless pinning and zigzagging, and put them away to do "later."  While, I suppose, these do not fit a technical definition of using scraps, they were cut from my stash and abandoned, so they were my Rainbow Scrappy Challenge project for the week.  Now they'll be crossed off my UFO list and I can update them on my short list as well.

I've been sewing Carrie Nation blocks and sampler blocks in between, so next week I will have more to show!

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

A Walk To Remember

Easy Street, a pattern by Bonnie Hunter, was released as a weekly mystery between Thanksgiving and New Year's in 2012.  I dutifully gathered my fabric, hustled through the clues, and assembled the top.  Then I said bah humbug.

There were so many things about this quilt I didn't like.  First, my husband was not a fan, so this quilt would not be going on our bed.  I like monochromatic fabrics, so the black on white fabric grated against my nerves.  After staring at the quilt for hours as I pin basted it, I also realized I would have changed the color on some pieces to flow better.

But I also loved things about the quilt.  It used some of my favorite colors and fabrics, including hoarded star prints.  It was fun to trade fabrics with a friend.  I enjoyed being part of a larger community working on the same project in each of our homes.  Mystery quilts were an unknown land to me, and I enjoyed the challenge of completing each clue on time.  It was pretty, by simply not my style.

So the top, with borders added and binding cut, sat.  And sat.  I purchased a backing.  Cut it, even.  And it sat.  Now, despite my trials with the DWR, it is not common for me to leave quilts unquilted for long.  As in, usually only weeks.  I did have a baby and I had no quilting plan.  I thought about hand quilting, but the fabrics were too busy.  It sat for a year.  Finally, I but the bullet and basted it.  I used a star and loop meander to quilt this queen sized quilt on my DSM.  I bound it.  I finished it in January, and now I'm finally writing a blog post about it.

This lovely gem of a quilt will be going to my brother and future sister-in-law, who will be married in May.  Her favorite color is purple, so it should be a happy gift!

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

Falling Leaves

Adapted from a pattern from Judy Laquidara's book, Weekend Quilts, "Falling Leaves" is finished!

Every year (until all my kids are in school, at least), I am trying to make a quilt for each main teacher my girls have.  I kinda forgot about this plan until the fall.  When the girls asked their teachers for favorite colors, both said green.  Well, there went my chances of making both quilts as part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

I pulled everything from my stash, which made me happy, and went to work.  Judy's directions are always lovely and clear, so I had no issues aside from a few measuring goofs on my part.  I decided to quilt this with a leaf and loop pattern and was fairly happy with the results.  I still have some tension issues, but may be time for my machine to be thoroughly cleaned.

Spunky is looking forward to giving the quilt to her teacher (when we are done with snow days, that is!), and I do hope she enjoys it. We won't wait for the end of the year as her teacher is pregnant and I don't know when maternity leave will begin and end!

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

Sash Report Week #5

My numbers change only because I made an error last week:

IN this week: 0 yards
IN YTD: 17 yards

OUT this week: 4 yards
OUT YTD: 25 yards

YTD Total: 8 yards OUT!

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