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.

October Goals (or Foolish Hopes!)

11 days to my due date, and since I'll probably be induced on the 13th, that's a pretty hard and fast deadline.  Has such a deadline stopped me from making a ridiculous list of things to do?  Of course not.  At least most of the goals aren't really that hefty.

First, I should recap September.

1.  I completed the September/October goal for Tell it To the Stars, getting my blocks into a flimsy-sans-borders.

2.  I cut orange scraps, sewed them into smaller blocks, Carrie Nation blocks, and a row for the row quilt.  I also laid out all my 9s and 6s, then tucked them away for another day.

3.  I (gasp) completed the DWR quilt that has been on every goal list and UFO and project list for several years.  And, for the most part, it's actually done right and the way I wanted it completed.

4.  I completed Back to Square One, Judy Laquidara's mystery for last year, washed it, and gifted it to my best friend from high school.

Happy, happy, happy.

October's goals aren't too intense, but they are lengthy.

1.  Tame the scrap bags I found hidden away last month.  I want all my scraps in my scrap boxes so I will USE them!

2.  Tell it to the Stars was completed in September.

3.  Scraps:
- the last row for the row quilt for my son
- cut scraps from my browns, blacks, and greys (which I did yesterday!)
- finish my Carrie Nation quilt (I'm on the binding)
- baste the sampler top.  Since this requires piecing batting scraps, it's a bigger project than I think!
- sew my 1.5" brown, grey, and black strips into 16 patches (new!)
- sew my leftover triangles into bits for my Omigosh quilt and for a scrappy triangle quilt (new!)
- sew my 2.5" strips into patches for a zig zag quilt (also new!)
Yes, I'm starting new quilts. I have all my block sets done for this year's quilts, so I may as well start on next year's!

4.  Get an ABC quilt to the top stage for a customer.

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

Finished Quilt: Double Wedding Ring

Oh, the endless quilt.  I finished cutting it on April 10, 2012, shortly before we put our house on the market, packed up my sewing room, and morning sickness kicked in.

After giving myself a kick in the pants (and feeling guilty about the lingering project), I finished piecing this top on September 25, 2013.  This is a quilt for my younger sister, who takes care of photographing my family, etc., so I really wanted to finish it.  The quilting started and... Guess what?   I happily was pregnant again, and between that and the summer's heat, I stopped quilting, 20 blue rings from the end. I also had JoJo spill water on it and leave it on a paper with washable marker.  The stained corner was depressing.  And the backing was a 1/2" too small in places... big enough problem to need fixing, small enough to be obscenely tedious.

Now, with my due date approaching, I really felt compelled to finish off this UFO.  Other than a few long-term projects that I'm still saving fabric for, this is my oldest UFO.  I began quilting, not letting my sister know, in case I failed at a finish (AGAIN!).  This time, however, I seemed to hit a groove.  I was careful not to set my expectations too high.  I just wanted to finish by midOctober.  Sure enough, with low expectation, I was able to whip out the quilting a few weeks ahead of schedule, finishing September 24, 2014 (almost exactly a year since it became a flimsy!).

The binding.  Oh, curved binding.  I tried to get fancy, made a mess, and probably pulled the binding a little tight in places.

Still, the stains washed out, the binding is on, the quilting is complete, and I love it.  I certainly hope my sister does too.

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