December Block Count

42 blocks for a teacher quilt
72 blocks for the backing of my hexi quilt
12 rows of Tshirts for two Tshirt quilts
13 Bits and Bobs
3 rows for a rainbow quilt
Adds up to 142 new blocks for a total of 1400 blocks in 2016!

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

Stash Report: Year End

IN this week: 5 1/2 yards
OUT this week: 0 yards

IN YTD: 56 1/2 yards
OUT YTD: 178 yards

YTD Total: 121 3/4 yards OUT!

This week, I finished a customer quilt and had 1/2 yard of fabric left.  I'm also counting my stash packs from Vicki, as I'd rather count them this year than next (they're my birthday gift to myself).

While I intended to buy less (that quilter's garage sale ruined my numbers!  There were also some prize winnings and a needed backing), I am happy with my stash reduction.  Everything fits in a single cabinet, even my scraps and some projects.  I don't want to outgrow my space.  I rearranged my storage this year, and having all the fabric out together makes me realize my blue-turquoise-green stash is WAY to big.  I love it, but it takes up too much space, so I'm going to use some of my favorites in 2016.

36 spools were emptied in the course of the year.  I have no desire to replicate this feat, as I feel like I had lots of "rush jobs," and I want to slow down next year.

Next year, I think I'll hold to a fabric diet again, and I'm looking forward to a stitchy year.

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

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: the End

(of the year!)

My week found me hustling to finish a last customer quilt.  It's done!


Then I basted my hexagon quilt, which I will hand quilt between now and May.  I've picked the first colors of thread and need to find my quilting needles.

My Bits and Bobs are sorted and ready to be sewn next week.  I found and stitched enough pieces between all the Tshirt quilts that I've 16 blocks ready!

Spunky and I started a new quilt out of a layer cake I won earlier this year.  I've cut it into charms, and we're making four-patches for a quick and easy quilt.  I'm hoping to finish it before the end of break, and since we've another week before school starts, I think we can do it.  She's clearly been sorting pairs for me!

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

Stash Report Week #50

IN this week: 0 yards
OUT this week: 9 3/4 yards

IN YTD: 50 3/4 yards
OUT YTD: 178 yards
YTD Total: 127 1/4 yards OUT!

I finished a scrappy quilt of 1.5" squares this week, and now that I've washed it, it's my favorite quilt!

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

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: Bring on the Crazy

So… You need a JoJo update.  Wednesday night, he smashed his face into the corner of the door frame into the kitchen, yielding a torn frenulum, two holes through his lower lip, a huge cash inside his lip, and some serious bleeding.  When he was tossing in a miserable and restless sleep Wednesday night, I stitched down the binding on my quilt while holding him.

 This fabulous little quilt is done and it's totally mine.  It finished about 60"x68", before washing, and it's the perfect size for me to sleep in the armchair with JoJo.  I quilted it simply in a diagonal through all the white squares in one direction.  I love the texture, the colors, the movement… Yup, I do think I'll be keeping this quilt.

 The backing is the same fish print I used on my grandfather's quilt, and I bound it in a sparkly silver grey fabric that I picked up at a garage sale.

Meanwhile, since it is the week of crazy, I finished the 16 patches for the back of my hand-pieced hexagon quilt.  They're now in rows, and I probably won't get the backing finished until next week.  I'm pretty happy with how it looks, even if I wish a little that I had used less lights.  I used only scraps, so this is where it's going.

I think I'll be hand-quilting from the back, so all the squares will give me a lovely grid to follow.

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

Another TShirt Quilt!

First off, yes, I'm aware I took another lousy set of photos.  I don't have a place to hang large quilts, and the lighting is terrible in the winter, and JoJo likes to touch my camera lens. I apologize.

Anyway, this is one of my oldest UFOs.  My sister has been handing my Tshirts for at least four years, probably more.  It wasn't urgent, so I delayed, and forgot about it, and delayed again.  The UFO challenge this year has been instrumental in finishing one of my three "real" UFOs as well as moving my oldest of the three significantly closer to a finish.

 I love these shirts, as most of them are from either high school and college, and we went to the same schools.  My favorite might be the quote "God's will.  Nothing more.  Nothing less.  Nothing else."

I cut a passel of dusty blues for the backing.  Seeing it in the photo, I think I should have cut them all to 10"xWOF instead of some 10 and some 20.  Oh, well.  It's the back, it's done, and we're all happy.  I used a lovely yellow and orange stripe for the binding since my sister loves yellow.  It's about 90"x105", so it should fit nicely on their bed.  I'm thrilled to have finished it!

I also made two pillows with the last three quilt shirts I couldn't fit into the quilt top, but sent them to my mom without a photo.

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

Stash Report Week #49

Time keeps on slippin, slippin, slippin, into the future...

I finished a Tshirt quilt for my younger sister.  She had patiently passed me Tshirts for at least the last five years, and finally the UFO challenge this year gave me the needed impetus to whip it out.  I always dread starting a Tshirt quilt, but once the cutting is complete it really does move quickly, so I'm a fool to procrastinate.  I also made an altar cloth for church, so I used some of the linen that arrived last week!

IN this week: 0 yards
OUT this week: 8 3/4 yards

IN YTD: 50 3/4 yards
OUT YTD: 168 1/4 yards
YTD Total: 117 1/2 yards OUT

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

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: the Top

The back

 The front

Can I keep it?

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

Stash Report Week #48

IN this week: 4 yards
OUT this week: 9 yards

IN YTD: 50 3/4 yards
OUT YTD: 159 1/2 yards

YTD Total: 104 3/4 OUT!

I finished a quilt this week but had to order linen for a project for church.  It's all good as the year is winding down.

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

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: Finished Scraps

My big project for the week was the finished quilt I chat about below.  The second major project was assembling the top and backing for a Tshirt quilt for my sister.  It's my second oldest UFO, and it's going to get knocked out yet this year.

After and in between those largish tasks, I pieced the rows of 16-patches.  I'm quite happy with how it's looking, even if I now regret using anything for the background other than white or cream.  This is destined to be a teacher quilt, but I cannot tell you how much I want to keep it myself.

The tiny four-paches are rejects from contemplating an Omigosh quilt.  I couldn't face the minuscule triangles, so the four patches found a home here.  I'll sew the rows into pairs, then belly up to the ironing board for lots of seam spinning!

 I powered through the Assistant's quilt, which is found in Kim Brackett's Scrap-Basket Sensations.  She pieced the strips, chose the combinations for the blocks, laid out the blocks, and chose the borders. Everything was from my stash and scraps, except for a few fat quarters she picked up at a quilters' garage sale.  It finished about 72" square.

 I like how it turned out, and I like my giant four-patch for the backing.   I think this quilt will be for JoJo's speech therapist, but that remains to be seen.

Since I finished my major projects for the week, I've been assembling the backing for my hexi quilt.  It's all scraps, and I'll have a finished thing or two to show yet this month.

Be sure to check out other scrappy projects for inspiration!

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

December Update of the UFO List

November 1: 21 projects
New: 1
Finished: 1
Trashed: 1
November 30: 20 projects

I'm down to 20 projects.  Whew!  The biggest project on my list, a quilt for my grandpa, was finished.  Shouldn't it count as more than one?

I added a project for Spunky, who asked oh so sweetly for sewing to do with mama.  I trashed the future spools quilt.  I can keep thinking about it, but I don't currently have the scrap variety in 1.5" to complete the quilt, so there's no point to keeping it on the list.

There are some placemats I "ought" to add to the list, but we don't have names for the babies, so I can't finish them and haven't started them.  So, they're not on the list.

"Something Done"
1. 16-patch
2. Bits and bobs
3. Tell it to the Stars
4. ABC
5. Hexagon
6. Alzbe's Tshirt quilt
7. Twinkler Star
8. The Assistant
9. Spunky's 4 patch
10. stockings (3 of 7 complete)

Not Started Yet
1. Mom's yellow and grey
2. Odd Fellow
3. Applique
4. Scrappy DWR
5. Aegean Sea
6. Orphan blocks
7. Puzzle
8. Pillow
9. Embroidered pillows
10. Purple and grey

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

December Goals

In November, I wanted to...
1.  Use lime green scraps.  I made the last 16-patches, more Bits and Bobs, trim scraps, and cut for a Twinker Star quilt in green and pink.

2.  Finish Grandpa's quilt.  Done!

3.  Piece my hexi backing.  I managed to get all the bits to 4-patches.

4.  The Assistant has a quilt in the works.  The quilt was basted by the end of the month, and I finished it last night.

5.  Ugh. Mending.  True story.  Finishing the mending guarantees the family will produce at least as much, if not more, new mending on the day I finish the old.

In December, I hope to…
1. Keep on the scrap management train.  I already trimmed the bucket down for the month, and I would like to finish the 16-patch quilt by the end of the month.

2. Finish the Assistant's quilt.  (A bit of a cheater goal now, since it's already done!)

3.  Baste the hexi quilt.  This would require that I finish piecing the backing.

4.  Sew a T-shirt quilt for a friend.

5.  Finish my sister's T-shirt quilt.  I currently have the top pieced and am the process of piecing the back.

6.  Spunky has been wanting a project of her own.  I cut a layer cake into charm squares, and we're piecing 4-patches together.  Given all the "big" sewing to do in the above goals, I only desire progress.

7.  A friend asked for some jumpers and skirt for dolls.  If she brings the material in time, I'll get on this.

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

November Block Count

111 new blocks this month!  That brings my total for the year to 1258.  (Wow!  It has been a sewing year, I see.)

36 blocks for a new quilt for the Assistant.
36 more blocks for a total of 135 for my grandpa's quilt
31 more Bits and Bobs quilts, for a total of 269
8 more 16patches, for a total of 164
added to the previously finished projects, and total should be 1258.  I did have to triple check my math again, as I lost 10 blocks from October to November!

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

Finished Quilt: Northwoods Quilt

Deep breath in.  It's done, folks!  This beauty was a stretch for me: huge, vague theme, not my colors, uncertain reception by the intended recipient.

So I was given a theme of "north woods" for a quilt for my grandpa and it needed appliqué.  You do know appliqué is not my strong suit, don't you?  Despite these colors not being "my thing," I found plenty of them in my stash.  I find my stash is quite eclectic, as I am drawn to many different colors, even if I now prefer brights.  I'm glad I was able to find ample fabrics in my stash, as I'm happy to use it and happy to see it plays nicely together.

 So I began with choosing some hunting animals, found images, and began.  I foolishly thought I had plenty of time, but found the appliqué a fun challenge, so it finished fast.  Then, using scraps, I added the squares to fill out the center panel.  Then, faced with the borders, I realized I needed to move fast.

 Next came the various borders, each chosen to fit with the theme: log cabin, flying geese, and bear claw.  I initially intended to add another narrow border between the flying geese and bear claws but realized that was far too complicated in order to make the math work.  Part of me wishes I had turned the log cabin blocks in a different direction so there wasn't quite such a visual separation, but it's done now!

I love the way the geese undulate across the quilt and that the scrappy backgrounds cooperate nicely.

The bear claw blocks threatened to defeat me.  Cutting triangles is my poorest skill.  I do love how they worked out, and might even make more of them some day, but in a much larger size.  Thousands of 1"finished triangles gets fiddly.

Then came the quilting.  My throat space on my DSM is about 6", so fitting the entire 96"x110" quilt was a challenge.  It actually moved nicely.  In the log cabin border, I chose to quilt themed words, such as moose, hunting, trapping, etc.  Other rows have loops, meandering, and other simple quilting.  Someday I need to tackle feathers, but not on a quilt for a man.

The binding is the dark gold used in the appliqué backgrounds.  I finished the hand-stitching in a day when we had colds and stomach bugs leaping from person to person.  Holding a baby all day as she dozes provides plenty of time to stitch away.

Fish for the backing doesn't exactly "go," but it was the right feel and tone, and I had enough of it, so it was the backing.  Washed and dried and crinkled, I love how the quilt finished.

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