Stash Report Week #44

I've had no more stash changes, although since I'm quilting this coming week, I'm anticipating a hearty change next week.  I did wipe out another spool of thread, for 23 for the year, and the Assistant finished all her blocks and is eagerly sewing them into rows.  I get to count her finish when it's done even if I can't count her blocks in my block count!  (And I'm grateful I don't have to count her quilts on my UFO list.)

from the room of Zana' Ninis,
katie z.

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: Chaos or Sparkle?

My Odd Fellows blocks are officially a flimsy.  I even (gasp) basted it Friday morning.  Basting is quite difficult at this stage, since sitting on the floor or bending over are not particularly compatible with 32 weeks of pregnancy.  I feel a little uncertain about the scrappiness of this quilt.  Does it sparkle or is it chaos?  Either way, it is what it is.  I'll be quilting an all-over meander, as texture won't show much on this!

Then my poor Bits and Bobs saw only a moment or two under the needle.  Despite all the tiny nines I stitched as leaders and enders this month, there were only enough sets of five to make three.

The final teacher quilt for the year is well underway.  I have 35 blocks done out of the 100 needed.  I decided, after much indecision, so start a plus quilt.  There was a quiltalong for it, but all the activity is taking place via Instagram or Twitter, not blogger, so I'm sure out of luck.  I don't need one more account to manage.  I'll sew it at my own pace, and that's fine.

Finally, my first appliqué is recognizable.  This is the largest bloom in the design, so we'll see if the smaller sizes are easier to manage.  I found, when I reached finally assembly of the three sections I made, that they didn't fit as nicely as I would have hoped.  Fortunately, it was salvageable, but I've learned to cut the pieces with a larger seam allowance to give myself a little wiggle room.

Our chimney brush is finally released, but now we need to look into a liner, as there is nothing in the flue above our stove insert, which is kind of a big no-no.  (Why don't "people" do things right the first time?)

The Assistant only needs 33 more blocks to be ready to assemble in clusters.  Last time, when it came to this point, she was done sewing.  She was disappointed when I offered to sew for her, so I guess she's ready to take on a new challenge!

Be sure to check out all the orange and gold projects this Saturday!

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

Stash Report Week #43

I bought nothing and finished nothing, so my numbers are the same.

One more spool of thread is gone, so I stand at 22 gone for the year.

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

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: Pinning Time

Sewing, sewing, sewing...

My design wall was taken over by the Assistant this week.  She's finally feeling an itch to sew again, so she laid out what is done.  She has about half the "blocks" she needs, and right now she's focusing on sewing together all her squares into pairs, so new blocks should make an appearance soon!

My appliqué project looks a bit amorphous right now.  I need better pins, so it's time to order new.  It's a little dicey to carry this project along with me (I have it in a stiff folder in my bag, right now).  I am really glad I've started the project, as I'm tired of "someday" patterns getting put off over and over.

The next teacher quilt is completely cut.  The stacks are hidden on top of the fireplace because Miss G is a cute, talkative walking disaster.

Meanwhile, the biggest accomplishment for the week is a major goal accomplished.  ALL 88 blocks for my Odd Fellows scrappy quilt are finished!  They are now all sewn into pairs, and the next massive pinning move will be to make foursies.  I'm trying to keep myself from getting too many long rows to sew, as pins inevitably fall out, and I'm tired of finding them with my feet.  Miss G likes to help, as she's obsessed with my large pins, and anytime she can find one, sticks it in the nearest soft surface.  Once or twice, that's been my back.  :(

Be sure to check out other yellow and orange projects this weekend.

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

Stash Report Week #42

With a finished Christmas gift this week (a quilt for one of the kids' teachers), I have some stash movement.  Part of me feels like 35 yards out should make a bigger dent in my stash cupboard, but the rest of me is reminded that there are plenty of "holes," and I don't necessarily want to exhaust my stash, just use it wisely!  I had managed to fit all of my stash on three shelves, and projects and scraps on the lower two shelves.  I have SO MUCH blue and turquoise that those piles are going to take quite some time to narrow down.   Maybe I should have a blue year one of this years!

IN this week: 0 yards
OUT this week: 8 yards

IN YTD: 64 1/4 yards
OUT YTD: 100 yards
YTD Total: 35 3/4 yards OUT!

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

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: Odd Fellows

I started another project.  (I am out of handwork, peeps.  There's a serious need for handwork during therapy sessions, so, a new project.)  I've actually had this pattern in hand for years (maybe 6 or 8?), set aside fabrics for it, and chickened out.  Well, I'm chickening out no more.  You'll just have to wait and see what's next!  If you're wondering, the hand dyes are shade packs from Vicki Welsh.  Please buy some; you won't be sorry!

 For my real "rainbow scrap challenge project," I'm proud to present enough block quarter units to make 33 blocks.  I also cut the units for the last two blocks, so cutting on this baby is officially complete!  I ironed all the quadrants Friday, but that's about the bulk of my sewing since the kids had a day off, and we had a funeral for Spunky's best friend's dad to attend.  Funerals are hard on the best of days, and JoJo had a panic attack when faced with the hundreds of people that packed the church.  Nobody die for a while, okay?

 Finally, as an "on the side" scrap project, I finished my bricks quilt.  It's about 60" square, bound with the bright green of some of the bricks, and backed with a green pine tree fabric (from my Wisconsin trip) and my ubiquitous garnet Kona fabric.  (As an aside, I'm really tired of the remnants of the garnet Kona, purchased when I made wedding dresses for all the little girls in my family for my brother's wedding.  I'm still trying to use it up, but there's a heap of it in each scrap size, and a decent sized piece still in the stash.  There is such a thing as too much of a good thing, and this fabric is it!)

Friday night, I helped the Assistant assemble the smoker while DH assembled the chicken plucker.  Today (Saturday) is turkey butchering day, which is long but once it's done, I'll have a few less morning chores!

Be sure to check out the cheerful Saturday posts this week!

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

Stash Report

A small finish this weeks means the fabric total nudged along a little.

IN this week: 0 yards
OUT this week: 1/4 yard

IN YTD: 64 1/4 yards
OUT YTD: 92 yards
YTD Total: 27 3/4 yard OUT!

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

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: Say What?

Are you sure it's still Saturday?  Yesterday was so long I was sure more than one day passed!  Miss G has definitely entered the destructive 2s phase (she turns 2 next week), and I will confess I have no patience with her antics.  It's too hard to keep up with JoJo's self-helping messes to add more to the mix.

Then there's the chimney.  I asked DH to clean the two flues in preparation for winter and, in the midst of his work, JoJo nearly fell off the ladder because a big sister failed at watching him, so DH was distracted and twisted the brush the wrong way.  It detached in the chimney.  There are so many bends in our chimney that after 2.5 hours (DH laughed every time he looked at me because I had a "Mary Poppins" face), we are no closer to removing it.  I think a call to a professional may be in order.  Do you have any idea how hard it is to wash ash out of your hair and ears?  I didn't until last might

This week, we also caught and rehomed roosters and began to rearrange hen houses in preparation for winter.

So, sewing...  I basted my bricks quilt, chose a thread color, and have decided a simple meander will be just the ticket... next week.

PK, JoJo, and the Assistant
(pink marks are from marking for embroidery and applique, and will go away)

I finished PK's stocking, leaving only DH's.  I won't be moving on to his just yet, as I asked and heard back that Prairie Moon Quilts will be releasing one or two new stocking patterns this year.  If I wait for the new one, I won't have to repeat any patterns!  Here are the three I've finished this fall, all using therapy waiting times to make progress.

Ooh, I forgot to take a picture, but I did get 165 hourglass blocks cut for next year!  I had to repeat about 20 fabrics, but I forgot that the Assistant took a good share of my 2.5" box for her scrappy quilt, so I really have been using it!

Finally, I worked and worked and worked on my Odd Fellows blocks.  The second subunit is complete, even ironed, and I've begun sewing the two units into pairs.  Then I realized I cut 33 block sets.  I have 53 already finished, so that adds up to 86.  Not 88.  Ugh.  I'll cut the remaining pieces once these 33 blocks are assembled, since I'm still not entirely sure I have exactly the right amount.  Even counting by 10, with so many pieces, the numbers blurred after a while.  I did cut the borders and binding, since sewing pairs had to stop when the littles became a little too "helpful."

What excitement has carried you through life this week?  (Be sure to take a few minutes to browse all the delightful orange and yellow projects this weekend.)

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

October UFO Update

I finished 3 UFOs this month: the appliqué quilt, my mom's quilt, and an added mug rug/mini.  I added three projects: the aforementioned mug run/mini, a teacher quilt, and I cut a scrappy quilt for next year.

Active(ish):
1. Tell it to the Stars
2. Stockings (6 of 8)
3. Bits and Bobs
4. Odd Fellows
5. ABC appliqué
6. Placemat for PK
7. Teacher quilt
8. Mini 9s

Not Started Yet/Delayed:
1. Scrappy DWR (I'm collecting fabrics still)
2. Pillow (I don't currently need another, but the fabric was passed from a beloved deceased)
3. Embroidery (I realized I totally lack the skill on this one)
4. Orphan blocks

September 1: 12 UFOs
Finished: 3
Started: 3
September 30: 12 UFOs

I hope to finish ne and will add at least one, so I'm stalled here for the moment.

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

October Goals

In September, I mentioned sewing like mad.  So here's how I did...

1.  Scraps, as always: trimming, finish the appliqué quilt, sew up some more Bits and Bobs.   Done, done, and done!

2.  Finish my mom's quilt.  Done!

3.  Cut the remaining blocks for my Odd Fellow quilt, and start stitching!  Yeah!

4.  Finish PK's stocking.  Actually, I think I finished JoJo's, and made an excellent start on PK's.

5.  Make a mug rug for my first ever swap.  Done!

6.  Maybe think about a quick quilt for teachers.  Somehow, I only have one ready, with nothing in the pipeline.  Since the baby is due before Christmas, it's clear my brain wasn't working when I DIDN'T plan teacher quilts.  I have the flimsy done, so I've made good progress.

Bonus: I also cut out an entire scrap quilt for next year.  Woohoo!

In October, I hope to...

1.  Wrestle the scrap tubs.  I've already trimmed, I'll make more Bits and Bobs, and my wildest wish is to get the Odd Fellows blocks to a flimsy.

2.  Finish PK's stocking.  That will leave me with DH's, but I'm waiting for a new design to be released before I tackle his.

3.  Finish the teacher's quilt.  If Odd Fellows moves along quicker than expected, I'll start another one.

4.  Cut out my hourglass scrappy project for next year.  I'm finding less selection in my 2.5" bin than I found in my 2" bin.  We'll see if I can eke out enough for 165 blocks, or if I'll have to do the final blocks on a medium/dark or dark/dark pattern rather than light/dark.  That requires a bit of extra figuring on my part, but I can do that!

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

Stash Report Week #40

I'm holding steady at 27 1/2 yards out, since I didn't go to the shop hop this weekend.  Unfortunately, none of the quilt shops are any closer than 30 minutes away, and some are more like two hours.  Eh, you know?

I did use up one more spool, for 20 out for the year.  These little triangles sure gobble thread.

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

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: End of Triangles!

Trimming is done for another month, although it took me all week to find my Easy Angle ruler, so there will be extra triangles to tackle next time.

Roughly 528 pairs of triangles later, I have no more bias edges to stitch for my Odd Fellows scrappy quilt!  Next week I'll be pairing these up with plain squares and hopefully complete the second subunit for the blocks.  I'm looking forward to how quickly the last 33 blocks will come together once I have all the tedious bits of sewing done.

In my avoidance of sewing the above triangles, I managed to cut an entire scrappy quilt for next year. I'll be framing out some of my odds and ends from my mini nines, so I went through my 2" scrap box and cut the framing pieces from any scraps that were long enough.  I'm amazed that I had so many different fabrics that even cutting 165 sets, I had to thin out most of my blue and turquoise scraps at the end.  Next year, I'm hoping the blocks will fly out from under my needle since I won't have any cutting to do.

Finally, I assembled the top and backing for the latest, quick teacher quilt.  Next week is for basting and, if I accomplish what I need to with my triangles, start quilting.  I wish I had more of the wheat background fabric, but I bought it as the quilt shop near me closed, so that was the end of the bolt.

(I did load pictures, finally, for last week!)

Be sure to check out all the fabulous projects this Saturday!

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