Stash Report Week #52 & 2017 Goals Review

I had hoped for one last finish, but it was not to be.  I do get to revel in some yummy new fabrics from my DH and my SiL.  I love that all the gifts I received this year were well thought out.

IN this week: 4 yards
OUT this week: 0 yards

IN YTD: 185 yards
OUT YTD: 164 1/2 yards
YTD Total: 20 1/2 yards IN

I did quite well on my year goals, finishing Bits and Bobs, Garden Party from scraps, mini 9s from scraps, hourglass from scraps, Barn Dance from hand dyes, the last family stocking, pillowcases for nieces and nephews, teacher quilts, donation quilts, and using all my orphan blocks.  I did NOT even remotely use twice what I purchased, but that’s fine with me.  My UFO goal was to finish Tell it to the Stars, section by section each month, and I even managed to finish it early!

In my “life goals,” I lost 27 pounds out of 30, managed to accomplish many of my prayer goals regularly, and could work a little harder on a few things.  All in all, a good year.

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

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: Orphan Block Recap

I’m away from home and my computer, and didn’t have a chance to prepare this in advance, so I’ll be posting links today to all the orphan block quilts I competed in conjunction with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  My entire collection of orphan blocks was exhausted in this endeavor, which feels pretty good!

I started the effort in November of 2016, when I had finished all my RSC projects.  First off the presses was a blue medallion quilt, followed shortly by a more liberated pink, green, and purple quilt. The blue quilt has so many orphan seeds I’m not sure I could trace them all!  The pink, etc., came from the girl’s stash and test patches, as well as oddly shaped useable, but not usual scraps from me, as well as TriRecs and triangle sets.

January saw a yellow, black, white and grey alphabet quilt as well as a purple pincushion.  The purple strip was left from making my newest sister-in-law a placemat.  The alphabet quilt found its seeds in a large Z from learning to free piece letters as well as a collection of awkward yellow, black, and white scraps.

February left a little turquoise and red baby quilt from blocks leftover from Spunky’s big girl bed quilt.

April was for a little fall-colored baby quilt that found its way to my sister during a hard season.  Leftovers came from my grandfather’s forest quilt, my 9s and 6s quilt, the off cut triangles from a quilt for DH’s Memaw, and finally triangle blocks from one of last year’s RSC Quilts, in which I used up a large bag of untrimmed and sorted triangles.  This quilt was a bit of a stone soup!

May found another small baby quilt, in green and orange.  Some of the nine patches were left from a Judy Laquidara pattern, and I think I added orange because I wanted to!

In July, I made a lovely star quilt.  Some triangles were left from a blue, gold, and white baby quilt, while a number of the TriRecs pairs were from miscutting an entire set of pieces for last year’s Bonnie Hunter Mystery.  I wasn’t ready to pitch them, but I wasn’t sure how to tackle them.

In October, I finished a sherbet-flavored quilt, with a leftover Dresden plate from a quilt challenge, as well as some coordinating stash and scraps.  There was also a body pillow constructed from leftovers from the backing to my hand pieced next quilt.

Finally, November found the orphan block box empty.  Some (unpictured) blue scraps crept into an apron, and the very last triangles snuggled into a doll quilt for a niece.

It’s been a great year for baby quilts, apparently, and next year will be something new!

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

December Goals

Apparently, I failed to write my usual post about my goals at the beginning of December.  (Or if I did,  I can’t find it!). My goals looked something like this...

1.  Scraps: trim, finish Garden Party.

2.  Finish my Rose appliqué quilt.

3.  Cut T-shirts for a customer quilt.

4.  Cut some new quilts for 2018.

5.  Attempt to finish Magnolia Mystery.  Due to my quilting choice, it’s not done but getting there!

 Not bad, not bad.  I’ll write January’s goals up once I know how Rainbow Scrap Challenge is going to go, and then I’ll be off to the races!

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

2017 UFO Challenge Wrap Up

December 1: 7 projects
Started: 4
Finished: 2
December 31: 9 projects

I finished my Rose appliqué (finally!) as well as Garden Party.  I am in the midst of quilting the Meadow Mist Mystery, but it won’t be done by year’s end as there are too many other things on the go.  I cut fabric for four new projects!  So here, at the end of the year’s days, my project list stands...

1. Pillow
2. Scrappy DWR
3. ABC appliqué
4. Magnolia Mystery
5. 9 patches and starts
6.  Dragon
7.  Red and white Ohio star
8.  Christmas Jared takes a Wife
9.  Tshirt quilt

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

2017 Summary of the 350 Block Challenge

With no new blocks this month, my 2017 total is 1125.

In case you wonder what those numbers were in years past, here are the numbers...
In 2016: 1007
In 2015: 1400
In 2014: 794
In 2013: 1057
In 2012, north of 180.  Between terrible morning sickness and moving drama, I lost count.

Each year, this challenge is hosted by Shelly at Prairie Moon Quilts.  Our goals is 350, with specific targets each month.  Personally, my goal is to hit a ridiculous number each year!

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

2018 UFO Challenge

Over the last four or five years, my real UFO list has been decimated, so rather than use UFOs for this challenge, I made a list of projects I’ve never started as well as piles of fabrics I want to keep together but haven’t used.  Here goes for 2018...

1. Red and white Ohio star

2. Dragon quilt

3. Aegean Sea

4. Red and green Jared Takes a Wife

5. St. Patrick quilt

6. Rainbow Log Cabin

7. Green and brown fabrics for a boy quilt

8. Baby fat quarters

9. RWB triangles

10. Charm pack

11. Hand pieced hexies

12. Chubby pinwheels

It’s highly unlikely that I’ll finish all 12 this year, particularly the hand piecing, but I intend to get moving on each one!

Thanks, Judy, for the encouragement.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Stash Report Week #51

I finished a small pillow and my Garden Party quilt this week.  I have one more week, but there’s no telling what I’ll be able to finish!

IN this week: 0 yards
OUT this week: 8 1/4 yards

IN YTD: 181 yards
OUT YTD: 164 1/2 yards
YTD Total: 16 1/6 IN

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

Crazy Times

Everyone is home, Christmas decorations and preparations are everywhere, the oven is on, the presents are wrapped, and I think we’re going to make it!  This year, I made an effort not to fret about what didn’t get done each day. So what if we’re only starting Christmas baking now?  With both big girls helping, I know there will be plenty to eat.

Now if I could only find my camera, which disappeared sometime last week when I was recuperating from that pesky headache.

Garden Party is finished!  I have plans percolating on revisiting this quilt again some day.  (They may or may not include some Vicki Welsh shade packs.)  I love the blocks and how quickly everything works up.  The pattern is scaled down (less blocks) from Bonnie Hunter's Garden Party pattern.  I was able to stitch down pleats to tame my wavy borders.  I don't think any of my blues bled into the white, so that's fabulous.

Now it's off to start a new project, if I can just catch a moment to myself.  Merry, merry Christmas to you and yours!

Be sure to spend a few moments of quiet and check out the finishes this weekend.

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

Stash Report Week #50

Buying green fabric online has turned into quite a hunt!  The first online store had no solid grass green, and the second shop had most greens out of stock, so I only managed three possibilities.  Fortunately, one will work.  Of course, this means a little fabric came in.

I did whip up a travel pillow and a small over-the-seat storage bag for the baby’s toys, so a little fabric went out as well.

IN this week: 5 yards
OUT this week: 3/4 yards

IN YTD: 181 yards
OUT YTD: 156 1/4 yards
YTD Total: 24 3/4 yards IN

I have two, maybe three quilts to finish before year’s end, so I hope to lower my total incoming yardage for the year.  It’s been pretty good!

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

Racing to the Finish Line

What did I do this week?  I was at a loss when I first started this post!  Then I remembered some “side” sewing: sewing up a car bag for Sneaky Pete, who turned a year old; addressing the pile of mending and finishing that had accumulated on my chair; and finishing my Magnolia Mist Mystery (almost) to flimsy stage.

At some point later in the week, I finally put together that school ends Wednesday and I prefer to have the last teacher quilt ready to give by then.  Oops!  Wednesday and Thursday I basted, and Friday I had a quilting marathon that brought me within 85% of being done, wobbly borders and all.  Then Mr. 1 woke up, and that was that.  I can finish quilting and binding next week, so I’m back on track.  Whew!

Last night a migraine or equally disabling headache struck with full force, so I’m typing this up without pictures and getting off the iPad for a while.  It is easing slightly already, but I will behave myself.  Good luck with your finishes!

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Stash Report Week #49

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

IN YTD: 176 yards
OUT YTD: 155 1/2 yards
YTD Total: 20 1/2 yards IN

Also, 24 spools used for the year.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,
katie z 

Sometimes you win some...

... Sometimes you lose some.

I was not careful enough with the bias edges of Garden Party and ignored my excess when applying the borders, so now they are wavy.  Boo.  I’m afraid ripping them off and reattaching may only cause more distortion, so I’ll be quilting in a few pleats when I get to the borders.  I know better and just didn’t pay attention.  It will be okay in the end; it’s not an heirloom piece by any stretch of the imagination.  Now to find a backing and remember to be more careful next time!

In the meantime, I finished this week’s Advent preparations and other “homework” and subsequently began a cutting marathon.  First up was T-shirts for another customer quilt.  Since it includes little girl shirts, I’m going to have to frame a few.  This is my last resort, but the shirts are needed, so frame I will.

Next, I cut for three new quilts for next year: an Ohio star/ hourglass quilt in red and white for our goddaughter niece,

a red and queen Jared Takes a Wife quilt for Christmas (since I already had a stack of reds out),

I cut the green "chunks" I need from each fabric, but still need to strip them.

and strips for a dragon quilt for Q, who needs a big boy quilt for his bed (green, since I already had greens out).

I have a few more quilts on my “someday” list that may very well come out to play in 2018.  My current project list will be down to four, and three of those I have no intention of tackling just yet.  That means I may start a new project every month!

Be sure to check out the lovely finishes, almost finishes, and splendid collection of blocks this Saturday!

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

Stash Report Week #48

It was a good week for finishes, even if they were small.  I finished my last orphan block project, a small doll quilt, as well as two table centerpieces for my mom.  For several years, I’ve made placemats for my parents, siblings, their spouses, and my nieces and nephews.  Since I lost a baby two years ago and my younger sister lost a baby this past spring, my older sister and I collaborated on “placemats” for them, so they are still remembered when our family gathers.  I love working with my sister, who embroiders the names, as I piece and quilt.

I will have fabric arriving next week, for a very specific project, and I have hopes of finishing two quilts before the end of the year.  We’ll see where I end up.

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

IN YTD: 170 1/2 yards
OUT YTD: 155 1/2 yards
YTD Total: 15 yards IN

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

A Little Bit of This...

... a little bit of that.

Advent starts tonight at sundown, so I've been pulling out our first things.  Everyone has a stocking this year (patterns by Prairie Moon Quilts), I've filled them with goodies for St. Nicholas Day, and today we go cut a tree from our land.

 I finished up this lovely doll quilt out of the VERY LAST of my orphan blocks.  There are NO more.  I have no doubt I'll create more, or find some squirreled away in an odd place, but I can claim victory over my year long effort to use up my orphan bits.

 My Garden Party blocks are all joined into a flimsy, and the borders and binding are cut.  I'll need to press, trim the edges, and measure next.  This week was full as usual, so this will be a December project to finish.  I was surprised at how small this quilt top is.  I know I roughly figured out the measurements originally, so I don't know why I didn't thing it was small, but it is.  With borders, it will make a great couch quilt, so there's no issue.  It's the last "teacher quilt" I need for the year.

It's time to gear up for the Christmas tree hunt, so off I go!  (While I'm tree-hunting, go hunt down some new RSC project ideas for 2018!)

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

December UFO List

The list is getting short, y’all!  It’s time to start some new things.

November 1: 10
Started: 3
Finished: 6
November 30: 7

Project List:
1. Rose appliqué
2. Garden Party
3.  Pillow
4. Scrappy DWR
5. ABC appliqué
6. Meadow Mist Mystery

7. 9 patches and stars

Started this month: weighted blanket, name letters, and an apron.  Finished this month: placemats, orphan blocks, mini 9s, weighted blanket, name letters, and an apron.  The orphan blocks are ALL GONE!  I hope to finish the Rose appliqué and Garden Party quilt, so that I’m ready to start new things in 2018.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

November Block Count

I made 40 blocks for a mystery quilt and 12 blocks to use up the last of my orphan bits.  This brings my 2017 total to 1125.  Wow!

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

Mayhem and Bedlam

Since Tuesday, we’ve been a house of four adults and nine children (11, 9, 7, 7, almost 5, 4, 3, almost 2, and almost 1).  Needless to say, it’s been jolly good fun, a mess of hard work, and a glorious experience.  Thanksgiving was lovely, and our weather was unseasonably warm after being unseasonably cold.  Then the stomach bug returned, or a fresh strain hit, and not only our household but my entire family that had gathered in the area was sick.

Sewing time was negligible.  I did stitch a bit Friday, finishing a row of Garden Party as well as the blocks needed for my last(!) orphan block project.  It won’t be done in time to send home with my sister, but since I spent time cooking and caring for the recipient, no one minds.

Like many of you, I spend some time most days pondering my plans for next year.  I seem to have my plans already sketched out, so now I’m examining my “someday” project list.  Deciding what's possible for the next year is delicious fun, so while waiting for everyone to recuperate or get sick a second time, I'm going to lose myself in some dreaming.

I hope your Thanksgiving was splendid, and that you and yours are well.  As we enjoy the end of brown scraps, I also plan to check out all the other new and old projects this weekend.

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

Stash Report Week #46

Early in the week, I was a woman to be reckoned with.  Then came the stomach bug, and six of the eight of us are recovering since Friday.  I finished an apron, the mini 9s, and name letters.  I was surprised how much closer I moved, even with two quilty prizes arriving this week.  I have two new charm backs and four lovely teal fat quarters to pet over the coming days.

IN this week: 2 yards
OUT this week: 8 yards

IN YTD: 170 1/2 yards
OUT YTD:154 1/2 yards
YTD Total: 16 yards IN

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

Mud or Mocha

In reality, I’m not a coffee drinker (ever), so I’d choose mud over mocha.  The only brown scrappy work I managed this week was sorting the last of the brown strip sets for nine-patches.  If I’m fortunate, I’ll sew them up before my sister and family arrive for the holidays.  Given our current run of luck, I’m not expecting much!

I worked hard finishing things this week.  First, mini 9s survived the wash with no bleeding, so it’s rolled up and ready to go.  I love all it’s crinkly goodness.  My 2.5” bin has been thinning out as I’ve been using it for binding for all these quilts.  I realized it’s silly to cut into stash for a one-color binding on a scrappy quilt, so the scrappy strips are coming out to play.

My Garden Party blocks touches neither sewing machine nor pins this week, so there was no progress there.  Instead, I tackled scrappy letters for a cousin and used some of my orphan blocks to create a scrappy pocket for an apron.

Once I had my three finishes, I tackled my blocks for the Magnolia Mystery.  Pressing the seams open takes time and is not my normal method, but I’ve done it so far.  I need this blocks done and put away by Tuesday afternoon, so I’ve kept at them.

Finally, I have a plan for the remaining orphan blocks.  Once I have the units on my wall complete, I have a plan for alternating blocks.  I even chose a fat quarter for the backing and some 2.5” strips for the binding, as I have a doll quilt in my mind for my youngest niece.

Next up, preparing for family to come for Thanksgiving and children recovering from a stomach bug (ack!).  Be sure to check out finishes, flimsies, and dark blocks this weekend.

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

Stash Report Week #45

I whipped out a weighted blanket this week (only because once begun, it is a nightmare to put away), so I have a little fabric usage.  It is too much to hope that I’ll end up out of the hole by the end of the year, but I’ve certainly narrowed the gap by more than I thought I could!  I’ll keep plugging away, and we’ll see where the next seven weeks take me.

IN this week: 0 yards
OUT this week: 2 yards

IN YTD: 168 1/2 yards
OUT YTD: 146 1/2 yards
YTD Total: 22 yards IN

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

Relief

After two days of soaking, rinsing, and soaking, Barn Dance has emerged from the waters refreshed and relatively extra-dye free.  Whew!  I can see a little staining on the two previously tan blocks, but since the staining on the yellows came out, and my family was clamoring for me to free up the bathtub, I’m claiming victory.

It's a pared down rendition of Barn Dance by Denise Russart, made with hand dyes by Vicki Welsh.  And, fear not, the blue background that bled like a stuck pig was NOT by Vicki, but a batik from Hancocks of Paducah.  Not a single one of her fabrics bled, and they are so lovely to sew with.  I used Vicki's tutorial to work on the bleeding, and as I said above, it was great!

My mini nines are quilted but not yet bound, so I’ll save their reveal for next week.  Loops are a nice change from meandering while still being different.

After replacing our fridge and learning that our truck was totaled, of course that meant a chip in our van windshield exploded into an enormous crack with the arrival of fluctuating temperatures. (Cue hysterical laughter.) SafeLite Auto was, yet again, fabulous, and my new windshield is so clean!  I really like having an emergency fund when we have months like this.

My scrappy sewing has been in teal and lime green this week as I’ve been stitching letters for a cousin’s new baby.  Since I was in the mood for starting projects, I also started and finished a weighted blanket and cut the pieces for another apron.

My darks didn't get a chance to play this week, but they are so patiently waiting next to the machine.  Check out other dark projects or almost-finished lovelies this weekend.  Today is about in-laws, but hopefully I'll sneak in some sewing later.  Enjoy your weekend!

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

November UFO List

October 1: 11
Started: 1
Finished: 2
October 31: 10

Project List:
1. Rose appliqué
2. Mini 9s
3. Garden Party
4. Placemats
5. Orphan blocks
6. Pillow
7. Scrappy DWR
8.  ABC appliqué
9. Meadow Mist Mystery

10. 9 patches and stars

I finished my hourglass and Barn Dance quilts.  Meanwhile, I started one new scrappy project, which I’m calling 9 patches and stars.  Ten is a happy number of ongoing and UFO projects, but I know November will explode with new, albeit short term, projects.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

November Goals

In October, I wanted to...
1.  Tackle those scraps: trim, finish the Garden Party blocks, get mini 9s and Barn Dance to the flimsy stage, finish the hourglass  and orphan block quilts, and make a body pillow cover from other leftovers.  Yes!

2.  Make oodles of progress on the Rose appliqué.  Yes!

3.  Complete the next step in the Magnolia Mystery.  Yes!

4.  Mending.  It has piled up, and needs to be gone before company comes for Thanksgiving.  Yes, except for one piece that may be irreparable.

In November, I’d like to...
1.  Continue to manage the scraps: trim, finish mini 9s, get Garden Party to a flimsy, and see what to do with the orphan blocks.  I also started a new project that requires nine patches, so I’m making those from 1.5”scraps.

2. Finish all purple stitching on the Rose appliqué.

3.  Complete the next step in the Magnolia Mystery.  Maybe I should blog about my fabric choices too!

4.  Make a weighted blanket.

5.  Sew some name letters for a cousin.

6.  Make an apron for a Christmas gift.

7.  Cut T-shirts for a customer’s Tshirt quilt.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,
katie z 

Stash Report Weeks #43-44

I finished my Barn Dance quilt this week, and nothing last week, so I’ve used another 6 1/2 yards.  I’m getting closer to a 0 balance for the year, which is good, since this week in the room revamp and carpet cleaning, I lost my fabric storage.  It’s all on a metal cart in a closet, which is not ideal, but it works for now.

IN this week: 0 yards
OUT this week: 6 1/2 yards

IN YTD: 168 1/2 yards
OUT YTD: 144 1/2 yards
YTD Total: 24 yards IN

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,
Katie Z.

Falling to Pieces

I dug out the brown 1.5” and made decent progress on nine-patches this week.

(In between the epic playroom/sewing room evacuation for carpet cleaning, the vehicle demise-by-self-destruction, and the dead fridge, that is... Ooh, and there was Halloween in the midst of it all.)

Barn Dance is, tragically, in a holding pattern.  The blue batik ran in areas I did not see before I dried it, so it’s awaiting a long, hot soak.  I’m still hunting for the Dawn dish soap recommended by Vicki Welsh.  My shopping has been taken up by larger items!

My to-do list for the week included quilting my mini 9s, but I didn’t have it in me, so it’s patiently waiting its turn under the needle.  I did choose the thread color last night, and I have almost all the bobbins empty again.

Neither did I touch my orphan bits, the poor, neglected things.  Eventually...

Instead, I dithered along starting some name letters for a cousin’s new baby, sorting fabric for another weighted blanket, trimming scraps, and picking out more fabric for an apron that needs to be completed by Thanksgiving in order to be shipped to family.  Then, because I couldn’t help myself, I laid out the blocks for my downsized Garden Party (pattern by Bonnie Hunter) and sewed a few rows together.

In all the chaos of the week, I completely forgot to write my month-end blog posts, so I need to get cracking.  Enjoy your weekend.  May it be full of fabric, family, and free of chaos.  Check out the finishes or the browns!

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

October Block Count

4 Garden Party blocks and 97 four-patches brings my total blocks to 1073 for the year.  That number makes me feel tired!

You Got This, Girl

I thought I was all done quilting, but, alas, I forgot the little grey block.  I saw it when I laid it out, and quilted it.  It took me so much longer than I thought it would to pick fillers, etc.  I struggled to make some fill the space entirely, and I'm not sure I found any new ones I would repeat very often.

 But I did it.  The binding is stitched on the front, so next I'll turn and hand stitch it down.  This will be a good occupation for the next few days, since we are totally emptying our playroom/sewing room, hallway, and stairs in order for a carpet cleaner to come before the holidays.  We've had our share of accidents and messes, and it's time for a professional cleaning.

I enjoy the fun and funky look of the backing with the different thread colors and patterns.  My tension was a little rough during the meander, but I seem to have straightened that out for the most part by the blocks.  I did ruin a needle and have to clean out my machine in the middle of quilting, but everything's splendid now.

And the details: all fabric but the backing and dark blue are hand dyes by Vicki Welsh.  (Please treat yourself to a package or two when you can.  They are wonderful.  I've managed to accumulate an inspiring stash!  The quilt design is a partial ( I left off a wide row and column) by Denise Russart.

I'm afraid that other than quilting pink blocks this week, I didn't get much pink sewing in.  Too much cleaning, moving, and, you know, stuff.  To see more inspiration, join the Rainbow Scrap Challenge each Saturday!

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

Stash Report Weeks #41-42

Oops!  Where was I last Sunday?  I had a finish, but never wrote a stash report.  Oh, well.  Last week I finished Orange Sherbet, a baby quilt, and this week I finished a body pillow cover.

IN this week: 0 yards
OUT this week: 5 3/4 yards

IN YTD: 168 1/2 yards
OUT YTD: 138 yards
YTD Total: 30 1/2 yards IN

I'm moving along nicely!

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

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: Challenge Accepted

On the other side of the basement family room, this is always the view.

 Meanwhile, here's my view:

 Some pink nine patches were made for a new project.  They feel HUGE after working with 1" pieces for so long!  On the right are the remaining orphan block pieces.  I've done a little sorting and looking at possible companion scraps, but this is it!  If they don't come off the wall in some sort of sewing piece, they are taking a leap into the garbage bin below!

I basted the mini nines, and now I've finished agonizing over quilting patterns.  The dark blue background of the Barn Dance quilt is quilted in a meander.  Now I'm working my way through Leah Day's 365 Free Motion Quilting Ideas and trying as many as I can.  The smallest blocks are only 6", and surely I can suffer a more tedious pattern for 6".  Plenty of them I realize I have trouble seeing how to travel well with them, but that's a good challenge to undertake!

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

(Join the PINK scrap party this weekend!)

Conundrums and Complexities

First, the pastel finish.  I settled on a quilting design (ahem, many designs) for my baby quilt made from orphan blocks, scraps, and stash.  I nearly gave up and simply quilted in the ditch between each round.  Then I reminded myself that I regularly chicken out on learning new quilting designs because I don't want to spend hours hating the quilting.  On a baby quilt, there's no more than a few hours sunk into the quilting, so it's a good place to experiment.  I quilted swirls, feathers, loops, vines, and so on.  Binding, in green scraps, was a breeze after agonizing over the quilting.  "Orange Sherbet" is complete!  (It's around 40" square.)

"Barn Dance" was the next quilt to tackle.  It's basted for quilting with a wide backing piece.  Now the agonizing and conundrums for the quilting plan.  What color of thread?  What quilting pattern?  I don't know!  Please offer suggestions, since I don't want to leave this lingering in the wings.  This quilt is made from a lovely dark blue batik as well as many, many scraps of hand dyes from Vicki Welsh.  The pattern is a scaled down from Barn Dance by Denise Russart.

 In the meantime, while I puzzled over the quilting conundrums, I breezed through the layout and partial assembly of my mini 9s.  I see a few dark next to dark blocks, but when I was to the last row, options were limited.  And it's random, which was the idea, right?

 Finally, I finished the top of my orphan block body pillow.  I used up a number of these earlier in the year, but not all of them.  It was time to use ALL of them!  No leftovers this time!

P.S. Be sure to check out the pink projects this weekend!

from the room of Zana's Ninis,

katie z.

Stash Report Week #40

I finished the hourglass quilt this week, and managed to resist ordering any fabric, so it's s good week!

IN this week: 0 yards
OUT this week: 4 1/2 yards

IN YTD: 168 1/2 yards
OUT YTD: 132 1/4 yards
YTD Total: 36 1/4 IN

Not bad, not bad.  Hopefully I'll have another finish next week!

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

Rouge and Rosewood

Oh, the stories not to be told via social media about allergy attacks, potty training, and lack of sleep.  I actually went back to bed Friday morning (unheard of for me) after I fed the chickens since the kids were all out of school.  We then proceeded to fill the morning with chores and the rest of the day with splendid adventures, so everyone was ready for bed early.

First, the last of the Garden Party blocks are now stitched and pressed.  Next month, they will be worked into a flimsy.  Please remind me that can wait until next month, as I have enough sets of blocks to turn into flimsies for this month already.  I may need a firm reminder.

Since those bitty blocks are so quick to make, it was easy to move on to the hourglass blocks.  Quilting on either side of the seam was a new tactic for me, and the final look pleases me greatly.  Even the binding came from my scrap bin, and two pieces from my stash form the backing.  It's a nice snuggly couch size, and now ready for Christmas giving!

The Assistant has claimed the Barn Dance blocks for her teacher gift this year, so we spent an evening laying out the blocks.  She certainly had different notions of distribution than I, as she wanted to cluster colors and I try to spread them out, but I like it.  I began sewing it together as an awkwardly sized leader and ender, in between Magnolia Mystery pieces, the aforementioned Garden Party blocks, and some orphan blocks for a body pillow cover.  Lo and behold, it ended the week in three pieces!

Unfortunately for my expectations, the orange, green, and purple orphan flimsy never found its day in the sun.  I picked a quilting thread but am no closer to a quilting decision than I was at the beginning of the week.  Next week, this will be first up, before finishing Barn Dance or sewing more mini 9s together.

Oh, yes, I worked on those mini 9s.  No pinning is required to sew them into pairs, so after a little sorting, I ran through these in batches to break up the Barn Dance assembly.  I have no idea what this quilt is going to look like, since this is another "haven't put up the blocks" flimsy, but it always works out in the end.

Assembly always goes so quickly, after many months of a few blocks here and there.  I can't believe there are so many ready to put together at once, but I'm up for the challenge!

Be sure to check out the pink projects this weekend!

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

October UFO List

September 1: 13
Started: 0
Finished: 2
September 30: 11

Project List:
1. Rose appliqué
2. Mini 9s
3. Hourglass
4. Garden Party
5.  Barn Dance
6. Placemats
7. Orphan blocks
8. Pillow
9. Scrappy DWR
1o. ABC appliqué
11. Meadow Mist Mystery

I finished my oldest project, Bits and Bobs, as well as a mini for the Teal Mini Swap.  With multiple projects to the assembly and finishing stages, I haven't started anything new (yet).  I'm going to love a gloriously short list to start the new year!

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

October Goals

In September, I wanted to...
1.  Sew scraps like mad: finish Bits and Bobs, finished my hourglass quilt, finish my mini 9s blocks, sew 5 more Garden Party blocks, sew 4 more Barn Dance blocks, and use up a few more orphans.  The pile is so small, the end is in sight! I did it all (except finish the orphan quilt, although I did get it to a flimsy and basted).

2. Rose appliqué: progress.  Always onward, right?  Not much, unfortunately.

3.  Finish my Teal Mini Swap and mail it.  Yes!

4.  Complete the next step for the Meadow Mist Mystery.  Yes!

5.  I need a UFO goal.  I think it will go with the orphan blocks in orange, since I finished my hand quilting of Tell it to the Stars in July.  The next UFO was the alphabet quilt in blue, which I finished in August, so now it's time to wrap up the orphan blocks!  Not finished, but progress.

In October, I would like to...
1.  Tackle those scraps: trim, finish the Garden Party blocks, get mini 9s and Barn Dance to the flimsy stage, finish the hourglass  and orphan block quilts, and make a body pillow cover from other leftovers.

2.  Make oodles of progress on the Rose appliqué.

3.  Complete the next step in the Magnolia Mystery.

4.  Mending.  It has piled up, and needs to be gone before company comes for Thanksgiving.

That's it.  Those goals are big, so I need to get sewing!

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

September Block Count

It was a paltry month, as the remaining ones will be...

5 blocks to make an orphan block quilt
4 Barn Dance
5 mini 9s
5 Garden Party blocks
For a total of 19.

Add that to last month, and my current total for 2017 is 972 blocks!

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

Stash Report Week #39

Last week, I couldn't seem to manage my stash report, so we'll have two weeks in a go...

IN this week: 1 1/2 yards
OUT this week: 18 1/4 yards

IN YTD: 168 1/2 yards
OUT YTD: 127 3/4 yards
YTD total: 40 3/4 yards IN

I received 1 1/2 yards of lovely rainbow stripe from a friend, and finished a mini for a swap and my Bits and Bobs.  I have five more quilts to finish this year (at least), but they don't add up to 41 yards, so I may not manage to use more than I bought this year.  Oh, well, I've had a good time buying and sewing it all!

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

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: Flimsy, Sandwich, and Quilt

The flimsy of the week is my orphan block creation.  I started with the dresden plate in the middle, pulled scraps and fat quarters to go (including two of my new oranges!), and I was off to the races.  The green with lawn chairs is a little dark, but I decided it was close enough, and it was time to cut into it.  A good pressing was still needed at the corners, as everything is the right size but wonky.  Now to ponder quilting...

 Once the flimsy was finished, the quilting began on my hourglass quilt.  I hoped the quilting would be more apparent in the picture, but I'm quilting on each side of the diagonal lines in both directions.  While I'm wobbly, as always, in places, I love the look of it.  This quilt will be a gift for one of the kid's teachers for Christmas, so I'm feeling good that I've made this much progress.

The quilt of the title is my finished Bits and Bobs quilt.  I wrote its own blog post over here.

I'm pleased my orphan blocks are now a mere handful rather than a box full!  In October, I'll be using up teal blocks for a body pillow cover, and then in October or November my plan is to use up or throw away the rest!

Be sure to visit all the orange inspiration this weekend!

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

Finished Quilt: Bits and Bobs

Inspired by the tiny pieces of the late Sue Garman's Omigosh quilt as well as the progress of other quilty bloggers, I set out on my journey of tiny pieces at least four years ago.  The 1" pile was totally exhausted, so recuperation is necessary for a few years before it will be ready for another epic journey.  I even have ideas, but they will be patient.

I enjoyed using up those tiny squares in little nine-patches, then matching the nine-patches into sets of five.  Until most of the blocks were made, I had no idea what the color balance was.  As usual, there are so many blue, but it all looks lovely in the end!

I was quite sure I had basted a large crease into the backing, but apparently most of it was a trick of the eye or a pulling in of the batting, as now I only see a few puckers.  My DH likes the wool batting. I sleep warm, so until it's properly cold at night, it's too heavy for me.  I may try it again for a smaller hand quilting project, but as a project that was already large to baste, I won't repeat the wool batting (for now).  I do think it's user error; I have a method of basting that works for me, my time and space constraints, and my lack of basting helper.  It doesn't work well for the wool batting since it's fluffier and doesn't cling.  (I am aware there is a method using boards; it's not for me, not right now.)

Eleven color changes accompanied me in the diagonal quilting.  The backing, oh, I love it so very much that I wish I'd bought a bolt of it.  Alas, Connecting Threads no longer carries it, so I must content myself with the remnants. The binding was cut from two gradients by Vicki Welsh. Maybe it doesn't "go" with the backing, but it makes me happy too.

At a finish of 90" square, it's a good size for the entire bed and even a child or two when they wake up at 5 am (like this morning!).

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