February UFO Update

1. Tell it to the Stars
2. Stockings (7 of 8)
3. Bits and Bobs
4. Mini 9s
5. Rose appliqué 
6. Hourglass blocks
7. Scrappy DWR (I'm collecting fabrics still)
8. Pillow (I don't currently need another, but the fabric was passed from a beloved deceased)
9. ABC appliqué
10. Orphan blocks
11. Garden Party
12. Pillow cases
13. Barn Dance
14. Winter Dance
15. Millie's Tshirt quilt
16. commission Tshirt quilt

January 1: 12 projects
Started: 5
Finished: 1
January 31: 16 projects

Yikes!  I finished one quilt only to start five new projects?  What's wrong with me?  Really, I'm not too disturbed.  Out of the 16 projects left on my list, I anticipate finishing 12 or 13 of them before year's end.  That will leave me four (scrappy DWR, pillow, ABC appliqué, and maybe my orphan box).   Not too shabby, if I can just keep my starts the rest of the year to a minimum.

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

January Block Count

2017 began with a good showing for my block count!

17 new Bits and Bobs (only 22 left!)
5 Garden Party blocks
20 mini 9s
20 hourglass blocks
4 Barn Dance blocks
2 Rose buds (the last ones!)

All those numbers mean I made 68 new blocks for the new year.  Four of the six projects are new, so I'll be talking about them most of this year, I suspect.

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

Stash Report Week #4

Nothing in, nothing out.  I did use up another spool of thread this week and one last week, so that's three out for the year.

I considered ordering fabric since I botched a step in my mystery quilt, but instead I decided to suck it up and leave it.

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

UFO Update: Tell it to the Stars

Judy Laquidara's UFO challenge for January called for #3 to be finished.

My number three was to completely hand quilt blocks number 9 and 10.  I finished that last week!

Since I still had a week to go, and my UFOs this year are all quilting parts of this quilt, I decided to tackle block 3, which was partially complete when I abandoned this almost two years ago.  Fortunately, despite a crazy busy week full of appointments, I managed to finish this block.  I was happy to discover more of the outlining was finished than I remembered, which really sped up the process.

 I love how the blocks look once finished.  I'm starting to feel excited rather than overwhelmed by this project again, so I'm grateful for the UFO Challenge and Slow Stitching Sunday to give me goals!

Bring on February's UFO challenge.

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

Random Rainbow

This week, I sewed two sets of things.  First, I managed17 more blocks for my Bits and Bobs, bringing my needed number of blocks down to 22!  Suddenly, the end of the piecing is in sight for the quilt, and I'm excited to see all the tedious, tiny piecing pay off.  There are no more churn dashes needed, so I'll continue piecing the tiny nines.  The colors are becoming random because my box of 1" strips is nearly exhausted.  It only took 3 years, as I can trace it back at least to February of 2014.

On a related, tiny piecing note, I already have a quilt chosen to use up my 1" pieces when I'm finished with this one.  It will involve four patches.

The second set of piecing were my units for Winter Dance, a variation on Bonnie Hunter's En Provence.  Variation, you might notice.  I pieced an entire set of units in the reverse of the color scheme, exhausting all of one of my fabrics.  Sure, I could order more, but then what do I do with all the "wrong" units?  Last night, I laid out a sample block and decided I could live with the error.  This was, of course, after I cut 100 pairs of pieces for the other TriRecs block in the same pattern of WRONG colors!  Ugh, ugh, ugh.  That one does matter for the star design in the sashing, so I'll be recutting for it and adding a plethora of neutral TriRecs triangles to my orphan box.   Sigh.  At least I like the colors I chose, and it would appear they're going to work together.  In my mind's eye I didn't intend for the dark blue to play center stage, but close enough is good enough.

Don't worry; I didn't piece all of the steps this week.  I've been working away at it for the last three weeks, and have four steps completely done, two in process, and one cut.  It'll be February's finish, hopefully.

I'll leave you with a photo of JoJo and PK.  JoJo adores his little brother and is so proud to be holding him!  I'm grateful he doesn't try to pick up the baby (yet).

Be sure to check out the more purple projects that show up this Saturday!

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

Hand Work

This week, I did manage to finish my UFO goal for the month, which was blocks 9 and 10 of my Tell it to the Stars (quilt design by Judy Laquidara).  Now I've decided to work on block 3, which is the place I stalled out when I stopped the hand quilting almost two years ago.  If I finish it this week, that will make another month a little easier!

My other hand work project for today is prepping the buds for my rose appliqué project.  This had been set aside after PK was born, as my hands during therapy are now busy with him rather than sewing.  That's fine, but I did realize that prepping these last few bits gets me pretty close to being able to lay out the entire project on the background fabric and see what I can manage next.  Of course, I'll be faced with a plethora of quilting questions at that point, and I'm not sure starting a new hand quilting project is wise when the last project has so far to go.  We'll see, I guess!

 Off to stitch and catch up on blog reading!  Be sure to check out other handwork each Sunday.

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

Stash Report Week #3

I made another pillowcase just to have something to report.

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

IN YTD: 0 yards
OUT YTD: 8 yards
YTD Total: 8 yards out!

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

Magenta and Cobalt

Barn Dance is a quilt pattern by Denise Russart that she offered as a quilt along last year.  I had my plate too full to start last year, but I saved the files and made plans to use my delicious hand-dyed fabrics this year.

I won't be doing the full quilt, as I don't need another quilt that big right now.  I've figured out how to reduce it to a "teacher quilt" size, and I decided to use a dark background instead of light to stretch my creativity.  I'm hoping I don't pick too dark of fabrics, as some of them are SO BEAUTIFUL, but I also have plenty of lights that need to be used.

Next week will be my Bits and Bobs, as I've dug out enough triangles to finish my churn dashes, and I suddenly have a plethora of tiny nines to make into nine patches.  Wish me luck!

I'm ready for the ill season to be over.  We seem to be in a clear space; let's hope we stay well!  Be sure to visit other purple projects this weekend!

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

Stash Report Week #2

 IN this week: 0 yards
OUT this week: 5 yards

IN YTD: 0 yards
OUT YTD: 7 yards
YTD Total: 7 yards OUT!

I finished a quilt, Spelling Bee, this week.  Since the back was a purchased sheet, I counted it neither in nor out, so I only get credit for the top and binding.  It's done, which is the important part!

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

Slowly Quilting Along

I have a massive hand quilting project that has been waiting, basted, for two years, for me finally to tackle it.  This is the year!  I'm determined to use Judy's UFO Challenge as a monthly accountability update, so I've divided the hand quilting into 12 parts.

This month, my goal was to quilt blocks 9 and 10.  This included outlining the entire block, from chain to border, and the colored pieces in the middle. It also included filling in the white space and the colored pieces, but not the chains or border, as those will be for another month.  So far, I've outlined and done the white.  I still have two weeks to do the actual block, so I'm happy with my progress.  If I finish the two blocks this month, I'll move on to the only partially done block on the quilt, number 3.  Wish me luck, since I have this to admire:

I'm linking up to Kathy's Quilts for Slow Stitching Sunday (for the first time, I think, but hopefully not the last).  I'm hoping this will keep me motivated to make progress.

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

Periwinkles and Orchids

This week, I feel a little like Typhoid Mary.  JoJo missed a whole week of school with the intestinal garbage, Q missed Friday, and the Assistant is feeling ill as of Friday night.  Why can't everyone get sick at once, or in rapid succession, and be done?  This four-five day break is killing me.  (That's probably the lack of sleep talking.)

Before everyone got sick, on Sunday, I finished my purple orphan block quilting and turned it into a pin cushion for the Assistant.  She sews on my grandmother's machine, which needs a new spool pin, so it's currently gerry-rigged to work on the cam pin!

While JoJo was recuperating, I managed to hand-stitch down the binding to the free-form alphabet quilt.  Miss G is unmoved by my accomplishment, but I really like it.  It washed up pleasantly soft and fits her bed, so that's the important part.  Hurrah for using up orphan blocks and oddly shaped scraps!

Mini nines are all done and pressed.  All of them have purple in them, but I'm trying to mix each color so at the end of the year I have a wide variety of color combinations available to me.  I think I'm really going to enjoy the development of these blocks.

My hourglass blocks moved along so quickly that they're done for the month too!  I stitched up a few blue since I didn't have 20 purple.

During JoJo's illness and convalescence, we spent an inordinate amount of time upstairs, away from the playroom.  I took the opportunity to lay out all my Bits and Bobs in order to assess my progress.  Much to my surprise, I only need 29 more nine-patch blocks and am missing 10 churn dash blocks.  All told, I think I may actually finish all the blocks this year.  I'm so excited!  I thought I still had 50 or so nine-patch blocks to go, and since my 1" scraps are getting low, I had no dream of wrapping up this multi-year project.  I know I'll love this quilt (and it's staying with me, after all the work!).

Be sure to check out all the purple projects this month!  If you're in the path of the ice, be safe, stay warm, and don't drive if you can!

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

Quiltathon

Day 4: TTS goals met for the day, mini 9s finished, two sides of binding hand stitched down, and the hourglass blocks started.  Pretty good for a busy day!

I also pulled fabric/scraps for a quilt with Spunky, who really wants to sew something.  We'll be sewing with rectangles with a minimum of seams to match up.  Now I need to find some cutting time!

Thanks, Judy!

Day 3:  Today, I had a birthday cake to make and a house to clean since my delayed birthday company will come on Sunday!  I also had an errand in town.  Still, there was some sewing here and there.

The purple orphan block pincushion was fully quilted, trimmed, sewed into a pincushion, stuffed, sewed shut, and stuck with pins.  Hurrah!  This takes care of my orphan block portion of my goals for the month.

I also machine stitched the binding onto Spelling Bee, so all that remains is the hand stitching.

My TTS goal was also met for the week, with all the outlining stitches completed.  I even managed to start the white filler stitching.  Whoop whoop!

Day 2: Oh, so much better today.  Once the big kids were off to school, I persuaded myself to do cleaning chores first: laundry, washing dishes, sweeping the floor.  Then, while PK slept, I hand quilted TTS and my orphan block.  I'm making excellent progress on TTS, but a part of me wonders if even my low goals for it each month are achievable.  There's just SO MUCH quilting to do on this quilt, and as PK gets bigger I will have less time.  I'm certainly going to try hard.

Once we moved to the basement for the day, I was able to entirely quilt Spelling Bee!  PK slept pretty well, and he and Miss G thankfully slept at the same time for a while, so I busied myself with sewing.  It's my birthday, after all, so I ignored the laundry to be folded.

Day 1:  I spent last night being sick, so today's stitching was limited to a little hand quilting on my orphan block and even less on my TTS.  Tomorrow will be a better day, right?

Stash Report Week #1

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

IN YTD: 0 yards
OUT YTD: 2 yards
YTD Total: 2 yards OUT!

I finished two pillow cases and have already drained the first spool of thread for the year.  Pillowcases will be Christmas gifts for nieces and nephews for 2017, so I'm getting started early to see some stash move!

I'll be going back to my year's end stash report for 2016 and subtracting four yards from my purchased amount since an order won't be fulfilled.  It's always frustrating to order, not see the order processed for a week, and find out a fabric is sold out.  Blergh.

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

Mulberries and Wine

This week, I was temporarily waylaid by a virulent stomach bug, just in time to have to cancel birthday visitor plans.  Fortunately, I'm well now and no one else is sick, so all's well that ends well.

On the good days, I hand quilted by purple orphan block.  It will be a pin cushion to put by the Assistant's machine.  Why I decided to hand quilt it, I don't know.  Because I could?  And it would look pretty?

My Garden Party blocks positively flew out from under my needle.  I'm looking forward to the development of this one!

Left, mini 9s
Right, Garden Party

Since the above blocks were so quick, I made a start at my mini 9s.  They are going well too!

Finally, in scrappy land, my goal for the week was to baste "Spelling Bee," a quilt I made entirely from orphan blocks, scraps, and small hunks of fabric in white, yellow, black, or grey.  Basting took longer with PK, but it was still manageable.  Friday, when I was feeling better (and ignoring chores since it was my birthday), I managed to quilt the entire thing!

Finally, per Angela's request, here's a few links for you:

My all-time favorite rainbow scrap quilt, a 16-patch.

My Rainbow Scrap Challenge quilts from 2016, all in links on this post from last week.

And of course, go back and look at everyone else's projects!

2017 Goals

I have plenty of quilty goals, as well as some "life" goals for the year.

Quilty goals: 

Scraps: trim scraps once a month, continue to make Bits and Bobs as a leader and ended, and complete the following quilts: Garden Party, Mini 9s, hourglass, Barn Dance, and use up more orphan blocks.

Finishes: 4 teacher quilts (scrappy quilts mentioned above), 2 donation quilts, and 10 pillowcases for Christmas presents.  Finish a stocking for DH.

Stash Use: use twice as much fabric as I buy for the year.

UFO Challenge: Work on Tell it to the Stars monthly, so this lovely quilt ends the year on my bed.

Someday Quilts: As other goals are finished, make Bonnie Hunter's "En Provence" quilt in my dreamed of "winter quilt" colors.

Weight: Lose 30 pounds (baby weight, you know!)

Family: Be more grateful for my husband and more patient with my children.

Home: Make one thing each week that I could buy but am perfectly capable of making/baking/sewing.

Spiritual life: Daily Rosary, Divine Mercy Chaplet, rosary, and spiritual reading.  I need to finish my Edith Stein book and would like to read Fulton Sheen next.  Also, keep up my adoration hour.  Make it to confession every two months.

from the room of Zana's Ninis,

katie z.

January UFO Update

1. Tell it to the Stars
2. Stockings (7 of 8)
3. Bits and Bobs
4. Mini 9s
5. Rose appliqué 
6. Hourglass blocks
7. Scrappy DWR (I'm collecting fabrics still)
8. Pillow (I don't currently need another, but the fabric was passed from a beloved deceased)
9. ABC appliqué
10. Orphan blocks
11. Spelling Bee
December 1: 11 UFOs
Finished: 1
Started: 1
December 31: 11 UFOs

I finished PK's placemat and started a new quilt to use up my yellow, black, white, and grey odds and ends from the orphan box.  I'm proud to say not a single scrap will return to the orphan box!

I'm not sure how I will continue this posts in the future, since the only real UFO left is Tell it to the Stars, and I'm actively working on its hand quilting.  Maybe I'll update once a quarter or so.  We will see!

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

January Goals

In December, I hoped to...

1.  Keep up with scraps: trimming and Bits and Bobs.  Done!

2. Get the binding on TTS.  Done!  I also finished the white border.

3.  Keep on working on the rose appliqué. Done!

4.  Cut the pieces for my "Garden Party" quilt.  Done!  I even sewed all the chain blocks!

5. Finish the Assistant's quilt. Done!

6.  Get the pink, purple, and green orphan blocks to a top.  This is a collaboration with Spunky.  Very "liberated."  Done!  I totally finished it.

If it works... the placemat and stocking.  I'm going to be induced December 14, so there's not much time!  Placemat done, stocking pattern ordered.

I also finished a new flimsy, Spelling Bee, to use up yellow, black, white, and grey orphan blocks and scraps.

In January, I hope to...

1.  Sew up some new scrappy projects and keep up with old: trim scraps, Bits and Bobs, 5 Garden Party blocks, 20 mini 9s, 20 hourglass blocks, and four Barn Dance blocks.  The color for the month is purple.  I have one lonely orphan strip in purple, so rather than create more blocks, I hope to find a small project to use up the strip.

2. UFO hand quilting: quilt blocks 9 and 10.

3.  Finish "Spelling Bee."

Time permitting, I may work on pillow cases, DH's stocking, or the rose appliqué.

from the room of Zana's Ninis,

katie z.