July Block Count

The sewing machine has been busy this month!
I sewed up...
144 rail fence blocks
49 blocks to finish an orphan quilt
4 Barn Dance blocks
20 mini 9s
21 hourglass blocks
5 Garden Party blocks
... which totals 243 blocks

Adding to the previous 627 blocks makes a grand total of 870.  I've been enjoying the sewing time!

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

Finished Quilt: Tell it to the Stars

The journey of this quilt began in January 2014.  It was a quilt along by Judy Laquidara (pattern here).  Piecing was no problem, and I think basting came pretty easily.

Unfortunately, about the time I wanted to proceed with hand quilting, JoJo's sleeping issues began.  When I was violently, insanely sleep deprived, I lost my interest in the daunting task of hand quilting a large queen-sized quilt.  My lack of interest was compounded by the sickness of pregnancy as well as the frustration with the "decorating" JoJo did with markers and Nutella on the unfinished quilt.

In the fall of 2016, I had eliminated all other "real" UFOs (most other projects on my list are works in progress and not old) and determined it was time to kick this quilt into gear.  When Judy proposed a year of finishing UFOs, I was energized.  I divided the long abandoned tasks into doable monthly sections.  In December, I even finished the outer border, allowing me to bind the tattered edges of the quilt.

Since determination had settled in, I worked in this quilt almost daily for the last month.  I have loved seeing progress and am grateful for the impetus of the challenge to keep me going.

Now, I finished the quilt.  I washed it, treating the stains, and dried it.  Only one small black (probably Sharpie) mark remains.  I can live with that.  Already, this quilt rests on my bed.  I love it!

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

August UFO List

July 1: 14
Started: 1
Finished: 3
July 31: 12

Project List:
1. Rail fence
2. Rose appliqué
3. Bits and Bobs
4. Mini 9s
5. Hourglass
6. Garden Party
7. Barn Dance
8. Placemats
9. Orphan blocks
10. Pillow
11. Scrappy DWR
12. ABC appliqué

I finished the Flying Geese quilt, Pete's letters, and Tell it to the Stars (my oldest project!) this month.  I started a rail fence quilt, thinking I'd use it for my new leader ender.  Alas, it's not right for a leader ender, and the blocks are already all done.  My search will continue.

I am quite happy to have TTS finished, since my original goal was to finish it by the end of the year.  The Rose appliqué will become my home handwork project, and I'm puzzling over what to make for a travel project.  Hexagons may be the ticket, but I don't know!

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

Stash Report Week #30

I am in so much trouble...  I finished two quilts, but I also finally accounted for all the fabric I've been gathering for my "not going to Ireland" splurge.  Despite the ridiculous numbers of yardage in, I still spent less than a plane ticket.  I have so enjoyed unpacking my goodies this week.  My favorite purchase was to ask Vicki Welsh to pack me a "mystery" box of goodies.  She asked a few questions, and I had a few things I specifically wanted, but, oh, the fabulous fabric!  She sent a number of gradients, which are going to make some excellent borders for controlled scrap quilts.

IN this week: 154 1/4 yards

OUT this week: 23 yards

IN YTD: 166 yards

OUT YTD: 98 1/2 yards

YTD Total: 67 1/2 yards IN

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

Pinks and Purples

Brown and orange

Christmas quilt plans

Backings and my two pieces of blue.
I worked really hard not to increase my blue stash.

Neutrals

Neutrals

My first wool batting, some silk thread, pins, and sticky note goodies.

New books

Stash packs

Stash packs and a 4-yard piece of dark purple

Delectable scraps and small pieces

Narrow strips

These are half yard pieces, just folded to give a taste of each.
I so look forward to using these!

Rainbow Scrap Challenge:

It's been a good week.  The traveling half of the family arrived successfully, and those of us at home have enjoyed the quilt. Unfortunately, two of the kids ran fevers and JoJo decided to wake up at 1:30 am on Friday morning.  We're doing well, and I'm enjoying my new fabric goodies (come back tomorrow to see the carnage).

First, the finish...

I finished the binding on Sunday.  I had quilted it in loops, and the texture after it was washed is delicious.  I'm very happy with the results, even if some of the pieces have pleats (I am still improving my cutting, okay?).  It's going to be a great gift to add to my stash.  At 57", I think I'll either give it to a child or baby, but we'll see where it's needed.

Next, the layout.  It took a few days, but I have all my Bits and Bobs laid out.  Would you believe it that when I was done, I was short one block?  I counted so carefully, and still I was one short.  It didn't take long to cut out and piece the last one.  I'll be stacking and pinning before the rest of the family comes home.

Finally, the new quilt.  I originally pondered making rail fence blocks for my leader ender project, but instead, I maniacally sewed up the blocks for a whole quilt this week.  I need a quilt for a donation by midAugust, so I suspect this will be it.  The blocks will get sewn up in my free time this weekend, so who knows how far this will go?

Be sure to check out all the blue blocks this week!

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

Stash Report Week #29

I'm behind in reporting... I think I could use more sleep.  I sewed up a skirt for my daughter for her Ireland trip.  Of course, once I unpack the boxes I orders for myself, I'm in trouble this week...

IN last week: 0 yards
OUT last week: 1 1/4 yards

IN YTD: 11 3/4 yards
OUT YTD: 75 1/2 yards
YTD Total: 63 3/4 yards

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

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: Faded

This week was another crazy one.  With temperatures over 100 every day, I spent lots of time giving fresh water to chickens, trying to weed and walk early in the morning, and not die of heat exhaustion.  (No heat exhaustion.  I was careful!)  I also filtered honey, melted honeycomb, and cleaned destroyed bee hive frames.

It was also DH's birthday this week, so plenty of busy-ness there.

I did manage to sew up my hourglass blocks.  Funny thing, I've robbed the blue stack so often to fill in other months that there was little blue left this month!  I couldn't count again, so I made 21 instead of 20.

The baby quilt is quilted, but I think I'll wait until next week to reveal it, once I've bound it.  I will share that Joyful was right last week when I said it was 39" square.  When I was sewing it together, I had counted the number of pairs of rows, which was 13, and multiplied that by the finished size of 3".  But... 3" is the size of one row, not a pair of rows!  The quilt is 57" square. (No, that's not twice 39.  Obviously, 13 wasn't the right number either.  There were 19 rows.)  Somewhere, my math failed me.

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

P.S. Look at all the fabulous blues this weekend!

Stash Report Week #28

I finished off another spool of thread this week, and received a secret box that I'm not opening until the "I'm not going to Ireland so I ordered fabric" Week begins.  The stash busting is going to die a quick death that day!

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

Things That Make You Go Hmmm...

I've been starting at the screen for a while, attempting a clever title for the post.  I think I'm too tired.  (Don't worry; it's all good.  Farm work, company, energetic little people.)

 I've been musing about how far we've come with JoJo.  Two years ago, he spoke his first sentence: "I wan nu" for I want nutella.  Now he's using five or six words in a row, being descriptive, and beginning to show his quirky sense of humor.  We've embarked on a slow process of potty training, are agonizing over waiting three more weeks to be sedated for dental work, and enjoying trains.

In the meantime, I've put together most of my quilt.  It's going to finish at roughly 39" square.  I think I'll have it basted next week, but I can't seem to find a backing just yet.  There's plenty of fabric; it's a matter of pulling out pieces and measuring.  I'm not sure the quilt is visually quite balanced.  I thought I'd only have enough pieces for six clusters of stars, so by the time I realized I had more pieces than that, I was trapped into certain color selections.  It'll work for a baby quilt for someone, and babies won't mind, will they?

Off to the right are my mini 9s.  They really do all have blue in them, mainly in the centers.  Next week is my hourglass blocks.  The week after, there is some traveling going on with the big kids, so I'm going to see if I can slip in a Bits and Bobs organizational session.

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

Stash Report Week #27

Huzzah!  I finished another quilt this week, so I have yardage out.  I also brought my total of used spools up to 15.

Next up, in as few as three weeks or as many as six, I will be finishing my Tell it to the Stars.  There are only three blocks left to hand quilt, and I always find the quilting goes faster at the end than at the beginning.  At one time, I had a record of how many yards this used, but I think I'll have to go back to Judy's instructions and total up what I can!

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

IN YTD: 11 3/4 yards
OUT YTD: 74 1/4 yards
YTD Total: 62 1/2 yards OUT

Prussian Blue and Ultramarine

Last week's project (the green letters)

It's been a busy week.  Today, DH is at the local farmer's market.  I spent a long time yesterday preparing, finding all the bits and pieces, and harvesting food.  Now this morning, I'll be weeding, plotting (orders for the fall and next year), and, hopefully, sewing.

I quilted my Remixed Geese quilt (pattern on the Robert Kaufman website), bound it, and even washed it!  I quilted in the parable of the mustard seed as most of the quilting since this quilt will be going to a woman who will appreciate the flying geese representing the birds of the air in the parable.  I find the quilt a little narrow, but it's washed nicely.

 This little man has gone from army crawling to pulling himself up on anything in sight and "properly" crawling.  He's also insatiable in his grabbing anything remotely interesting to anyone else.  It makes it challenging to read, eat, or keep track of anything.  It's all good, as it's a stage and, like any other, it too shall pass, and he is such a funny monkey.

My five Garden Party blocks are (oddly enough, given the quantity of blue scraps I have) lacking in blue.  This is because my connector blocks are blue, so I didn't cut much blue for the other blocks.  Oh, well.

My other project this week has been my orphan blocks.  I made a Navy Baby triangle quilt last year, and the leftover triangles have lingered.  Then came my miscutting of an entire set of tri recs triangles for En Provence.  Fortunately, both sets of bits are compatible, so I've been piecing here and there.  I have a few ideas for the layout, but I think I need more sets completed before I can decide.  Off to sew.

from the room of Zana's Ninis,

katie z.

P.S. Be sure to check out all the delightful and inspiring blue projects this weekend!

Hand Quilting Progress

My oldest UFO is quickly approaching its completion.  Last month, I worked my way through the final round of borders, all of them, for two months' worth of quilting.

All that remains are the puffy bits: four more blocks.  Since I already almost have one of them done, in my wildest dreams it will be to finish the quilt in July.  If I don't make it, I know I'll be quite close!

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

P.S. The impetus for this work after two years' abandonment is Judy Laquidara's UFO Challenge.

July Goals

In June, my goals were...
1.  To tame the scraps: trimming, Bits and Bobs, Garden Party, Mini Nines, hourglass, Barn Dance, orphan blocks. Done, but for the orphans.

2.  Tell it to the Stars hand quilting, for whatever number is called.  Done, and done.  Two months worth complete.

3. Rose appliqué.  I think I can have it ready for basting by the end of the month.  High hopes?  Maybe, but I think I can.  I've begun hand quilting already.

4.  Have my flying geese quilt to flimsy stage by the end of the month.  I even basted it!

5.  Finish my big sister's quilt.  Done!

6.  Make two weighted blankets.  One of these can wait, but I'd really like to get the other one done and to my sister-in-law.  Done!

In July, my goals are:
1.  Tame my blue scraps: trim, Garden Party, mini 9s, hourglass, orphan blocks, and Barn Dance.  Maybe, if a miracle occurs, I'll lay out my Bits and Bobs and begin piecing the top.

2.  Get as far as I can on finishing Tell it to the Star.  I have four blocks to hand quilt, and I will finish at least two.

3.  Rose appliqué: keep quilting.

4.  Finish my flying geese quilt.  I have a quilting plan and threads selected.

5.  Make Sneaky Pete's name letters for the closet door.

6.  I would love to finish a few centerpiece mats for my mom, but I think I need my sister to do some embroidery, so I'll do my bit, mark them, and send them on.  I'll at least make the tops and make progress.

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

Stash Report Week #26

I have a lovely family, so this week I get to celebrate a few stash additions!  I received a fat quarter in yellow, a half yard of yellow gingham, and a yard of blue angels.

To help offset the incoming, I finished my son's letters for the closet doors for a total of 1/4 yard.

IN this week: 1 3/4 yards
OUT this week: 1/4 yards

IN YTD: 11 3/4 yards
OUT YTD: 66 1/4 yards
YTD Total: 54 1/2 yards

I also finished off another spool of thread, for 14 spools out for the year.

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