February Project List

I completed two quilts, Magnolia Mystery and a charm pack baby quilt, but started four scrap projects: 16 patches, churn dashes, Stained Glass Stars, and Hand pieced hexagons.


1. Pillow
2. Scrappy DWR
3. ABC appliqué
4. 9 patches and stars
5. Dragon
6.  Red and white Ohio star
7.  Christmas Jared takes a Wife
8.  Tshirt quilt
10. 16 patches
11.  Churn dashes
12.  Stained Glass Stars
13.  Hand pieced hexagons

January 1: 9 projects
Started: 5
Finished: 2
January 31: 12 projects

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

January 350 Block Count

With a new year, a new accounting for my blocks.  I have plenty!

Charm square blocks: 50
Stained Glass Star Blocks: 6
Churn Dash: 19
16 patch: 57
For a total of 132 new blocks!

from the room of Zana’s Ninis
katie z.

Stash Report Week #4

No finishes, no purchases.

IN YTD: 0 yards
OUT YTD: 12 1/4 yards
YTD Total: 12 1/4 yards OUT

I did exhaust another spool of thread, so my total is now three.

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

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: Blue Moon

I returned to my Stained Glass Stars this week to make two more.  While I was chopping up my Vicki Welsh stash for my hexies, I cut enough 1.5” strips that it made sense to make a few more.

Most of my week was not spent on scraps, but on utilizing stash acquisitions from last summer.  I purchased a number of greens, more intended for a Christmas quilt, but which also came in handy when my oldest son Q requested a dragon quilt.  I hemmed and hawed over how to accomplish such a pattern, and finally settled on a perler bead pattern, biggie-sized.  I’m halfway through the dragon, and then will have 18 rows to add his name in, which is my current design dilemma.  In the meantime, I sew batches of strips together, subcut, and layout two rows at a time.  I’ve had a few surgical procedures, but I’ve figured them all out before I’ve sewn the rows in pairs, so there is hope for me yet!  I may try to finish this quilt for his birthday in April, or I may not.  I think it will depend on February’s scrappy color.

As my leaders and enders (at least for now), I'm sewing the squares on ends of the strips for Jared Takes a Wife.  I finished all the greens this week, so now I'm tackling the red.

Be sure to check out all the blue bits this weekend!

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

Stash Report Week #3

No finishes, no purchases.

IN YTD: 0 yards
OUT YTD: 12 1/4 yards
YTD Total: 12 1/4 yards OUT

I did exhaust two spools of thread, so that accounting has begun too.

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

Inspirational Scraps

If I had enough scraps of these colors, or wanted to cut into stash, or had less scraps of other colors (or, or, or...), I would blissfully create an entire quilt of these 16 patches in just these colors.  Yes, yes, I would.

Not this year, however, as I will be adding blues, teals, greens, maybe greys, and purples before the end of the year.  57 blocks is not a bad way to start the year!

Additionally, I’ve made the first blocks for a churn dash quilt.  This quilt threw me for a tizzy, as I wrote in my notes that I’d use 2.5” scraps, but once I tackled the math, I realized that would make a queen-size quilt, which is not what I want.  2” will do nicely.  I don’t know if I made enough blocks this month, but I figure the end of the year will provide me with time to make more if needed.  This round I used each fabric only once, and tested what length of fabric I need to make an entire block (at least 123" for the churn part).  Next month will be easier!

Sometimes, I wish I could make a quilt out of all my blocks each month, just one color each.  Each time other bloggers post their month’s blocks, I find so much inspiration!  I have much to sew.

I’m out of planned blocks for the month, so I’ve gone back to my scraps and planned a few more Stained Glass Stars for next week.  Meanwhile, I’ve started on my son’s requested dragon quilt.  It’s all 2” scraps, and awfully fiddly, and too much to complete in a month.

Before I forget... Be sure to check out all the really fabulous blue blocks as well as recent finishes this weekend.

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

Stash Report Week #2

IN this week: 0 yards
OUT this week: 3 1/4 yards

IN YTD: 0 yards
OUT YTD: 12 1/4 yards
YTD Total: 12 1/4 yards OUT

Two weeks in, and 2018 looks very pleasant.  I have plenty of stitching to keep me busy, so while I’ve concocted plans for a few quilts that require new fabric, it’s easy to ignore urges to purchase.  I won’t finish anything in the coming week, but I should have a myriad of new blocks.

15 minutes of stitching each day has been going well.  Saturday night DH and I went to a trivia night, so I spent several hours basting hexies.  I need to sew a few together soon!

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

Stained Glass Stars

This week's sewing revolved around a Tshirt quilt and my 16-patches, but since one is not scrappy and the other is unfinished, I'll show you what I completed early in the week:

 My four 8" (finished) Unnamed Stars for January are complete.  I used nine different fabrics, 3 in each block, and then a mix of all 9 in the last block.  I love how they look!

Be sure to visit the other blue projects, old and new, this weekend.

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

Finished Quilt: Magnolia Mystery

Each year, Kate takes part in a mystery quilt from Meadow Mist Designs.  In the past, I've watched the quilts develop without much attention, but this year, when the mystery began, I was ready to start another project, so I jumped in.

I chose solids for my first mystery quilt.  As it developed, I stayed pretty happy with my choices.  Once the full design was revealed, I was relieved to find my colors worked out.  I did decline to add the wide expanses of white fabric, so opted for a few colored borders.  I chose simple straight lines for quilting, spaced along the block layout, and more lines through the borders.

It's not a lovely picture, for which I apologize.  My camera is still MIA, and I'm struggling with using my iPad and loading them to my computer.  It'll get better eventually!

I'm very happy with this lap-sized quilt, and it's washed and ready to share with somebody who needs it or for charitable purchases.

Next year, I'll be on the watch for the next mystery!

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

Finished Quilt: Rose Appliqué

From October of 2016 until recently, I regularly carried bits and pieces of this quilt with me.  I started with the blooms, using them to while away the time at therapy and the dentist, as well as waiting for school kids.

I used this pattern, something I purchased during a shop hop and gave my husband to give me for my birthday (I think) in 2009.  Unfortunately, the ink flaked off the pattern cover and backing, and the pattern picture was the only layout guidance in the whole pattern, so I wasn’t so thrilled.  But all’s well that ends well, and here we are.

The purples and greens are from two shade packs by Vicki Welsh.

The only time the machine touched this quilt was to attach the binding.  Now it’s washed and crinkled delightfully, and ready to give away!  (And, of course, I didn't get a better picture than this before I gave it away, so enjoy it as it is!)

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

Stash Report Week #1

Yeehaw!  I have a finish, my Magnolia Mystery quilt.  I have two quilts I would love to make that require purchasing specific fabrics, so I’m hoping for a strong first half of the year so I can splurge later.  This is a good beginning!

And, since it’s been so long since I mentioned how I tally, here’s a recap.  I don’t count any yardage out until a project is completed, quilting and binding and all.  I do count yardage I receive from giveaways and gifts as incoming, since I am interested in the interaction between incoming and outgoing regardless of how it arrives.

IN YTD: 0 yards
OUT YTD: 9 yards
YTD Total: 9 yards

I also managed 15 minutes a day sewing.  Saturday, my birthday, I had hoped to sew the afternoon away, but that was regretfully interrupted when Spunky slipped on ice and incurred a serious concussion.  I don’t do well with lots of blood, so I had to put my head down for a little bit after I helped her clean up her head.  She’s doing well, though, so I think we’ll get some sewing time this week once we see when she will go back to school.

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

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: New Beginnings

At the end of 2016, I cut all my scrappy projects out for 2017.  While at times this wasn’t the best choice, such as when I didn’t have enough (or any) of a color some months, I certainly missed all that preparing this month.  I know I will get into a groove with cutting in a month or two, but I’m not there yet.

I have three or four projects to work on, depending on the color.  This month, with blue, I’ll be making 16-patches out of my 1.5” scraps, churn dashes out of my 2” scraps, and unnamed stars from my Vicki Welsh stash.

(Sorry about the picture issues.  My photo library disappeared off my computer, my camera is still missing, and I'm not terribly savvy at the work-arounds.)

Needless to say, my blue scraps are all over the place as I find new storage arrangements for each new project.  I’m not sure how many 16-patches I’ll make each month, so all of the 1.5” blues have come out to play while I putter around.

I don’t have a plan for how many unnamed stars I’ll make each month either.  This month, I’ve cut four, and as they develop, I’ll see where they take me!

My sewing focused primarily on a new flimsy!  I had a lovely stack of charm squares from Prairie Moon Quilts, which I decided to pair with this solid tan.  The charm squares don’t really jive with the rest of my stash, and I didn’t want to go with any of my usual solutions, so I puzzled a bit.  I’m calling this block a stretched four patch, and it’s already a flimsy.  I even selected backing and binding, and will see if I have enough batting scraps to make a batting.

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

January Goals

This month, I hope to...
1.  Corral the blue scraps: trim, 16 patches, churn dashes, and unnamed star.

2.  Complete the Tshirt quilt.

3.  Finish the Magnolia Mystery quilt.

4.  Create something to use up UFO #10 from Judy’s Challenge.  For me, this is a charm pack, so I hope to finish a baby quilt.

That’s it!

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

2018 Goals

(I’m a bit late getting to this post, so I’ll back date it to appear earlier in the year!)

In 2018, my goal list isn’t very long:
1. scraps: star and 9s from warm colors, 16 patches from cool colors, unnamed star from hand dyes, churn dash from 2” scraps.

2.  Use twice what I buy.  Last year, I blew this thoroughly, but I’m hoping to tidy up my stash this year, since it no longer has a lovely cupboard home but is stacked on a cart under the stairs.

3.  Start some projects from odd lots of fabrics or that I’ve put off due to a need for high degrees of organization.   These include:

• Red and white Ohio star
• Dragon
• Aegean Sea
• Jared Takes a Wife
• St. Patrick
• Rainbow log cabin
• Green and brown fabric
• Baby fat quarters
• RWB HST
• Charm pack
• Hand pieced hexies
• Chubby pinwheels

In the personal realm, I’d like to...
1. Lose another 10 pounds.

2.  Play music in the house more.  We have a piano that is too often silent.

3.  Blog at Purgatory Ranch more,

4.  Work on some of my spiritual goals, like reading the Bible, praying regularly, and working on atrium materials.

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