Stash Report Week #12

Woohoo!  I stalled all day in writing this post in hopes that I would finish the binding on my latest quilt before bed tonight.  Fortunately, I managed it despite multiple delays and distractions.  Ordinarily, I would save a Sunday finish for the next week’s report, but I want this included in March, so here goes...

IN this week: 14 yards
OUT this week: 12 yards

IN YTD: 36 yards
OUT YTD: 39 1/4 yards
YTD Total: 3 1/4 yards OUT

I did narrow my margin of success, but I bought three larger pieces for backings.  I don’t anticipate any shopping in April, so I should manage my goal of 10 yards out by the end of the month with little trouble.  This week will be all about cutting fabrics to get set for sewing up a storm over the rest of the month.

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

Emeralds and Gold

I almost, nearly, just about accomplished my extravagant goals for the week.

My plethora of Garden Mosaic blocks added up to 88.  Since I’ve only made a total of 108 in red and yellow, I think it’s obvious I have more green scraps!

The bright 16-patches escaped the sewing machine Friday afternoon.  I’m pleased to have completed 70-odd 16-patches, with only the dark green remaining.  The strip sets for those are sewn, but there are so many greens that I just couldn’t make them all.

Next on the list was my Tiny Tuesday Sampler blocks.  I was a little disappointed by the dullness of my hand-dyed green scraps, but since I was working with my scraps as much as possible, I only cut into stash for the larger squares on the “multiply” blocks.  All the designers have created such wonderful blocks, and I’m definitely attempting techniques I ordinarily avoid.

Can we take a moment to discuss comments?  I have to apologize to many of you fellow Rainbow Scrap Challengers for my not leaving comments.  Google will not leave me signed in on my iPad, so when I try to leave comments, they vanish into the ether.  Sometimes, it shows me as signed in, but after 20 different verification screens, I sometimes give up.  I don’t know what I’ve done or how to fix it, but please know I read and comment as I can!

My final ridiculous goal for the month was to finish the top, baste, quilt, and bind my chubby pinwheels quilt, which I’m now calling “St. Patrick’s Breastplate.”  Well...  I made it over halfway on the quilting, and then I was just too tired.  I took Miss G on a field trip Thursday morning, and my parents and I have been planting fools this week, so I didn’t get as far as I hoped.  It’s all good; I have until Sunday evening to meet my monthly goal.  I’m quilting in the words of the prayer known as St. Patrick’s Breastplate, a favorite prayer of mine from childhood.  I have the prayer sitting next to me as I quilt, and I jump from section to section depending on what will fit in the given space.  I would like to finish the quilting and put the binding on today, so that I can finish the hand stitching tomorrow.

Be sure to visit all the other green inspiration this weekend.  I think I’ll save my blog-visiting for tomorrow so I can get back to quilting now!  (But first, apparently, I need to put together a new bed frame for my oldest!)

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z, 

Stash Report Week #11

No changes, no changes, no changes.

I’m still on target with stash usage, but I am not quite to a quilt finish this month!

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

Frondescence

Ah, the pollen is a blowin’ and the farmers are a burnin’.  My nose and throat are having a bit of a trial, but they want to be outside with the rest of me, so we work with it.  We’ve been moving chickens, pruning fruit trees, tilling, and trying to weed (but the soil is too damp).

Suddenly, I’ve found the first crocuses and daffodils blooming.  The fruit trees are full of ready to burst buds, and the grass is greening up.  I have heard the roosters make their chuck chuck chuck noise that tells their hens of new treats.  We also haven’t had water freeze at night for two weeks, which is a glorious change from months of hauling water.

It’s also the peculiar time of year where the upstairs almost gets too warm in the afternoon and evening, which means the heat doesn’t run.  The lack of heat then means the basement turns a bit nippy.  I’m so grateful for a cold basement come summer that I won’t complain about the chill now!

On the sewing front, I made good progress this week.

 

My second Lepidoptera block is finished.  She looks a bit wonky, but I don’t want to trim anything until I have all the blocks done and see what needs doing.

All my chubby pinwheels blocks are finished, and I even have one quarter completely sewn together. I had a foolish hope of assembling the entire flimsy, but I lost a full day of sewing to appointments and such.  It rained last night, so I think I should be able to sew guilt-free this morning.

I made progress on my Garden Mosaic blocks, but as they aren't in pretty pressed block sets yet, just a mass of pieces by my machine, I don't have any pictures.  Next week will be a busy week to see them all completed!

While it looks less and less likely that I will get ALL of my green 16-patches made this month, I will certainly make good progress.  There were a significantly larger pile of green 1.5" strips than I thought when I began.  I finished another collection, the darker teal, this week, and I'm working hard on the lime/light/olive/apple greens now.

Next week, my ambitious plans are to finish my Garden Mosaic blocks, finish my 16-patches, make my Tiny Tuesday blocks, and completely finish my Chuppy Pinwheels blocks into a quilt.  Just writing it out reaffirms the notion that not all of that can happen, but that's okay.  I will definitely charge forward on the pinwheels and the Tiny Tuesday blocks should be pretty easy.  The other two can, fortunately, wait to be leaders and enders next month.

I'll be around later to check out all the green inspiration at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge Headquarters, but for now, I'm going to sew!

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

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: Scant Sewing

Spring Break began last Friday for my children.  By Monday, we were on a plane to Phoenix (yes, all 8 of us and my parents too!).  Tuesday, we drove up to the Grand Canyon, where we experienced a mighty snowstorm and saw only snippets of the epic views.  Wednesday, we headed back to Phoenix since the park was functionally closed.  In driving back, we encountered a few miles of whiteout conditions; I’m grateful my husband is an excellent driver.  Thursday, we saw the sights as well as my brother, who teaches at Tempe State.  Friday, we were back on a plane, and now we are home.  Since Daylights Savings Time began the day before we left, and then we shifted two hours back, I don’t think anyone in the house has any idea what time it ought to be!

This is one of DH's photos, which look nothing like mine.  Now I need to figure out how to get all mine off my phone and onto my computer!

Before we left, Sunday and Monday morning, I worked hard to get some sewing in.  Then, Friday, after we got home, I hustled through unpacking and starting laundry so I could sneak in a few minutes of sewing.  Unfortunately, so far today hasn't yielded much free time, as I'm still trying to write this blog post!

I finished the first Lepidoptera block for the month.  This one required serious surgery, as I somehow sewed the bottom half of each wing in backward and didn't discover it until I'd sewn the entire block.  It remains a bit thready, but I'll address that later.

The fabrics are cut for the second, and I hope it goes a little more smoothly than the first!

Next, I finished the pale teal green 16-patches.  The darker teal blocks are pinned into halves, so this weekend I'll hopefully finish them as well.

Finally, after our returns, I struggled through the center of my chubby pinwheels block.  It looks like I should have trimmed the little pinwheels before I assembled them, as they were too large for the expected measurements.  I eased them into place, and I think once the edges are in it will be okay.  Why don't I learn not to hurry?

This week, if all goes well, I'll sew together the last few chubby pinwheels as well as the 16-patches.  Finishing this by the end of March may be a challenge!

What are your plans for the weekend?  How are your green blocks developing?  Be sure to visit the Rainbow Scrap Challenge for more inspiration!

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

Stash Report Week #10

This week, it’s too early in the month to hope for a finish.  I did, however, in my sewing of strip sets and blocks, finish off another spool of thread.  That brings me to 9 for the year, a ridiculously large number for March, but that’s what happens when I make a pixelated quilt!

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

IN YTD: 22 yards
OUT YTD: 27 1/4 yards
YTD Total: 5 1/4 yards OUT

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

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: Greening Up

There’s a little more green in the grass around here, and it looks like we might actually have temperatures stay above freezing for a week.  That means I can fill the chicken waterers and not haul water all week.  Whew!

My Great Granny Squares went together like a charm.  I have found a fluid assembly method, so each block is ready in one piece before I have a chance to get bored.  The variety of green in my scraps was a pleasant surprise; I think they’ll play nicely in the finished quilt.

In the meantime, my design wall looks a disaster but really isn’t.  I’m focusing right now on spreading out the multiple blocks in each fabric rather than putting them in precisely the correct spot. Once I have all the different fabrics represented, the center will go together quickly.  The 16-patches are in the works, but it will be a while before I have them ready to go.

My ironing board is covered with snippets of 16-patches.  I keep cleaning, but 16-patches are pretty untidy until they come together in halves and full blocks.  This week I've focused on the teal green, so the other strips are waiting to be cut another week.  Next week is Spring Break, so everyone is home and sewing time will be restricted.

Be sure to check out all the lovely green projects this weekend that are part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!

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

Stash Report Week #9

Monday, I finished the quilting on my pixelated Thomas quilt, and since the binding was already done, that means I get to count all the yardage out this week!  I’m particularly happy about this as it means I made my goal of 5 yards out for the first two month of the year, to help me reach my goal of 30 yards out for the year.  My cart is full of fabric, so I really should have all the fabric I need for the year.  Shopping at the end of the year for special things will be fine, but I must make space first.

IN this week: 0 yards
OUT this week: 17 yards

IN YTD: 22 yards
OUT YTD: 27 1/4 yards
YTD Total: 5 1/4 yards OUT

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

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: In Between Colors

Yellow is done and gone, and while I had pictures, they were, alas, eaten by my computer.  This has been a long-standing issue, with my computer erasing things, but it came to a head this week, resulting in about 8 hours of fiddling and reinstalling things, only to find the Bluetooth capabilities are gone.  At least the picture stealing seems to be fixed.  I already have my yellow sampler blocks tucked away, and they’re a pain to get back out, so we’ll revisit them when I finish March’s!

After that tedious trauma of computer woes, I put myself to work on a green project for St. Patrick’s Day.  I’ve always wanted a special green quilt, so this year I’m making it happen.  Here’s the beginning, despite mismeasuring and mismarking the “bonus triangle” line over 200 times.  Don’t worry... I only miscut a few bonus triangles, and remarked all the rest while waiting for Apple Support.

I checked out our Rainbow Scrap Challenge post for the weekend and discovered it will be a green month.  Excellent!  If there’s time this weekend, I’ll start pulling and cutting for each of my challenge projects.  We have dreadfully cold weather on the docket so it will be a good day tomorrow, after church, to stay inside and get a fire going.

Oh, and Thomas the Tank Engine is all done, washed, and wadded up on a bed.  I love the finished quilt!

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

March Goals

In February, I wanted to...
1.  Finish the Thomas quilt for JoJo.  Whew!  I did it.

2.  Given time, I’d like to start my March quilt, which will be out of green and creams.  I have a lovely stripe for either border or backing, and I’m very happy finally to make a St. Patrick’s Day quilt.  It’s started, even if I did start it with the wrong measurements!

3.  Scrappy goals for the month include: trimming the scrap bucket, making Garden Mosaic blocks, 5 or 6 Great Granny squared blocks, SoScrappy sampler blocks, two Lepidoptera blocks, and sew the second side of wings for the 9 patches and stars quilt.  Done, done, done.

4.  End the month with a net use of 5 yards.  This could be challenging, as I’m in the hole more than I’d like, but the pixelated quilt is devouring fabric and thread at an alarming rate, so its finish will help.  I made it!

5.  Make two pillow covers for our bed.  Not well done, but done.

In March, I hope to...
1.  Make my St. Patrick’s Day quilt.

2.  Given time, start my bees quilt.

3.  Catch up on mending.  I hate mending, and the pile is deep.

4.  Scraps:  trim, make Garden Mosaic blocks Great Granny Squared blocks, the Tiny Tuesday sampler blocks, and two Lepidoptera blocks.  Depending on the color, I’ll work on 16 patches in cool colors or assemble 9 patch and stars blocks in warm colors.

We do have spring break and a birthday in the middle of the month, so I suspect this will be more than enough to keep me busy.  That’s fine, since the bee quilt will be April’s task, and the St. Patrick quilt is much less intense than the pixelated quilt from February!

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