Finished!

This has been a lovely week for sewing.  My 16 patches in green, blue, and purple are done.  Next month I’ll make the teal ones.

One Great Granny Squared quilt, roughly 6 foot square, is finished.  The binding on the second is 1/4 done, and will hopefully be done by the end of the day.  I’m pretty happy with how they look, although I think if I made them again I would starch them after pressing, before cutting.  They had a bit of fullness when sewing on the sashing.

One neurologist and one ultrasound on a lump later, I have the answers of nothing fatal or more serious than some horrible migraines.  Now if I could just manage the stress in my life (ha!), I might be better off.  Fortunately, headache days are decreasing.  All that’s left is physical therapy for my remaining issues, and I might eventually feel human again!

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

P.S. I’m looking forward to browsing all the block collections this weekend!

Stash Report Week #47

No changes.

Binding is awaiting hand stitching, so I have high hopes of a finish (or maybe even two!) before next stash report.

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

Preparations

How’s the weather where you are?  We finally had a few fall days, but now we’re back into winter!

This week, I hustled through the first of two quilts made from this year’s Great Granny Squared blocks.  It’s quilted and the binding is machine sewn on, waiting for next week when I can sew it down by hand while visiting with family.

The second is sewn into rows and, if between visits to new doctors next week, I can get it pieced, basted, and quilted, I may have two bindings to finish while family is here!

I’m making slow and steady progress on the Irish chain, aiming for hand quilting half a block a day.  It may take me all next year to finish, but finish I shall!

The sixteen patches were waylaid this week, but next week I should be able to finish all the greens, which will leave me only the teals in December.

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

P.S. Visit all the rainbows!

Stash Report Week #46

Ah, a finish, a finish!  I’m within striking distance of my goal of 30 yards out for the year.  It has been a good incentive this year to, after my one splurge, delete all the sale ads.  I have more than enough fabric to keep me busy for quite a while!

IN this week: 0 yards
OUT this week: 6 1/4 yards

IN YTD: 76 yards
OUT YTD: 98 yards
YTD Total: 22 yards OUT

Now it’s time to make stash plans for next year.  I really do want to see a decrease in my stash so that everything would fit back on the cart, including large pieces or collections of this, that, and the other.

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

Fabric Allsorts

I am so pleased that, this week, I finished the binding and washing of my Tiny Tuesday Sampler.  Thank you, Angela, for organizing the sampler!  One of the great things about making this quilt with Vicki’s fabric is knowing the fabrics won’t bleed.  The one and only spot I found, faint as it is, was next to the red heart block I made out of commercial fabric and never remade.  This quilt is now destined to sit on our chair and a half, for kids to snuggle under when watching movies.

The next joy of the week is completing the final Lepidoptera block.  A minor mishap was easy to cover up.  I even spread out the blocks on the storage room floor so I could get a feel for the final quilt.  While I have little intention of repeating this quilt any time soon, the end result compensates for all frustration!

Since the binding wrapped up Monday and the Lepidoptera blocks are intense enough to need frequent breaks, I worked on the first of my two flimsies made from this year’s Great Granny Squares blocks.  I have the binding picked out, the backing fabric cut, and most of the top pieced together.  I’m looking forward to having it together!  (I did the winter rearranging of furniture, which I should not have done alone, so now my design wall will have computer screens in it!  We have no TV, so I had to adjust for furniture to see the computer while not blocking the stove so we can use it)

As I’ve been assembling quilts from Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks, I realized I don’t love to sew sashing.  Of course, three quilts with sashing are in the queue!  Next year, I will choose blocks that can be pieced without sashing.

Friday, I spent some time in front of the stove pondering next year’s plan.  I wish I knew that my healer would resolve itself by next year, but that’s still a mass of question marks.  Given the uncertainty, I’m trying to keep my plans simple enough that I won’t “fall behind” if I’m unwell or doctor’s visits hold me up.  (I do see a new doctor next week, so positive thoughts and prayers would be most appreciated.)

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

P.S. Please visit the other rainbow scrappers to be inspired!

What Would I Do...

...if I weren’t afraid to mess up quilts?

I would try more new-to-me quilting designs.  I am a mediocre quilter at best, although I can rock a meander!  So this week, after many delays, I settled in to quilt my Tiny Tuesday sampler.  My intention is to do one motif for each color, so eight different motifs.  I’m on pattern number 5 and running short on ideas.  I don’t particularly want frequent stops and stars, marking or rulers, or anything incredibly dense.

Early in the week, I knocked out the penultimate Lepidoptera block, a lovely (and lovely small) fuschia butterfly.  Last up, next week after finishing the sampler, will be an emerald one.  Assembly of this jigsaw puzzle has me a little hesitant, but I think the fabrics will cover a world of mistakes.

In health news, there’s not much to say.  I am grateful that the headaches, while still with me, are less debilitating, and beyond that, zero progress.  I think I’ve settled on a doctor who will listen to me, and I’ll call to schedule an appointment next week.

Let’s go visit some other rainbow quilts, shall we?

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

November Goals

In October, I wanted to...

1. For my 12 Things project: Make progress on the Irish Chain.  I need to either baste or load it on the frame.  Loaded and quilting begun!

2. Scraps: This month is black or brown, so I'll trim, make Garden Mosaic blocks, Great Granny Squared, Lepidoptera, and Tiny Tuesday.  Goal met!

3.  A teal and red quilt for someone recently diagnosed with breast cancer.  Done and delivered.

In November, I am still moving slow with recovery, so I’m going to lay out some ridiculous goals but the later goals are really to just remind me what I can do next if I “run out” of goals!

1. Irish Chain is still on the list for my 12 Things project.  I would like to quilt 12 chain blocks this mont.

2. Scraps: It’s time to assemble!  I have trimming, the last two Lepidoptera blocks, and some 16 patches as leaders and enders.  After that, if I feel really lovely, I can finish the Tiny Tuesday sampler, 2 Great Granny Squared quilts, Lepidoptera, or even the 16 patch quilt!

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

12 Things Update

For three months now, my Irish Chain in hand dyed fabric has been my project for my 12 Things for 2019,  Alas, this means I’ve abandoned (or, really, failed to start) a few projects this year.  That’s okay; there’s always 2020.

I actually have made good progress.  The first turn has been made on the quilting frame!  I’m quilting straight lines through the chains, and I’ll figure out a motif for the other blocks later.  My goal for the month is to quilt another 12 chain blocks, which should get me at least two, maybe three more turns in.  This is one wall of our living room right now, so I’m grateful DH is patient with me.  6 blocks down, 56 to go.

I imagine it will be nearly 2021 before I’m done with this beauty, and it’ll be worth every minute.

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

Stash Report Week #44

No changes.  I’m currently halfway to my goal for the year, as I disrupted my totals massively this summer by buying two sets of 1/2 yard cuts.  I did assemble a flimsy this week, did some planning for two more, and plan to start one of my last butterfly blocks tomorrow!  It’s definitely the time of year for finishes.

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

Quick Work

When all the water freezes, I batten down the hatches for winter.  Of course, today it was over 60 again, so it’s not quite winter yet.  My chicks are getting big enough that they need to be moved out of my shed, so I’m trying to make repairs to an old coop before the beastly cold returns!

On the sewing front, I’m pleased to have finished another round of Garden Mosaic blocks.  I need to play with a few to decide how many more I need.  I think the most I would need is about 125, but maybe less.  I’ve seen two different numbers of blocks for the quilt, so I’ll need to refer back to my picture downstairs.

The rest of my sewing time, brief as it was, focused on a very cheerful project.  I love these blocks!  Since I made the blocks from my stash of hand dyed fabric, I dove back into it for 2” strips for sashing.  I know it’s not a “perfect” color wash, but I was using what I had.  I did choose to make the quilt wider than tall so several kids can sit under it and examine blocks.  The backing, for which I had initially considered some rainbow layout, is going to be blue with snowflakes, as I have a long enough piece that I only need one seam.  I’m still tired (nope, no answers, but the headaches currently don’t require daily ibuprofen, so there you go), so plain Jane will do.

I’m looking forward to a flurry of finishes over the next few months: Tiny Tuesday sampler, 2 Great Granny Squared quilts, Lepidoptera, and (big maybes) either the 16 patch quilt or Garden Mosaic.

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

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

November UFO List

October 1: 10
Started: 1
Finished: 1
October 31: 10

1. Pillow
2. Scrappy DWR
3. ABC appliqué
4. King sized 16 patch
5. Hand pieced hexagons
6. Great Granny Squared
7. Garden Mosaic
8. Lepidoptera
9. Tiny Tuesday
10. Irish Chain

I started and finished a quilt for a woman from our church who is undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer.  I’m looking forward to a few finishes this month, so maybe I’ll drop below 10 projects to end the year!