Stash Report Week #17 and 15 Minutes

Ladies, I’m so tired.  I need more sleep.  But anyway...

I made 8 more masks this week, for two of my siblings and their families.  I also finally received my order from the Fat Quarter Shop, so there’s a healthy increase in the “IN” column.  I wanted more oranges for my fox quilt, and some layer cakes for fun mask fronts.  Apparently, I’m not done making masks...

There will be more fabric coming next week, and, depending on the Connecting Threads speed, next week too.  I had used plenty, I will use more, and I have a large quilt currently sitting on my lap that will be plenty of yardage out when I finish it.

IN this week: 15 1/2 yards
OUT this week: 2 3/4 yards

IN YTD: 18 3/4 yards
OUT YTD: 64 yards
YTD Total: 45 1/4 yards OUT

On the hand quilting front, I quilted my Irish Chain quilt every day, only finishing 3 blocks as it was just that kind of week.  I’m currently sitting at 110/116 days for 2020.  I really wish I could be quilting faster, but the current speed is what I can manage without causing myself (more) anxiety.

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

Scrappy Sewing, Quarantine Style

I’ve laughed at all the memes about how brutally awful March and April of 2020 were to the world, but I really thought we were going to weather this stay at home order without too much drama.  Then, this week arrived!  Cue lightning and thunder and drama.

Our internet has decided to have an unreliable spell, cutting in and out all day.  This is not a pleasant way to manage lessons and work.

A rather more delightful source of chaos arrived in a box of chicks (meat and egg layers) in the midst of a torrential downpour.  I’m glad we ordered them before the panic buying of all the chicks began!

Back on the unfortunate side, BJ (now almost 9 months old) is suffering from high fevers.  We haven’t been exposed to CoVid19 to our knowledge (the only outside people he’s seen are my parents, who are also isolating).  Today may need to involve phone calls to our doctor for advice.

I made eight more masks this week for siblings and their kids.

I’m thoroughly enjoying the foxes.  Cutting them out requires spreading fabric all over my tiny sewing space, but I just cut out a batch at a time and have them ready to go.  21 down... do I have it in me to make 80?  I’ve ordered some orange fabric, as each fox is unique, but I’m not sure 80 is in the cards.  That’s fine, really, as he’s going to be little for a long time!

There are more bee blocks appearing.  In fact, we may have to take down some blocks from one of the projects!  I do need to figure out how to calm it down a little.  Maybe I’ll sash everything in grey or black?  Or white, but I do not particularly like swaths of white in quilts for young people.

My only real blue sewing is a few more Garden Party blocks.  I have over 40 done, so I’m well on my way to finishing this quilt for a Christmas gift!

I’m going to make a better effort this week to tour all the links.  If I don’t comment, it’s something with my iPad and commenting settings.  If my google account won’t show, I can’t comment, and I have tried several things with no improvement.  Oh, well.

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

P.S. I link up each Saturday to the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!

Stash Report Week #16 and 15 Minutes

Another week is passed.  We are doing well, I think becoming acclimated to the current normal (which, apparently, may change at any moment!).  I did end the week sucked back into mask making as I finally decided how to change the pattern I was using to use only one strap instead of two.  Now my sister needs more masks, as they may end up required to wear one any time they leave the house (it’s suggested even if you’re walking in the park?!).  I’ll whip hers out this week.

I have ordered fabric, twice in fact, but it appears it may be another few weeks before it shows up.  Again, that intriguing current normal.  At the current pace, I think I will still be above my 40 yards out for the year.  I think I need to increase that goal to give me a reason not to shop more!  I am getting more oranges for the fox quilt, some bee fabric for the quilt with Spunky, and some layer cakes to spice up the mask making.

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

IN YTD: 3 1/4 yards
OUT YTD: 61 1/4 yards
YTD Total: 58 1/4 yards OUT

This week, I hand quilted every day this week.  I didn’t manage seven blocks quilted, only four, but that’s fine.  It’s progress, and eventually, I’ll pick up steam again when I am close to the end.

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

Making Progress

Over the weekend, coupled with a brief respite from cooking (I made a table full of food for Easter to make leftovers), I got a grip on my doldrums and made a plan for the week.  I set aside the burden of masks and mulled over the pattern changes I wanted to make.

Instead, I committed to one set of courtyard steps.  Happy, happy, happy.  (I don’t have any light blue!)

I am thoroughly enjoying these foxes (pattern by Elizabeth Hartman).  BJ’s color is orange, so most of the foxes will be various shades, and then I’ll make one fox in each of his siblings’ colors.  Now that I have the layout in my brain, these foxes are going pretty quickly.

There are a few more Garden Party blocks mixed in, but they were pulled off the wall earlier this week.

Spunky and I are collaborating on a quilt made from my bee fabric remnants.  She lays them out and I sew them.  They make good leader and enders.

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

P.S. I’m linking up to the Rainbow Scrap Challenge this Saturday!

Stash Report Week #15 and 15 Minutes

Another week is over, and it went better than the week before (I think).  There’s significant stash movement this week, since I finished 11 masks and gave away a grocery bag of fabric for someone else making masks.  She is retired and has time on her hands, and it relieves me of the guilty feeling that I should be finding more time to sew masks.  I need a break.

IN this week: 0 yards
OUT this week: 14 1/4 yards

IN YTD: 3 1/4 yards
OUT YTD: 60 1/4 yards
YTD Total: 57 yards OUT

I’m very pleased with the stash usage.  I am happy to be giving fabric that is less loved to someone who will use it, and I would really, really like to make some nice big gaps on my shelves at the end of this year.  I placed an order with the Fat Quarter Shop, and it will eventually show up, but we already have plans for most of it.  Onward!

I did miss out on a day of hand stitching.  Life is just hard, and my previous sewing time was when all the big kids (and husband) were gone at school.  It is difficult to stop and sew when there are so very many things to do all the time!  I’m at 90 of 95 days, so it’s okay.  The block a day goal was too much, but I finished 3, so on I go!

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

Baking Our Way to Easter

I think just about the time we get into our groove for continuing education, the school year will be over.  This week, one day was thrown off by my neurologist appointment (higher dose of medicine to see if we can knock down headaches more), another was disturbed by my Dillons grocery pickup (early so they have as many things in stock as possible), and Friday was no school for Good Friday.  Anyway, we’re doing pretty well, although clicking and inserting the right things in the right places to be “done” for the week may very well be the death of one or two kids.

In the meantime, we’re also in the throes of much baking for Easter.  We’ve baked through an alarming number of butter sticks.  Fortunately, I have plenty of everything to last us quite a bit longer.  After the grocery pickup Thursday, the goal is not to get groceries for as long as possible.  I may have offered my kids a bribe to keep them from complaining as things run out.  We have sugar cookies, lemon bread, lime bars, chocolate salted caramel Macarons, cream cheese mints, and coming up will be breadsticks and cinnamon rolls.  We like our sweets, and nothing will last long as there are nine of us and we are sharing with my parents.

Sewing took a very back seat this week.  I have a few foxes, a handful of masks, and a garden posey or two.  I am hoping next week I can find a way to sew more.  It always difficult for me when everyone is home.  Soon enough!

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

P.S.  Angela continues to be a marvelous hostess through all this!

Stash Report Week #14 and 15 Minutes

I missed a day hand quilting (phooey).  Friday was a rough day for us, making sure all the assignments were done and turned in (we had a few gaps), keeping a certain child from driving everyone else mad (grrr), and then the weather turned cold!  Still, I’m 90 out of 95 days!  I have the first six motifs done in the empty spots.  Since these are easier on my back/hand, I’m currently trying to complete an entire block a day.  We’ll see... if it’s too challenging, I can drop back, but it would be so blissfully wonderful to finish the quilt by early June!  In this crazy world, things like a beautiful new quilt for my bed are the “simple” pleasures.

On the stashbusting front, I managed 10 masks this week.  I’m estimating 4 yards.  Somehow, 17 masks in, I still don’t have a nice pile of masks sitting around!  They’re going out the door as fast as I can complete them, and, admittedly, I am not finding multiple hours to cut and sew them.

It looks like I hit my goal for the year, already, but that’s great.  I think I may order some layer cakes for mask making, just to give me some fun prints.

IN this week: 0 yards
OUT this week: 4 yards

IN YTD: 3 1/4 yards
OUT YTD: 46 yards
YTD Total: 42 3/4 yards OUT

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

Going Nowhere...

Where did the week go?  I think it was sucked up in the “Continuing Education” (or whatever it’s called...) of finding a way to get five kids online and watching/doing the right things at the right times.  I really need a check list for each kid for the week.  The teachers did an amazing job putting together a reasonable amount of work.  The kids worked hard, but the juggling and organizing just made each day long.  We made it!

So, I didn’t really sew much with blue scraps.  I made 10 masks, but most are in the mail for family.  It feels like the directions on best practice change everyday, so I feel a little anxious that I’m not doing any good with my sewing, but since I really intend mine to be worn over N95 or for general protection, I guess I need to just keep sewing.

I made a few Garden Party posies in between masks.  I’ve cut the first fox blocks, and I think those are going to be a pleasant change of pace.  BJ won’t care what they look like!  Speaking of BJ, he’s a crawling and pulling up to standing little tank.  He loves everyone being home all the time.

I have dinner to make and maybe I can a little more sewing in tonight!  (P.S. Check out the sewers who are better time managers than I!)

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

March Block Count

We are living in interesting times.

I am grateful my children are home with me and safe.  I am grateful my husband has job stability and can work from home and not go out facing illness.  I also need to find a way to get some space to sew.  We stay quite busy!

4 Courtyard Step blocks
19 Garden Party blocks
48 Temperature Quilt blocks
... That makes my March total to be 71 blocks.  The total for 2020 is now 252 blocks.

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

March UFO Summary

1. Pillow
2. Scrappy DWR
3. ABC appliqué
4. King sized 16 patch
5. Hand pieced hexagons
6. Irish chain
7. Courtyard steps
8. Temperature quilt

March 1: 9 projects

Started: 0

Finished: 1

March 31: 8 projects

This month, I finished up the Easter clothes.  I’m relieved, as I both enjoy and dread the Easter clothes.  I do promise a picture when I convince all the kids to don them!

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.