Farm Blocks Recap

 I must admit this month I didn’t feel inclined to make many quilt blocks for my farm quilt.  They are detailed and fiddly, and make clear to me that my cutting still need work.  Maybe this week I didn’t want to improve my cutting.  Sigh.

This week I did get the last ones knocked out.  We currently have six barn cats.  Two, Andromeda (the white cat with a big brown patch) and Cheddar (not made yet) were our cats at the old house, and we “inherited” two black cats (Gigi and Vapor) and two tawny cats (Eke and Tawny).  I was not up for six cats, and who knows if we’ll have all those cats when the quilt is finished.  At least they are finished.

The goats are Triple Vanilla and Chocolate according to the kids and Cyril and Methodius according to my husband.  The dog doesn’t properly represent our Great Pyrenees Hope.  We’ll keep it for now, and I’ll decide if I should have made it bigger.

Putting all the blocks together shows me I have a long way yet to go.  It will be okay; I just wasn’t feeling them this month.  I have 22 of 49 12” sections done.  (They will have sashing.  The current smashed together version is too chaotic for me.). On I go.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

 P.S.  It’s the last of the darks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

July 350 Block Count

 I was neglectful at the beginning of the month and didn’t set up my usual lists to track blocks, so today I had to do a little sleuthing.

I made 137 blocks in July, so added to the 372 I had previously, my total for 2021 is now 539.  I made 3 Modern Vintage blocks, 8 farm blocks, and 126 9 patches for my rick rack nines quilt.  Whew!

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Progress, Albeit Little

 Another week interrupted.  DH turned another year older this week, and as birthdays and holidays have always been hard for him as a child of divorced parents, we decided to take a trip and just get away from the house (and phone) for a few days.  We traveled down to the Ouachita Mountains to a remote cabin and enjoyed the quiet and interruption to normal life (and no anxiety about COVID for a little while).

Of course, traveling means no machine, so I finished some hexagon stitching and the binding on my green Rick Rack Nines quilt (posted yesterday).

So when we returned home, I finally stitched two more blocks for my farm quilt.  I love my hot chocolate mug, so a mug seemed appropriate, and we have a Great Pyrenees dog named Hope.  Of course, this dog doesn’t have the right shape of face, but there’s a limit to the acrobatics my brain can do right now.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

P.S. It’s Rainbow Scrap Challenge time.  Fortunately, next week is still the same color, so I can redeem myself on my lack of blocks!

Finished Quilt: Rick Rack Nines

 I love finishing quilts!

This tidy little quilt for the one of the cutest little boys has only been in the works for a month.  I started with the nine patches in green from scraps.  In only a few days, it became apparent I didn’t have quite enough to make all the needed nine patches.  I raided my stash (which I had happily recently refilled) and cut new 2” strips.  The mustard/gold is a favorite color of my sister, so I included it as the alternate color.  She helped choose the rusty brown binding while they were visiting last week.

The backing is a fabric I dyed just for this little boy as he loves green.

The pattern is Rick Rack Nines by Bonnie Hunter.  I adjusted it to a 70” by 60” (or so) quilt.  Great size for almost three with plenty of room to grow!

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Stash Report Week #29 and 15 Minutes

 On the stash report, there’s nothing much to say.  I used up one mode spool of thread, for 13 for the year.  I had frivolous hopes of finishing the quilt for my nephew, but that will be in the coming week.

Fortunately, I did finish another round of brown hexagons during my 15 minutes a day.  That brings my statistics to 188 of 198 days for 2021.  I’m so grateful for the challenge to stitch every day on these hexagons; they are moving along quite nicely instead of being a pie in the sky dream.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: One Block

All I have to show this week is a sewing machine.  I cut two more blocks, but since my sister and family are visiting after almost two years, that’s all she wrote!

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

Stash Report Week #28 and 15 Minutes

 I tidied my stash shelves this week and decided to clear out some unwanted fabric.  I have plenty, I don’t need to buy more, but I also don’t need fabric on the shelves that I pass over whenever I’m choosing fabrics.

IN this week: 0 yards

OUT this week: 12 yards

IN YTD: 57 1/4 yards

OUT YTD: 72 3/4 yards

YTD Total: 15 1/2 yards OUT

On the 15 minutes front, I was successful every day this week.  Yay!  I’ve started to add the brown “path” hexagons for my quilt.  It’s both boring and fulfilling, as it helps me feel like maybe someday I really will finish this quilt!  (It will still be years.  Sigh.)

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: Askew

 I’m afraid my sewing was a trifle discombobulated this week.  Saturday, I didn’t attend to my weeding carefully enough and wiped a poison ivy-tainted hand across my face.  My left eye swelled shut, but after a steroid shot, it would appear I will survive with far less agony than my run in from May!

I did sew three Modern Vintage blocks.  I think I need 5 more for the planned quilt.  Four may be orange, but I’m not sure what the last will be!

For hexagons, I began adding a brown row around the flowers.  Last night, when visiting with friends, I finished this one and made good headway on basting the brown hexagons for the next.

I have spent the last few weeks sewing up some green nine patches.  (What can I say… I needed some sewing that didn’t require complicated decisions.).  Now that I’m assembling them, I think they’re going to look quite interesting together.  In the end I had to cut some extra 2” strips from stash, but I am happy to see fabrics I’d forgotten!  (How can I have forgotten some of them in just the six months since moving?!). I’m slowly trying to use up my overflowing scrap drawers; sometimes I feel like I never make it to the stash because there’s always more scraps to use; I might have had to remind myself not to buy anything for a while.

I need to take the Assistant out to drive now so I’m going to wrap this up.  We may have storms later, but she needs her driving hours and experience.  I’m looking forward to a good errand runner in a year or two!

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

P.S. It’s Rainbow Scrap Challenge Weekend!

Stash Report Week #27 and 15 Minutes

 It was a good week for stash!  All the fabric I dyed was already counted in the big roll I purchased last year.  I finished a cat mat and a small quilt, so I’ve finally moved into the positive!

IN this week: 0 yards

OUT this week: 5 3/4 yards

IN YTD: 57 1/4

OUT YTD: 60 3/4

YTD Total: 3 1/2 yards OUT

On the hand stitching front, since I was the camp leader for my kids’ at home summer camp, I sometimes fell into bed without a stitch being taken.  5/7 for the week and 174 of 184 days for 2021.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: Pretty Messes

 It’s Rainbow Scrap Challenge weekend!  My sewing was a trifle discombobulated last week as I coordinated “summer camp” for our kids last week.  It rained.  Often.  We had many ups and downs, but it was a nice change from the summer schedule, I think.

I’ll be using neutrals this month as I don’t have much navy blue to work into my projects.

As part of our summer camp, we tie dyed shirts.  Of course, since I quilt, I couldn’t stop with shirts.  I pulled out my bold of 60” wide white fabric and cut off some quilt backs and some not-quite fat quarters.  The turquoise-based quilt backs are still soaking, but the reds-oranges-yellows are soaked, washed, and ironed.

Three of the quilt backs are spoken for, but the other three were just for fun and to use up leftover dye.  It was good fun.

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

July Goals

 June was a chaotic month, and it is likely July will be even more so.  We just wrapped up our own summer camp for the kids at home, and I’m tired.

 My goals were for June were:

1.  Scraps: trim, make blocks in purple: Modern Vintage, farm quilt, and hexagon flowers.  Done!  I even finished five hexagon flowers!

2.  Finish the pineapple quilt. Yes!

3.  I’m considering a new quilt.  What, I don’t know, but something.  Nothing as complicated or tedious as the pineapple quilt or farm quilt, I do know that!  I made a small quilt for the front porch.

July Goals are short:

1. Scraps: trim, make blocks in neutrals: another round on the hexagons, Modern Vintage, and some animal farm blocks.

2.  Start a quilt for my nephew.

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