Finished Quilt: Rhododendron Mystery

 

It’s finished!  (Please forgive the distortion.  It tangled in the dryer, so I threw it over a couch to dry.  I can see exactly where the arms and back of the couch were!). It never ceases to amaze me how much more I like some quilts after they are washed, this one included.

Lessons to learn: I don’t like quilts with mostly background.  I don’t like assembling quilts on point.  I really don’t like narrow sashing.  I don’t enjoy pieced borders, and I always stretch setting triangles with lots of pieces.  I need to be more prudent about choosing mystery quilts; Bonnie Hunter designs amazing quilts, but I should stick with her books and free patterns and ignore the mysteries.

I used some of my favorite sparkly blue/turquoise fabrics at the request of my sister, and don’t they look lovely?  These (turquoise, dark blue, Kona plum, and yellow) colors will hopefully blend nicely with her newly finished basement.  It will either live on the couch or in the bedroom… they’re still finishing up, so she has plenty of time to decide.

The backing is a splendid William Morris print.  The colors are more muted on this backing, but it thrilled my sister and I think it’s quite charming.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Stash Report Week #7 and 15 Minutes

 Alas, Rhododendron Mystery was not completed over the past week (I finished it… 10 minutes ago… so I’ll count it next week), so my stash remains unchanged.

IN YTD: 22 yards

OUT YTD: 22 yards

YTD Total: 0 yards

I faithfully stitched on my hexagons every day this week, so I’ve hit 57 of 57 days for 2022.  Yay!

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: Two Small Blocks

On reviewing the week, I find myself hard-pressed to define what made it so exhausting.  One child and the husband had sick days, but just for upset stomachs, not actual getting sick.  I’m so relieved.  There was extra driving, grocery shopping for the month, extra cold days so extra animal chores.  Oh, yes.  Ukraine.  I don’t even know what to say or do about the war except acknowledge it is happening, pray, and wish there was something more I could do.

I spent the vast majority of my sewing time quilting my Rhododendron Mystery.  I did straight-line quilting in the borders to hide my waves.  I stretched the bias of the blocks despite my care (I should have been more careful).  The quilting is done, and maybe I will be able to finish the binding by the 28th to get this quilt off my list by the end of the month!

When I needed to wind bobbins, change feet, or otherwise needed a break from the quilting, I finished two small farm blocks.  I’m glad I found a big more teal to use to keep up with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  I only need 8 more blocks after this, and then it will be time for assembly!  “Feed and Seed” is particularly apt as we picked up 800 pounds of chick feed last Saturday and then use buckets to fill our feed bins.

I’m ready for warmer weather.  I’ve enjoyed the snow of the last month, but the bitter cold (bitter for me… 20 F and colder, down to below 0 wind chills.  I have a few seeds sprouting in my laundry room, my dad has been spading beds in preparation for planting, and we’re generally longing for outside time!

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

 

Stash Report Week #7 and 15 Minutes

 I finished a weighted blanket this week and resisted ordering any fabric, so I’ve made proper progress on my stash report!

IN this week: 0 yards

OUT this week: 4 yards

IN YTD: 22 yards

OUT YTD: 22 yards

YTD Total: 0 yards

After weekly use of thread spools, I didn’t finish one off this week, and I haven’t had to make any masks in 2022 (several kids use KN94 masks and the rest of us have a good stash).

I remembered to stitch on my hexagons every day this week, thanks to a few late night sewing sessions, so I retain a perfect run of 50 days of 50 days for 2022.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: Challenged

Oh, my stars.  Three of my seven children have come down with a gastrointestinal bug over the last eight days.  Last night was my first decent night sleep in a while, so I had a hard time getting up this morning.  When the kids are sick, I find myself cutting projects more than sewing.  It seems to be easier for my brain to start and stop cutting abruptly over settling down to stitch together blocks and be interrupted.

Therefore, the week saw a new quilt completely cut and a second one may be finished later today.  Before the sickness ramped up, I did finish two farm blocks: 

Also as soon as the weighted pellets arrived, I finished the last three rows on a weighted blanket for my niece.  It’s the right colors for Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

Other than those brief moments, my sewing time has been consumed by straight line quilting on this monster quilt.  I’ve decided what would look best but balk at the amount of time it’s taking!  I may take a break for a day or two and return to piecing.  I definitely feel bereft when I have several days without piecing.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

 

Stash Report Week #6 and 15 Minutes

 I finished a quilt this week, but I also received an order of fabric, so my stash changes are not quite as lovely as they should have been.  Ah, well.

I also used TWO spools of thread, bringing my total to seven for the year.  I suppose a weighted blanket uses a lot of thread, as did the Rhododendron Mystery.  I’m intrigued to see what happens with the year.

IN this week: 4 yards

OUT this week: 5 1/4 yards

IN YTD: 22 yards

OUT YTD: 18 yards

YTD Total: 4 yards IN

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: Good Times

 I finished a quilt from the turquoise blocks I showed last week.  I posted about it last night!

Additionally, I made two farm blocks and cut two more.  Quilting and binding the turquoise box blocks took all my sewing time for three days.  (Patchwork and windmills)  I cut a square from each of the cork fabrics and only had one or two extra.  I think it’s lovely that I can enjoy a snippet of (almost) all the fabrics together in one block!

I’m on to mixed rainbow blocks for the rest of the month, as my farm blocks are getting to the final choices and my next scrappy quilt has blue and green but nothing quite turquoise.  My hand hexagons are leaning to the green shades currently, as I’ve already made too many aqua and don’t want to add the brown rounds right now.

Alas, I think the stomach bug has found our house, so we’ll see what I can sew today.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Finished Quilt: Favorite Blocks

 I love that sometimes, a quilt comes together so ridiculously fast that it doesn’t feel like any effort at all.  My most recent finish, Favorite Blocks, came together just that quickly.

I pulled all the fabrics for this quilt from my 2.5” scrap box.  Since this month, we are challenged to use teal/turquoise/aqua scraps, I chose all my fabrics from blue to green.  The centers I made from my black and gray scraps.  This scrap box is depleted enough that I’m not sure how many more quilts I can create without cutting from stash. The pattern is adapted from the book Successful Scrap Quilts from Simple Rectangles.  I think this is my fourth quilt from the book.

The backing is a lovely piece of 60” wide fabric I dyed this summer.  While it may look “just turquoise,” it is nicely mottled and has a few dashes of grey, yellow, dark blue, and white.  I was very proud of my backings.  They’ve saved me from a number of tediously pieced backs, as my stash has dwindled to smaller pieces and less significant yardage.

The finished quilt is roughly 56” x 64”.  I don’t have a recipient in mind just yet, so this will wait patiently for the perfect person.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

January UFO Report

January and 2022 began with 9 unfinished projects.  I added one new project for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, and I finished nothing.  February is expected to bring a number of starts, but I’m also highly hopeful that I’ll finish a few things!

 1. Double wedding ring

2. Pillow

3. ABC appliqué 

4. Hand hexagons

5. Split Star

6. Farm quilt

7. Pink hexagons

8. Rhododendron Mystery

9. Valentine

January 1: 9 projects

Started: 1

Finished: 0

January 31: 10 projects

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Stash Report Week #5 and 15 Minutes

 With no finishes and no fabric purges this week, my stash report remains unchanged.  I did finish a flimsy, finish a set of blocks, and make good progress on a weighted blanket.  The blanket would be done but I ran out of weighted beads.  Ah.  My fifth spool of thread for the year is empty.

I did rearrange my sewing closet.  Fortunately, the Assistant helped and her space saving ideas helped me be more efficient.

I have stitched everyday in 2022, which shows in my excellent hexagon progress.  I’m excited to see where this progress takes me this year while fully away I could be derailed at any time.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: Blocks!

 We had three! snow days this week.  I, unlike some parents who live in town, was grateful.  We had 3 feet tall drifts in places, including in front of our goat house and where our driveway meets the road.  DH plowed our driveway and the road twice, but the strong winds drifted over both severely.  My van hasn’t moved since Tuesday.  Morning chores required two (or three) of us for much longer than usual since we had to deal with frozen water, deep drifts, wind, and bitter cold.

Fortunately, we didn’t have to do any virtual school and enjoyed real snow days.  That means I had some lovely sewing time.  Two farm blocks are all done and two more are cut.  I’m down to some of the more fiddly blocks, which I have clearly delayed due to my lack of enthusiasm.  This watering can was much less onerous than I feared (of course).

In other RSC news, I whipped out an entire set of blocks this week.  This are from the book Successful Quilts from Simple Rectangles.  I need to play with arrangement.  I don’t have an equal number of blue and green or light, medium, and dark, so I think scrambled is going to be a better choice.  My 2.5” scrap box is getting a little emptier as all of this came from the box.  No cutting strips required!

My Rhododendron Mystery is a completed flimsy but needs pressing.  Instead, I rearranged my sewing closet after a new storage cart arrived.  My batting and wide fabric roll were causing access issues, but we fixed that and now everything is tidy again.  The Assistant was the perfect helper.

It’s my favorite month for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge as I do so love aqua and similar colors!

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Macaron Mystery

In general, I don’t do mysteries very well.  I like to make informed choices.  So, when the Meadow Mist Designs introduced her most recent mystery, I headed for the “peek” option.  A friend was diagnosed last year with thyroid cancer, so I planned this quilt for her.

The backing (ah, blogger arrangements) was a piece I hand dyed last summer.  I love it.

The pattern was delightful as always.  Please dismiss the distraction of the green setting triangles.  They weren’t green, but my green batik bled.  Badly.  I soaked the finished quilt for two days and still have green triangles.  (Shrug.). Let’s pretend it was a design choice.  And it would be flat if I’d taken the time to smooth the folds out.  I am generally in too much of a hurry and it shows.

This is (as usual) not a pattern I would have chosen.  I like it very much.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

 

February Goals

 January goals were pretty brief:

1.  A t-shirt quilt has been ordered.  I would like to finish it this month.  Done.  Delivered.

2. Scraps: trim, 1 red hexagon star, several farmhouse blocks, maybe 20 Valentine blocks, and sew up my triangles.  Done.  Extra hexagon blocks were finished, but the triangles are going to take much longer than I expected.

3.  Rhododendron Mystery: keep up with the clues.  As of writing this post, I have two short borders left to attach, and then it’s on to backing.  I don’t want to piece a backing or dye and piece one (my fabric is not wide enough), so I suspect I will order an extra wide backing.

4.  Mending.  Maybe.  T-shirt quilt first.  Negative.  The mending pile is just sitting.

For February, I like to think my goals are still reasonable.

1.  Scraps: trim, 4 teal flowers or rounds, eight more farmhouse blocks, a small quilt from 2.5” bricks, and more triangles into four patches.  If I finish all that, I will add some teal flowers for a quilt I want to make in March.

2. Finish the Rhododendron Mystery.

3.  Make a weighted blanket for my niece before her newest sibling is born.

I need to get to work!

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.