November Block Count

 Creating an entire quilt from start to finish in a month is unusual for me, but so I did this month.  I made 92 individual strips from my strip sets from my optical illusion quilt.  Additionally, I made a triangle quilt with 20 rows, a bojagi panel with 12 or so sections, and the last 67 blocks for my flower garden quilt.  That brings me to a total of 191 blocks for the month and 2121 blocks for the year.

December is not looking like a block making month, but instead an assembly month.  We shall see.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Stash Report Week #47

 The stash report has seen some drastic changes this week.  I finished two quilts and a Bojagi panel!  On one hand, I’m so excited to have wrapped up several projects, but 11 1/2 yards to go before the end of December still feels like a lofty goal.  I may need to purge some more unloved fabric.

Of course, assembling and quilting my flower garden quilt will help towards my goal.  I will be focusing on it in December, so it’s time to get busy.

IN this week: 0 yards

OUT this week: 17 1/2 yards

IN YTD: 105 yards

OUT YTD: 198 1/2 yards

YTD Total: 93 1/2 yards OUT

I finished one round of brown hexagons and excellent progress on a second, for 324 of 330 days for 2022. Woohoo!

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Flower Garden, Nearly Complete

My pictures are glimpses of chaos and the state of being in progress.  I have one quilt soaking, one in a pile waiting for me to stitch down the binding, and the third is waiting for four more blocks for me to assemble it.

First, awaiting binding:

I don’t have a picture of it after this point, but at least it shows the lovely illusion and my successful quilting.  I’m thrilled.

Ya!  I forgot I pressed and starched my Bojagi panels this week.  Their middles were a bit limp and wadded from all the kids coming in and out all day long. 

Then we have the blocks awaiting their buddies and then assembly.  The Assistant helped with layout and final block decisions last night.  She did reject a handful of filler blocks, or I would be done.  That’s okay; there were not lovely attempts to find different filler blocks,

The sheet I used to lay out blocks is one I have been using for as long as I can remember.  When we were little, my older sister and I were experts at creating dresses from sheets.  Over the years, it became my favorite way to organize lots of blocks, and even if it’s wearing thin, there are no holes yet!

Finally, my triangle quilt is completed.  Alas, it’s soaking, so I have no glamour photos yet.  The sparkly thread worked well, and even if the Assistant and I decided it doesn’t convey the image we wanted (and she still doesn’t like the brown triangles), it’s a lovely quilt all the same.

While it would be lovely to imagine that I could finish the last blocks AND finish binding the quilt, I suspect that won’t happen.  Still, I aim to make good progress!

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

P.S. Check out the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!

 

Stash Report Week #46

 FOUR spools of thread ran out on me this week.  That brings my total spools for the year to 37.

I did not finish any quilts this week, but as I finished quilting my triangle quilt today, there is hope for the coming week.

I missed one day of hand stitching.  I was wrapped up in other projects and too tired by nightfall to worry about the hexagons.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Developments in Fabric

 I was not able to work this week as two of my littles had a stomach bug.  Alas on earning money, but I spent the time quilting, so I’ll take the positive view.

I find this lovely flower quilt, due to its requiring many decisions, tends to get put aside easily.  Fortunately, I cut a pile of blocks, and they developed nicely in between the noisy demands of the other two quilts of the the week.

My triangles are happily a flimsy.  I even spent time last night piecing the backing and the white batting and special thread have arrived.  Thanksgiving week will be a great time to get it quilted.  The changes in prominence between the quilt in person and in a photo are always intriguing.  It’s a small quilt, roughly 43”x59”, but just right for a random idea and it will make a good car quilt.  The weather has been bitterly cold lately, after too much warmth in September and October, and the cars are COLD!

Finally, most importantly, I am almost done piecing the optical illusion quilt.  I have burned through four spools of thread, destroyed an ironing board cover, sprayed an entire bottle of starch, and bought new pins to replace all the bent ones.  The red and blue threads and fuzz are everywhere.  The quilt?  It’s fabulous.  I’m really pleased with the outcome, and making a second one is helping me wrap my mind around how to make adaptations in the future.  I don’t think my brain is quite done with optical illusions.

Happy Thanksgiving early, if you celebrate, and if not, a happy and healthy week to you!  I’ll be linking up to the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Stash Report Weeks 44-45 and 15 Minutes

 I’m up to 33 spools of thread used for the year, but no stash changes.

On the hand piecing front, I pieced every day of the last two weeks, giving me 311 of 316 days for 2022.  It seems it was another week with plenty of waiting time, as I even made good progress on a second round for the week.

I need to get to bed!

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Saturday Happenings

 I need to finish cutting up this box of scraps today.

I have been diverted from my flowers and triangles by the arrival of the necessary navy blue.  Therefore, I am busy sewing large strips sets.  The Assistant has informed me she has no idea what I’m trying to do, but she’ll trust me that I know what I’m doing. My best bet is to keep sewing and start cutting as soon as possible!

 

It’s 22 F outside, so I hustled through morning chores outside as quickly as possible, and we have a cheerful fire in the stove, so it’s a good morning to focus on sewing!  I hope your Rainbow Scrap Challenge Saturday is equally full of lovely things.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Chaos, Controlled

 In case you missed my finished bojagi curtains, here’s a link to a picture.

What did I do this week?  Unfortunately, I spent a large amount of the week dealing with c*vid.  Oy.  It would appear my husband brought it home last weekend, but he tested negative the one time I tested him.  On Wednesday, I brought five kids home from school, found BJ was positive, and discovered Spunky and I were the only negative tests.  No one is desperately ill, mostly like nasty colds, but the Assistant is pretty uncomfortable.

The funeral for my best friend’s dad is today, and I can’t go.

I did sew.  My goal each day was to sew enough flowers that I finished a row of my triangle quilt as my leader and ender.

This month is either for assembly or blacks and browns in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  I have plenty of brown in my flowers, and there are a few brown triangles in my quilt, so that may be it.  Next year, I definitely need to address my 2” scrap box, as it’s now filled to overflowing.  My 2.5” scrap box is tidy, as it is all full length strips, bricks, squares, or triangles, no partial strips.  We won’t discuss my 1.5” box, which is in better shape than the 2” box, but never ever seems to empty either!

I hope to take a lovely long walk today after the roads dry up a bit (2.5” makes for gloriously wet fields) and sew more flowers and triangles.  I hope you are all well!

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

November UFO List

Woohoo!  The numbers are staying small.  I started two projects, a triangle quilt and Bojagi panels.  I finished two, my bow ties and the bojagi curtains.  I’m happy with that, although I feel like I need a giant reorganization of my closet.  We’ve already done that at least twice since moving here, but my closet serves many purposes, so it’s easy to get out of hand.

 1. Double wedding ring

2. Pillow

3. ABC appliqué 

4. Hand hexagons

5. Pink hexagons

6. Flower quilt

7. Triangles

October 1: 7 projects

Started: 2

Finished: 2

October 31: 7 projects

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

November Goals

 October was, in retrospect, less chaotic than the preceding months.

1. Scraps: trim, hand hexagons (5 rounds?), wrap up my bow ties.  Done.

2.  Process green scraps.  That will leave me with three bins to sort for the rest of the year.  Done.

3.  Flower Garden quilt.  I’d love to start my pastel triangles quilt, but we shall see.  Many new blocks, but many still to go.  It’s a meandering creative energy for this one, and it doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to be done.  I did start the pastel triangles quilt in the end.

I also created my three bojagi panels for the sewing room divider as well as a smaller one for my cart.

November goals won’t be too grand, as I’m enjoying the bursts of creative energy that leads in unexpected directions.

1. Quilt my friend’s quilt.  I have already done the stabilizing and quilting for the sashing.  20 blocks to go.

2. Scraps: trim and five rounds of hand pieced hexagons

3.  Process one or two bins of scraps.  I have one large bin and two small that I would like to finish before the end of the year.

4. Finish the blocks for the flower quilt.

5. Piece the triangle quilt as a leader and ender.

6. Make a new optical illusion quilt, or make a decision on alternatives.  I need an order of fabric (eek) to arrive, as I’ve tried multiple blues and all of them have been wrong.  Alas.  Finishing it might be too bold a hope, but I definitely want to make significant progress on it.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.