Stash Report Week #17 and 15 Minutes

 I’m grateful that, these days, hand stitching for 15 minutes doesn’t seem to be an issue.  I still have a perfect record, 119 of 119 days for 2023.  I have only one large star left to make before I move on to assembly!

My stash report has no changes.  I am just starting the quilting for my strip twist, so I look forward to some stash progress soon.

I did finish off my 11th spool for the year.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Home Stretch

Four weeks left of school, three weeks left of work, two weeks left of after school class… 

This week, I finished a little piece of bojagi.  This one is hand pieced, so it’s extra wobbly.  I had the chance to practice plenty of skills, and my sister will be glad to have it as a purse for her phone when she’s walking, so I’m quite pleased with it.

My box blocks are done.  There was far less purple variety than the previous colors, but they are quite lovely.

Finally, my strip twist blocks are pieced, assembled, and basted.  I hope to start some quilting today.  You can see just a peek of the (quite bright) backing.  This one already, unexpectedly has a home, so it will be gone soon!

 I’m looking forward to a new color - ooh, I see it’s orange! - and I will make my very last hexagon star before I get to lay out this decade long project and begin assembly.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Stash Report Week #16 and 15 Minutes

 Alas, no finishes or empty spools, so my statistics remain the same.

I did remember to hand stitch every day this week, for 112 of 112 days in 2023.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Late in the Day

32 16-patch blocks are all done.  They are so cheerful!

I spent the morning halfway across the state for history day for Q, took an online class in the afternoon, and then scrambled to make dinner for my oldest’s unprom party.  She didn’t want to go to prom, so she’s having a few friends over for dinner and they’ll watch a movie.  I haven’t touched the sewing machine yet today.  Maybe after BJ goes to sleep.

All 90 strip twist blocks are done, and 36 are sewn into sets of four.

 Off to the next thing!

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

Stash Report Week #15 and 15 Minutes

 I didn’t finish anything this week in terms of my stash count, but I did use the last bits of my 10th spool for the year.

I had a small finish from my Korean stitching classes, but I didn’t count this fabric in or out.

On the 15 minutes front, the time comes easily these days.  My hexagons have been a big neglected, getting the bare minimum instead of extra time, but I’m still on target to finish the last large stars in the coming months.  Out of the 105 days of the year, I’ve worked on hand work every day.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Early Risers

I need to leave for school in less than 30 minutes as I’m judging a tournament today, so I need to be quick!

This week, I started a new project with bits of all my purples.  90 blocks made, ready to mix, sew, and slice some more.

And I wish I could say all my purple squares were in four patches or eight, but after trimming down the strip sets for the above, I definitely have some new 2.5” purple squares.  The scraps never go away, do they?

I think I sewed one or two box blocks, but I can’t remember!

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

Finished Quilts: Optical Illusions

 The two small optical illusion quilts are done.  Vaguely, in my mind, there should be some name related to fraternal twins, but that’s as far as the puzzling about names has gone.

I regret not starching the fabrics.  My last two were made with really fabulous fabric from Vicki that did not need starching.  Alas, my solids this time did not play nicely, so there is puckering in the quilting.  I was able to deal with a certain portion of it, but not all.

My sister, at about the time I was grinding my teeth about the quilting and lack of starching, sent me a meme that read, “You do know, don’t you, that your mistakes are your style.”  I would like my style to be less clumsy mistakes, but I am reminded not to be too hard on myself.

I have no purpose or destination in mind for my quilts; they’ll be wall art for now.  I created them to play with values and google sheets for design purposes, so they were successes in that way.

I must confess I prefer the dark and on point to light and straight set.

Both are made from the mystic jade gradient by Vicki and two random solids from my stash.  They are about 30” square.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Stash Report Week #14 and 15 Minutes

 With two finishes this week (both small optical illusions!), I get to count 3 yards out for the week, and I resisted buying anything.  Honestly, it wasn’t so much resistance as a realization that I abruptly have multiple projects I want to work on with all the supplies on hand.

IN this week: 0 yards

OUT this week: 3 yards

IN YTD: 19 1/4 yards

OUT YTD: 29 1/2 yards

YTD Total: 9 1/4 yards OUT

I’m making decent progress toward my goal of using twice what I buy again this year.

I had many hours of hand work this week, on the hexagons and my Korean stitching projects, so it was no problem to be at 98 of 98 days for 2023.  Off to stitch!

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Easing into Purples

One optical illusion quilt is finished.  I still need to stitch down the binding on the second.  Maybe today, maybe not.

I don’t quite have all my purple 2.5” squares sewn into pairs.  The plan is to wrap those up today.  I also have four dozen eggs and eight children (bonus nephew today) to mix with dye.  ;)

I was surprised to only have enough purple to cut 10 or 12 box blocks.  I’ll have to be creative about my leaders and enders for the month.  Off to sew my purple!

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

April Goals

 March goals were pretty normal…

1. Sew with scraps, green this month: trim, make another hand pieced star (not green), box blocks and 16 patches.  Done…

2. Finish my optical illusion quilt.  I’m nearly done quilting.    Done, but then I started two more.

3.  Finish the V quilt.  It will have a scrappy green backing, so it’s a good finish for this month. Done!

4. Finish the cushions!  This was finished on the first of the month, which is great!

April goals seem to be longer than usual…

1.  Sew with purple scraps: one (not purple) star, boxes and 16 patches.  Trim the scrap box down.

2.  Finish Optical Illusion #3

3.  Finish Optical Illusion #4

4.  When the optical illusions are done, start a hand project with silk.

5.  Purple quilt from stash.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

March Block Count

 I made 123 new blocks this month ~ lots of box blocks (24), 16-patches (38), 40 rows for optical illusion quilts, and 21 Bojagi “chunks.”  This brings my total for 2023 to 408 blocks.

I have no idea how April will look.  Lots of blocks?  Only a few?

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Stash Report Week #13 and 15 Minutes

 Lots of thinking happening today.  I’m looking ahead at April, and already half the days have “more than the usual” appointments and activities.  The month is full of good and necessary things, but it makes me hard, as an introvert, to think about adding any more activities (zoo, art museum, etc.).  Hmmm…

I finished nothing this week but a spool of thread.  While quilting Optical Illusion #3, I found only a small bit of charcoal quilting thread left.  When the original bobbin I wound ran out, I had to put the remaining thread on two bobbins to divide it evening.  There are only a few yards left!  I’m grateful I didn’t have to order more thread to completed the quilting.  This brings my total to 9 spools used up this year.  I hope to finish both optical illusions this week; they’re small and helped me experiment with fabric placement just as I hoped.

IN this week: 0 yards

OUT this week: 0 yards

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

End of the Greens

I’ve run out of green scraps at just the right time.  24 green box blocks appeared from my green scraps.

 I spent most of the week away from the sewing machine and working on a stitch sampler book.  I finished it yesterday, flaws and all, and I’m pretty happy that my hand didn’t hurt after all the hand work!

Finally, the bulk of my green work this week was contemplating the dark optical illusion.  It only answered my questions about the final shape after I started another one with light fabrics against the same greens.  I have no idea what I will do with these when they’re done, but I am enjoying the process.

I’m off to contemplate my purple scraps and check out everyone’s projects!

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.