Stash Report Week #34 and 15 Minutes

My 15 minutes of hand stitching a day is uneventful: I have worked on hand stitching every day of 2023, so 238 days.

I did order fabric this week: my best friend from high school is (finally, yay!) getting married, and I don’t have any wide backing fabric.  I ordered some sheeting and plan to dye it.  I spend most of my Saturday (as well as a good start on Friday) cutting the 90 blocks I need.

In the next two weeks, I will be able to count my finished 16 patch quilt.  I pressed the backing and top today and have the batting cut, so tomorrow I will baste it.   Maybe after I finish this post, I’ll spend some time doing the math on total yardage for the quilt.  Hopefully it will help me get back to my goal of using twice what I purchase this year.

I have purchased a bit less than this time last year and used significantly less fabric.  That’s to be expected with the amount of hand work I’m doing this year.  I thought I’d done much better on purchasing, but I’ve looked back at several years of stash reports, and while this is the lowest in the last several years, it’s only 10 yards lower than last year.  Of course, I just bought 10 yards of fabric, which doesn’t help my case.  I am going to need neutrals by next year; the cream and white piles of fabric are dwindling rapidly.

IN this week: 10 yards

OUT this week: 0 yards

IN YTD: 40 3/4 yards

OUT YTD: 67 1/2 yards

YTD Total: 26 3/4 yards OUT

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Dog Days of Summer

 The days have been endlessly over 100, so in addition to the chaos of the first full week of school, there’s also extra animal chores to tackle.

My friend is getting married in December, so of course I’m making a quilt.  I’m trying to cut the dozens of strips before I subcut into block units, but I think I’m only confusing myself.  We’ll see.

Because my machine is tied up with a flimsy that needs pressing, I only finished two yellow box blocks this week.

On the left is my stalled project.  I have a flimsy of my pink, purple, and turquoise 16 patch blocks, but it’s too hot to think about the iron, even first thing in the morning, so it and the backing will have to wait for the heat to break before I prepare it for quilting.

On the right is my hand pieced hexagons.  I started the sixth row this week, which means I’m over halfway done with the main assembly.  It looks like, by Christmas, I’ll be planning how to fill in the edges.  I currently plan to make them straight, as neither the extra miles of binding or knife-edge finishing the many sides of the hexagons appeals to me.  I imagine it will take me longer to fill the sides than to assemble the quilt, so it will be interesting to see where this quilt is by next August. 

I thought I would be ready for backing on this piece by today.  Alas, she says she’s not complete, so I’m now painstakingly sewing down triangles around the sides.  It’s really okay; I have loved working on this piece.  It’s a good down time companion.

I am going to hustle to get outside things done this morning before the heat and humidity are too much for me.  May it be cooler where you are!

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Stash Report Week #33 and 15 Minutes

 The 15 minutes of hand work is clearly not my difficulty in sewing this year, as I made time for hand stitching every day.

I finished a small lap quilt this week, so I did improve my stash numbers.  I have a set of blocks webbed, so another quilt will be finished in a few weeks.

IN this week: 0 yards

OUT this week: 3 1/4 yards

IN YTD: 30 3/4 yards

OUT YTD: 67 1/2 yards

YTD Total: 36 3/4 yards OUT

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Scattered

 The first week of school is always the hardest, and it was certainly difficult.  JoJo had a hard time returning to school with a new teacher; explaining autism to someone is always difficult if people have no background.  Of course, autism for JoJo is different than autism for me, so that complicates explanations even more!  But we made it to Saturday.

I will be very grateful when we find a routine again.  I am not coordinated enough to juggle all the things for too long!

This is a piece of work I carry in my purse, so it comes out in waiting rooms and car lines.  I am still adding squares to another strip, and then, since my background ran out, Ill have to make a decision about finishing the edges of this piece.

From my stash and scraps, I finished a quilt this week.  The dark blue and backing are fabrics I dyed myself, and I’m quite pleased with the results.

Last week, the kids and I did our annual tie dye marathon.  We’ve reduced how many items we dye, as the girls and I don’t really love the next day of endless rinsing.  Our results this year were pretty good.  I now have another interesting piece of fabric for a backing or borders (or whatever).

I also finally sewed with the right color for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!  I have a small stack of yellow box blocks cut and ready to piece as I web together another set of 16 patch blocks (turquoise, purple, and pink this time).

Next week will likely be as chaotic as this week as I also return to work, but I hope it will be less stressful.  At least I’m not moving anyone into their college dorm this year; that’s next year’s adventure!

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Stash Reports Weeks #31-32 and 15 Minutes

 And time slips away from me, but the days are full.

I have finished nothing in the last few weeks, just worked steadily on several projects.  The stash remains unchanged.

I have worked on some form of hand stitching every day this year.  Since my hexagons are no longer portable, my Korean stitching generally accompanies me. I thought the mugs would work as travel work, but they don’t, for whatever reason.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Busy Day

 Oops.  I didn’t post anything last weekend.  All is well.  DH and I attended a celebration of life in Chicago, so my weekend was packed with early and late flights, train schedules, and lots of walking in the rain.  I definitely prefer walking in the rain to sweltering heat!

As if that weren’t enough excitement, we’re also in the middle of back to school shopping, preparing my room for children (I’m adding a second day of teaching this year!), and all the struggles with change.  Q and I finished our last hike, 20 miles, on Thursday, and the arches of my feet are greatly displeased.  Ha!

Sewing has been sporadic and of low productivity.  I keep working on the hexagon assembly, but missed days due to travel and exhaustion.  I did travel with my yeouijumunbo, so the handwork didn’t stop.  Instead of cutting yellow box blocks, as I should be, I focused on assembling a quick quilt for a comfort quilt.

Oh, yes, and a morning of dyeing: everyone did their usual tshirt, and we added some fabric, a few bags, and a collection of scarves.

Honestly, the majority has been a lovely kind of packed chaos (except for the difficult in change for the autistic humans), and I am able to recognize that after a few weeks, we’ll settle back to a quieter life and I’ll find more time to sew.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

August Goals

 Reading over my July goals, I both repeated myself and feel like I don’t make sense.  Ha!

1. Scraps: trim, finish my teal boxes and make some red ones, finish the rainbow wedding quilt, continue hexagon assembly, and maybe make some teal 16 patches.  I didn’t finish the real 16 patches, but the rest was done.

2. Work on mugs.  Not really.  And why did I repeat this as 4.  My brain was clearly elsewhere.

3.  Somehow I need a flexible goal for my Korean stitching.  There are so many directions this could go - jogakbo, embroidery, pouch-making, bakjwi… I would like to work on something everyday, depending on how the creative urge points me.  I worked on my sea Bojagi each day.

4.  Mugs, if we travel.  ?

In August, there is much to be done…

1. Scraps: trim, finish my teal 16 patches, make more teal box blocks and cut and sew yellow ones, continue hexagon assembly.

2. Finish my sea bojagi and work on my yeouijumunbo.

3. Make an “emergency” quilt.

4.  Make a purple or rainbow quilt (by request).

5.  Plan a quilt for my best friend’s wedding.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

July Block Count

 I made 47 blocks this month, for a total of 778 blocks for 2023.  I made one 16 patch, 34 box blocks, and 12 bojagi “blocks” or sections.

August is generally chaos with the upheaval of starting school, adjusting schedules, and now I’m working a second day at school this year.  Change is difficult for me, but I’ll make it!

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.