August Block Count

 I thought I wrote this, but it seems to be lost somewhere or I never wrote it at all…

August was a quiet block month, with only 42 16-patches and 5 flower blocks.  That brings my total to 1215 blocks for 2024.

September will probably be even quieter, and that’s okay.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

End of August UFO Report

 I started and finished a set of curtains for my classroom, so the UFO report is unchanged.

1. Brown pillow

2. Double wedding ring

3. ABC quilts (I almost finished one of two of these quilts!)

4. Hand pieced hexagons

5. Pink hexagons

6. 16 patches

7. Flowers

August 1: 7 projects

Started and finished: 1

August 31: 7 projects

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

September Goals

 August called for…

1. Scraps: trimming, 16 patches, and flowers.  Done.

2. Quilt the hexagon quilt.  Done.  I love the texture of the quilt.

3.  Work on the alphabet quilt.  It’s been a forever UFO.  While I had great hopes of finishing one quilt and starting another, I am still finishing the first.  Still, it’s progress.

September will harder, busier, and more full than August, so I’ll keep my goals modest.

1. Scraps: trim, flowers, and 16 patches.

2. Finish the alphabet quilt.

3. Continue quilting the hexagon quilt.

4. Maybe start assembling some 16 patches into quilt tops?

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Stash Report Week #35 and 15 Minutes

 No stash changes.  I am determined to finish the binding on the quilt this week, but it didn’t happen Saturday like I had dreamed.

I did work on my hexagon quilt every day.  It is slowly moving along.  Since I’m working diagonally across the quilt now, it’s a bit challenging to “feel” like I’m making progress, but I know I am.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Orange You Glad?

 52 orange 16 patch blocks are what I finished this week.  Then, this morning, when I went to out them away with the others, I couldn’t find the rest!  There are over a thousand, so it shouldn’t be this difficult, but I think that demonstrates how worn out my brain is.

I have a binding to work on today.  While it would be really “convenient” to finish it today, it’s more likely I’ll finish it next week.

Our second full week of school is over. There are things I’m finding easier, but there are still so many things I don’t know!  I’m grateful that my fellow teachers are kind and helpful, and that we all laugh when we find one more thing no one thought to explain to me.

I’ve spent the last hour wandering from place to place, putting away papers and clothes and just things.  Next up is some sewing.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Stash Report Week #34 and 15 Minutes

 It was another quiet week: no finishes.  I did use up another spool of thread, making it 16 spools for the year.

I have worked on my hexagon quilt every day, so even if I’m at a stage where it’s hard to measure my progress, I know I’m moving along.  The plan is to continue the progress next week!

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Flower Blocks

 Five lovely blocks are finished for the week.  They took a lot less time, or I was a lot less overwhelmed by the first Monday of school when I thought I would be.  I also have a pile of 16-patch half blocks, but they are in an untidy awkward stage of pinning, so not photo-worthy.

I need to do an hour of school work and then I hope to do a bit of quilting.  I need to get off my iPad and to work!

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Stash Report Weeks #32-33 and 15 Minutes

 The stash report is nothing.  I bought nothing (yay!) and stalled on my alphabet quilt.  I don’t have enough time (right now) to focus on quilting, so I’ll stick to my orange scraps and tackle the quilting later.

My hexagon quilt is seeing progress.  As predicted, it’s not quite as much progress as before school, but I am still easily quilting two lines in the frame each day.

Stash reports and quilting reports may be sporadic until I get into a routine of lesson planning and managing house stuff.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Slow and Steady

 Well, hello.  I didn’t mean to skip all of my posts last weekend, but here we are.  Working full time, moving the oldest into college, and starting school with the other six was all I could do over the last two weeks.

In quiet moments in busy mornings and exhausted evenings, I decided I won’t quilt the rest of my ABC quilt right now.  It’s partially quilted, so that’s better than the pile of fabrics it was for the last 10 years.

My I.5” strips of orange are all four patches now.  There aren’t very many, which is good!  I hope I can work on my orange flowers in the coming week, but if I don’t finish them, I still have one more week.  I’d like to get back into the habit of reading the Rainbow Scrap Challenge blogs this weekend.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Stash Report Week 31 and 15 Minutes

 This week, I made curtains and also bought a remnant of white and a package of bolt ends.  My stash report is headed in the wrong direction, but that’s okay.  One more spools is gone, for 15 used this year.

IN this week: 20 3/4 yards

OUT this week: 6 yards

IN YTD: 113 1/4 yards

OUT YTD: 45 1/4 yards

YTD Total: 68 yards IN

I’m so close to finishing the first quarter of my hexagon quilt.  I’m looking forward to starting the school year with excellent progress made.  If I am half done with the quilting by Christmas, that will be quite lovely.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Fall Colors

 The oranges were much easier to sort than aquas, blues, and reds!  It won’t take the entire month to sew up all this, which leaves space to quilt an alphabet quilt.

It was BJ’s birthday yesterday, and orange is his favorite color, so he’ll love my progress this month!

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

July Block Count

 This month was less prolific (and therefore less chaotic) than last month.  I made a total of 174 blocks: 135 16-patches, 9 flowers, and 30 blocks for an alphabet quilt.  That brings my total to 1168 for 2024, including a ridiculous 1017 16-patch blocks.

from the room of Zana's Ninis,

katie z.

August Goals

 July was definitely a challenging month.  The goals weren't too bad.

1. Scraps: trim, aqua flower blocks, and aqua 16 patches.  They will be easier than blue as there are less scraps.  All done.

2. Quilt the hexagon quilt.  I’d like to move the frame at least four times again.  I finished about 1/16 of the quilt.  I will finish 1/4 of the quilt in the next week.

3. Work on an alphabet quilt.  This has been on my UFO list as long as I’ve been making a list.  I think I can make two more quilts from the supplies I have, and then I can check off this UFO!

August means returning to work full-time.  I'm both looking forward to it and a little worried.

1. Scraps: trim, orange flower blocks, and orange 16 patches.  These scraps are pretty scanty.

2. Quilt the hexagon quilt.  I'd like to finish the current quarter and move on to the diagonal quarter.

3.  Finish the alphabet quilt.  Maybe start prepping the next one.

from the room of Zana's Ninis,

katie z.

Stash Reports Weeks #29-30 and 15 Minutes

 Alas, the stash report is unchanged for the last two weeks.  It’s not my year for fast and furious finishes, but for lots of block making and eventual quilts.

My hexagon quilt and I are getting along well.  I’m ahead of my self-imposed schedule, which I tried to set reasonably.  If I can finish one frame of quilting a week, I will eventually make enough progress each month that the quilt won’t be too burdensome.  Even if/as I slow down significantly as I return to work this week, I can quilt two lines a day.  It’s beautiful and enjoyable to quilt even now.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Month End Blocks

It’s been a full week again, as I am trying to wrap up all the odd errands before meetings start (next Friday!).  For those of you that have worked while raising children, my worry probably seems excessive, but that’s how I roll!

My 16 patch blocks were a breeze to pin and sew.  In the end, I have 135 in various aqua shades.  I enjoyed revisiting all the scraps.

Nine flowers are added to the pile in the closet.  At the end of the year, it will be fun to sort these into different quilt tops.  They should be colorful!

It’s a good thing next month’s color is a small collection of scraps.  Despite all the forthcoming chaos, a handful of 16 patches and 3 or 4 flowers may be all I can manage.  If I have time for extra, I’ll keep working on my alphabet quilt and I pulled out my lighter green scraps at some point to start on 16 patches.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

 

Catching Up

 Huzzah for block halves!

I clearly don’t have as many aqua scraps as red and blue, which means this week I caught up to my self-imposed goal.

I finished my flowers this week but failed to snap a photo, so I’ll try to get them when I have finished 16 patches next weekend!

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Stash Report Week #28 and 15 Minutes

 I have thoroughly disrupted my own plans for stash busting this year, and I think that’s fine.  I want to make curtains for my classroom but don’t really have the time to right now to make Bojagi panels.  I didn’t plan far enough ahead or inspiration didn’t strike.  I also just bought some pretty things.

IN this week: 29 3/4 yards 

OUT this week: 0 yards

IN YTD: 92 1/2 yards

OUT YTD: 39 1/4 yards 

YTD Total: 53 1/4 yards IN

I also quilted plenty over the last week, so the hexagon quilt creeps along a thread at a time.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

My Favorite Scraps

I spent the week a bit frozen in inability to get things done.  Even sewing didn’t get much attention, or I didn’t accomplish much when I was sewing.

Four lovely flowers are finished.  While I have lots of aqua scraps, I’ve discovered they are so different from each other that it’s hard to slap eight random pieces together to make a flower.  I am making good progress on using up the bulk of the 2.5” bricks, but the remaining unique ones will have to go into something else.

I intended to have all my little turquoise squares made into four patches by today, but I’m less than halfway done.  It’s okay, there’s plenty of month left.

The weather has been so very hot this week!

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

P.S. It’s Saturday, so that means linking up to the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!

 

June UFO Report

 My UFO list remained unchanged in the month of June.

June 1: 7 projects

Started or finished: 0

June 30: 7 projects

1. brown pillow

2. double wedding ring quilt

3. alphabet quilts (FINALLY working on this one!)

4. hand pieced hexagons: quilting

5. pink hexagons

6. 16 patches

7. flowers

I know the alphabet quilt, 16 patches, and flowers will all produce more than one finished quilt, but I really enjoy the making without a concrete plan and having a huge array of blocks to dream with at the end of the year.

from the room of Zana's Ninis,

katie z.

Stash Report Week #27 and 15 Minutes

 My stash report is unchanged this week.  I did finish a spool of thread this week and forgot to report another finished last week (I use one for bobbins and one for the top thread, so they run out about the same time), so I have used up 14 spools of thread so far this year.

I struggled to get my hand quilting in this week, but had the very reasonable excuse of family staying with us.  We were briefly a household of 3 adults and 12 kids!  I did manage 15 minutes a day, but not much more.  That’s okay.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

July Goals

 June included a week of classes as I work on reestablishing my teaching license, but it was nice to connect with adults and I learned a lot!

1. Scraps: trim, blue flower blocks and blue 16 patches.  All splendidly done, including 269 blue 16 patches.

2. Quilt the hexagon quilt.  I'm using a small frame, and would like to finish the frame section four times.  Very nicely done.

3. Repair a crochet quilt.  Done.

4. Make a new ironing board cover as the old one is faded, stained, and the batting underneath is thoroughly squashed.  Done.  It was easier than last time!

5. Make a weighted blanket.  Also done.

July and life are hard, but I’m looking forward to my sewing for the month.

1. Scraps: trim, aqua flower blocks and aqua 16 patches.  They will be easier than blue as there are less scraps.

2. Quilt the hexagon quilt.  I’d like to move the frame at least four times again.

3. Work on an alphabet quilt.  This has been on my UFO list as long as I’ve been making a list.  I think I can make two more quilts from the supplies I have, and then I can check off this UFO!

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Discombobulated

That’s me.  Having company and a holiday midweek makes it hard to remember where we are in the week!  My younger sister’s family stays with us when they come to town, so we have 12 kids in the house.  It’s so lovely that all the kids have grown up just enough that they play really well together.

I’ve clearly not sewn as much as usual, but I think this afternoon I’ll get all my turquoise strips sewn to their white strips.  I also sorted my 2.5” bricks for to make flower blocks in the coming weeks.

It’s Rainbow Scrap Challenge weekend!

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

The Great and Wonderful Hexagon Quilt

 I like to revisit my progress on the hexagon quilt when the middle of the year arrives.  It looks like I didn’t snap a picture in January, but I know I was in the process of assembling the center and then making the filler blocks for the edges.

The entire top is pieced by hand, taking approximately 730 hours, and I found my rhythm for quilting in June.  It’s hard to see in the picture, but I have not quite 1/4 of the quilt bound (knife-edge, no binding), and a little less than 1/32 quilted.  At the current rate, I’ll still be quilting this next July, but I’ll be close to the end.  Of course, that’s if I only do one line of quilting in each hexagon, and I’m playing with the idea of quilting through all three axes of each hexagon.  It would be lovely texture, but I’m not sure I’ll still want to keep quilting after another year.

It really is such a lovely quilt.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

June Block Count

 How is the year half over?  I’m both relieved and alarmed.  I suspect the second half of the year will not see as many blocks as the first half did.  After all, all my kids will be in school and I will be back to teaching full time in the fall.

This month, I made a ridiculous number of blocks: 288.  269 were blue 16-patches and 19 were flowers.  This brings my 2024 total of blocks up to 994.  Those blue 16-patches appeared to get the best of me until the end of June, when I had more time to sew.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Stash Report Week #26 and 15 Minutes

 I cleared out a project box and put the fabric I’ll never use into the giveaway box, so I get to count 2 yards out.  I did, however, also order an extra wide backing for one of the quilts I’ll be making this year, so I have 3 yards in.  Not quite the direction I want to head, but I really am making progress in the pile of blocks I’ve accumulated!

IN this week: 3 yards

OUT this week: 2 yards

IN YTD: 62 3/4 yards

OUT YTD: 39 1/4 yards

YTD Total: 23 1/2 yards IN

I am steadily quilting my hexagon quilt.  I am breaking needles at an alarming rate, but I am getting into a better rhythm for quilting.  Progress is finally visible, which is always reassuring when I have an enormous project ahead of me.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Stacks of Blocks

I had a ridiculous amount of blue scraps for 16 patches, so my block count this week is a little wild.  This stack is 269 blocks.

Last week, we dyed fabric and tshirts.  It took me a long time to rinse and soak everything this time.  The Assistant wants some curtains in her bedroom at college, so we made some textured red and blue squares.

 I have less turquoise scraps than blue, so next month will be a little less wild!

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Stash Report Week #25 and 15 Minutes

 I bought fabric from Vicki since she’s closing down her dyeing business.  Since I waited this week to open it, I haven’t counted yet.  It’s a lot.  I have hundreds of 16 patch blocks ready to make into quilts this fall, so I will get my stash report turned back in the right direction.

OUT this week: 0 yards

IN this week: 16 yards

IN YTD: 59 3/4 yards

OUT YTD: 37 1/4 yards

YTD Total: 22 1/2 yards IN

On a more productive note, I have finished quilting roughly 1/64 of my hexagon quilt.  My goal is to quilt one frame worth each week (about a 17” x17” square).  I have vague plans to quilt each quarter of the quilt in a different direction, so once I reach the halfway line as I move along, I get to return to the beginning for the next frame.  Yay!

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Flowers and 16 Patches

I managed to turn all my 1.5” blue squares into 1/2 blocks this week!  I will have a lot of blocks at the end of next week.

I also finished my blue flowers this week.  I really did have a large stack of navy blue scraps!  I’m glad they’re turning into something useful.

The Scouts came home a day early due to weather and strep, so the yard is a mess of drying tents and miscellaneous gear.  I am glad that it’s not my job to clean it all up when dry!  I get to enjoy the afternoon inside, as it is quite warm here and not rainy at all.

Yesterday, we (all the non-Scouts in the family) did our annual summer dyeing.  Some of us dyed shirts, but there were also a few shorts and a dress.  We dyed silks for Bojagi and fabric for me to dye.  The Assistant has requested a curtain for her college dorm, so we picked a few colors for that.  We started the rinsing process this morning, but we’ll get back to it tonight.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

 

Stash Report Week #24 and 15 Minutes

 It was a good week for progress:

I finished off my 12th spool of thread for the year.

I gave Miss G a large piece of fabric to cut and design, so I get to count two yards out.

I quilted several rows every day this week!

IN this week: 0 yards

OUT this week: 2 yards

IN YTD: 43 3/4 yards

OUT YTD: 37 1/4 yards

YTD Total: 6 1/2 yards IN

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Blue Scraps

 I had four days of classes, so I am far from having my twosies turned into four patches this week.  I am making progress.

I have a few flowers made, but since they are varying shades of navy blue, they all look the same!  I’ll get a picture of all of them when I finish them next week.

The husband, Q, and JoJo are headed to scout camp next week, so I think I’ll have a better chance of sewing mindlessly!  Of course, PK wants me to create dragon wings and Miss G has dreams of tie dyeing this week, so I might not.

I’m linking up to the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Stash Report Week #23 and 15 Minutes

 I think I’m finding my groove on quilting the hexagon quilt, so my fifteen minutes a day was easy this past week.

I gave Miss G two yards of fabric to chop in any way she pleases, so I counted that out this week.  I received a roll of extra wide fabric for backings, so I still upended my stash report!  One more spool of thread ran out this week as well.

IN this week: 20 1/2 yards

OUT this week: 2 yards

IN YTD: 43 3/4 yards

OUT YTD: 36 1/4 yards

YTD Total: 7 1/2 yards IN

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z,

Pleasantly Blue

 What did I do this week?  Mostly, it feels like, prepare for work.  I’ll be returning to teaching full time this fall, so I needed fingerprints and paperwork and all the things.

I also made a weighted blanket for my niece’s best friend.  It’s not that it takes so long, really, but that it’s messy.  I have little plastic pellets all over my floor because they are experts at escaping.

In between all the coming and going and messiness, I did sew my blue strips into sets and cut them all.  Next week, I have classes Monday through Thursday, so I’m trying to imagine what I can actually get done each day.  For now, I’ll just enjoy this pretty container of fabric.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

June Goals

May was busy.  Both kids graduated, and since we're not much of a party family, the celebrations were minimal.

1. Scraps were trimmed and flower blocks and 16 patches were made.

2. I basted and began the quilting on my hexagon quilt!

3. I finished the New York Beauty quilt and gave it away.  I received a lovely thank you.

4. I finished the blue blocks quilt!

5. For other sewing,  I added a row or two to the sunset jogakbo and made the chima (although I might have done that in June?).

June includes a week of classes as I work on reestablishing my teaching license.

1. Scraps: trim, blue flower blocks and blue 16 patches.

2. Quilt the hexagon quilt.  I'm using a small frame, and would like to finish the frame section four times.

3. Repair a crochet quilt.

4. Make a new ironing board cover as the old one is faded, stained, and the batting underneath is thoroughly squashed.

5. Make a weighted blanket.

from the room of Zana's Ninis,

katie z.

April and May UFO Count

 It would appear I have neglected my UFO report for a few months.  The last time I posted, it looked like this:

March 1: 8 projects

Started: 1

Finished: 0

March 31: 9

1. Double wedding ring

2. Brown pillow

3.  ABC appliqué*

4.  Hand pieced hexagons

5. Pink hexagons

6. Box blocks

7. 16 patches

8. New York Beauty

9. Flowers

Nothing about it changed in April.

For May, I finished two projects and started 0 new ones.

May 1: 9 projects

May 31: 7 projects

1. Double wedding ring (will I ever actually start this?)

2. Brown pillow

3. ABC applique (I would like to finish these this year, but it is seeming unlikely)

4. Hand pieced hexagons

5. Pink hexagons

6. 16 patches

7. Flowers

from the room of Zana's Ninis,

katie z.

May Block Count

 I made 198 blocks this month, most of them on the last two days of the month!  I made my last hexagon filler pieces 4), 8 flowers, and 186 16-patches.  This brings my total to 706 for the year.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Stash Report Week #21-22 and 15 Minutes

 Life feels like a lot lately, so I’m abandoning blog posts when I can’t manage.  It’s not even that my time is full, but that my brain is full.

So two weeks of stash reports… I finished a chima (wrap skirt) and a new ironing board cover in the last two weeks and bought/received white fabric, pink fabric, and a Japanese fat quarter.  The pink was supposed to get used for an apron for Spunky for NakaCon, but it didn’t happen.

IN this week: 5 3/4 yards

OUT this week: 1 1/2 yards

IN YTD: 24 1/4 yards

OUT YTD: 34 1/4 yards

YTD Total: 10 yards OUT

I will be destroying my stash process over the next few weeks as I ordered a bolt of 60” fabric to dye for backings, a lovely collection of fabric from Vicki Welsh, and I have plans for a custom order.  I will use it all eventually, so it is going to be okay.

Two more spools of thread were emptied, for 10 for the year.  Between the 16 patches and a bojagi piece, I’m using lots of thread!

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Shifting Colors

There was enough schedule disruption this week that I didn’t add more work for the week, but only focused on my pink 16 patches.  I’m shocked to end the week with 186 new blocks.  It might not look like it in the picture, but each stack of pink has 60 blocks!

I tried to convince Sneaky Pete to help me sort blue scraps, but he was less than enthusiastic this time.  The Assistant helped a bit too, and in the end I’m pretty confident I have less blue scraps than I had pink.  My stack of blue bricks from the 2.5” box is ridiculous, so there will be a lot of dark blue flowers for that project!

 from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Pink Scraps

This has been another discombobulated week as the Assistant graduated from high school, Q was promoted from 8th grade, and the rest finished school Wednesday.  I cleaned up my room at school and am anxious about having two rooms next year: a classroom and my atrium, which is less like a classroom. 

My flowers are all done for this month.  Some of them look better than others.

I am struggling with my 16 patches.  There are so many things to do outside the sewing room, and so many pink scraps that need to be sewn up.  I’d rashly hoped I could get these to halves before the end of the week, but I’ll be lucky to get them all into 4 patches.  The big girls and I have a little trip this weekend.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z. 

Stash Report Week #20 and 15 Minutes

 It was a whirlwind of a week!  The Assistant graduated from high school today.  We had lots of graduation activities this week, activities to wind down the year, appointments to prepare for next year, and just usual life.

In betwixt and between, I finishing the binding on the New York Beauty quilt, quilted and bound my last box blocks quilt, and baste the entire hexagon quilt.

My 15 minutes a day in the hexagon quilt definitely happened; the basting was quite the process and I even ran out of pins.  I’m having a hard time getting comfortable quilting, but it’s been a long time since I hand quilted a quilt.

IN this week: 1/4 yard

OUT this week: 13 yards

IN YTD: 18 1/2 yards

OUT YTD: 32 3/4 yards

YTD Total: 14 1/4 yards OUT

This week’s work made lovely progress back towards my goal of using twice my purchases for the year.  My piles of 16 patches are growing, so when I’m ready to make them into quilts, I will use another healthy amount of fabric.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.  

The Week in Review

I finished the New York Beauty quilt.  Spunky took it to school for her art teacher, and he already sent home a thank you note, so I know it’s off to a good home.

We had quite a storm this week.  It’s been over a decade since I remember this much hail.

 I had my last days of work for the year, but also too many meetings, so I made only a little progress on my pink 16 patches.  At least I’ll be ready to sew up a storm next week.  We’re down to the final 2 1/2 days of school for the kids, except for the Assistant, who graduates tomorrow! 

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Stash Report Week #19 and 15 Minutes

 Alas, no changes to the stash report.  I did stitch binding onto my New York Beauty quilt this morning, so by the end of the next week, I’ll be happy to have a stash change.  I also have another quilt to quilt in the coming week, so improvements are coming!

I did miss another day with my hexagons.  It was another chaotic week (as will be the coming week).  Fortunately, I finished piecing the hexagons this week!  If I can find the time and floor space, I will baste it this week and dig into quilting.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Not Much to See Here

I have one border left to quilt, and then my machine will be free for endless strip piecing.  I’m really happy with how this turned out.

Next up is the very last hexagons on the final corner.  It is wild to be so close to a completed flimsy.

I did pause my quilting for one afternoon and power through the longest pink scraps.  Other than that, the box hasn’t changed much.

I am looking forward to tomorrow, as it will be the first day in quite a while that doesn’t have multiple events.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

 

Stash Report Week #18 and 15 Minutes

 I missed a day on my hexagons!  For the first time in almost 18 months, I missed a day.  I stitched extra yesterday, so it will all be fine in the end.  My extra fantastic quilt backing arrived from Vicki, so as soon as I finished the last corner, the quilt is ready to baste.  It’s too wide for my hand quilting frame, so I’ll pin baste and drape it over the frame to keep it ready to work on.

My stash report has become rather unbalanced as I bought the quilt backing and two scraps of white from the store this week.  I use the white as quickly as I find it, but as I need to finish two quilts this month, the report is currently headed the wrong way.

IN this week: 6 1/4 yards

OUT this week: 0 yards

IN YTD: 16 1/4 yards

OUT YTD: 19 3/4 yards

YTD Total: 3 1/2 yards OUT

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Progress

I sorted and cut my pink scraps this week, since the machine is busy.  I also finished, before the quilting started, 147 yellow 16 patches!

Most of my time has been spent quilting and burying threads.  I am doing stitch in the ditch for almost every seam line in this quilt.  The grey border will need something quilted in it, but I haven’t figured that out yet!  I think have about half the quilting done.  Back to work!

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

P.S. I’m linking to the Rainbow Scrap Challenge this weekend.

 

May Goals

 April was a month of unexpected things.

1. Scraps: trim, yellow flower blocks, yellow 16 patches.  Done.

2. Finish the last two sections on my hexaon quilt and prepare to redo the section I lost.  I also need to order a backing for it.  I have about half of the final section, but I did redo the lost section.

3.  Assemble the New York Beauty blocks, dye or piece a backing, and prepare to quilt.  This must be done by the end of school.  I’ve started the quilting, so this one is done!

4.  If all of the above are easier than I anticipate, I will also work on the last box blocks quilt.  It’s a flimsy now.

On the “other sewing” front, I want to keep working on my sunset jogakbo.    I’m ready to attach row six.

May will be busy.  I have a senior and an 8th grader graduating.  Yikes!

1.  Scraps: trim, pink flower blocks, pink 16 patches.

2.  Finish the last section of my hexagon quilt.  Maybe baste it?

3.  Finish the New York Beauty quilt and give it away.  This is #1 priority for the month.

4.  After #3, finish the blue box blocks quilt.

On the “other sewing” front, keep working on the sunset jogakbo and make a chima of hand printed fabric.  The chima (wrap skirt) must wait until the New York Beauty quilt is finished.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

April 350 Block Count

 I made A LOT of yellow 16 patch blocks this month: 147.  I had no idea I had so many yellow scraps!

This month I made 168 blocks: the aforementioned 16 patches, 3 New York Beauty blocks, 6 hexagon filler pieces, and 12 yellow flowers.  That brings my total to 508 for the year.  Scrap boxes always have an incredible number of blocks tucked inside.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Stash Report Week #17 and 15 Minutes

 The stash report is boring: no changes.  I did start quilting my New York Beauty quilt today and finished piecing the box blocks, so I will have changes soon.

I am so close to finishing my hexagon top.  Vicki has dyed a backing, so quilting is not far away!  I’ve stitched hexagons every day; it’s going to feel very strange not to have it at the ready anymore.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Batten the Hatches

We’re expecting “extreme” weather this afternoon and evening, so I’ve already cleaned up the yard, mowed, and run errands for the weekend.  We need to clean up our storm shelter for the season, so I’ll sneak in a bit sewing before it’s back to work!

In my effort to wrap up my yellow scraps, I finished my flowers.  They’re a chaotic bunch, and I’ll have a lovely garden when I’m done.

My 1.5” scraps are a little harder to finish.  I’ve made half blocks, but I have a lot of pinning and sewing to wrap these up in the next 4 days.  Then I can spend the rest of next week digging into the pink scraps.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

 

Stash Report Week #16 and 15 Minutes

 The stash report remains unchanged.  I am adding borders and basting a small quilt this week, so I will have a shift in numbers soon.

I finished off not one but two spools of thread this week, for a total of 8 for the year.  I use one spool to wind bobbins and one for threading the machine, but they don’t always run out together.

I remade the missing piece of my hexagon quilt, prepped for the final section, and attached most of the remade piece.  It won’t be long until the quilt too is finished, so my 15 minutes of day has served me well.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Stash Report Week #15

 I didn’t buy any fabric this week, so the stash report is unchanged.  I will work on assembling my New York Beauty blocks, and I need to decide what I want for the backing.  It may need to be dyed, for fun.

I finished the next hexagon section and attached it.  It looks quite lovely.  I decided to remake the missing section for the coming week.  It’s so frustrating that I still can’t find it, but I have cleaned and rearranged my sewing room and it hasn’t appeared.  It shouldn’t take long, and I will be relieved to have it finished.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Topsy Turvy

 There’s another illness racing through school, so I have four kids in various stages of itchy rash this weekend!

These are the last pieces for my New York Beauty.  I’m looking forward to assembly, but I also expect it will be challenging.

My pairs of fabrics are slowly becoming four patches.  Hopefully this afternoon I will be able to pour some work into them.  They are so cheerful!

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.