Winter Games QAL: Blizzard Supplies

 We are 3 days out from the start

of the Winter Olympics 2022 in

Beijing China!

Time to support our athletes

that have trained tirelessly

for this one moment!!

I am excited to see your 

fabric selections.

You saw mine HERE.

Please show progress 

over in my

Robin's Rocking Needles FB group.

If you are new to the conversation,

go read the introduction HERE. 

We will wait...

Ok, now that you are back, 

let's talk supplies.

Still love the Magic sizing 

for PRESSING all my seams

nice and flat.

*You see my favorite 

Bohin pencil is back.

That will come in handy

depending on the value

of your fabrics if you 

are doing hand applique'.

Other items in the picture are: 

 Karen Kay Buckley

serrated scissors for cutting

my applique' (especially

cutting into V points/curves.

Let's not forget my 

favorite hand applique'

thread: 50wt Aurifil thread.

The Add-a-Quarter (R) 

ruler 12" is a great asset

for making sure you don't

accidentally cut off a 

seam allowance....

Ask me how I know:)

OK, don't ask-lol.

Not shown but my favorite

fusible web is Wonder Under #805.

These items make my life 

so much easier.

I know we all have our

own favorite tools so 

assemble what you need

based on this supply list below:

Right click the image to save

to your computer so you can

use it as a checklist before Friday.

Don't forget the jingle bells:)

See you in 3 short days!

~~~

FLOURISH QAL: Supplies

 We are only 3 days away 

from this fun and inspiring quilt along!

So Exciting!!

Last time we talked FABRICS!

If you are new to the conversation,

go read the introduction HERE. 

We will wait...

Ok, now that you are back, 

let's talk supplies.

Some of my favorite supplies!

My swirly twirly designs

are back for this project

as well but I wrote the

whole pattern for 

fusible applique' and 

that is what we will 

focus on throughout

the QAL.

 *Still love the Magic sizing 

for PRESSING my seams.

*You see my favorite 

Bohin pencil is back.

That will come in handy

depending on the value

of your border fabric.

*There are two threads

shown because the supply

list says a skein of floss

but I chose to do all my 

embroidery with a YLI 

variegated machine thread.

Other items in the picture are: 

a pencil, Karen Kay Buckley

serrated scissors for cutting

my applique' (especially

cutting into V points/curves,

a tracing kit for an

embroidery tracing shortcut

(we will discuss at that step),

all sitting on my favorite

Pellon Wonder Under & Stabilizer.

These items make my life 

so much easier.

I know we all have our

own favorite tools so 

assemble what you need

based on this supply list below:

Right click the image to save

to your computer so you can

use it as a checklist before

Thursday.

See you in 3 short days!

~~~

Well-Loved Ladies QAL: Supplies

We are only 3 days away 

from this fun and inspiring quilt along!

So Exciting!!

Last time we talked FABRICS!

If you are new to the conversation,

go read the introduction HERE. 

We will wait...

Some of my favorite supplies!

Ok, now that you are back, 

let's talk supplies.

I do a lot of hand applique' so

some of these are unique to 

that type of work.

I also like to design a lot

of swirly twirly designs:)

First up, bias vines.

This quilt has a lot of vine work on it.

The blue coil under the pencils is a 

flexible curve ruler and it 

is fantastic for measuring curvy

swirly shapes that my straight 

ruler won't...vines.

Next, bias tape makers...

I have tried various bias tape makers

and the original Clover 

is still my favorite!

I even tried their version that 

applies the fusible web tape as

it presses over the edges-nope-

not for me:) 

It works well enough for shorter

lengths but I personally found

that the web didn't stay on well

enough for longer lengths.

Since I don't use the web tape, 

I wouldn't want to make any

vines without Magic sizing.

I spray my bias vine so

that it is damp.

Your cut length should have

a 45 degree angle at one end.

This is the end that I start

through the maker using a

straight pin to help it along.

As you pull the fabric through

the iron will dry the sizing

and stiffen the vine just 

slightly and help the 

edges to stay closed.

Then because I do not have

fusible web tape on the back

of my vine, Roxanne Glue

Baste-It(R) is my best friend

for applying vines to traced lines.

Other items in the picture are: 

a pencil & metal sharpener- So Good,

the white chalk Bohin 

mechanical pencil is 

fantastic on dark fabrics,

& Karen Kay Buckley

serrated scissors for cutting

my applique' (especially

cutting into V points/curves.

These items make my life 

so much easier.

Let's not forget my new

favorite hand applique'

thread: Aurifil!!

When jobs started cancelling,

I treated myself to this Fab

collection of 50wt threads.

I know how to self-soothe!!

Look at all those 

luscious colors!

I know we all have our

own favorite tools so 

assemble what you need

based on this supply list below:

A bit of border sneak peek too:)

Right click the image to save

to your computer so you can

use it as a checklist before

Sunday.

See you in 3 short days!

~~~

NOW AVAILABLE HERE

Rockets Red Glare

LOOK what hit mailboxes

last week!!

The July issue is now out

and yours truly

has a new quilt within

titled, 'Rockets Red Glare'.

THANK YOU Connecting Threads for 

the perfect fabric line,

Hometown Americana II.

It saddens me that so many quilters

feel overwhelmed by applique' 

because, to me, it is such a 

creative and relaxing form of quilting.

Yes, there are sometimes

many pieces to handle but

no more than some of 

the pieced quilts I have seen.

There are times that even I look

at one of my designs and ask,

"who designed all this work?".

Then I realize how much I 

love it and set to breaking

down each task just as you

would do in piecing.

Piecing steps: 

Iron fabric, measure, 

cut out pieces, sew, 

press, trim, and assemble.

Applique' steps:

Iron fabric, trace templates, 

fuse to wrong sides,

cut out, press to 

backgrounds, stitch 

around edges.

Pretty even in my book:)

Plus, once I get all the pieces 

traced and fused to the 

wrong side of fabrics,

I can pop in a fun movie

and cut all the pieces in 

a relaxed setting.

I am all about the relaxing:)

(NOTE in pic above I 

marked each template with 

the color fabric so I couldn't

mess up while fusing.)

These Karen Kay Buckley 

scissors are the Best!!!

Another nice thing about my

designs is that they don't need

to be laid out exactly.

As long as you leave at least

a 1/4" from the seam 

allowance, (1/2"-3/4" from 

block edge) you are golden!

Fireworks every day of the year!

Machine quilting is not really

my 'thing' but sometimes

I have to rely on my skills.

My default is a set of loop

designs that I free motion

over the raw edge applique'

and then enlarge for the

all over quilting fill in

and around my applique'.

Add a quick triangle label

to my corner and Voila-done!

THANK YOU to AQ Magazine 

for another cool layout!

2019 Houston Festival Part 2

I truly was honored to be a part of

 the 2019 Houston Festival Faculty!

 Here is my fancy badge and pin:)

 The next 3 pics are of the Sweetest Surprise!!  

There is a gift bag for faculty members where

Quilt industry sponsors 

donate small gifts ....WOW!!

THANK YOU to 

Quilters Select for the Appli-web and thread, 

Fairfield for the batting sample, 

Steady Betty for a fun tool I have never tried, 

RNK for a great tote bag and scissors, 

IQF for the great bag and everything else you did for us, 

Mountain Mist for the baby wool press mat, 

Moda for the perfect charm pack of Jo Morton fabric, 

Cherrywood (who has great fabric), &

Karen Kay Buckley,

Your scissors are phenomenal!

Then we get to my Swimming Seahorse class...

Thank you to, Shirley, my Teacher's Pet for the day

for taking all these fab photos.

I always forget;)

 Working hard...

 I love to hammer things!

My rating when I was in the military

had a joke about being able to fix

anything with a hammer:)

 HAPPY students finishing projects!

Seeing how everyone's turns out 

differently and people learning new 

things makes it more fun for me as 

the teacher, I think, 

than the students.

A huge

THANK YOU to the 

students who signed up for

my class and made a it 

a Wonderful day!!

If your guild hasn't had me visit yet, 

send your chair HERE to see

what we can book for a play day!

Keep Stitching~R

Cheryl Sleboda of Muppin.com for more blogs to follow.

FABRIC COLLABORATIONS

Fabrics for quilters are inspiring and cherished.  As a designer they spark more ideas than I will ever get done in a lifetime.

My appraisal studies found me collecting antique and vintage quilt blocks for fabric/date study and the designer in me went crazy.  Wouldn't it be cute if.....?  What if I ….? and so 
FABRIC COLLABORATIONS was born.

I LOVE design and applique and I feel people as a whole are more creative than they give themselves credit for!  This workshop allows you to play without a lot of investment.  You already have what you need and you weren't using it anyway:)

Take any orphan block-
I know you ALL have one due to a workshop taken and life intervened or the technique wasn't enjoyable but you still love the colors and just can't part with it....

Here was one I started with-

I am really not a pink person but this block was intriguing and I wanted to challenge myself since the print isn't super inspiring.  Then I had to decide whether to fix her little error or leave it ….I just couldn't leave it.  The asymmetry bugged me too much. After the repair, I played with some designs and here is the result, meet "Strawberry Shortcake".

I echoed the tiny circular print in the light fabric while challenging myself to use the smaller circles from my Karen Kay Buckley perfect circles.  I also challenged myself to do a back stitch vs. my usual stem stitch for my embroidery because it was the repeat from the small black lines in the fabric too.  Now this unknown quiltmaker from the past has had her work completed whilst making myself a sweet little 12" square wall hanging to decorate any small space perfectly. #heritagearchitect at work:)

Next I came across this vintage 1930s block.  Again 30s aren't my 'go to' since I like OLD but the black and green and yellow was so striking that it came home with me and I couldn't beat the $1 price tag:)

On this the inspiration was the daffodil.  I LOVE applique if you haven't already figured that out.  I know a lot of people avoid it but a workshop with me just may open your eyes.  You don't have to needle turn, fusible works great too.
"I CAN'T DRAW", you say?? Well I have some great hacks for drawing items using very simple shapes we can all handle easily.
I have also developed some drawing aids you will be able to use in class.  Easy Peasy! Meet, "Dancing Daffodil".

On this one, I added a header only and my daffodil has dancing ribbons flowing from her...sweet and simple. She measures 9" x 12" and fits perfectly on one of those adorable little Ackfeld hangers.
I have many other samples (shown in class) because once I got going, I just couldn't stop but these three are my favorite Finished ones. This last one I will show (to inspire and excite you) just made me cry out with glee!  Look at those Fabulous flowers in the print!!

I get to applique and embroider and add leaves and swirls and circles, Oh MY!!

Meet "Chocolate Brownie Bliss".  My mom named this one because there are only so many ways I can say Autumn Bloom, etc.
She is hand applique, hand embroidery, and hand quilted and I love love love her!!!

Your block can be from any time period (modern too) as long as there is an inspiring print somewhere within.  We will discuss copyright, choosing the best portion of the print, choosing the best layout for your block (1, 2, 4 borders), and work through our drawing hacks so that you get to go home with a mostly completed and upcycled, Orphan-No-More, original work!

Tell your friends--Tell your guild Program Chairs--
Now Booking FABRIC COLLABORATIONS FOR 2019.
Email: robin@nestlingsbyrobin.com for available dates.