Benartex Project #2- Peacock Petals

 We round up the first quarter of the year

with my second Benartex project....

Peacock Petals using fabrics

from the Peacock Symphony

line by David Galchutt.

It hit store shelves in January so

keep an eye out for it.

Deep rich colors and 

a spring vibe kept niggling at 

the back of my mind.

I thought about 2 particular 

design workshops that I

adore teaching, Scrapplique'

and Fabric Collaborations.

Both concepts along with these

two fabrics inspired

my work for this challenge.

Thankfully the style of the fabric

goes beautifully with my own 

aesthetic of swirls and dots!

Admittedly, I got a bit carried away

with my design work.

It was only supposed to be

one small wall hanging.

THEN, I got excited about working

in lights vs. darks and so only

one of four blocks is done...

Now you will be intrigued enough to 

come back and see how it goes:)

HOW CUTE IS THIS?!!!?

I cannot wait to finish the 

whole quilt now!

My ambition thought I would

do it all by hand-LOLOLOL!!

SO many little circles.

Then I saw the work of 

Kyra Reps at Daytona...WOW!

So, I tried the prepared edge

applique' method using apliquick

bars that my friend,

Susan Marth, has been prodding 

me to try for years.

I am so resistant to change!

It did make my circles a bit

better but I really do loathe 

all that prep work.

So far this piece has 3 applique' 

methods on it:

Needle turn hand applique'

Prepared edge applique'

and fusible raw edge applique'.

Whatever gets it done right?

So, keep stitching in whatever

way makes your heart happy:)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME:)

Another year passes and 

how do we mark them?

This year has had many 

challenges and one was all

my work cancellations.

As October approached, 2

contracts remained and both

groups decided to go forward.

So the day before my birthday

I taught one of my favorite

workshops ever, 

Fabric Collaborations

to the 

Florida Sewing Sew-ciety up

at the Lake Yale Baptist Center

near Leesburg, FL

.

Beautiful setting and a 

FABULOUS group of ladies.

They really took my inspiration

and made it their own.

Below is Margaret Travis and 

her sister, Marie.

Margaret is known for her Fabulous 

Cheerleading in our industry!

On my actual birthday, I spent 

the evening showing off the 

LADIES to the 

Ladies of the Lakes Quilters

in Lakeland, FL.

They loved them almost as

much as I do:)

I was somewhat apprehensive

getting back out with the 

new little coming to visit.

Thankfully most were very 

understanding of wearing masks.

I received lots of wonderful gifts 

from family and friends including

fabric, a salon tray for upcoming

filming assistance and ….

This sweet little

 (ca 1940s??) machine &

This Awesome book about

the Colonial Williamsburg

textile collection!

Four Centuries of Quilts

The reason I was so excited

is that back in 2018 I was 

privileged to stitch with some

of the volunteers on this quilt (above)

as they reproduced it for the 

house displays around the property.

When I received the book, I 

was able to find the exact 

quilting diagram of what I 

had been working on.

Nerd here finds that

very exciting:)

So, HAPPY HAPPY

BIRTHDAY to 

all the October kids and

Thank you to everyone

who reached out to make

me feel special!

 

Keep quilting:)

Q-Squirrel Pt 2

Here we are at almost mid-July and the 

self-quarantining continues.

Since I left you after part 1, 

here is just a bit of 

what I have been up to....

I participated in a Virtual Trunk

that ended up being a FAB

way to introduce myself to 

new followers.

You can see it HERE!

I like to be prepared so here

was my set up that day with

pages of notes, phone stand,

and a rack of quilts behind me:)

I continued playing with my friend's

Twelve Days of Christmas

that you can read more about

HERE.

Here is a test block for a new 

paper piece and applique' quilt

coming soon to AQ Magazine:)

If you like bright tropical colors,

this one will be right up your alley!

I finished the top of the little 
signature quilt 
started HERE and started
the next little quilt the 
group decided on.

Then (more) baby gift preps started!
Seems as if you just keep finding 
fun things to give the new family.
A space theme had been decided on
and this little art piece of mine
was perfect with lots of family heritage.
Read about it HERE.
The project it was intended for
was dismantled and the piece
came back to where I believe
it was meant to be all along!
It is framed and now hangs
over his changing table.

Then onto making a unique little

onesie for our new little one:)

My husband designed this

and was excited to have me

make it come to life.

SO EXCITING!

Next post will have all the details and

pictures of our new sweetie!

Remembrance & QOV

REMEMBRANCE REVISITED

I met Terry and Ruth at Fall Paducah in September. They are involved with Quilts of Valor and we discussed what a great kit my 'Remembrance' quilt would be for that organization.

Then the fun idea of miniaturizing the design was introduced to the conversation and I knew there should be enough fabric from the kit to make a mini because Connecting Threads is very generous with their kits.

I cannot express how exciting it is to receive pictures of completed quilts from makers!  Thank you, Terry and Ruth, for sharing your lovely work with all of us and for all you do for our Veterans.

If you are involved with QOV, here are some links to take a peek at.

QOV is always looking for volunteers: https://www.qovf.org/

Connecting Threads has partnered with and is offering a thread collection: https://www.connectingthreads.com/quilts-of-valor-thread-set/p/21541

My 'Remembrance' kit is available here:

https://www.connectingthreads.com/remembrance-quilt-kit/p/93515

The pattern is also available here:

https://www.connectingthreads.com/remembrance-pattern-download/p/12745D

THANK YOU VETERANS!

What EXCITES you about quilting?

Is it piecing a new quilt top or the enjoyment of slow stitching while watching a good movie?

Is it making new friends in guild or taking a class at a big show and learning a new technique?

Or, is it the FABRIC that comes out in new colors and designs every season and we just can't seem to have enough of it on our shelves (in drawers, under desks, stuffed into every nook and cranny)!!

Most quilters have a color palette they are drawn to and maybe a style of design as well.
When I started collecting antique blocks, I noticed I was really drawn to the fabric design more than the block itself.  This is when I actually took account of the fabrics on my shelf. I am drawn to black, gold, green, red, orange, and off white. When I look at my designs, I see lots of whimsical swirly twirly florals that send my creative brain off the charts! There are so many antique fabrics in that genre of design-YAY!!

I believe that as humans we have a built in 'want' to create! That is what we do and have done since the beginning of time!  I also believe that the quilters that say they aren't creative just need a nudge, a new way to look at the world around them and the best place to start is your fabric world.
FABRIC COLLABORATIONS (Houston class #417) helps you look beyond to create something new.
JOIN ME in HOUSTON and play all day.  I mean it! The whole class is play time and there are NO mistakes to be made!

Below is a series of blog posts discussing different samples you will see in class (touch and pet if you need to) and how I came to design them.

https://nestlingsbyrobin.blogspot.com/2018/09/fabric-collaborations.html

https://nestlingsbyrobin.blogspot.com/2019/02/workshop-development.html

https://nestlingsbyrobin.blogspot.com/2019/04/appraisals-and-workshops-and-quilts-oh.html

https://nestlingsbyrobin.blogspot.com/2019/06/romantique-is-simply-vintage.html



TO DO BEFORE CLASS: Find an orphan block in your stash, preferably between 8”-12”.
IF you do not have an orphan block that contains a Printed fabric you Love, then please make a block using a print that

speaks to you. It can be as simple as a 9 patch since we are going for fun and easy not heirloom!

Small to medium prints work the best and the more details, the better it will be for inspiration.

Additional Fabric requirements:
__ A FQ of a coordinating (to your block) fabric that reads as solid for borders.

__ 2-3 coordinating FQs for design expansion to borders (prints and/or solids).

Additional supplies: (FULL LIST IN CATALOG)
__Rotary Cutter, mat (12” x 18” is fine), ruler 6” x 24” (minimum of 3” x 18”)
__Threads to match fabrics for sewing assembly and applique
__12 wt. Sulky thread to match fabrics for Embroidery details (hand or machine)
__Scissors: fabric and paper
__Pen, pencil (preferably mechanical), white chalk pencil for dark fabrics, and eraser
__pins
__glue stick
__½ yard of paper-backed fusible web if doing machine applique__$20 kit fee (custom stencils, chalk papers, handouts)

How many of you have are on the more 'experienced' side of quilting and looking for something new?  I can't wait to meet you!

Keep quilting~

www.nestlingsbyrobin.com

"Inspired Free Motion Quilting: 90 Antique Designs Reinterpreted for Today’s Quilter"

Bill Volckening and Amanda Leins have joined forces to bring us a quilting book full of antique quilt eye candy!  As an antique quilt student and avid hand quilter, these quilts and designs overwhelmed me with their beauty and creativity. Bill I have been following for a few years now and he provided the gorgeous quilts from his collection. Mandy is a newer name to me and I am so intrigued!! A history in archaeology......Wow! She brings her long arm quilting expertise to the design recreation process all the while making us feel how easy it is to do.

Ok, the book! It isn't just for antique quilt lovers though because the purpose is to make the quilting designs accessible to quilters today, in particular, machine quilters. I am not a machine quilter so the designs will be great for my hand quilting too since they are continuous line designs. Any time you can keep the thread continuous without knotting off is a good thing, adding strength to the quilting.  

The first thing that greets you when you open the book is a Fantastic Pictorial Table of Contents. Admittedly I don't buy a lot of books but I don't believe I have ever had a visual contents page before and I felt that was clever for dealing with a visual medium audience.

The book offers thought provoking moments like sometimes less is more.  
Mandy, “I’ve been so immersed in these
quilts, it would be unusual if I wasn’t affected,”
she says. Mandy has noticed particularly that her
quilting work has become less dense over time and
now incorporates many elements of design from the
top itself—piecing, appliqué, and prints—to create a
cohesive design that works to enhance the top.
This type of less-is-more quilting has a different set 
of issues than very dense quilting."
Then she explains what is meant by this.
That resonated with me because I have felt this way for some time and use it as an approach in my own commission work and my workshop, "Fabric Collaborations".

Mandy offers great marking tips and the big take away for me is a stencil grid that is a base for marking designs. Great idea!

Each antique quilt is discussed with detail pics of the amazing quilting all done by hand of course:) Even if there wasn't a picture, you would be able to see it via the wonderfully descriptive writing. So you get a bit of history (some ca 1790) before the designs from those quilts are broken down into accessible bites for the home quilter to recreate in their own works of art!

FULL QUILT

QUILT DETAIL SHOWING ORANGE PEEL QUILTING

My goal with this post is to show you how to go beyond the idea of quilting alone.  ANY outline design is perfectly set for applique and embroidery as well.  I hate limits:) Can you tell? 

The first one that struck me was this Orange Peel design.  For awhile now I have been looking for a cute clock to put in my workspace and when I saw this, I immediately thought, "clock"!! Very exciting.  Thankfully I already had some bias vine done and in the right lengths:)

 I traced out my circle and peel lines and started adding bias tape. These were then hand appliqued in place.

I then added applique petals just as the design shows in needle turn applique but you could just as easily fuse it all.  

It was done in 2 parts, a back petal that encompassed the side petals and a center petal that I fussy cut so that the noon tulip was straight and the other 3 bend counter clockwise. 

Then I had to decide whether more marks were needed to represent 1,2,4,5, etc.  I decided yes but not in applique so I found a lovely deep orange variegated machine quilting thread from YLI and used it to hand embroider the single petal in those places.  It is visible but very subtle so that the applique is the star!

Since there are only so many hours in a day, I had to stop with this Thistle even though I could have designed for hours!  

This design is from an antique applique 

quilt but I thought it would be lovely in embroidery.  

I have a wonderful selection of 

Weeks Dye Works variegated flosses.

I chose to make it a bit smaller and trace it out 4 up on a block.  This too may be a clock as a gift because 

I couldn't make a decision:)

It may also make a small decorative pillow.

The book is laid out for visual people. You have a lovely photo of an antique element and then Mandy walks you through step by step how to make it your own or combine it with other elements.

It was exactly what I was hoping it would be!

I will leave you with this lovely quote by Mandy:

“We never cut our threads to the past,” says Mandy. “We just knot on and continue with a different color". 

I hope you will visit the other participants to see how they are being inspired. 

Their blog links are found below.  There are giveaways too:)

For my giveaway, please leave a comment about your favorite part of the entire quilting process from choosing fabrics to binding and everything in between. Make sure your contact information is available.

On January 14th I will draw a winner and announce it here and on my FB page. The winner from my day will receive a FREE EBook from C&T Publishing.  Mandy will also have an additional giveaway on her day (the last one:).

Keep quilting!

January 7: C&T Publishing, Bill Volckening

January 8: Amanda Murphy of Amanda Murphy Design, Kim Lapacek of http://www.kimlapacek.com/

and Stephanie Palmer of The Quilter's Planner   

January 9: Teri Lucas, Lynn Harris, Debby Brown of Debby Brown Quilts

January 10: Robin Koehler of NESTLINGS by Robin, Patty Murphy of Patty Murphy Handmade,

Mary Abreu of Confessions of a Craft Addict

January 11: Joanna Marsh of Kustom Kwilts, and Amanda Leins of Mandalei Quilts

October 2018 Part 2

Between all the other craziness of the month, my Amazing Daughters took me to Las Vegas for my birthday.  We had never been on a trip together just the 3 of us and it definitely needs to be done more!  I love being with these two!! A LOT of walking but also so much laughing and chatting!  There may have been some dancing too:)

I feel like maybe I saw part of the Grand Canyon while flying out but if not, this was still awe inspiring!

We stayed at the Famous Flamingo, one of the original landmarks of Old Vegas.  The room felt like it was straight out of a movie and our view was FANTASTIC!!  

 Caesars was directly in front of us and then we realized that we could see the Bellagio Fountain from our room!! It was great but LIVE was Phenomenal!  Our first live viewing was one of my favorite Sinatra songs too:)

The strip during the day... We walked into as many casinos as possible just to see the architecture and design of that particular property. Paris was pretty cool too!  We all enjoyed that one.

There is design Everywhere … molding in the mall and then in a clothing store where they used all old sewing machines in their window display- LOVE!

We took a walk through the Neon Sign Graveyard that was shown in the movie MARS ATTACKS and houses some of the original history of Old Vegas.  Very cool!

New York New York had an old photo booth and so the girlies indulged me:)  IT is unfortunate that I look like I have giant rabbit ears on but I love this one!

There is so much to do in Vegas and we feel a family trip would be great too but we now need another city to explore just us 3!