The Quilted Nest

Redwork Block of The Month Club

2012-01-09T16:53:00.000-05:00

Beginning February 1 the shop will be starting a Redwork Block of the month club. I can't wait!! I absolutely love redwork and especially the ones which feature these chubby vintage children. There will be 10 blocks over 10 months and a finishing kit... visit the website for more details.
http://www.quiltednest.com/

Happy New Year

2012-01-06T11:56:00.000-05:00

As part of my new years resolution, I am hoping to post hre more often and have my posts shoot to FB and Twitter rather than posting in 3 places. Way too much computer time for me!

So...what is on your work table??? This is the newest shop sample using the LaBelle Collection by Northcott!! Now off to the longarmer to turn it from fabulous to spectacular!

QUILTONOMICS 101 - Part 2

2011-10-20T10:53:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the extreme delay on what was promised to be a weekly post....I guess the "one man show" shop ownership is getting to me. Fingers crossed that I can afford some additional help in the new year!!

On to Part 2.....

PATTERNS:

We all love the inspiration we find in purchasing new patterns and books. (and shop owners love selling them to you)! However, in these economic tough times, think about all of the free and reduced price places where you can find that same inspiration and instruction.

1. First and foremost is the internet. Google the type of pattern you are looking for and add the words free pattern to the search and see what you come up with. i.e. - you are looking for a christmas tree skirt pattern type "free christmas tree skirt pattern" into your search engine and spend a few minutes looking through what's out there. BE AWARE!!! Most free patterns have not been tested so you may well find that the patterns are not always 100% reliable. An experienced sewer can usually spot a glaring boo boo...so read thru the instructions carefully prior to cutting into your beloved fabric.

2. Revisit your personal (or public) library. If you are like me you cannot part with any of your back issue magazines or books. Sit down with your favorite beverage and page through some of those old issues. The fabrics may come and go, but the patterns remain timeless.

3. Check the class schedules at your LQS. I have started adding in some classes that make use of "free" patterns...I would rather have my customer save a few bucks on a pattern and still be able to come in to take the class and purchase a higher quality fabric from me.

4. Sale! Sale! Sale! Every LQS has a sale area whether it's patterns, fabric or notions, check through those carefully so that you can add something new at a reduced price...you may give up a stamp on your loyalty/reward card but the savings are worth it!

QUILTONOMICS 101 - Part 1 The Quilting of it All

2011-07-30T10:45:00.000-04:00

Before I begin, I feel that I must point out several important things. In NO WAY am I discouraging anyone from frequenting quilt shops (after all I am a shop owner)...or patronizing their longarmer or any other venue. This is simply a way to save if you find you must and for those of you fortunate enough to not be feeling the money crunch..PLEASE SPEND SPEND SPEND !!!

The first area in which you can save is your quilting. Many of us have gotten into the habit of sending every single quilt top out to a longarm service. While this is great and the longarmers thank you for it..this might just be one way to trim a little cash. Ask yourself several very important questions before you ship off your next top:

How large is the top? If it is a throw size or smaller you may very well be able to machine quilt it yourself.
What is the intent of the quilt?? If it is a quilt that is intended to be loved to pieces, i.e. a baby quilt, a charity quilt, or a quilt for a teenager...these are the perfect tops to machine quilt yourself and at the same time get in some really good quilting practice. If a quilt is intended to be an heirloom, please consider hand quilting where size is never an issue and the time spent is worth the end result.
Am I ready to learn a new skill? Now might be the perfect time to take a machine/hand quilting course at your local shop. The investment in the class fee will more than pay off with your first finished project. Hand quilting is becoming less and less prevelant but can be a relaxing and fulfilling way to finish those quilts which are intended as heirlooms.
Will my longarmer be insulted? As many of you know, whenever you send a quilt out to your favorite longarmer they have no less than a 6-8 week turn around time. There is plenty of business out there for them and like every artist they encourage new learning processes!!

Let me know what you think of these tips and if you have any to add!! I'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas on this particular subject!

Quiltonomics 101

2011-07-29T10:20:00.000-04:00

Good Morning Bloggers:

I am going to spend the next few posts (hopefully 1 per week) going over some of the ways that we can continue to pursue our passion during this economic crunch that doesn't seem to want to end! I am calling this mini-course

QUILTONOMICS 101 - The Basics of Quilting thru a bad Economy!

As some of you are aware, I recently opened my own Quilt Shop. (Who does this in an economic crisis??). There are many ways that you can still follow your quilting passion, still support your local shops and get your "fix", all while saving money!!

. This is my first savings gift to you...visiting my blog and picking up these little short cuts and tips is free rather than having to purchase a book magazine to gain some of this insight!

Some of you may already be using alot of these tricks; but for some it might just set off that little lightbulb that makes you say.....YES, I can continue to quilt through this!! Follow my ramblings on this subject and please comment and spread the word about this blog and mini-course!

Update...Quilts of Valor

2011-07-07T17:23:00.000-04:00

Just Arrived from Moda

200 Star Blocks!!

You can imagine my surprise when I opened a package from Moda and in it were 200 star blocks from quilters all over the country. Apparently, when Moda put the call out for Just One Star in the hopes of collecting 1800....they actually collected 10,000!!! The excess star blocks were then sent back out to the Regional Coordinators of the Quilts of Valor program for use in quilts to be made for the program.

As you can see, I used the Flag of Valor pattern for my setting. This uses 18 of the star blocks with alternating strip rows and a top piece to resemble a flag. Quick and wonderful way to get a top done. If anyone is interested in making a quilt for the program...please contact me and I will arrange to get as many stars to you or your group as you request. All I ask is that when your top is complete you go to the qovf.org website and complete the necessary steps toward donation. I am also selling the finishing kit for the Flag of Valor as I have it shown, if you wish to purchase that and have it shipped with your stars. Shop phone 856-240-1410.

Quilting & The Economy

2011-06-11T14:50:00.000-04:00

As I was down on my hands and knees pin basting this antique quilt top this morning, I got to wondering......what are you doing in this tough economy to save money and still be able to pursue quilting??? Are you hand/machine quilting your own quilts rather than sending them out??? are you cutting back on classes??? are you shopping online lookin for deals??? or simply stopped eating so you don't have to give up any part of quilting??

Let me know!! This new shop venture has me baffled....I'm running sales, classes, cut my profit margin and STILL don't seem to be drawing many quilters out of the woodwork!!

The Quilted Nest Joins Quilts of Valor

2011-05-26T10:23:00.000-04:00

I am very please to report that The Quilted Nest is now part of the Quilts of Valor program. This program seeks to get handmade quilts to our veterans. I am now offering fabrics from the Red Rooster Studio Quilts of Valor Collection and we will be having a 6 part mystery quilt. You may choose to purchase the fabrics at the shop (part of the proceeds of this go to the program), or use your own patriotic scraps. Beginning June 7 the first mystery clue can be picked up. Yardage and yardage requirements available after the 1st. Then every other week after that another mystery clue can be picked up. Once your quilt top is completed, if you wish to donate it to the program, futher instructions will be given.

If you are not close by, you can give me a call and I can take a phone order then email your clues bi-weekly.

What could be better than the 2 things quilters love most....mysteries and charities....

You can go to http://www.qovf.org/ to read more about the program or visit our facebook page and follow the link to take you there.

Riley Blake - I Wanna Be A Cowboy & Contest

2011-05-24T14:17:00.002-04:00

I just finished redo - ing one of my two front windows. In honor of the 2011 collection from Riley Blake - I wanna be a cowboy 2 - we are in full western mode. Hop

on over to The Quilted Nest facebook page to participate in the Western Window contest I am running now through Monday May 30th.

I will make every attempt to keep the bloggers up to date with the shop happenings as well as the projects I am working on. In the window you will see the sample quilt featuring the fabric line (this is a free pattern from Riley Blake) also, I have recovered some very cool stirrup lamps so that the shades use the theme fabric, and finally made a decorative pennant string to pull it all together.

Hope to see some of you soon on my fb page as well as here....spread the word!!

Onward and Upward....

2011-03-28T11:29:00.000-04:00

As you might know, it was my plan to blog about how I was going to juggle a full time job while still devoting my time to quilting. It has not worked!! I am too tired at the end of the day to even pick up a quilting magazine and flip the pages.
I have now totally changed direction and am hanging up my 9 to 5 and opening my own quilt shop. I have heard many people say that there is even less time to sew when you own your own shop; however, I am going into it with 25 years of finance behind me so the business end should run smoothly. It is my hope that I can know do what I am very good at and merge it with what I love to do and come up with a successful business.
Wish me well and follow along, as I will definately have the time to post and share my project with you all!

Like me on facebook as well and when I reach 500 followers, I will be running a super duper giveaway!

Robin

Christmas Quilting Anyone ??

2010-12-03T09:51:00.000-05:00

I have freed myself this year! I did not promise any christmas gifts that had to do with quilting or any type of sewing craft!! While I may be making a little something here or there,(or finishing previously promised gifts); I have found that by taking away the promise of a quilted gift I have opened myself back up to the joy of giving something handcrafted. I have eliminated the undo stress of the deadline that takes so much of the pleasure from our craft. I have decided that any quilted gift I give will be given as a surprise to the receiver who has no idea that I might have been working on the item for a year....or three!
Additionally, I will be giving when items are completed and that will add to the joy of the surprise....everyone loves a gift when it is not a special occassion makes the gift and giving even more special.
Let me know how you all plan to handle your homemade holiday giving..be it quilting; baking; or other crafting.
Robin

Winner!! Quilt Goodie Bag

2010-12-03T09:40:00.002-05:00

Mystica was the only person to comment on my green energy post...so please forward me your shipping information @ robquilts@comcast.net and I will get your quilting goodie bag off to you!! Thanks!!

Quilting Fabric Giveaway Countdown

2010-11-19T14:06:00.002-05:00

Only 8 days left before i pull a random winner for my goodie bag giveaway. See prior post and comment on green energy and you can win!!

Going green and Fabric giveaway/ contest

2010-10-28T08:28:00.000-04:00

I have just recently been enlightend!! I learned that in NJ (and possibly other states), you can actually choose your electric provider!! Your electricity will still be delivered by your local utility and you will still see the same bill, but you can choose where your energy comes from. I have recently chosen a company called Virdian. They are a company that provides green/renewable energy. Through the link below you can change your provider to Viridian, choose how much green/renewable energy you would like to receive and possibly save money while doing your part to save the planet. Simply go to www.viridian.com/CHSBand (copy and paste to your browser) to save money on your electric bill and help save the planet. Grab your electric bill, click the link. At the top of the page click the tab that says energy service, click on enroll now and follow the instructions. If you choose 20% green you can save up to 10% on your electric bill...if you click on 100% green in might cost you a little more but you are saving much more of our planet for future generation.
Let me know if you have something similar in your area or if you join up through my link!! I will be giving away a quilting prize for a random comment to this post....so let me know what you think!! It will be a goodie bag of fabric swatches and a pattern from my last shop hop! The contest will run through November 27th (my birthday!!)
Just think how much longer we can run our sewing machines while reducing our carbon footprint...lol (that is my sewing nod to this soapbox posting).

Back in the Groove

2010-10-15T10:21:00.002-04:00

Well, it only took about 4 months to get back into some kind of groove. I think that the driving factor was having to complete a swap project that I had committed to prior to rejoining the work force. Along with this, I had purchased and started an alphabet quilt for a neighbor's new baby. Needless to say that quilt did NOT get completed prior to the birth. But like all good quilters, I did have a back up baby quilt made to gift.

I have since completed the alphabet quilt and hope to have it machine quilted in time for the birth of my newest granddaughter on 11/22. We shall see. So glad to be back and will update with photos soon.

I also started a block of the month ummmmm.... a year ago and am 5 months into it with that also falling by the wayside in June....Let's see if I can get back to that. They were matching black and white quilts each with a different accent color intended to be christmas gifts for my two oldest children....don't think that will happen this year...MAYBE EASTER???? To top all of this off I had the nerve to go out and buy fabric/pattern/supplies for an applique quilt!!

I think that I have determined it is not the job that is slowing me down as much as the renegade creative imp that always needs to be feed new projects and inspiration faster that I can keep up.

Back to the Grind

2010-07-03T10:43:00.002-04:00

Well, I have just re-joined the full time work force after a two year lay-off. Needless to say I am exhausted as I try to re-acclimatize myself to the schedule and the additional stress of my son's wedding being 6 days away. I will be posting pictures of my granddaughter in her flower girl dress and updating you on the tips and tricks I will be using to still fit my beloved quilting time back into this insane schedule.
I'm sure many of you out there are juggling full time jobs, kids, and much more and might be able to share a tip or two with me also.
Let me know how you handle it all, and I'll keep you posted on my progress. I am currently working on an alphabet quilt which I hope to give my neighbor for the birth of their first child; however, looking at the progress (or lack of)that I am making and the size of her belly...I'm not sure i'll make it.... Just before returning to work I made a shop sample for the local shop where I also teach and as soon as that comes back to me I will be posting photos. It is a vibrant flannel quilt perfect for a tween and fast and easy to make. The cutting actually takes longer than the assembly.

Happy Quilting,
Robin

It's Wedding Season

2010-05-14T12:06:00.002-04:00

Well another project that doesn't involved quilting. My son is getting married in July and my granddaughter will be flower girl. I decided that since I don't have enough on my plate, I would make her dress. This is the 90% completed dress. I will not hem or do the final finish work until the week before the wedding in case the little princess decides to have a growth spurt!! The back is also much cleaner than it appears in the photo, I have it pinned to the dress form with is definately a little slimmer than my Maggie!!

Playing Dolls.....

2010-04-26T11:27:00.003-04:00

Recently, I have been playing with doll clothing. In 2 weeks my niece will make her First Holy Communion and I had her dress for hemming. Both my niece and her younger sister are big American Girl fans so I decided to make a communion dress for her American Girl Doll. It is a close facimile to my nieces' dress so I think she will be thrilled....(much more than I was trying to sew 1/4" seams with shredding satin..)

The next problem I faced was her younger sister. I just knew she would have a total meltdown if she didn't also get something for her doll. As her birthday is just days away from her sisters big day, I found a great pattern set for a little girl "sack" dress and matching 18" doll dress. I quickly whipped these up and will give her an early birthday present to avoid little girl meltdowns. The dress pattern is from Mindy Leone and you can find her both at etsy and her website www.froglegsandponytails.com

Catchin up or not.....

2010-03-31T12:58:00.002-04:00

Unfortunately, it seems that almost everything I have been working on is either test pattern for a designer (which I cannot share until the pattern is published) or a deadline item for a class that I am late submitting...(as usual) and therefore didn't have time to photograph or share before I ran out the door with it needle still in hand.
Not only have I not had time to share my stitching with you, I just this morning sat down and caught up on WEEKS worth of blog posts that I follow. Hopefully, photos and fun to share with all soon.
Happy Easter.

Update on my Checklist

2010-02-25T09:46:00.003-05:00

Ok.... Ice skating costume for my niece...done...check.

Class description for Spring classes, dropped off - Machine Applique with Quilt As You Go..check, check.

Fabric purchased and ready for class samples...check, check, check....

snowed in again to make even more progress...priceless..lol

Catching Up

2010-02-22T08:34:00.002-05:00

Happy Monday All,
Sorry to have been quiet for so long, I am in serious catch up mode!! In 3 days, my class description is due for spring classes at The Little Shop....with the samples being due 10 days later....I have been hemming and hawing over what to do. I finally spoke with the shop owner and she indicated that she feels she needs to introduce more on machine applique. I have been up all night rolling this around (if you remember I did a class last fall on this technique). The question becomes, how to bring something new in order to inspire and motivate people. Well, I think I have it. I am going to do a small growth chart (you can pick either stacked sheep or a giraffe) from the book quilts, bibs, blankies...oh my! by Kim Schaefer. The twist to this is that we are going to machine applique and quilt at the same time. If the decorative stitching looks good on the front of the quilt, why isn't it just as lovely on the back as your quilting stitch?! What a great way to get those handmade gifts made in a jiffy and be the hit of any gift giving event.
Also, my niece is into competition ice skating. My brother was pricing the costumes and nearly had a heart attack over the price of a skate costume given the fact that she will be on the ice a grand total of one minute 20 seconds. This, of course, is where I come in...so now I must venture into the world of dancewear....4 way stretch lycra....NEED I SAY MORE?!
I just dropped my camp quilt off to the machine quilter along with a gorgeous mariners compass made from a foundation package.
I will share everything as it comes off the machine...wish me luck!
Oh and did I forget to mention the HUGE fundraiser that I am helping to coordinate that falls right smack in the midst of all of this on March 6. It benefits our HS Marching Band and with all the continued budget cuts in the schools these types of fundraisers are the only way to keep the Marching program alive...so000000000 we must trudge on in the name of art whatever form it may take.
Kisses,
Robin

Happy Valentines Day & Winner

2010-02-14T10:04:00.002-05:00

Good morning all hugs and kisses all around. The winner of my fabric strips is Michele. Please email me your shipping information at robinlaino@verizon.net and I will get your winnings out to you.

Hope everyone has a happy day !!

Stashtopia !!

2010-02-09T07:48:00.003-05:00

Yes....I said Stashtopia....right now it describes the name of my completed "camp" quilt and this feeling I am having. I finished my "camp" quilt last night and have one of the biggest senses of accomplishment I have had in a long time (quilting related..lol). As I previously mentioned, I had been cutting 1.5" strips from my leftovers for a long, long, long...time. It was one of those things where you had good intentions, but if I honestly dig deep, I don't think I ever realllllllly planned on using them. Now, not only did I use up a good portion of those strips, but both the black and white fabric in this quilt was also in my stash!!! Only a very little scrap of the white left over and just enough of the black for the binding. Yea, for me and now you get where this indescribable feeling is coming from.

Now, if only I could find enough fabric in my loot for a backing I would probably have to go dance in the street. Given the fact that this quilt is 74" square, I seriously doubt that I have 4.5 yds of anything...or even enough of anything large enough for a pieced back. Instead, I will reward myself for both completing this in almost the weekend camp time frame and using up what I had on hand with some new yardage for the backing.

Oh, and did I mention I will NEVER be cutting 1.5" strips again from my leftovers?! Hmmmm, maybe squares from now on. Check out my previous post and leave a comment on that post to get in the running to win the rest of my leftover strips (still quite a few...)

Camp Update and Fabric Giveaway

2010-02-07T09:21:00.005-05:00

Well I am sewing away on my camp project. Here are photos of 2 of the final possible sets for my project. I am leaning heavily toward the "star". I actually moved the blocks around so many times, that I had to start taking pictures in order to remember what I did and if I liked it. This is a great way to see your quilts from a distance (zoom out) and decide which you like after you've had time to walk away and review them all objectively??!!

I am finding that the most discouraging part of this process is the fact that I am using 10 strips per set (rather than the 5 in the pattern due to the fact that I had so many 1.5" strips pre-cut) and the bag of strips does not seem to be reducing AT ALL!!! With the star set, I only need 7 more blocks....I will NEVER be rid of these strips...and now, after this project, I am tired of looking at them. I know I will not revisit them for another project. If you are interested in winning my bag of leftover strips for your next scrap project. Leave me a comment and I will draw a random winner.....let's say on valentines day!!! A little nod to our true love...FABRIC!

Camp Anyone???

2010-02-05T18:24:00.002-05:00

this is my first foray into an internet quilting challenge???? if you hop over to Pat Sloans website she is doing a stash buster camp. Well there are two main things that pulled my into this.....first we are using strips....I have been cutting 1.5" strips from my leftover fabrics for YEARS!! I think I had a log cabin in mind at some point...but this pattern is just a little different. Also, I had two contrasting fabrics (black and white) that should pull all this mess into some kind of order. Second, this is a 3 day sew-a-thon and we are scheduled to be snowed in for the next 2 days at least .....so off to camp I go. If you would like to join us go over and visit
www.patsloan.typepad.com
I'll add pictures as I go if I can.....i don't multi task very well I'm either sewing or playing on the computer....I get into a zone and don't like to stop and switch gears....