I used a photo of a young Japanese maple along side our driveway to create this tree.

This was maybe the most fun project I completed in 2019. I decided to participate in the #modastringalong (instagram hashtag). I wanted my string quilt to be an applique quilt instead of using pieced blocks. There are lots of Hawaiian fabrics in the closet still after this :). Really not much of a stash buster, even though the whale tails are quite large (36"). It started out with string hearts. Then it was on to turtles, ferns, flowers, whale tails, and appliqued waves under the whales. The ferns were a little tedious to make because of the narrow leaves. It was surprising though despite all the seams, the appliques weren't that heavy. And finally, I cut up the hearts and made a school of fish. The hearts didn't really work with the other elements. The borders are also string pieced. Background fabric is Grunge Clear Water by BasicGrey for Moda Fabrics.  Lots of space is left open for quilting. Pantograph is Hula Hibiscus by Lisa Calle. It reminds me of Hawaiiana and this felt like the perfect quilt for it. Better pictures are needed of the finished quilt. Another day...

The idea starting out was to use up some fabric from the stash in the closet (Salt Air, Cosmo Cricket by Moda Fabrics). I used Grunge Creme for the background. Big thanks to Oda May, Camp Counselors and other campers for great patterns and inspiration! This was my first quilt along and first medallion quilt. Choose your own adventure summer camp theme. I did choose to go off on my own a bit adding some shell, star fish and whale tail appliques. Mainly because the Salt Air fabric line has a sea theme.

Here are pictures of how my quilt progressed over the summer and fall (apologies for some of the pics clarity). The top is complete and backing purchased. Now to figure out the quilting part. I'm so happy with how the top came out.

You can see other campers quilts on Instagram #chooseyourownadventureqal #campodamay

Pat requested instructions for this runner made with Lady of the Lake blocks and old jeans. It's very simple and I know I'm repeating myself but this block is fun to do. Thanks for writing Pat. Hope you have fun with it.

Quilt will be made sometime in the future... from that big bin of denim under the cutting table.

Lady of the Lake Block
Finishes at 12.5" and 12" when runner is complete.

Each block is made up of 8 Half Square Triangles (HST). HST instructions not included here. Press seams open and press well as you go because denim seams are heavy.

Cut 2  -  10" squares - 1 light, 1 contrast
Make Half Square Triangles. Yield 2 HST from 2 squares. Trim and square to 9.5"

Cut 8  -  4" squares  - 4 light, 4 contrast
Make Half Square Triangles. Yield 8. Trim and square to 3.5". You will use 7 for each block. I used black denim for extra contrast in the bottom center HST. Sew the 3.5" HSTs into 2 rows.

One row = 3, one = 4. Sew rows to 9.5" HSTs.



Cut 1  -  12.5" square light  -  sub cut in half on the diagonal. If your jeans legs aren't large enough to get a 12.5" square, use a 12.5" sq. ruler to cut triangles half at a time. You still might need a good sized leg. Triangles are cut larger to make sure points show when edge is finished.

Sew one triangle to top and bottom of each block making 2 rows. Sew the rows together matching center seam. Trim outside of piece leaving a 1/4" seam allowance around entire edge.

Press yet again to flatten seams as much as possible. Quilt as you like. I quilted this on the longarm using an overall pattern (jeans needle) and it didn't have a problem. Bind and enjoy.

For runners, I like using really light weight Pellon fleece (can be found in interfacing area of some stores). My big sis suggested this instead of regular batting. Not sure of the weight but it seems like almost nothing. It helps keep runners flat and quilting shows nicely. When "the future" denim quilt is ready to be quilted, it will probably just be backed in flannel without batting.

This one is quick and easy and great on a small wall. Island Hours I`a (I`a means fish in Hawaiian). Use prints and fussy cut the fish appliques for interesting fish faces and fins. It's fun to audition and use different areas of the same fabric to get unique fish. There are also fish faces included on the templates in case you choose to embroider them. Eyes can be embroidered or small beads can be used.

This is before and after stitching a little car cuddle, stroller tucker, drag around (whatever you want to call it). I used the puppy applique from my Peace Puppy in the Window quilt pattern to add some fun. He's a sweet little puppy and fun to stitch. Dimensional ears get sewn under the head and make good handles for little fingers.

Background piece (white approx. 20" x 26.5") is leftover from another project along with the borders. Peace puppy applique measures a little more than 9 inches tall and wide. Finished piece is approx. 30" x 35".

I made this one nice and light weight (no batting) because baby lives in southern Cal. However, minky/cuddle backing make it extra soft. A quick and special little gift and maybe a new friend for a little one.

Stuffy and Whiskers were first made back in 2002 as stuffed snow cats. I recently remade Whiskers in a smaller size. He looks great in beautiful felted wool and makes a fun pin cushion.

As the story goes Stuffy and Whiskers live in a high mountain meadow outside Seattle or Thereabouts. Wherever there is lots of snow and a nice pond. Whiskers is a passionate ice fisherman and is known to occasionally tell a whopper. He is also owner/operator of "Whisker's Fish Sticks"  Stuffy is a large cat obsessed with coffee and his daily run ins with the Caffeine Hound. He gets his coffee at "Cafe Kit Kat", the local coffee bar frequented by residents of Thereabouts. Stuffy has to out wit the Caffeine Hound (his dog house is outside the cafe) to make it inside for a cuppa. This happens every day and lots of times more than once.

Below is Whisker's first wool project "Fish Story Pin Cushion". More wooly adventures to come.

I spent a good part of the fall playing with a Halloween quilt adapting the Lady of the Lake block. Time marched on and it didn't get done until after Thanksgiving. It was fun and I'd been saving fabrics to make pumpkin appliques for awhile. Most of them are kind of the color of orange ice cream sherbert. The applique is easy with one edge of it sewn in to the block.

Embroidered curly cues could have added some fun to the stems. Oh well... another time.

I couldn't resist adding some fun with frogs to this runner using the same block. Frog appliques are sewn in to the seam of the block just like the pumpkins. The runner did get done in time to use for Halloween.

Earlier this year, a fellow maker, Nicole, gave me 3 gigantic garbage bags full of old jeans. She's into up-cycling old sweaters into new lovely garments. Her sewing room needed more space to store sweaters so... I got a load of jeans. You can find her work at the Sequim Farmers Market on Saturdays (Out On A Whim).

My sister and sister in-law have been making quilts from recycled denim for a long time and I always wanted to give it a try. First I washed all the jeans and then it took four afternoons to cut them apart. This is after I had given a bag to my sister. They are separated now into light, med, dark and gray/black colors. Hard to believe what I started with is going to fit in one large bin after cutting (separate box for pockets). Below is my first project attempt.

The Lady of the Lake block has been on my mind lately so I decided to try it out on a small runner. It's fun using different shades of denim. Batting is the thinnest available pellon fleece. Indigo batik was used for backing and binding. It was also interesting to try quilting this on the longarm. The seams are really bulky as you would expect, but it works. Intrigued enough now to try a small quilt using this block but I think I'll use a piece of flannel as batting or possibly just back it with flannel. Denim quilts can get pretty heavy.

Here are some of my sister's denim quilts. Really fun stuff. She quilts runners on her machine and ties most of the quilts.

This makes such a fun gift. I gave the first one I made to my sister for her birthday. She didn't have a pin cushion. So cute in creamy felted wool. There are a bunch of extra words included in the pattern so you can make cakes for different occasions. This one says Every Day Is Your Birthday. I'm waiting for a small footed cake plate to come in the mail to set this on. To order pattern, click here

Birthday candle pins are from Just Another Button Company's - Just Pins.

Find me on Instagram at robinnelson9304.  I'm working on a pink cake made in cotton and will post it when finished. Hope you make one or many!