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  • nestlings by robin
  • Page 1 of 5 ( posts )
November 13, 2024
Good-bye 2024 and Hello 2026 from Nestlings By Robin

That is Not a typo:)

It has been a rough year on so many levels for many people and I don't know about you, but my calm, the balm for my soul is stitching. The slow and steady pull of the thread through fabric calms me in ways I can't fully describe. There is a form of meditation in this glorious art form that I am thankful to have in my life and hope I can entice others to feel as well.

I have been absent a bit now, I know.  For those following along, we moved from ...

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May 28, 2024
Spring in Illinois from Nestlings By Robin

 Spring has Sprung here in Illinois. 
I forgot how much I missed 
the change of seasons and the green 
of everything coming back!
We now have lovely red patio 
chairs and a great view when 
the weather permits.
It is the perfect spot to do 
some hand stitching:)
Inside things were at a stand still
until I could get some cabinets to paint
for my studio. Here they are....
Wait until you see the lovely red
they will become.


is still progressing in my FB group,
Robin's Rocking Needles here.
This is 4 panels ...

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December 14, 2023
Benartex 4th Quarter Fun from Nestlings By Robin

 Welcome back for some Benartex fun!
For my 4th quarter project, I have
been playing with the American Spirit 

American Spirit

These were the fabrics I chose
to work with for this project
but there are many others 
to choose from.

If you saw my Ohio remix
in the Fat Quarterly in October, 
then you may know where this
is going:)
I took that block along with
another arrangement and
combined them with a
sweet and simple border applique'.

In January this new design,
'In Gratitude', will be available 
for purchase through my ETSY ...

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July 24, 2023
Benartex Ambassador Project #3 from Nestlings By Robin

 Christmas in July is celebrated by 
lots of quilters to get a jump on
their Christmas gift lists, so
I am going to offer 2
Christmas in July patterns
for my Benartex projects!

For project #3 I chose
to work with the new
arriving in shops now.
This line has a lovely
silky feel to it and there
are lots of cute
prints to choose from.
White makes me think of 
snowflakes though and how 
fun are those little
paper cut ones from 
our childhood.

In all honesty, I was never 
much good at getting them ...

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Benartex Christmas in July 2023 from Nestlings By Robin

 Jackie Robinson has 
done it again!
a lovely array of 
holiday touchstones from 
holly to Christmas ornaments.

I used techniques from
to adorn this sweet and 
simple table runner
with lovely amaryllis 
flower bouquets.

I am in love with 
these sweet flowers and the 
cute star negative space 
at their centers!

The pattern can be found
in my ETSY shop
Fun quilting 
suggestions included.



Come join the designers
and ambassadors on 
July 25th for a peek
at all the upcoming
fabrics.
You can register HERE.

Come see how I used this ...

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May 28, 2023
Twist & Turn Blog Hop from Nestlings By Robin

Hello and Welcome to the 
Twist & Turn Blog Hop
featuring a new book
by Cinzia White. 


Twist & Turn Quilts by Cinzia White, 

published by C&T Publishing, is 

landing in stores this month. 


I have joined with a group of exciting 

original designers to bring more 

ideas on how to meld different designs to 

make your own original quilt. 

These innovative designers are showing 

us a variety of their own circle designs 

using the latest fabrics to highlight the 

versatility of Cinzia’s Twist & Turn Quilts. 


First let's take a peek at a couple

of designs directly from the ...

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April 16, 2023
Benartex Project #2- Peacock Petals from Nestlings By Robin

 We round up the first quarter of the year
with my second Benartex project....
Peacock Petals using fabrics
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 ...

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April 9, 2023
Graduations; What do they mean? from Nestlings By Robin

 Welcome to Graduation season!
As our future steps out of the 
shadow of their parents and wanders
into their own way of doing things, 
I thought it might be fun to 
remember some of our own
graduated ideas.

Who remembers the first time
we realized that we didn't HAVE TO  
do everything we were taught?

Who remembers that amazing 
feeling of paying your own way
for the first time and then paying 
for someone else too?

These seem like simple ideas but 
they are the small ways that we 
graduate from child thinking to
becoming adults.

When I designed ...

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January 30, 2023
Benartex Ambassador group Totes from Nestlings By Robin

Welcome back everyone!  
We invite you to join the 
Ambassadors as we show
off our fun group project...
TOTE BAGS:)
There is some 
adventurous stitching!

Our mission was to 
reinterpret the logo
shown below and 
that was really the 
only rule other than 
making a bag:)
Look at these gorgeous
fabrics we had to play with.
This is the Wave Texture
basics line by 
Based on the logo, I chose
Sky, Fuchsia, and Lime.

Wave texture fabric from Benartex

I love playing with this
simple petal shape and 
 I knew that I would
do hand applique' 
with embroidery, 
so here is BloomX:)

I ...

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January 24, 2023
Benartex Ambassador project #1 from Nestlings By Robin

Welcome to my first 
Benartex Ambassador
project for 2023! 
Meet "Heartland" by 
Cheryl Haynes.
I was completely digging
the floral and checks
and the fabric is so soft!


My father is from Kansas,
and my oldest lives in Illinois.
When we drive up there, the 
vast acreage of windmills is 
breathtaking just as the images
from Kansas plains of one small
windmill were in the day.

So, this fabric line immediately 
took me to windmills.

Because I couldn't make 
a decision, you get a 2 for 1 tutorial:)

Any block that gives the 
illusion of a windmill works.
For ...

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January 5, 2023
HAPPY HAPPY 2023! from Nestlings By Robin

I know I live in Florida but
occasionally it does get chilly:)
The newest member of the family
has enough fur to keep him 
warm but he looks So-Damn-Cute
with my scarf and Jim's hat:)

Now that the new year has begun
and I am slowly getting back
into my work routine, 
it is time to talk goals!

I have chosen words in the past
but my personality does not do 
well with keeping up with that.
I have also in the past, made a
very long list of goals that go 
by the wayside.
DON'T EVEN GET ...

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My first ever Calendar! from Nestlings By Robin

Embroidery Calendar
Initial orders have gone out 
and I am excited to start
my video tutorials that will
post each month on my


This labor of love is
comprised of various
flowers I have designed
over the years and put 
into a 3" format so
that each month you 
get a new little piece
to work on in all
those in between moments
(bank line, doctor 
appointment, etc).
Those minutes add
up so quickly.
 
Each month has a 
handy pocket calendar and
an inspirational phrase.


On the back side,
there are notes about
supplies, stitches to try,
and ideas for ...

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December 21, 2022
CHURNED DAISIES:) from Nestlings By Robin

On shelves now is the 
January 2023 issue
of American Quilter.
The digital issue is now
available for purchase

I am SO excited to finally
have this design out in the world:)
and in one of my favorite
color combinations!
These fabrics have been
waiting for me to get my
butt in gear as they sat
patiently for years in this fun 
monogram bag given to me by
my friend, Susan!
The daisy inspiration came
from these ca 1970 home items,
(match tin & recipe card box)
which were found while treasure
hunting with same sweet friend!

All the fabrics ...

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November 28, 2022
Fuzzy November Travels:) from Nestlings By Robin

 Fuzzy doesn't have to mean the literal.
It can also mean all the feelings 
we get by being around family
or people we love. It can include
nostalgic memories we get
to share or pass on.

This month we traveled north
to help our eldest with her new
home adventure (even though my
heart is broken they are so far away!!).
We drove through not one
bit of Autumn on our way
and then the house across the street
had this for me:) 

There was lots of framing
out to be done and 
I helped little man build
his ...

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October 27, 2022
Fall Montage-GO! from Nestlings By Robin


Hello and welcome 
to a quick Fall update:)

After our last post, I went
to Georgia to lecture & teach
my Seahorse to the 
I stayed with my friend, Barb, of 
We gabbed and drank wine
and solved all the problems of 
the world...HA!
On my way home, I stopped
to present the same lecture
in Tallahassee, FL.

Once home, I found 
an email from a quilter
who had requested to use 
my shoes from Shoe Tree,
in an art quilt.
Dorothee's finished piece is shown
here from an ...

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SAN DIEGO 2022 from Nestlings By Robin

AQSG Seminar was amazing!

What an incredible group of people
who come together for the 
study of quilting every year.

This year it was in San Diego
and I had never been there, so
I was extra excited.
Then my roomie showed me
our view...Love!


I got us a bottle of wine, 
AND THEN realized
we didn't have an opener.
OOOPS!
Scissors to the rescue
(and NOT my good ones:).

WAY too many gorgeous
quits to show here.
Way too many new friends 
to introduce here.

I will show you my auction
haul of some new books and ...

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September 7, 2022
WHERE did summer go?? from Nestlings By Robin

 WOW!
I looked up and it is September already:)
Hopefully this means that your summer was 
as busy and fun as mine was and you are 
just as surprised as I am.

Since I last wrote, this is what I 
have been up to...

VEGAS
Gondola ride
I will never get to actual Venice so a gondola ride 
at the Venetian was lovely especially when 
you have the BEST singer in the whole city
and you are with your best friend and love!

Friends together
Here is my lovely crew waiting
to get in to see Santana!
I knew I knew a few songs ...

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May 18, 2022
Paducah 2022 and a wee one:) from Nestlings By Robin

Not my first choice, but rooms
went fast in Paducah this year!
Thankfully the view was pretty
and watching the tugboats
with their multiple barges
was interesting!

I had the wonderful honor
to appraise at the AQS
Paducah show along 
with taking my 
appraiser class.
After work, I was able
to peek about and see
the fabulous quilts on display.
Here are a few of my favorites:
Janet Stone's work 
is magnificient!

Keiko Morihiro's quilt
blew me AWAY!
I am completely inspired
by her lovely,
intricate work.
Linday Roy Never
disappoints!!!
I have been a fan
for many ...

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May 10, 2022
2022 Travels, so far:) from Nestlings By Robin

Mostly a picture post:)
In February/beginning 
of March,
we were still traveling
to various quilt guild shows
so that I could do 
appraisals.
Our view in Daytona...
 
Above: Naples at night
Below: Naples in day
(both views from our hotel).
After Naples, I had a ton
of work to catch up on 
including another magazine 
quilt coming later this 
year to AQ magazine.

Finally, in April, I had 
a bit of time to recharge
when I attended a FAB
quilt retreat at the 

The group of talent
and kindness at retreat
was AMAZING!!
Sooo many laughs
and ...

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February 16, 2022
SPRING GARDENS from Nestlings By Robin

 

AQ magazine with Spring Garden quilt by Robin Koehler
Inside you will find my fun and easy
strip quilt, "Spring Garden".

pepper cory shot cottons
Where do we always start,
the fabrics, of course! 

For this design I used 
shot cottons. 
Thank you, Judy Gauthier, of 
for getting these to me!

This quilt is SO EASY and 
these fabrics make it 
so soft and snuggable.
Piece your blocks...

Cut out your applique'.....

Make some vines.....

one applique butterfly
Use teflon pressing sheet
OR parchment paper to 
make completed butterflies.....

Applique butterflies all laid out
I absolutely love seeing 
these all together!

Model quilted with floral and swirl designs.


PRESTO WHAMMO,
QUILT ...

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  • nestlings by robin
  • Page 1 of 5 ( 94 posts )