recycled denim – tierneycreates

Here is an update on the English Paper Piecing (EPP) quilt I’ve been working on and off on since 2016.

My late husband, who was also a quilter, helped me make many of the the EPP hexagons for the “rosette” blocks in this quilt and there was a bit of an “emotional curve” to overcome to finish up this quilt.

In my previous update 21 Ready to Applique!, like the title reads, I had 21 more blocks ready to be machine appliquéd (I just couldn’t bring myself to hand applique the blocks as it would have been finished in 2036) to the recycled denim I am using as the background for the 99 blocks (9 by 11 layout) quilt.

I ended up preparing 25 blocks for applique and getting them machine appliqued:

I was quite pleased with myself after quite the bout of procrastination on this quilt (um…started in 2016…)

I trimmed the blocks once appliqued to 6.5 inches x 6.5 inches square and then added them to the other blocks up on the design wall to now have – 90 blocks completed!!!!

Yes I finished up to the 10th row – one more row (the 11th) of 9 blocks to go and then I can start putting the quilt together.

9 more blocks, 9 more blocks, 9 more blocks to go – yay!

Getting so close to this feeling…

ScrapHappy, What's on the Design Wall

ScrapHappy July 2026: Experimenting

July 15, 2026July 16, 2026 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

It’s the 15th of the month and I am part of the monthly ScrapHappy posting group hosted by Kate of Tall Tales From Chiconia. Here are links to the blogs of the ScrapHappy participants: Kate, Eva, Sue, Lynda, Birthe, Turid, Tracy, Jan, Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys, Claire, Jean, Dawn, Gwen,
Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera, Ann, Dawn 2, Carol, Preeti,Viv, Karrin, Alissa, Tierney, Hannah,
Maggie and Wizzy

For my ScrapHappy post this month I am skipping an update on the scrappy English Paper Piecing (EPP) hexagon flower quilt I am working on since I recently posted about it in the post 21 Ready to Applique!. I am currently working on machine appliquéing 21 blocks. I will post an update when I am done with those blocks.

So instead I am going to share a scrappy experiment I began working on a couple months ago that is on my design wall. Using recycled decorator fabric samples/scraps and recycled denim scraps, I started playing with some improvisational design and created three blocks:

I don’t know where I am going with it and for now it will continue to sit on my design wall until I finish my EPP quilt.

Once that EPP quilt is off my design wall, I am looking forward to playing in this basket of denim and corduroy scraps; and decorator samples again!

Special Events, Studio

Now Quilting the Denim Quilt!

November 2, 2024November 2, 2024 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

This is a sort of follow up to my post: ScrapHappy October 2024: Recycled Hope .

Finally I am machine quilting the denim quilt I made last year which is currently called “What Direction Do I Go?”.

Here is up on the design wall before quilting:

Here it is in progress while I am quilting with the first color of thread (I used two colors):

Here it is partially finished (I am over halfway done with adding a second color of thread):

I am quilting it in a style I call “Organic Matchstick” quilting. Yes I totally made that phrase it. Matchstick quilting looks like this:

Image credit – Epida Studio – epidastudio.com/how-to-quilt-it-matchstick-quilting/

My quilting is a bit more “organic” with an occasional line touching or a little wiggle (why yes I of course planned that – ha!)

Here is the back of the quilt, I love the feel/texture of the quilting:

I cannot wait to finish it. I plan to do a “facing” instead of binding the quilt. Okay well back to work for me!

Postscript: Halloween Cuteness

Oh and here is some Halloween cuteness (yesterday was Halloween). We stopped over a friend’s house last night and they had two of their dogs in Hawaiian shirts dressed up as “Magnum. P.I.“ (if you remember that that 1980s show starring Tom Selleck):