Hi there!  I have been wanting to share a new

project that I started a month or two ago.

It's based on my new pattern,

Flora's Baskets. 

Flora's Baskets is a pattern I designed

based on an antique quilt I saw on 

@caravanquilts Instagram feed.

[This picture is shared with permission from @caravanquilts.]

I love following that account.  It's a great resource

if you're in the market for an antique quilt!

[This picture is shared with permission from @caravanquilts.]

[This picture is shared with permission from @caravanquilts.]

If you look closely at the two pictures above you can see that the 

"flower" part in the basket block is made with diamonds

which would've had to have been made with English

Paper Piecing or Y-seams.  My block uses

traditional machine piecing.

All of that to say,

I started a new version of Flora's Baskets -

a scrappy version and I am so excited about it!

I think it's going to be so pretty.

I'm using low-volume backgrounds and 

muted pinks, blues, and yellows for the "flowers"/

"basket tops" (what do we call that part of the block?)

Anyways, if you want to make a scrappy version like me,

you will first need to get the Flora's Baskets pattern.

You can get the paper pattern HERE.

Or the PDF pattern HERE.

And then use the following info in

conjunction with the block assembly instructions

to make scrappy blocks.  This will make 2 blocks

but you can mix and match pieces so they're both unique.

1 brown square, 5" x 5"

1 brown square, 3" x 3"

2 brown squares, 2-1/2" x 2-1/2"

10 white rectangles, 2-1/2" x 4-1/2"

1 white square, 3" x 3"

2 white squares, 2-1/2" x 2-1/2"

1 pink, blue, or yellow square, 5" x 5"

8 pink, blue, or yellow squares, 2-1/2" x 2-1/2"

And then just have fun playing with your fabrics

to make as many basket blocks as required for your chosen 

quilt size.  Flora's Baskets has 3 quilt size options.

I might make a queen size because I'm loving this

project so much.  I think it will look so vintagy 

and beautiful at the foot of our bed.

I'm even saving the cutoffs and making tiny half-square

triangles out of them.  Maybe I'll make

a little pouch or bag with them someday.

I'm super excited about all of this!

If you decide to join me on any of this

please tag me on Instagram @gigis_thimble

and use the hashtags #gigisthimblepattern

and #florasbasketsquilt.

Have a great day!

Blossoms and Buds - Emily Belle Version

 Good morning! 

I've been wanting to share this quilt with you

for a while now; I finished it back in 

September of 2022, I think.

I love this quilt because

A. It's a classic design

B. It's scrappy

C. It uses lots of my favorite fabrics from my stash

and

D. The Baptist Fan quilting gives it a very vintage vibe.

This is the original version:

It's the Blossoms and Buds 

pattern from my book,

Quilt the Rainbow.

It's amazing how different this

version looks compared to the orange version!

In the orange version

the background is scrappy and

in this version the background is all

one fabric.  They look so different!

Which one do you prefer

(and disregard the orange if that's not your thing)?

I've seen several different versions online

and they're all awesome.  There are

so many ways to make this pattern your own

depending on your colors and fabric placement.

The only fabric I bought specifically

for this project was the background fabric -

Emily Belle Liberty from Riley Blake

in the color, Magnolia (a soft, buttery yellow). 

Emily Belle comes in about 45

different colors so you could

pick the one that speaks to you!

And it's such a great stash buster!

Even the binding is scrappy!

Quilt the Rainbow gives instructions

on how to make a scrappy binding

or scrappy quilt back!

There are lots of useful nuggets of 

information in it, besides the 10

versatile quilt patterns.

You can grab the book HERE.

I had this wild backing fabric in my stash

just waiting for the perfect project!

It's called Cameo by Kaffe Fassett.

It incorporated so many of the colors I used

for the quilt front so I thought

it would give this simple quilt just

the "wow factor" it needed.

I like to label my quilts with labels from Everemblem.

I get the 2" cotton, fold-over, sew-in labels.

If you go to their site, you'll have to pick a cotton label 

and customize it from there.  They're so convenient.

Now I don't have an excuse to not label my quilts!

Jen Ostler of Dry Creek Quilting

in Highland, UT quilted it with this

classic Baptist Fan pattern.  There are many different

Baptist Fan pantographs out there but I love this particular

one because it's so traditional.  It's the

Baptist Fan by Three Sisters Fabric

pantograph and I've used it many times!

Before I let you go, I just want to remind you

about the 2023 Quilt the Rainbow Challenge.

If you make any quilt (in any size and colorway)

from the Quilt the Rainbow book and 

post it on Instagram with the hashtag

#quilttherainbowchallenge

you could be entered to win some fabulous

prizes!  I'm giving away prizes quarterly

and you can enter as many times as you'd like!

All the details are in THIS blog post.

Well, I hope I answered any questions

you might have but if not, be sure to drop them in the

comment section below.  I love any interaction with you!

Thank you for stopping by today!

Positive Vibes Quilt-Along

Get ready for some fun because it's time for another quilt-along!

The Positive Vibes Quilt-Along is for one of my newest patterns,

Positive Vibes.  I designed it for my new fabric line,

Treasured Threads with Poppie Cotton, which is in stores now.

Positive Vibes comes with instructions

for 2 size options - baby and throw.

For the quilt along, we'll be making

the throw-size quilt that finishes at 71-1/4" x 85-1/2".

You can get the paper pattern HERE.

Or the PDF pattern HERE.

Positive Vibes is a fat quarter-friendly pattern,

perfect for a Treasured Threads fat quarter bundle!

You are welcome to use whatever

fat quarters you'd like, of course, but if you would like

to make the same quilt version that I'm making, there are

3 awesome quilt shops that are offering kits!

Corn Wagon Quilt Co.

LouLou's Fabric Shop

Good Vibes Quilt Shop

[This Positive Vibes block features Bloom True fabric by Terri Conrad for Poppie Cotton.]

The fabric requirements for the throw-size quilt are:

Bright Print Fat Quarters (Includes Scrappy Binding) - 20

Good Measure Natural Background Fabric - 6¼ yards

Optional Non-Scrappy Binding - 2/3 yard

Backing - 5¼ yards

Batting - 80” x 94”

The quilt-along will start on Wednesday, March 1st, 2023

and last for 12 weeks.  The weekly assignments

will be posted on Instagram every Wednesday.

Here's the schedule:

Week 1: March 1st - cutting, fabric mix and match

Week 2: March 8th - make 6 blocks

Week 3: March 15th - make 5 blocks 

Week 4: March 22nd - make 6 blocks

Week 5: March 29th - make 5 blocks

Week 6: April 5th - make 6 blocks

Week 7: April 12th - make 5 blocks

Week 8: April 19th - make 6 blocks

Week 9: April 26th - make 5 blocks

Week 10: May 3rd - make 6 blocks

Week 11: May 10th - assemble rows

Week 12: May 17th - assemble quilt top

May 24th - show the completed quilt top!

I'm so excited to announce that we have one fabulous prize 

sponsored by Katie's Quilting Co.!  Katie has so generously offered to give 

one winner - free quilting (does not include batting or shipping).

She is also offering all QAL participants: 

20% of quilting (quilt must be received 

within 30 days of the end of the QAL).

I will choose the winner at the end of the QAL from the

#positivevibesqal hashtag pool on Instagram.  

Only people that post a picture of the finished quilt top 

by May 24th will be eligible to win.

To participate, you can do one or more of the

following things:

1. Print off the schedule and follow along privately.

2. Check in with me on Instagram @gigis_thimble

every Wednesday to get the assignment for the week.

Tag me and post your progress on Instagram

using the hashtags #gigisthimblepattern and

#positivevibesqal.  This is a great way to find and

encourage friends!  I love it because I get to see your

version of Positive Vibes, too.

3. Sign up HERE for weekly email reminders.

In case you're wondering, the skill level for this pattern 

is confident beginner.

And finally, I've created a Positive Vibes Quilt-Along PDF

with all the pertinent details and a coloring sheet!

Click HERE to get the PDF. 

Please let me know if you have any questions!

I can't wait to sew along with you this spring!

Treasured Threads is in Stores Now!

The day is finally here!

Treasured Threads is in stores now!

 My new fabric collection with Poppie Cotton

is full of sweet prints in varying shades of pink,

butter yellow, aqua, orange, navy, and creamy white (with a little

touch of red!)  It's bright and happy, vintage and modern -

all at the same time!

The following stores are carrying Treasured Threads:

Ace Sew & Vac

Al's Vacuum & Sewing

Cardinal Creek Quilting

Cherry Tree Cottage

Cornwagon Quilt Company

Country Sampler

Crimson Confection

El Cajon Sew & Vac

Farmhouse Fabrics, INC

Good Vibes Quilt Shop

Hunnie Quilt

Lou Lou's Fabric Shop

Mountain Stitches by Susan

Olie and Evie

Orange Quilt Bee

Precuts Quilt Shop & Craft

Quality Time Quilts

Sew It Seams

Sew Let's Be Quilty

Sweet Daisy Quilt Shoppe

Teal House Quilts

The Backstitch

The Quilted Cow LLC

The Quilting Studio & Fabric Mercantile

Thread Play Quilt Shoppe

Tilly Dee's Quilts and Embroidery

Under the Garden Moon

I've created 3 companion patterns

to go with Treasured Threads:

Flora's Baskets

A 10" square friendly pattern.

3 quilt size options 

Beginner-friendly

Sprout

A 10" square friendly pattern.

3 quilt size options 

Beginning applique

Positive Vibes

Fat-quarter friendly

2 size options

Quilt-along starts March 1st

See QAL details HERE.

You can check out all of my paper and PDF patterns HERE.

If you're a shop owner and would like to get

bulk quantities of any of my patterns at wholesale prices

please email me at gigisthimble@hotmail.com.

If you get your hands on Treasured Threads or

make anything with it please email me or tag me on

Instagram @gigis_thimble.  It would make my day

to see it in your home.  Happy shopping!

Scrappy Pink Irish Chain Quilt

Today I am finally sharing my scrappy pink Irish Chain quilt that

I started in December 2021.  I finished it shortly

thereafter but just recently got some pictures of it!

But first (before I share the details of this quilt),

thanks to all of you that watched my LIVE Thursday Trunk Show

that I did on Instagram this past week and that wanted to see more

of this quilt!  Several of you reached out and gave me just the

motivation I needed to get this quilt photographed and blogged.

FYI:  I do Thursday Trunk Shows once in a while.

It's something fun I came up with to share

5-10 quilts within a certain theme.  It's a fun way for me

to connect with my Instagram followers, show who

is behind all the little squares, get outside of my comfort zone,

and hopefully, inspire and teach a few things I've learned

from my 24 years of quilting experience.  I usually announce them

in my Instagram stories a day or two beforehand.

You can follow me @gigis_thimble if you're not already.

So let's start back at the beginning...  

THE INSPIRATION:

In August 2018, Janine of @happyhappynester shared the

gorgeous photo above on her Instagram feed.  I was immediately smitten and 

saved the photo.  (By the way, Janine's whole IG feed is lovely and I have been 

following her for a long time.  She is very sweet and gave me permission to share her photo.)

About a year later I was feeling like I "needed more pink in my life" 

and came back to that photo as the inspiration for a quilt color palette!

I just wanted a simple project so I went with the classic 9-Patch block.

I paired them with 6-1/2" low-volume squares

to create an Irish Chain.  My quilt finished at 66-1/2" x 78-1/2".

Click HERE for a simple PDF for this pattern.

This sweet color palette definitely cheered up my

sewing room during those winter months!

I had some of that sweet pink and white daisy fabric in my stash

(but not enough so I ended up ordering a bit more) to use for the backing.  

It's called Flower Glory Morning - Wonderful Things by Bonnie Christine 

for Art Gallery Fabrics.  It reminds me of a vintage sheet!  I love it!

I also had this pink herringbone fabric in my stash

that I used for the binding.  Sorry, I can't remember what it's called!

My quilter, Jen Ostler, used the Interlocking Orange Peel

pantograph by Karlee Porter for the quilting.

It's one of my favorite all-over designs and I've used it many times!

This quilt was so fun to make.

Partly, because - mindless sewing for the win!

And partly because I got to pull out all of my really girly

low-volume prints.  If you're on Instagram,

I shared a reel this week where I scanned over all the fabrics

so you can check that out if you want to see more.

They're so whimsical.  It was the type of thing where I'd 

pull one out of my stash and say, "Oh, I love this one...

and this one...and this one!"

I wanted it to be mostly pink with little hints

of green, orange, and yellow - so I spaced out those accent colors

sporadically through my 9-Patches.  One thing I've learned

over the years is that colors don't always have to be in equal amounts.

That's what makes a quilt unique and interesting sometimes.

So that's it.  I am very happy I pulled this out

for the Thursday Trunk Show the other day so I could be

reminded of just how much I love this very simple,

very scrappy Irish Chain quilt!  I would be happy to make

more of these in the future.  

If you feel inspired and decide to make one

and share it on Instagram, please tag me @gigis_thimble.

Again, here's the Scrappy Irish Chain PDF

and thanks for stopping by today! 

Flora's Baskets

Hello, hello!  Today I am sharing my

third (and final) pattern that I designed

for my upcoming fabric collection 

with Poppie Cotton called, Treasured Threads.

Meet - Flora's Baskets.

It's a Layer Cake (10" square) 

friendly pattern and it comes with instructions

for 3 different size quilts - lap, twin, and queen.

It's my spin on a vintage-inspired

Basket pattern and I love this particular

basket block!  Quilting and basket blocks

go hand-in-hand in my opinion.

Basket blocks are just classic.

The quilting was done by Jen Ostler in Highland, UT.  

I always love crosshatch quilting.  It's timeless!

Last night I got the itch to make a scrappy

version of Flora's Baskets using lots of different 

low-volume fabrics for the background.

I'm loving where it's headed!  It's a bit messier

and more time-consuming to make those 

blocks.  But you know me, I love scrappy! 

I'm thinking about doing a tutorial for the scrappy

version of these blocks that you could use in

conjunction with the pattern?  Maybe newsletter

subscribers would get it first??? 

You can join the newsletter HERE.

It's so surreal to be able to play with my own fabric!

I'm loving seeing it pop up in the wild by people

that received advanced yardage.

To follow along with the Treasured Threads

fabric tour click HERE.

To snag a copy of Flora's Baskets  -

click HERE for the paper pattern

or HERE for the PDF pattern.

Do you have a basket quilt? 

Are you more of a scrappy person or not?

Inquiring minds want to know!

Thanks for stopping by today!