Hi there!  Today, I am sharing a very simple,

very traditional 4-patch quilt. If you've been looking for a

zero-stress project to stitch up, this one is for you.

Honestly, I can't believe I hadn't made one before!

A couple of months ago, I was going through an exceptionally busy period of life,

and I think I needed some mindless sewing to help me relax in those stolen moments

of "me" time.  So I grabbed some precut squares (leftover from other projects)

and sewed my little heart out!  

I auditioned several fabrics for the solid squares

but ultimately landed on this tan and white plaid fabric that I had in my stash.

I inherited it from my grandma (the one who taught me how to quilt)

after she passed away in 2019.  I must've received quite a few yards,

as I've used it in many projects and even backed a quilt with it.

My grandma's fabric is a "Homespun" fabric, which is a lightweight, simple-weave fabric

that is 100% cotton.  I did a little research and found out that Homespun fabrics are made

of fibers that are individually dyed before they're woven together, as opposed to designs or colors stamped or printed onto the fabric afterward.  This makes the fabric reversible!  They typically come in just solids, checks, plaids, and stripes and are known to have slight imperfections that give them a

primitive look.  Some of them tend to fray a lot, but I didn't have that issue with this particular fabric. 

I know some of you might steer away from using a plaid like the one I chose here,
fearing the lines won't line up perfectly.  But I am here to tell you that subtle, small-scale
plaids like this are incredibly forgiving.  When the grid lines are tiny or low-contrast, a minor
misalignment disappears into the overall texture of the piece, leaving nothing but
cozy, homemade charm.  A large, high-contrast plaid (like a bold black-and-white buffalo check)
would be a totally different story though! When those thick, striking lines are even an eighth
of an inch off, it acts like a visual magnet, drawing the eye right to the seam.  So, if you worry
about using a small plaid in a context like this, I say go for it!  I didn't do anything special
when I cut this fabric, I promise!  It's not perfect but that's kind of why I love it!

I also liked this neutral, midtone tan color so that the dark and light

colors in my 4-Patches would all pop!

I was kind of going for a "Granny-Chic" look with this quilt.  I wanted it to look

like an old family heirloom or something you'd find at an antique shop.  Besides using my

grandma's homespun fabric, I also used a very scrappy fabric placement for my 

4-Patches, to achieve that look.  There was no rhyme or reason to where the darks and lights went;

I didn't lay my blocks out before sewing them together, completely embracing a random, scrappy layout. I even let identical prints touch (as you can see in the last two pictures above), because

when I look at antique quilts, there seems to be more of a make-do mentality than a perfection mentality. Quilts were more utilitarian back in the day, so what would normally be a mistake

or something I'd try to avoid, I fully embraced with this quilt.

I had my longarm quilter, Jen Ostler, quilt this with a classic Baptist Fan pattern

by Three Sisters Fabric. I think it fit the vibe I was going for perfectly!

Can you see the tiny heart she tucked into the design? She always stitches in a hidden object

—it's her signature move and makes for a fun game of hide-and-seek.

I hand-bound it with a Tilda Tiny Stripe fabric. I thought it complemented the tan plaid

and the other blues I had in the 4-patches. Blue and brown go so nicely together,

and I didn't love the pink or yellow against the tan as much.

The backing fabric was from my Feels Like Home collection

with Riley Blake Designs.  I sketched out all of that print in Procreate on my IPad.

Feels Like Home came out in 2024.

I always use 100% cotton batting, which creates so much crinkle once a quilt

is washed and dried. I think this quilt will feel like one big hug

from my grandma once I do that!

I have created a $2 tutorial/cutting chart so you can make your own 4-Patch quilt!

It includes all the information you need to make FIVE different quilt sizes.

And I've included options for scrappy and non-scrappy versions.

Click HERE to check it out in my Etsy shop.  It's such a great resource!

Thank you so much for stopping by today! This was such a fun, simple

project to stitch up, and I hope it inspires you to dive into your own stash.

Happy quilting!

Welcome Wreath Quilt Along

The countdown to holiday sewing starts now!

You are cordially invited to join me for the ultimate holiday sewing project!
Next week, we are kicking off the Welcome Wreath QAL
to make the most festive Christmas version together.

Of course, you're welcome to use whatever color palette you'd like

but I just love holiday sewing during the holidays! 

You will get great practice in making 3 different kinds of quilt blocks -

Flying Geese, Half-Square Triangles, and Snowballs!

Welcome Wreath comes with instructions
for 3 quilt sizes – lap, throw, and full.
For the quilt along, I'll be making
the full-size quilt which finishes at 82 ½” x 82 ½”.

You are welcome to make whichever size you'd like!

You can get the paper pattern HERE.
Or the PDF pattern HERE.

Last year I purchased a bunch of red, pink, brown, cream, and green
(mostly) Tilda fabrics for this quilt, and I’m so excited to finally make it!

Here is the original version:

And here is a two-color version I made in 2024.

Click HERE for all the details (including fabric requirements) for the two-color version.

I think it will be cute in any colorway and I can't wait

to see what versions you guys come up with!

Here are some two-color mockups to get your wheels spinning.

And here are some holiday versions.  Do you have a favorite?

For the multi-colored (original version), the fabric requirements are as follows.

The quilt along will start on Monday, October 19th, 2026
and last for 11 weeks.  The weekly assignments
will be posted on Instagram every Monday.

Here's the schedule:

Week 1: October 19th - cutting
Week 2: October 26th - make Snowball units
Week 3: November 2nd - make HST units 
Week 4: November 9th - make Flying Geese units
Week 5: November 16th - make Flying Geese units 
Week 6: November 23rd - make Flying Geese units
Week 7: November 30th - make Flying Geese units
Week 8: December 7th - make Wreath blocks
Week 9: December 14th – assemble quilt center
Week 10: December 21st – add borders
Week 11: December 28th – show finished quilt top
 
 Please note: I know it’s a busy time of year for a quilt along but this

will be low-key and we’ll just do the best we can!  I just think it will be so fun to work on

this over the holidays and didn't want to put it off another year.  If you or I get behind, it's okay!

To participate, you can do one of the following things:

1. Print off the schedule and follow along privately.

OR
2. Check in with me on Instagram @gigis_thimble
every Monday to get the assignment for the week.
Tag me and post your progress on Instagram
using the hashtags #gigisthimblepattern and
#welcomewreathqal.  This is a great way to find and
encourage friends!  I love it because I get to see your
version of Welcome Wreath, too.

In case you were wondering...
 

And finally, I've created a Welcome Wreath 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!

Red, White, and Blue Scrapology Quilt

Around Memorial Day of this year, I decided to make a red, white, and blue version of my Scrapology pattern!  It was such a fun, scrappy project that I thoroughly enjoyed making!  It was a great way to kick off summer, all the patriotic holidays, and America's 250th birthday!

Let me tell you the backstory about this pattern.  It was originally in my book, Quilt the Rainbow,

which came out in 2022.  (It was the pink quilt.)  

Unfortunately, my publishing company (Martingale Publishing) went out of business about a year later, so I didn't really have a place to send people who wanted the book.  It was such a bummer because I had a very short window to share about the quilts and patterns!  You can still find the book online in a couple of places but I am not associated with those sellers and, sadly, getting nothing from those sales.  So, I am slowly publishing the patterns from the book as stand-alone patterns.  The good news is that I get to add more size options to the stand-alone patterns, which I am really happy about!

This is the throw size but the pattern now includes twin, queen, and king size options!

It's scrap and fat-quarter friendly now, too!  I love that it's so versatile!

I had everything in my stash to make this quilt except the back.

I ended up buying this sweet cream and light blue plaid fabric for the back.  It's from the fabric line, Tails and Threads for Art Gallery Fabrics.  The label is from Ever Emblem.  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.  I've loved the ease of these labels.  Now I don't have an excuse to not label my quilts!

My longarm quilter, Jen Ostler, used the Abacus Squared panto.  She did a great job making the design line up perfectly throughout the X blocks. I just love her, she is the best!

When Quilt the Rainbow came out, my friend, Christopher (the Tattooed Quilter), made Scrapology in Christmas fabrics, which you can see HERE.  Ever since then, I knew I wanted to make it in multiple colors!  In May, I just knew they had to be red, white, and blue!  So thank you, Christopher for the inspiration!  I think this pattern would be cute in any colorway, though!  Can you just imagine it in lots of different colors?  I think that would be so fun...and such a great scrap buster!

And guess what, friends, if you make this quilt, you are going to have some cut-offs - so you can make a bonus project!  I decided to make a decorative pillow for my front porch!  But you could make a little wall hanging, a bag, a quilty-vest, whatever your heart desires!

Scrapology is beginner-friendly and a fun make.

If you would like to grab the pattern or want more info, check out these links:

Click HERE for more details about the pillow.

Click HERE for the Scrapology paper pattern.

Click HERE for the Scrapology PDF pattern.

Click HERE to check out my other red, white, and blue quilts.

Thanks for stopping by today!  I hope you found some inspiration here!

Red, White and Blue Half Square Triangle Pillow

Hi friends!  It's me,  Amber.  Today I have a fun little project + tutorial to share with you!  It's for this scrappy little pillow I made for my porch!

I used the cut-offs from this quilt (behind me and below).  The quilt is called Scrapology and it's perfect for scraps or fat quarters!  The pattern includes instructions for 4 quilt sizes and it's a really fun, easy make!  You can find more information about that quilt HERE.

Let me tell you how I made the pillow, in case you'd like to make one too someday!

You can take this idea to make any-size quilted pillow you want, and it's a great way to use up cut-offs from other projects!  I'm always looking for ways to put those scraps to good use!

From the Scrapology quilt, I had sets of cut-offs that included 1 light triangle and 1 dark triangle, each.  I sewed each set together along the long edges to create a Half-Square Triangle block and then pressed the seam allowances open.  Then I trimmed each one to 2-1/2" x 2-1/2".  This is a crucial step to make sure you have beautiful points on your Half-Square Triangles.  (Click HERE for a tutorial on how to square up Half-Square Triangles.)

I knew I wanted my pillow to be 16" x 30," so after squaring up my HST's,

I created a layout of 8 x 15 blocks (each HST finished at 2").

Note: I used a 1/4" seam allowance throughout this project.  

I sewed the HST's together in rows and pressed the seam allowances in opposite directions, alternating with each row.  Then I sewed the rows together and pressed the seams in one direction.  Then I had my long-arm quilter, Jen Ostler, quilt it with a 1" grid pattern.  I probably could've done that step on my domestic machine, but I decided to just have Jen do it when she finished quilting my Scrapology quilt.  I just used some cheap Muslin fabric that I had in my stash for the back of the panel (which will end up on the inside of the pillow).

 Note: Jen trims my quilts for me, so she took care of that part.  You'll want to trim all of the excess batting and backing after it's quilted if your quilter doesn't do it for you.

Then I laid the quilted panel on my pillow back fabric (the blue triangle fabric below) with the right sides together and trimmed the pillow back fabric to be the same size as the quilted panel.

Then I pinned the quilted panel and pillow back fabric together with the right sides together.  I marked an 8-10" gap at the bottom to leave as an opening when I sewed around the pillow with a 1/4" seam allowance.  (Normally, I would use a 1/2" seam allowance for this type of project, but I didn't want to cut off any of the points on my HST's.)

Once I sewed around the pillow, leaving an 8-10" opening at the bottom, I trimmed the corners to eliminate bulk.

Then I turned the pillow right-side out.

And used a point turner to carefully push the corners out.

Then I gave the pillow form a nice overall press with a hot iron.

I also pressed the 1/4" seam allowance where I should hand-stitch the opening closed.

Do you see the tiny little star Jen quilted into the panel?  That's her signature move!

She always quilts a hidden object into the quilt.  Makes for a fun little game of hide-and-seek!

Then I filled the pillow with Poly-fil, which you can get at Walmart or Hobby Lobby.  I probably used about one and a half 16 oz. bags. I stuffed my pillow form as full as I could get it.

I like to pin the opening shut at this point just to make sure everything stays aligned properly as I hand stitch the opening shut.

I used coordinating thread and an invisible/blind stitch to hand-sew the opening shut.

(Tip: I did add more stuffing as I was doing this part.)

My stitch is not so invisible as you can see - but that's okay!

It will be on the bottom, so no one will really see it!

This was such a fun little project!

I would love to make more of these smaller, faster projects in the future!

I made it for this bench on my porch (the bench is a lot smaller than I would like)!  I have been on the lookout for a bigger, wooden (maybe church pew-style) bench.

I hope you enjoyed this project!

Let me know if you have any questions or if you found some inspiration here today!

Related links:

For more red, white and blue quilt inspiration, click HERE.

For the Scrapology paper pattern, click HERE.

For the Scrapology PDF pattern, click HERE.

For the red, white and blue Scrapology blog post, click HERE.

For the "How to Square Up Half-Square Triangles" blog post, click HERE.

For more free tutorials, click HERE.

Thanks for stopping by today and as always, please let me know if you have any questions!