If you've been around here much, you know

I am a sucker for red, white, and blue quilts!

I was making my Honey Locust Checkered Spools quilt in June and

I just kept envisioning it in red, white, and blue!  So I just had to scratch that itch!

I had the white background fabric in my stash.  I actually designed that print for

the Riley Blake Designs Hush Hush 4 collection.  It was originally a creamy background

with tan stars and they reprinted it in white for their Lights On 2 collection.

The print is called Seeing Stars.  I was able to use fabrics from my stash for most of the spools 

(although I did treat myself to a few new ones just for fun).

Checkered Spools is a 2-1/2" x 42" strip-friendly pattern but since

I just used random cuts of fabric from my stash, it's scrappier

than the original version.  I love it!

I even made a scrappy back for it!

It always feels good to use up random remnants

from my stash.  There's no right or wrong way to make

a scrappy back.  It just depends on what size pieces of fabric you have!

And since I was in a "scrappy" mood, I thought, why not do a scrappy binding too?!?

The best part was that I only used leftover pieces of binding from

other projects!  I didn't have to cut any strips for this particular project! I've made several

red, white, and blue quilts over the years so I had plenty to choose from!

Jen Ostler quilted it for me with a new-to-me quilting panto called

Starry Twist by Melissa Kelley of Sew Shabby Quilting.

This was such a fun project to work on in July!

Checkered Spools would be cute in any color way and is the

perfect pattern for a cherished bundle of 2-1/2" strips.

Checkered Spools comes with instructions for 2 quilt sizes.

This is the smaller, throw size which finishes at 64 1/2" x 80 1/2".

Quick sidenote:  I am teaching this class at The Garden of Quilts in Lehi, Utah

on September 12th from 2-5 pm.  I'd love for you to join me!  Click HERE for details.

If you'd like to make this pattern too, you can get the

paper pattern HERE or the PDF pattern HERE,

Click HERE to see the original version of Checkered Spools.

I'm curious if you have a favorite?

Thanks for stopping by today!

Honey Locust Checkered Spools Quilt

 I recently finished a new quilt called Checkered Spools.

I designed this pattern to go along with my new fabric collection

with Riley Blake Designs called Honey Locust, which is in stores now.

All you need for the quilt top is a Rolie Polie (a bundle of forty-two 2-1/2" x 42" strips),

background fabric and some yardage for the tops and bottoms of the spools.

I used this sky daisy print for the background.

I used the brown and blue hydrangea print for the binding.

And the other two browns (posies and patchwork) were used

for the top and bottom of the spools.

It was fun mixing and matching different prints for the checkerboard units.

I really wanted Honey Locust to have a curated, scrappy feel so it has

a total of 24 different sku's.  There are 9 unique prints and 8 colors.

Leftover checkerboard segments are used in the fun, patchwork border.

Since I was planning on using the brown and blue hydrangea print for the binding,

I debated about these 3 prints for the backing fabric.  I thought each of them

would compliment the front of the quilt and binding.

I ended up using the navy floral print called Gigi's Garden.  I love using

large-scale prints for quilt backs, so it was perfect.

I think the brown and blue hydrangea print for the binding tied it all together!

I usually hand-stitch my binding but was in a hurry this time so I machine bound it.  

It takes some practice but I think I've finally got my method down.  In this particular case,

I used two different color threads - blue on the front and brown on the back.

Jen Ostler quilted it for me with the Interlocking Orange Peel panto by Karlee Porter.

It's one of my go-to pantos; I've used it many times over the years!  Some other

pantos I considered were the Baptist Fan and Crosshatching.  I guess I wanted something

classic and timeless with a little bit of a vintage feel.  I landed on the Interlocking

Orange Peel and am really happy with it!

Checkered Spools comes with instructions for 2 different quilt sizes.

This is the bigger version, the full version that finishes at 80 1/2" x 96 1/2".

I turned it sideways and it fits perfectly on this queen-size bed!

This was such a fun project!  And I'm not gonna lie, after I made this,

I started dreaming of having a quilting retreat center

with all the beds adorned in Checkered Spools quilts!

If you'd like to make this pattern too you can get the

paper pattern HERE,

the PDF pattern HERE,

or I have 1 kit available HERE.

I also have some of the sky daisy fabric listed in my shop as well.

You can get that HERE.

I also thought this would be adorable in red, white, and blue!

Check out that version HERE!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Honey Locust - My New Fabric Collection!

 About a year and a half ago, I began working on my newest fabric collection with Riley Blake Designs.  It's called Honey Locust, and I am happy to announce that it has finally shipped to stores! 

Honey Locust is an homage to my grandparents, who lived in a cute little house on Locust Avenue in Pleasant Grove, Utah, for many years.  Before that, they lived in Laie, Hawaii for 25 years.  My grandpa was a cowboy and a history professor.  My grandma was a quilter and a homemaker.  Their home in Pleasant Grove was on the historic registry, and it was full of learning and love (as well as lots of quilts and antiques!)  I have many memories of riding horses, learning skills such as quilting and canning, working alongside family while painting their picket fence, and singing songs while my grandpa played the guitar and taught us about our heritage.  We worked together and played together at that sweet little house on Locust Avenue, and I miss my grandparents dearly.

In this collection, you'll find cozy colors such as grove green, sky blue, berry pink, honeycomb yellow, lead navy blue, petal pink, saddle brown, and linen.  The names remind me of Pleasant Grove, picking cherries and grapes on my grandparents' property, Utah (the beehive state), my grandpa - the teacher and cowboy, and fresh linen sheets hanging on a clothesline. 

The large floral print (bottom fabric below) is called Gigi's Garden.

The grandkids called my grandma Gigi (she is the namesake of my company!)

There are 9 different prints plus one "cheater" print.

I'm kind of obsessed with the cheater print and want to make "all the things" with it!

The cheater print was inspired by a quilt I made several years ago (and that was inspired by several antique quilts I had seen around).  I kept meaning to write a pattern for the quilt, but it just never happened!  When it came time to design a cheater print for this collection, I knew I wanted to recreate the quilt on fabric!  I love that design, and I love that the blocks are even smaller than the ones in my quilt.  Everything is cuter when it's tiny, right!?

Honey Locust Rolie Polies, 5" Stackers, 10" Stackers, and Fat Quarter Bundles are available.

I hope you're seeing just how scrappy this collection is!

So many prints and colors!  It's been a blast to work with!

I've designed 3 new patterns to go along with Honey Locust.  First up is one of the first patterns I ever designed - with a major update!  I omitted some outdated appliqué and included one more size option.  It's called Square Root and it's 2-1/2" strip-friendly.

Next up is a row-style quilt called The Locust House Row Quilt.  Again, it was inspired by my grandparents' house.  My grandma also had a few row-style quilts that I admired greatly so I knew I wanted to design one for this collection.  It finishes at 62" x 81" and would make a great block of the month program for any shop!  Or a great scrap buster project if you want to make it on your own!

And finally, Checkered Spools.  In honor of my grandma, who taught me how to quilt!  It comes with instructions for two size options and is 2-1/2" strip-friendly!

I can't wait to share more with you soon!  I am busy making all the samples for these quilts (and more!) so stay tuned!  For the most up-to-date info, follow me on Instagram (@gigis_thimble) or check-out my Etsy shop for new patterns and fabric by clicking HERE.

I'd love to hear what you think of Honey Locust and the patterns I've designed to go along with it!

And if you really want to do me a favor, please tell your local fabric store about this collection!  I would appreciate that so much!  Let me know if you have any questions and thanks for stopping by today!