I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

We hosted 15 family members at our house and everything went off without a hitch!  

We ate lots of good food of course and now I'm exhausted!  I plan to do lots of 

relaxing, eating leftovers (mostly pie) and a little online Black Friday shopping today!

[Wisconsin Cranberry Pie]

Speaking of Black Friday shopping, I have a fun giveaway and a discount code for you today!

You know I'm a fan of my IronEZ, right?

I've been a long-time user of the ironing board spray bottle holder.

Without fail, my spray bottle used to fall off my ironing board every time I ironed.

It's no longer a problem though with my IronEZ.  I love it!  It's my favorite spray bottle

and the holder rotates for easy ironing board storage!

Plus, I think it's a great gift for quilters and anyone who just likes to iron 

(sounds weird but trust me, they're out there.  My mom is one of them, ha!)

My friends at IronEZ wanted to giveaway a little something to my followers today

so they've offered to give TWO $25 Amazon gift cards!  

They've also given me a discount code to share with you 

for 15% off + free shipping (US only) on their site!

Click HERE to visit IronEZ and use the code "AJ15" at checkout.

I like food.  I also like to not think too hard so we're going to keep this giveaway really simple.

To enter to win one of the $25 Amazon gift cards

leave a comment below telling me what your favorite Thanksgiving dish is.

 I'm going to start.  My name is Amber and I like stuffing and dessert of all kinds.  Oh, and pretzel jello and homemade rolls.  Okay, I clearly couldn't pick just one dish.  But you get the idea.  This is a safe place; no judgement here..  Just tell me all the foods you love at Thanksgiving and I will be drooling by the end of this, I'm sure.  I'll announce the winners Wednesday, December 4th.  Ready, set, go!

Poppie Cotton Fabric Giveaway!

Good morning!

First, I just want to thank everyone for the love on my

Gingham Farmhouse projects!  I truly love working with Poppie Cotton fabrics!  

They are so pretty and sweet and I think each line keeps getting better and better if that's even possible!  I can't wait to see what they come up with next!

Now, without further ado, the winners of the Gingham Farmhouse 

monogram panels & coordinating fat quarters are... 

#1 Little Quiltsong who said, "Such a beautiful quilt, Amber - love how it showcases the many pretty prints in the fabric line - and the pretty pillow - so cute! I love our big windows in our home that face to the back and the lovely landscaping from our surrounding neighbors, including ours :)!"

#2 Barbara Woods who said, "right this minute that it's warm! been cold in the South for a few days."

...when asked what they love about their homes.

Little Quiltsong and Barbara, please email me your name and shipping address and I will get your prize shipped right off to you!  My email is gigisthimble@hotmail.com.

I loved reading all of your answers to that question!  Thank you for playing along.

I hope you'll go out and get yourself some Poppie Cotton.  Maybe the Gingham Farmhouse monogramed panel so you can make the HOME pillow using the tutorial I posted HERE.  

It would be a really sweet homemade gift for a friend or family member for the holidays!

You can also find a list of a few shops that carry 

the monogram panel from Gingham Farmhouse in the tutorial.  

Well that's it for today friends!

Come back next week because I actually have another 

Black Friday giveaway for you!  It's gonna be good!

See you then!

Skipper Quilt Along: Week 4 + Giveaway

Good morning friends!

It's week 4 of the Skipper Quilt Along and I've got a fun giveaway for you this week!

My friends at IronEZ reached out to me the other day to see if they could donate one of their Ironing Board Spray Bottle Holders to one of my followers and I knew it was something I wanted to give to my Quilt Along friends!  I've had one for about a year now and love it!

The holder clips onto your ironing board so your spray bottles won't fall off while ironing (#quilterproblems, am I right?!)  The IronEZ comes with a fantastic spray bottle but it can also hold Best Press or a regular starch bottle, whatever you prefer to use!  I also love the fact that the holder twists so you don't even have to remove the IronEZ to put your ironing board in storage. 

  

To enter to win an IronEZ, just post a picture of all your Skipper blocks on Instagram using the hashtag #skipperqal.  I want to see your progress and your fabrics!  Post this picture by Sunday, March 31st at noon and I will announce the winner here on the blog and on Instagram the following Monday morning.  This is a great week to get caught up if you're behind.

So the plan for this week is:

Baby: make 4 blocks.

Throw: make 8 blocks.

Twin: make 16 blocks.

Queen: make 28 blocks.

(The only thing different than last week is the Queen size!  

Is anyone making that size?)

Here are all my blocks thus far:

I'm having fun seeing these blocks come together and I am especially loving seeing your posts on Instagram!  Thank you for sharing friends!  

Happy quilting!

Summer Stars Pattern Winner and Other Exciting News

Hello!  Hello!

Just a couple of things today...

First, thank you for all your sweet words about my new pattern, 

Summer Stars!  I'm glad you like it as much as I do.  It was a really fun one to put together.

Melanie, who said, "I love the new pattern!!!! I think it would be perfect 

for my bundle of Happy Home!" won a free copy 

(and Melanie, I just sent you an email).  

For those of you who'd like to purchase a copy, it's now available in paper and PDF forms in my Etsy shop (click HERE). 

Also, if you're following me on Instagram you may have heard about some other exciting news I have to share (you gotta love that up-to-the-minute stuff on IG!  To follow all my quilty happenings there, just search "gigis_thimble").  I was recently published in Martingale's That Patchwork Place 2016 Quilt Calendar!  So I'm a calendar girl, LOL!  I'm miss June (which is perfect because that's my birthday month! :)  

Well, it's not actually me...it's my quilt, Vintage Vibe from my book, 

Vintage Vibe: Traditional Quilts, Fresh Fabrics!  

The calendar is filled with 12 beautiful projects in a variety of different styles.  These are just a few of my favorites!  Ask for it at your local quilt shop or go directly to Martingale.com to order your own copy.

 Calendar photographs by Brent Kane, copyright Martingale Inc.

Happy quilting!

Amber

Car Window Travel Sewing Caddy Winners!

I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Weekend.

We went on our annual hunt for the perfect flower basket to give my husbands grandmother and visited his grandfather's grave.  I'm truly thankful to all those who serve (and have served) our country!

I also want to thank all of you who participated in the Car Window Travel Sewing Caddy giveaway.  The two winners for the caddy's featured above are... betz2lu and QuiltShopGal.  I sent you both an email! Thanks to everyone for entering our little giveaway and thanks to my super talented and creative friend Aniva for sponsoring it!  Her fabulous tutorial can be found HERE!  

I hope you were inspired to make one of these for yourself or as a quick gift for a quilty friend!

Happy quilting!

~ Amber

Car Window Travel Sewing Caddy Tutorial + Giveaway!!!

Hello friends!  

Today I've invited my friend Aniva to share a tutorial with you for this super cute, super handy car window sewing caddy!  She gave one to me as a gift the other day and I loved it so much that I immediately thought I needed to pass along the idea to all of you!  This caddy is perfect for all of us that find ourselves doing hand work as we ride "shotgun" in our cars because it suctions right to your car window and it's just the right size to hold sewing necessities but doesn't take up too much space.  

So without further ado, here's Aniva!

Thanks Amber for helping me to create the tutorial for this little caddy.  I have enjoyed making these caddies as little gifts for my quilt friends, whether for a birthday or just a little "thinking of you" gift.

Sometime back I saw a post online where the blogger had used a shower caddy (the kind with suction cups to stick to the wall) found in a second hand store to create a caddy to use on her car window for when she sewed on car trips--I thought it was genius.  I tried for some time to find such a container at a thrift shop and never succeeded. I did, eventually, find a new container that I really like at my local Wal-Mart in the bath and shower section.  I found it to be the perfect size for a spool of thread and small scissors.  The suction cups adhere it securely and temporarily to the car window without leaving any marks and I can move it about as often as I need to.  The only thing I added to the container was a landing place for a few needles and pins.

Here is what you'll need--

Two - 2" x 2" fabric scraps

hot glue gun and glue

pinking blade for a rotary cutter or pinking shears

tiny bit of polyester stuffing

container of your choice with suction cups

(Please be mindful when choosing your container that since these are made for the bath they are designed with holes in the bottom so that water drains out.  If your container is one with lots of holes you may want to also glue some heavy paper into the bottom so your supplies don't fall through the holes.)

Place your fabric squares WRONG SIDES TOGETHER.  Sew three sides using a 1/4" seam allowance--yes you can backstitch.  Stuff with a tiny bit of stuffing.  Sew the last side together -- be sure to backstitch on this last side to make the whole thing stay together better.  

Use the pinking blade on your rotary cutter or pinking shears to give the raw seam a cute little zigzag finished edge.  

Adhere the small pin cushion to your container with a dab of hot glue.

Have fun filling your gift caddy with a fat quarter of fabric, small scissors, a package of your favorite needles, a gift card or anything you want.

The other thing that I have really loved is making the cute little hexie gift tags.  Just type up whatever fun sewing saying you want to have on your tag into your computer using the word processing software of your choice.  I set my page to have three columns so that I can get more sayings on one page of cardstock.  Remember the tag is not very big so keep your saying fairly short.  You can play with different font styles and font sizes.

When you are happy with your page print it out on the color of cardstock paper of your choice.  Use some paper scissors to roughly cut the words apart.  This doesn't have to be precise it is just so you can get your punch around the words.  I used the  Extra Large hexagon punch by Fiskars (this will give you a hexagon with a 1" side as shown) available at craft stores and websites.  With the punch framing your saying, punch the paper.  You can distress or embellish your little tag anyway you want.  Punch a small circle in one corner so you can tie it on your gift.  FYI- the Fiskars medium punch = 1/2" hexie and the Fiskars large punch = 3/4" hexie.

If you want to buy some similar hexagon papers, I found these darling little paper hexagon Charms made by Laundry Basket Quilts at a local quilt shop, Just Sew in Highland, Utah.  They have the cutest sayings on them.  There are 100 in a package and they come in two sizes.  A 1" per side size and and 3/4" per side size.  The papers pictured above are the 1" size.  The sayings are about family, sewing, fabric and friendship.  All you have to do is punch a small hole to make them so you can tie them on gifts.  Super easy.  If you want to purchase some of these online click HERE.

Amber is giving away a couple of these little caddies to two lucky readers.  To enter, just leave a comment below. We'll pick a winner in the next couple of days.

I want to give a shout out to friends at Riley Blake for the cute polka dot fat quarters...thanks for making so many fabrics we love.

PS. I tried to find the original blog post that planted the seed for this idea in my mind but I was not able to find it so if you are that blogger contact Amber - she will be happy to give you credit on this post.

Cheerio!

Aniva

♥ ♥ ♥

Thanks Aniva for sharing this darling and practical idea with us! I know I'm going to be making quite a few of these for gifts! And thank you for contributing TWO of these cute caddies for our giveaway! Friends, be sure to leave a comment below to enter to win!

Happy quilting!
~ Amber

Lakehouse Scalloped Print Panel Giveaway Winner

Thanks to all of you who stopped by my blog last week to check out my "Love You" placemat and tutorial!  I had so much fun creating the pattern using Lakehouses new Scalloped Print Panel and my family sure has enjoyed having it around the house the last couple of weeks!  

Oh, and here's a little secret, I plan to use it all year around!  I think the "Love You" placemat is the perfect little detail for leaving sweet treats (or an after-school snack) on the counter for your little ones or serving a special breakfast in bed.  It reminds me of those red "You Are Special" plates my mother had when I was a child.  You know the one's I'm talking about, right?

Well, as promised I'm giving away some of the Scalloped Print Panel so one of you can make your very own placemat!  But before I announce the winner, first, a thank you for sharing all of your sweet Valentine's Day traditions with me!  This has got to be one of my very favorite holidays!  Spending time with the ones you love and thinking of clever ways to show each other you care -  It's the best!  I always give my husband and two kiddos small little presents with a note to say I love them! 

So without further adieu, the winner of the Scalloped Print Panel is:

Jacqueline Auten who said...

I have a special set of heart plates and dollar store wine glasses that I serve a nice breakfast on. I stay up late, like a santa elf, and set up the table with a lace table cloth and everything. When the kids/hubby get up in the morning they get a nice breakfast on a Valentine table

Congratulations Jacqueline!  Please send me an email with your mailing address and I'll get this sent off to you!

I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day weekend!  

~ Amber

The "Love You" placemat tutorial can be found HERE.

Love You Placemat Tutorial + Giveaway

Valentine's Day is just around the corner and I wanted to share this little tutorial for a sweet placemat I designed using Lakehouse Dry Goods' new Sunrise Studio Scalloped Print Panel fabric that's available in stores now.  This scalloped print fabric comes in a variety of colors that all coordinate with their new PamKittyGarden collection (which I am completely in love with!)  Check out The Fat Quarter Shop for a great selection of all of these fabrics (and this is not a paid advertisement :)  I just loooove the Fat Quarter Shop!)

Love You Placemat

Finished size: 17" x 20 3/4"

Materials Needed:
2/3 yd Sunrise Studio Scalloped Print Panel (color: cherry)
1 fat quarter for applique background (red and white heart print)
1 fat quarter for applique (black)
1/4 yard Heat 'N Bond lite (17" wide double-sided fusible adhesive) 
5/8 yard for backing
6" x width of fabric for binding
22" x 26" piece of batting
black thread
Love You template (click HERE for PDF file)

Cutting Instructions:

1.  Cut 4 strips of scallops by first cutting along the printed "log" dots next to each set of scallops.  

This space between the straight edge of the scallops and the log dots is your seam allowance.  

Next, trim these scalloped strips into 4 1/4" wide strips.

Trim two of the strips so they have 4 full scallops plus 1/4" on each end for the seam allowances.  They should measure 4 1/4" x 15 1/2".  Trim the other two strips so they have 3 full scallops plus 1/4" on each end for the seam allowances.  They should measure 4 1/4" x 12".  

2.  Cut four 4 1/4" x 4 1/4" white squares from the remainder of the panel.  

3.  Trim your red and white heart print fat quarter to 12" x 15 1/2".


Assembly Instructions:
1.  Sew the 4 1/4" x 12" scalloped strips onto the short ends of your heart print rectangle with right sides together.  Press the seam allowances toward the scallops.

2.  Sew a white square onto each end of the two 4 1/4" x 15 1/2" scalloped strips.  Press the seam allowances toward the scallops.  Then sew the two strips onto the rectangle unit.  Press the seam allowances toward the scallops.

3.  Trace the "Love You" template onto the paper side of the Heat 'N Bond.

Roughly cut out the words.

Press the words (paper side up) onto the wrong side of the black fabric.

Cut out the words on the traced lines.  Peel off the paper and center the words onto the red heart print rectangle.  Press the words with a warm iron to adhere in place.

4.  Stitch around all the letters using black thread and a straight stitch (about 1/16" inside the raw edges).  Just go slow and you'll be fine!


Finishing Instructions:
1.  Make a quilt sandwich with the placemat top, batting and the backing fabric.  Quilt as desired.  I had my neighbor, Cathy Barney, quilt it for me using Mono Poly invisible clear thread.  She did an all-over squiggly design that doesn't compete with the words or scallops.  I love it!

2.  Trim the placemat (and any excess batting or backing) leaving 3/4" between the tips of the scallops and the edge of the placemat.

3.  Bind the placemat using two 2 1/4" x width fabric strips and it's ready to use!  Serve up some sweet little goodies to your loved ones and they'll (for sure) feel special!

This quick project is perfect for Valentine's Day or any day that you want to say I love you!  

I've got some extra scalloped fabric that I would LOVE to share with one of you so just leave a comment below telling me about any Valentine's Day traditions you have in your family and I'll pick a winner this weekend!

~ Amber

Vintage Vibe Book Giveaway

Happy New Year Friends!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season spent with the ones you love.  Things were quiet around here - just the way we like it :)

I just want to take a minute to thank all of you! This little blog of mine allows me to record my quilting journey and as really cool bonus, I've made some wonderful friendships along the way!  I appreciate all the encouragement this past year as I accomplished one of my past goals of becoming an author.  It was a dream come true and I know I talked about it A LOT :)  So thanks to those of you who stuck around and cheered me on!  Thanks to those of you who support my little pattern business too.  I kind of love designing patterns and I'm glad you like them too.  

As a thank you for being AWESOME and to wrap up the Vintage Vibe Blog Tour I want to give away 1 autographed copy of Vintage Vibe.  To enter, just leave a comment below (you might even get bonus points if you tell me which Vintage Vibe project is your favorite.  If you're not sure, check out some of the stops on the blog tour where each project has been highlighted.  I made it really easy for you - just click on the links below or stop by the Martingale website and click on the Vintage Vibe gallery.)  I'll pick a winner in the next few days.

Me - Skipper

April Rosenthal - Growing Up

Jessie Finchman - Rainy Day Table Runner

The Fat Quarter Shop - Vintage Vibe

Corey Yoder - Playing Favorites

Sherri McConnell - Scrap Jars

Jodi Nelson - Big Baby

Melissa Corry - Twirl

Pam Vieira-McGinnis- Sugar

Heather Andrus - Sugar Sweet

Andy Knowlton - Dashing

Amy Smart - Scrap Jars

Melissa Mortenson - Pretty Petals

Lori Holt - Lovely

Thanks again!

~ Amber

Simply Strings Winner + Vintage Vibe Stuff

Thanks to all of you for entering the giveaway for the book, Simply Strings by Rana Heredia.  It was fun reading how all of you cut, organize and store your fabric scraps.  It sounds like I've got a long ways to go in the organization department now!  I'm not sure if my cute little jars are going to cut it anymore!

I want to say congratulations to the winner of Simply Strings.  Maryjo, I sent you an email!  Please send me your mailing address.  You've got a fabulous book coming your way!  Congratulations and thanks again to everyone for playing along!  And if you're crying, heartbroken or angry that you didn't win this giveaway, just remember, everything's going to be okay!  

You can click HERE to purchase your very own copy :)

So are you guys following along on the Vintage Vibe blog tour?  I can hardly stand waiting for the Tuesday and Thursday postings!  So much fun!  

Did you see Jessie Finchman's cute Rainy Day block from last Thursday?  I didn't post that day to remind you but it is SO CUTE!  You'll have to check it out (plus, I saw that she's doing a giveaway - woot! woot!!)  I always love Jessie's fabric choices.  She's inspired me for a long time and I feel so lucky to have her on the tour :)

And another group of ladies that I'm super happy to have on the tour ~  The Fat Quarter Shop!  They're posting today about their favorite project in the book and doing a little giveaway!  Be sure to stop by! 

I'm hoping to get some sewing time in today.

But first, I've got to get the post office.  Vintage Vibe books are finally being sent out (after a little loading dock delay) plus I've restocked my Etsy Shop with more Pineapple Block paper piecing patterns so I've been a busy girl the last few days.  Sew for me okay!?!?

Happy quilting!

~ Amber

Giveaway Winners!

Thanks everyone for participating in my little giveaway last weekend!  I really appreciate your kind words and the enthusiasm for Cross Stitch, Fresh Cut and Marbles!

So I've picked three winners and here they are...


Needled Mom said...
I think my favorite is Fresh Cut, but they are all wonderful.

Anne said...
I was admiring Cross Stitch, then.  Scrolled down to see Fresh cut and was just as taken and then you added Marbles!!!!  Each is so different, so beautiful! Each sure to please someone! Cross Stitch is the one I would try first!

Blocksandmore said...

MARBLES :)

Congratulations girls!  Please send me your snail mail address and I'll get these patterns sent right off to you!

Thanks again everyone!  You are awesome!

And, if you're looking for another way you can get your hands on these (or any other Gigi's Thimble quilt patterns) you can stop by my Etsy Shop HERE.

Happy quilting!

~ Amber

Quilty Fun Book Giveaway Winner

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway for a brand new copy of Lori Holt's first book, Quilty Fun!  She definitely has some big fans out there!  I enjoyed hearing about your favorite blocks from Quilty Fun.  My favorite blocks are the houses, I think.  But they're all so much fun to make!

So the winner is Lani Glasser, who said, "My favorites are the houses and the trees."  Lani, you lucky duck!  I'm sending you an email.  Let me know your mailing address and I'll get this sent right off to you.  Congratulations and thanks to all of you for playing!

For those of you who have been sewing along with us and have uploaded your butterfly blocks to the Quilty Fun Sew Along Flickr Page, go check The Fat Quarter Shop's blog, The Jolly Jabber to see if you've won one of the other prizes!  They're already posted along with this weeks block ~ the spools! 

Happy quilting everyone!

~ Amber

Quilty Fun Sew Along, Blog Tour & Giveaways!

 Are you ready for some more Quilty Fun???

 It's week 15 of Lori Holt's Quilty Fun Sew Along and Blog Tour and I hope you've been sewing along with us!  It's finally my stop on the blog tour and I'm so excited to share with you my sweet little butterflies!

First, I've gotta say though, that I'm a big fan of Lori's and was super excited that she asked me to be a part of all the fun.  So excited in fact that I had already pre-ordered my copy of her book, Quilty Fun and made one of the featured projects (my Apple-licious quilt which you can check out HERE).  Quilty Fun is chock-full of inspiring photos, clever piecing instructions and darling projects.  It's definitely a winner!

For the Sew Along, Lori has designed a sampler quilt based off of some of the blocks in her Quilty Fun book.  

Image from Lori Holt

To join the Sew Along, you'll need a copy of her book, Quilty Fun (which can be ordered HERE through the Fat Quarter Shop).  You'll also want to head to the Blog Tour landing page for the links to all the different blog stops.

Each week you'll use instructions from Quilty Fun along with a companion pdf sheet to complete your Sew Along blocks.  And wouldn't you know ~ the companion sheets are just as cute as her book!  

* Click HERE for the Week 15 Butterfly Companion Sheet. *

So gather up your favorite fabrics and let's get started!!! 

I've been using lots of bright fabrics from my stash and decided these Lecien florals would be perfect for my sweet little butterflies.

Lori also came up with these cute little tags (called Alphabitties) that are perfect for labeling all the different pieces you'll need to cut.  Seriously, everything Lori touches is just plain cute!!!  She is a huge inspiration to me (who tends to take the "bare minimum" route quite often.  I'm officially trying to work on that thanks to Lori:)

Once you get your fabrics cut, these little butterflies will work up in no time!

I've really enjoyed working on this sampler.  Each block takes about an hour or so to put together and honestly, it's just the fabric selection that takes the longest for me!  The blocks work up so quick.  They're fun to make and I always finish each week wanting more.  So here's what I've got so far:

If you're sewing along and want to win some fabulous prizes, be sure to upload pictures of your butterfly blocks to the Quilty Fun Sew Along Flickr Page.  I'm a little envious because two lucky winners will win a 10" rotating Busyfingers cutting mat and one lucky winner will win a set of Alphabitties!  I really want one of those cutting mats (round, and pink and just so cute!!!)  Winners will be announced next Monday, March 3rd on the Jolly Jabber blog.  

Oh, and as a special bonus, I'm giving away one copy of Quilty Fun to one of YOU!  It's not too late to join the fun!  Just leave a comment below and I'll announce a winner next Monday too!  Maybe you could tell me what Quilty Fun project or block is your favorite!

Happy quilting!

~ Amber