I promised I would show you what I made with the leftovers from my Bow Tie Quilt...

Well, I actually made TWO quilts.  But today I am sharing just one of them (don't worry I'll share the second one soon).  The first quilt from the leftovers was a scrappy 9-Patch and Snowball quilt!  Two blocks, in my opinion, where you never can go wrong!

In fact, this combination of blocks creates a classic pattern you've probably seen before.

They make a fun secondary pattern together, too!  

This is a great pattern to help you use up scraps!

I used 4" (cut) squares for the 9-Patch squares and the bright Snowball corners.

The large, white Snowball squares were cut at 11". 

But really, with some simple math, you could adjust this pattern to work with any size squares!

I just so happened to have 4" squares left over from my Bow Tie quilt.

I mocked up this version in EQ7 to show you the entire layout.

I did a 5 x 7 block layout to keep the symmetry, but with that came a slightly long, skinny quilt.

Mine finished at 52" x 73".  Normally I think a good proportion is about a 12" - 15" difference.

If you aren't a fan of the long, skinny look, another option would be to make it square.  I personally am perfectly fine with square quilts, but I know some people aren't.  And since I was making this just for fun (and was planning on selling it), I decided to keep it rectangular.

I found a pink Riley Blake floral for the back and a turquoise gingham for the binding. 

I didn't show many pictures of this quilt on Instagram because unfortunately there was an issue with the long-arm quilting.  You probably can't tell from these photos since I tried to hide the parts that were really bad, although now I'm wishing I would've taken some pictures of those parts to show you!  But basically, I used a new-to-me long-arm quilting company and I think this was the first time they used this orange peel design and they had a hard time lining up the design.  There was a lot of overlapping and such.  I felt bad (and I know they felt really bad) but these things happen sometimes.  Fortunately, they made it right in the end, which I appreciated.  I ended up selling the quilt (with a huge discount) to a photographer wanting to use it as a photo prop.  And obviously, I told her ahead of time what the situation was.

Overall, I still think this quilt turned out cute.  After washing and drying it, the owner may not notice all the imperfections in the quilting.  I love the fabrics and the design, and orange peel quilting is always a favorite of mine!  Maybe I'll make another one someday.  I definitely have lots of squares that need to be put to good use. 

Have you ever had a long-arm quilting "mishap"?

I am thinking about putting together a blog post with some advice to long-arm quilters from their customers.  Over the 20 years that I've been quilting, I've had hundreds of quilts long-arm quilted and I've learned a lot.  I've dealt with a few mishaps along the way and have definitely seen a difference in how different long-armers handle them.  Some of them handle it wonderfully and some of them don't.  I wish they all had a policy in place for how they will handle mistakes, because they are bound to happen once in a while.  Please share your "mishap" stories or the advice you wish you could give your long-arm quilter below.

Thanks for stopping by!

Bow Tie Quilt

 Hi friends!  It feels like it's been forever since I popped on the blog!  My last post was 10 weeks ago!  I've missed capturing my quilt journey and connecting with all of you here.

I wanted to share a quilt that I finished back in April but haven't shared here.  It's one of my favorite quilts I own right now and I plan to hold on to it for a long time.  It includes all of my favorite elements of a quilt - scrappy, happy colors, and a classic pattern.  It definitely has a vintage vibe too!

I actually received a majority of the blocks from a block swap I participated in with my local quilt group.  We used my friend, Andy Knowlton's free tutorial called Ties to Liberty Quilt on her blog, A Bright Corner.  We were to swap blocks in batches of 40.  I swapped 2 batches and then made another 40 blocks to keep (for a total of 120 blocks).

The blocks finish at 7" x 7".  I used a 10 x 12 layout so my quilt finished at 70" x 84" - a great bed size quilt!

Because this is a classic quilt pattern, I decided to stick with an equally classic edge-to-edge quilting design.  Baptist Fans!  I love them and can't get enough of them!  I've used them several times.  Denae Hansen of Plain Jane Quilting in American Fork, Utah quilted this for me and obviously, I'm obsessed.

Look at that texture!  What do you think?  Are you a fan of Baptist Fans?

For the backing, I used the Bright Side print in color Sunshine from Lella Boutique's beautiful line called Garden Variety.  I fell in love with that yellow print the moment I saw it.  It added enough color (and a whole lot of happiness!) yet didn't compete with the blocks. The binding fabric was just an aqua stripe I had in my stash (sorry I don't know the designer details on that!)

A Bow Tie quilt had been on my bucket list for a long time and I was so excited when my quilt guild decided to swap Bow Tie blocks.  Have you ever made a Bow Tie quilt?  Is there another pattern you've always wanted to make but haven't yet?  Do tell below!  

P.S. Someday I hope to make a Josephs Coat Quilt.  Eeek!  I'm very intimidated by that one!

Thanks for stopping by!  Come back soon to see what I made with my scraps from this quilt!

INSTAGRAM AND LOCAL QUILT SALE

Hey friends!  I thought I'd pop onto the blog today to let you know about a 

HUGE quilt sale I'm having right now.

I've listed 30 (that's right 30!!!) quilts for sale on my Instagram destash page @gigisthimble_destash and in my Etsy shop.  There are so many listed that I have hoarded for years, unable to part with.  But guys, it is time to say goodbye to them.  I just don't have the space to keep them forever.  It's hard to say goodbye to some of them but I get excited at the possibility of making more!  

Please visit my destash page or MY ETSY SHOP (edited 9/9/19 - they have all been marked down significantly since I originally posted this!)  I'd also be forever grateful if you told your friends and family who may be interested in purchasing a quilt for their home or as a gift!

Thanks so much for all of your support over the years!

Wanderings Fabric Tour

Hello! Hello!

Today I get to share a recent finish I made out of a new fabric line called 

Wanderings by Poppie Cotton.

This is my second project with the new company Poppie Cotton and I am such a fan!  The sweet, beautiful, traditional fabrics in soft colors really speak to me.  And just a hint for what's to come...I said yes to a third project with their third line!  I only say yes to lines I really love and I think their lines keep getting better and better!

Wanderings is a sweet, feminine line of fabrics that includes flowers, butterflies and a few basics.  

It incorporates darks and lights in a really beautiful color scheme of pinks, blues, greys, and whites.

I wanted to pick a pattern that really showcased the fabrics so I chose my Lulu pattern.  

It's normally a Jelly Roll pattern but I was able to easily adjust it for fat quarters.  

I loved the way it turned out.  Many of my patterns have a lot of background fabric 

showing but I think it's a testament to the beauty of this line that it's not too busy 

even though I didn't use any other fabric lines or solids to break things up.

I used a coordinating gingham fabric from my stash for the back 

(sorry, I've had it for a few years and can't remember what company made it).

I used the remainder of the blue fat quarters to make a scrappy binding.  

I love a good scrappy binding, don't you?!?

Denae Hansen in American Fork, Utah quilted this for me using a classic orange peel design.  

She did a great job as always!  The orange peel is one of my all-time favorite go-to designs!

Wanderings is available in stores now.  

Click HERE for a list of shops carrying Poppie Cotton.

Lulu is based on a vintage quilt I once saw.  

It's a very simple pattern; one you can whip up in a day or two.  

Like I said, it's Jelly Roll friendly and comes with instructions 

for two different sizes - a lap and a twin.

Click HERE to visit my Etsy shop.  

Well, that's it for my stop on the Wanderings Fabric Tour.

I feel so honored I got to work with this beautiful fabric line alongside

the other designers on this tour. 

Poppie Cotton	July 9th	https://poppiecotton.com/
Kelsey Evans	July 11th	www.foxfishe.com
Lindsey Weight	July 16th	www.primrosecottagequilts.com
Dori Troutman	July 18th	theredfeedsack.blogspot.com
Sherri Falls	July 23rd	https://thisandthatpatterns.typepad.com/
Andy Knowlton	July 25th	http://www.abrightcorner.com/
Debbie Homick	July 30th	http://happylittlecottage.blogspot.com/
Melissa Corry	August 1st	http://www.happyquiltingmelissa.com/
Amy Chappell	August 6th	https://amerooniedesigns.com/
Amber Johnson	August 8th	http://www.gigisthimble.com/
Poppie Cotton	August 13th	https://poppiecotton.com/

Be sure to check out their blogs for more Wanderings inspiration!

Have a great day friends!

Urban Cottage Giant Star Quilt

Hi friends!  Today I'm excited to share with you a quilt I finished up over the weekend.  

It's a new favorite and for sure one of the easiest quilts I've ever made!

From the moment I saw the line Urban Cottage by Urban Chiks for Moda, 

I knew I had to have some!  It goes with my sewing room perfectly!

I ordered a fat quarter bundle plus some yardage and now I have two projects made with this line.

[Click HERE to see the other project, my Urban Cottage Tied Blanket.]

Here's my Giant Star Quilt pre-border.

It only took 2-3 hours to cut, piece and press the whole thing.

I didn't use a pattern for this quilt but I had seen it floating around the internet several years ago 

and always thought it was cute.  Jeni Baker has a similar (and slightly scrappier pattern for it 

with multiple size options and no border).  Click HERE for the link to her pattern.

I  just made 17" (unfinished) half-square triangle blocks from 8 fat quarters

and added on 4 1/2" (unfinished) border strips once they were all sewn together.

Denae Hansen of Plain Jane Quilting in American Fork, Utah quilted it for me with a classic, 

cross-hatch design.  She always does a fantastic job!  Look at that texture!  I like that it's a simple 

design keeping the focus on the cute fabrics and the star.

My quilt finished at 74 1/2".  Luckily, there was some 108" wide fabric available in this line 

so I didn't have to piece my back!  Yay!  A seamless back is always a win!

Usually, I like to finish off my quilts with a dark binding.  I feel like that frames things nicely.  

But I liked the subtle stripe feeling of this Urban Ticking fabric in ivory.  

Again, it kept the focus on the center of the quilt while adding a playful touch to the edge.

I'm seriously so in love with this veeeery simple quilt, you guys!  Sometimes all you need 

are some cute fabrics and a really simple pattern and you'll have yourself a winner!

I think this one is going to get used a lot.  I'm going to wash it soon.  Can't wait to get it out of the dryer so it's all soft and crinkly.  I don't always wash my quilts first thing, but I think this quilt will be perfect with that worn look.  Do you wash your quilts right away or wait till they need it?

Well, if you made it through that very long post and all those photos, you get a gold star!  

Thanks so much for stopping by today friends!  If you have any questions or just want to 

let me know what you think of this super simple quilt, I'd love it if you left a comment below 

and I'll get back to you!  

Have a great day!

Cottage Garden Wall Hanging

I was just looking back through my Instagram feed and realized I started this project in February 2016!?!  Wow.  Three and a half years from the time I started this project to the time I finished and blogged about it.  It was just one of those projects that was great to stuff in my purse and take on the go.  So I would take it on vacation or to soccer games so I could stitch during warm-ups.  I actually finished this several months ago though...just took a while for me to actually get some photos and sit down to blog about it!

Even though it took forEVER I actually really loved this project.  Wool applique is one of the easiest forms of applique out there and I have a tutorial for it saved in my Instagram Highlights for those of you interested in learning more about it.

I have quite the collection of wool scraps now.  Aren't they pretty?

This pattern is called Cottage Garden by Norma Whaley.  In her pattern, Norma suggested making scrappy 20-Patch blocks but I wanted a little bit more of a traditional look so I decided to switch things up a bit and go neutral.  I felt it kept the focus on the applique blocks.  But either way would be cute don't you think?

The pattern mixes cotton and wool so it's a great stash buster.  

Here are some close-ups of a few of the blocks.  

They're sweet, creative designs with a folk art flair.

I love how the pattern incorporates a traditional signature block in the bottom corner!

I asked Denae Hansen of Plain Jane Quilting in American Fork, Utah to quilt it for me and she did a fantastic job!  I love everything she did, from the cross hatch quilting in the 20-Patch blocks to outlining the applique to the leaves in the border.  It turned out so pretty! 

The only fabric I bought for this was the wool and the inner border fabric, which was purple, totally out of my comfort zone!  Are you a "purple person"?  I feel like you either love it or you hate it.  I normally am not a fan but felt like it complimented the blocks without overpowering them...so I went for it!

Now I just need to find a spot for it in my home.  I love it so much and originally planned to hang it somewhere in my house but if you've been around here for a while you know I don't really love to decorate with quilts anymore, for some reason.  So we'll see what I end up doing with it!

So, have you tried wool applique before?

If so, did you love it as much as I did?

If you haven't tried it yet, I hope I've inspired you to try it!  The possibilities with it are endless!

Have a great day friends!

Amber