Hi friends!  I have a new pattern to share with you today!  
And the best part?  It's FREE!

I'm calling this pattern New Beginnings.  Would you care to know why?

I love when there's a story behind a pattern or it's name so let me tell you 

TWO reasons why I chose to call it New Beginnings.  First, because of the 

Hourglass blocks.  Every time an hourglass runs out of sand and you 

flip it over, time starts anew.  The second reason I decided to call it New Beginnings, 

is because I actually made the X blocks for a different pattern but my 

measurements were off.  They didn't match up with the alternate block 

I was going to do so I decided to scratch the whole thing and went a completely 

different direction!  So the X blocks definitely got a new beginning!

This quilt finishes at 70" x 70".

Since I had a few people on Instagram ask what this beautiful

backing fabric was...it's  Wellington by Nancy Gere No. 34116 for Windham Fabrics.

I bought it off a friend so I have no idea if it's still available though.

New Beginnings was quilted by my friend Jen Ostler who did an awesome job.

She used the Gemma 3 panto by Karlee Porter.  I've used it a few times

before and it's a favorite for sure!

I also get lots of questions about my quilt labels.  I get mine from Ever Emblem.  

They're the 2" x 1" cotton fold-over sew-on labels.  I get the uncut ones 

(they're about $16 for 20 tags).  Click HERE to check them out.  

You can customize them to your desires.

Here are some tips for attaching those labels to a quilt:

First, sew your prepared binding to the front side of your quilt.  

Then place a folded label so that the raw edges of the label are about 1/8"

from the raw edge of your quilt.  Stitch it in place with a 

triple stitch to make it extra secure.  Then machine stitch your binding 

down (just over the raw edges of the label, see above photo) because 

it's really hard to hand-stitch through the label.  Then stitch the rest of your

binding down to the back side of your quilt either by hand or machine.

I hope you love this pattern as much as I do!  I'm working on my second one 

and hope to show pictures of that soon!  I think it would be cute for any 

occasion, gender and in any color scheme!  

Click HERE for the free pattern.

Please contact me at gigisthimble@hotmail.com if you have any comments or questions 

about this pattern.  And please tag me on Instagram (username @gigis_thimble) 

if you make it and post about it there.  Be sure to use the

hashtags #gigisthimblepattern and #newbeginningsquilt so I don't miss it!

Thanks for stopping by today and happy quilting!

Willy Nilly String Quilt Tutorial

Want to turn a pile of fabric scraps into a fun, vintage-inspired quilt?

Do you like fast and easy projects?  Do stress about cutting straight or

having a super accurate seam allowance?  Do you need a mindless sewing project?  

If you answered yes to any of the above questions then my 

Willy Nilly String Quilt tutorial is for you!  

It's a fun, beginner-friendly pattern that uses up a lot of scraps!

Finished block size = 6" x 6"

Finished quilt size = 51” x 60½”

Materials needed:

Approximately 3 yards of assorted bright scraps

1 3/4 yards of background fabric (aqua)

3 1/3 yards of backing fabric

1/2 yard of binding fabric

58" x 68" piece of batting

6½” square acrylic ruler

Cutting:

From the background fabric, cut:

5 strips, 9¾” x WOF; crosscut into:

17 squares, 9¾” x 9¾” (cut on the diagonal twice to yield 4 triangles, 68 total)

6 squares, 5⅛” x 5⅛” (cut on the diagonal once to yield 2 triangles, 12 total)

3 strips, 3½” x WOF 

From the binding fabric, cut:

6 strips, 2½” x WOF

Block assembly:

1. Select 4-5 strips of fabric that measure anywhere from 1½” - 3” wide x 9” - 10” long.  

Cut both of the long sides of each strip at an angle. (Tip: don't trim the strips too small.  

Leave yourself at least 1" of width after cutting the angles so you will have some fabric showing 

beyond your seam allowances.)  Sew the strips of fabric together to create a section that 

is larger than 6½” x 6½”.  Press the seam allowances in one direction.

2. Lay a 6½” square ruler on top of the pieced strip section at an angle.  

Be sure the ruler is within the raw edges of the fabric and cut a 6½” square.

3. Repeat steps 2 and 3 to make 33 blocks.

Quilt assembly:

For columns 1, 3, and 5:

1. Lay out 7 blocks (on-point) in a column.  Fill in the gaps with 12 triangles 

cut from the 9¾” background squares as shown on page 2.  The long edges of the 

 triangles make up the straight edges of the sides of the columns.

2. Sew the triangles and blocks together into diagonal rows.   

Press the seam allowances toward the triangles.  Trim the dog ears. 

3. Sew the diagonal rows together and press the seam allowances open.  Trim the dog ears.

4. Add 2 triangles onto each end of the column to create a straight edge.  To do this, find the center of the long edge of a triangle (cut from the 5⅛” background squares) and the edge of the block by folding those edges in half and rubbing the fold to make a crease.  Match up the creases of each piece, right sides together, and stitch in place.  Press the seam allowance toward the triangle.  Trim the dog ears.  Repeat on the remaining 3 corners.

For columns 2 and 4:

1. Lay out 6 blocks (on-point) in a column.  Fill in the gaps and ends with 16 triangles 

cut from the 9¾” background squares as shown in the quilt diagram below.  

2. Sew the triangles and blocks together into diagonal rows.  Press the seam allowances toward the triangles.  Trim the dog ears.  

3. Sew the diagonal rows together and press the seam allowances open.  Trim the dog ears.

Sew the 5 columns together as shown in the quilt diagram below.  

Press the seam allowances as desired (I pressed mine open).

Borders:

Trim the selvages from the 3 background strips, 3½” x WOF. Sew the strips together 

end-to-end with straight seams.  From the pieced strip, cut 2 border strips, 3½” x 60½” 

(or your own length after measuring through the center of your quilt from top to bottom).  

Pin the strips to each side of your quilt center and stitch in place.  

Press the seam allowances toward the border strips.

Layer the quilt top with batting and backing and quilt as desired.  

Trim the excess fabric and batting.  Bind with 6 strips, 2½” x WOF.

And that's it!  What do you think?

Click HERE for the printable version of this pattern.

My Willy Nilly String Quilt is at the quilter right now so come back soon to see how I finished it!

P.S. You may notice from the pictures that my 2nd and 4th columns are slightly different than the pattern.  I used rectangles at the top and bottom of my columns instead of just using additional triangles.  Later I realized that it would be easier to just use triangles.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

And if you're on Instagram I would love to see your Willy Nilly String Quilt!

Please use the hashtag #gigisthimblepattern and #willynillystringquilt 

and be sure to tag me @gigis_thimble.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Sweet Kisses Quilt Along

 Good morning!  I wanted to take a second to let you know about a very informal 

quilt-along that I am hosting on Instagram starting next week!

I wanted to host a quilt-along and had my friends on IG vote on which of my patterns they wanted to do.  Sweet Kisses won and I am excited to start next Monday, April 5th.

As I said, this is going to be very informal.  There won't be any sign-ups, weekly blog posts or weekly emails.  Just follow along with me on Instagram @gigis_thimble.  I'll be posting there on my feed and in stories every Monday morning.  Use the hashtag #sweetkissesqal to post your progress!  

My friend Denise Hone from @happyvalleyquilting has offered to give one winner FREE EDGE-TO-EDGE QUILTING (up to a throw size) + return shipping!  She is a fabulous quilter and I'm thankful to her for offering such a generous prize.  I will pick a winner at the end of the QAL so be sure to stay caught up with me and post pictures because I'll be picking the winner from the hashtag pool of finished Sweet Kisses quilts!

Sweet Kisses is beginner-friendly and comes with 2 size options.  Click HERE to visit my Etsy shop to purchase your copy.

I've had questions about other sizes.  While the pattern only includes instructions for baby and throw sizes,  I have created coloring sheets of all the sizes (baby - king) to help you determine how many blocks to make.  The (approximate) finished quilt sizes are not listed on the coloring sheets unfortunately so take note of them here (click on each one for the printable coloring sheet):

Baby: 40" x 50

Lap: 60" x 70"

Throw: 70" x 80"

Twin: 70" x 90"

Queen: 90" x 90"

King: 110" x 100"

This is a great scrap buster quilt and the pluses are 5" square friendly. There is A LOT of cutting in this pattern so I thought most people might want to cut as-they-go so I did not schedule cutting into the QAL timeline. If you prefer to do all the cutting upfront you can cut on your own this week or next.

Hopefully, I covered everything!  Let me know if you have any questions in the comment section below.

Happy quilting!

Amber

Quilters' Spring Cleaning 30-Day Challenge

Jessica Dayon and I enjoyed the Quilter's Spring Cleaning 30-Day Challenge 

that we hosted last year so much that we decided to do it again!

The challenge will begin on Thursday, April 1st, and end on Friday, April 30th.

It will include 30 tasks that will help you get your sewing space clean and organized!

We'll be talking about it daily in Instagram stories so be sure to follow along there for tips!

Her Instagram handle is @jessicadayon and mine is @gigis_thimble.

Here is the list of tasks:

1. Organize a drawer

2. List all projects & kits

3. Organize rulers

4. Purge unwanted projects/kits

5. Sort scraps

6. Organize red, pink & yellow fabrics

7. Change rotary blades

8. Clean off one surface – chair, table top, etc.

9. Organize orange & green fabrics

10. Organize threads

11. Pre-wind bobbins

12. Organize blue & purple fabrics

13. Organize books and magazines

14. Piece batting remnants

15. Organize black, grey & brown fabrics

16. Clean & oil sewing machine, replace needle

17. Wash or replace ironing board cover

18. Organize white & low-volume fabrics

19. List 12 WIP goals & make corresponding slips of paper. 

Each month pull out a slip of paper & work on that goal.

20. Organize patterns

21. Clean iron

22. Organize a drawer

23. Organize pre-cuts

24. Inventory supplies & notions, make shopping list

25. Dust shelves, tables, window sills & baseboards

26. Clean cutting mat

27. Organize yardage 

28. Make backings for WIPS

29. Make bindings for WIPS

30. Remove all trash & vacuum

If you'd like to print the list out, click HERE

for the Quilter's Spring Cleaning 30-Day Challenge PDF we've created for you!

So who wants to join us in getting our sewing spaces in tip-top shape?

Are you up for it?

Be sure to tag Jessica @jessicadayon and myself @gigis_thimble

on Instagram if you decide to join!  We'd love to be there to cheer you on!  

Oh, and we'll be using the hashtag #quiltersspringcleaning for this challenge.

Talk to you soon!

Stash Hash Christmas Quilt - Finished!

 Oh my gosh, you guys!  I totally dropped the ball on posting my finished
Stash Hash Christmas quilt from the Stash Hash Quilt-Along!

I finished it in October and just never got around to taking pictures of it!

I really wanted to take pictures of it outside in the snow but we have had hardly 

any snow this year so it just never happened!  And I get tired of having the same 

backdrops for my photos from inside my house so I was just putting it off...

Until today!

I finally snapped some pictures of it on my son's bed and it wasn't a big deal!  I don't 

know why I put it off for so long!  I truly apologize - especially to my Quilt-Along 

friends who were waiting to see the finished quilt!

Stash Hash comes with instructions for 3 different sizes.

This is the Full size (the biggest size).  My son has a queen bed for reference.

The finished quilt dimensions are 80 1/2" x 80 1/2".

I participated in a Christmas 10" square swap with my local quilt

group a while back so I used those fabrics for this.  Stash Hash is 5", 10", and 2 1/2" precut 

friendly.  It's a great way to use up scraps or stash and it looks great in any color scheme.  

So it's a really versatile pattern!

I backed it with cream minky and bound it with Christmas Memories Plaid Multi 

by Riley Blake (cut on the bias).  It is so snuggly (and big - which makes it even better!)

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

I found the new-to-me design called Starstruck_small QC and I love 

how it turned out!!  Jen always does a fantastic job!

As you can see the blocks are pretty big.  I'd say this would be a great pattern

for a confident beginner and beyond.

If you'd like to purchase this pattern you can visit my Etsy shop HERE.

Thank you for stopping by today friends!

Happy quilting!

Season to Taste Book by Jessica Dayon

 Good morning!  Today I get to share a project with you that I recently finished.  

[Image source: Martingale Publishing]

The pattern is from the book Season to Taste by Jessica Dayon.  Jessica is my good friend and we met through Instagram when Jessica reached out to see if I wanted to collaborate with her for the Willow Quilt Along.  Jessica is one talented designer and has a heart of gold.  She inspires me daily.  I am constantly in awe of how much she accomplishes, her passion for quilting, and her really clever quilt designs!  Season to Taste is a beautiful book filled with 12 stunning projects (3 for each season of the year).  There are several projects in the book I would like to eventually make but I chose to make Harvest to share with you today.

My Harvest quilt looks so different than Jessica's version.

Isn't hers lovely though in browns and yellows?  I think it looks so cozy!

[Image source: Martingale Publishing]

I chose to use 30's reproduction prints because I've only made one 30's quilt in my life 

and I think I sold it somewhere along the way.  It was time to 

make another one because I love 30's fabrics!

One thing I like about Season to Taste is that even though there are 

3 quilt patterns for each season, most of the patterns would be great in any color scheme!  

So there really is a ton of versatility with this book. 

Isn't Harvest a cute pattern?

Mine is super scrappy and I was able to make the entire quilt top

using my stash.  Seems like I've been saying that alot lately...

(Which is a good thing!  For me, the year 2020 seems to be about staying home 

and using what you have!  I'm not mad about it, I love scrap quilts!)

My friend Jen Ostler quilted it with this beautiful Baptist Fan pattern

which I think suits the 30's fabrics really well.  Can you spy the little daisy Jen added in?

She always adds one surprise motif for the owner to find.  It's like a little game of

 hide 'n seek.

I got these great custom quilt labels from Border City Quilts on Etsy.

They're the 2" cotton fold-over tags.

Harvest finishes at 66-1/2" x 86-1/2".  

Here are a couple of the other quilts I would love to make from Jessica's book:

  

  

[Image source for last 3 photos: Martingale Publishing]

Those are just a few of the great patterns in Season to Taste!  

Ask your local quilt shop to get Season to Taste or you can find it HERE on Amazon.

I really encourage you to support your local quilt shops if you can though!

I'm so happy for Jessica and proud of the beautiful book and projects she created!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Happy holidays my friends.