Hey there!  Today I want to share a really fun,

scrappy quilt I finished recently - my Kaleidoscope quilt!

I started with a bunch of random fat quarters from my stash...

And turned them into this finished quilt top!

The pattern I used is a free paper-piecing pattern called Kaleidoscope

by Sharon Holland.  Click HERE for the link.

I'm a HUGE fan of Sharon's work.  

She designs fabric for Art Gallery Fabrics and I swoon over

everything she creates!  Her Instagram feed is gorgeous and inspiring 

so be sure to check her out at @sharonhollanddesigns.

Sharon's Kaleidoscope pattern is for a mini quilt that finishes at 27-1/2" x 27-1/2"

(a 4 x 4 block layout).  The pattern has complete instructions and diagrams

 so it's a great project to practice the technique of paper-piecing.

The steps are repetitive and the project is small

so I highly recommend this for any paper-piecing newbie out there!

I LOVE paper piecing so I decided to make my Kaleidoscope quilt bigger 

with a 12 x 12 layout.  My quilt finishes at about 78" x 78". 

Because I multiplied the number of blocks to make by 9

I also multiplied the required background fabric by 9.

I had a LOT left over (I think I bought about 11 yards!) but unfortunately,

I don't remember how much was left over so I can't recommend 

how much to buy for this size quilt.  So sorry friends!

I started this project in February 2022 so I was thrilled

to get the quilt top finished just over a year later, in March of 2023.

A reminder that not every quilt comes together in just a few days

(like it sometimes seems on Instagram!)

I had the hardest time deciding on backing and binding fabrics

but I finally ended up with this rusty orange stripe for the binding.

It's called Morning Ray #187 by Edyta Sitar for Andover Fabrics.

The aqua floral backing (that you can see peeking out in the photo below)

is #9874 by Giucy Giuce for Andover Fabrics.

They don't really go together but the quilt is so scrappy that I don't mind.

Do you see the cute little heart that my quilter

Jen Ostler quilted into the design?  If you've been

around long enough, you know that she always quilts

an extra little shape into the quilt for the quilt recipient to find.  It's

a fun little game of hide and seek!

Jen used the Swivel Circles pantograph on my quilt and I love it!

A few friends joined me in this endeavor so I hope to get a 

picture of all of us with our Kaleidoscope quilts someday.

It was a fun project and I'm really happy

it's done so I can enjoy the finished quilt now!

Thanks for stopping by today!

I hope you feel inspired.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Oh What Fun Fabric Tour

The day is finally here that I get to share the project I made with the

darling fabric line, Oh What Fun by Elea Lutz for Poppie Cotton.

 I first saw this line at the 2023 International Fall Quilt Market.

I was immediately smitten with Elea's signature

vintage style, the unique color palette, and the 

fun details of this fabric line.

Oh What Fun features Santas, snowflakes and text, polka dots,

plaid, stockings, Christmas trees, snowmen, flowers and holly, and my personal

favorite...ice skating reindeer.  It's just so whimsical and sweet.

I thoroughly enjoyed working with this line.

I chose to make a quilt using the Patchwork Plaid pattern from my book,

Quilt the Rainbow.  I wanted to see it in another colorway

besides blue and white.  I think Christmas fabrics were the 

perfect match for that pattern.

I paired the Oh What Fun fabrics with a dark blue chambray

fabric that I had in my stash and a white with red polka dot fabric by

Lori Holt for Riley Blake.

Jen Ostler in Highland, Utah quilted it for me

with a fun loop and snowflake design.  It's called

Snowflake Meander.  Jen always hides an extra little 

shape in the quilting for its recipient to find.

This time it was a tiny star - so cute!

There are 3 different Plus blocks in Patchwork Plaid.

It finishes at 70-1/2" x 90-1/2" and would be cute in any colorway!

I backed it in a navy blue plaid fabric and bound it with 

the red Good Measure grid fabric from my fabric line, 

Treasured Treads with Poppie Cotton.

Oh What Fun is now in stores.

Grab a fat-quarter bundle and my book, Quilt the Rainbow

so you can make this quilt too.

Congratulations to Elea for another fabulous

fabric line!  I just love everything she creates

and am so happy I got to be a part of this tour!

To see some more Oh What Fun projects

check out these other makers on the tour:

Friday, June 2 http://prettybyhand.com/

Monday, June 5 http://neverlandstitches.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, June 7      http://www.abrightcorner.com/

Friday, June 9         https://bretquiltdesigns.com/

Monday, June 12     https://www.sewmariana.com/

Wednesday, June 14 https://verityvintagestudio.typepad.com/my-blog/

Friday, June 16     Website: http://blueribbondesigns.com

Monday, June 19 http://www.gigisthimble.com/

Wednesday, June 21 theredfeedsack.blogspot.com

Friday, June 23     https://www.nannygoatquilts.com/

Monday, June 26     http://www.linenbouquet.com

Wednesday, June 28 www.cardinalcreekquilting.com

Friday, June 30     Instagram: @emmas_crafternoons

Thanks for stopping by today!

Scrappy Log Cabin Quilt

A scrappy, classic quilt is my favorite kind of quilt.

So when Liza Taylor (of Liza Taylor Handmade) announced

that she was hosting a Scrappy Log Cabin Quilt-Along

in 2022 - I couldn't resist joining.  And even though I am way 

behind schedule, I am so glad I participated!

I took my color palette inspo from some beautiful yardage

I had in my stash.  It's from the Kismet collection by Sharon Holland 

for Art Gallery Fabrics and I used it for the back of my quilt. 

I knew I wanted a layout that created diagonal rows of 

saturated prints and low-volume prints so I pulled warm

pinks, coppers, greens, golds, and low-volumes from my stash.

I tried not to choose "cutesy" prints.  I wanted a pretty, more mature 

feel to this quilt.  I auditioned and eliminated lots of fabrics along the way.

This basket stayed organized like this for about 2 seconds.

Once I started making blocks, strips were strewn about as I searched

for the perfect contrasting fabrics for each block.

I completely guessed how many strips to cut and I had to

cut more along the way to give me the variety I needed.

I have a bunch leftover so I may make a baby quilt out of them someday.

I cut fabrics for 6-8 blocks at a time and then chain-pieced

everything to help things go a little faster.

The blocks finish at 11-1/2" x 11-1/2".

You can get the free pattern if you sign up for

Liza's newsletter via her Instagram profile

@lizataylorhandmade.

I love Log Cabin quilts because there are so many ways to create 

secondary designs through fabric/color placement and block orientation.

My fave long-arm quilter, Jen Ostler quilted this for me. 

The panto I chose is called Behold.

I was a little nervous that it would be too busy but

I'm really happy with the way it turned out.

I think the design compliments the 

diagonal rows of the dark and light fabrics while

adding some softness to this otherwise, angular quilt.

I originally planned on using a green or dark pink

fabric to bind this quilt but a friend at the fabric

store found this sweet little civil war brown print that I really liked! 

I loved the scale of the flowers and that it incorporated several of my colors.

It added a nice vintage vibe to the quilt, which I always love!

I made 56 blocks for a 7 x 8 layout so it finished at 80" x 92".

A great size to snuggle under!

Have you ever made a Log Cabin quilt?

I had so much fun making this quilt and look forward

to making another one someday.

Kitty Loves Candy Fabric

 I fell in love with this new fabric line,

Kitty Loves Candy by Poppie Cotton

the moment I saw swatches of it at the

International Quilt Market last fall.

It has such a fun, unique color palette for Halloween and the prints are

sweet and whimsical.  There are so many fun details like Candy the witch, 

barns, chickens, kittens + pumpkins, pigs, stars, florals, and ginghams.  It's just darling!

I decided to use some Kitty Loves Candy fat quarters to remake

my Cross Stitch pattern.

It's a Layer Cake friendly pattern

and the quilt finishes at 62" x 81".

A nice throw/twin-size quilt!

The blocks are big - a great way to show off those cute prints!

And the scrappy binding is a fun way to finish off the quilt.

(I really can't decide which print is my favorite!)

You can snag the Cross Stitch pattern in my shop HERE.

Who said Halloween has to be dark and scary!?!

I love these bright, happy prints and can't wait to snuggle

under this fun quilt come October.

Thank you to Poppie Cotton for asking me to participate

in this fabric tour and for the darling fat quarter bundle!

Want to see more Kitty Loves Candy?

Visit the other stops on the fabric tour:

Wednesday, May 10 http://blueribbondesigns.com

Friday, May 12     http://neverlandstitches.blogspot.com/

Monday, May 15 https://www.cardinalcreekquilting.com

Wednesday, May 17     https://amerooniedesigns.com/

Friday, May 19     https://charismascorner.com/category/blog/

Monday, May 22  http://theredfeedsack.blogspot.com

Wednesday, May 24 http://www.gigisthimble.com/

Friday, May 26     https://bretquiltdesigns.com/

Monday, May 29 https://www.sewmariana.com/

My Favorite Things Fabric Tour

I have been a fan of Elea Lutz' designs since I first discovered her in 2015.  

Her first fabric line was Milk, Sugar, and Flower (which was absolutely adorable; 

I'm sad I missed out on it!)  However, I did end up making a 

Christmas quilt with her second fabric line, Little Joys.

 Today I get to share some projects I made with her

most recent fabric line, My Favorite Things.  It has that 

sweet, vintage style that Elea is known for.  And she is now a designer for 

Poppie Cotton which I think is a match made in heaven!

As you can see the line is full of soft pinks, blues, buttery yellows, creamy whites

and tans...with a little pop of red!  Such a cute color palette!  There are lots of 

different florals in various scales and one of my favorite things - text prints!  

But the main print features many of Elea's favorite

things (which I'm sure most of us can relate to.)  See THIS post

on Elea's blog for more pictures, the inspiration behind this collection, 

the darling coordinating cheater print, and a free mini

quilt pattern that Elea is offering to members of her new Facebook group. 

The first project I made with My Favorite Things

was a throw-size version of my Rough and Tumble pattern.

It comes with instructions for 5 different sizes!

I had so much fun playing with 5" squares of

My Favorite Things + a few solid fabrics 

and a tan with a white dot background fabric.

I love this pattern because the blocks go together really quickly

and there is no sashing!  So it's a very fast make, overall.

I bound it with the red Good Measure grid fabric from my fabric line, 

Treasured Treads with Poppie Cotton and backed it in a

large green gingham fabric from Riley Blake.

My friend, Jen Ostler in Highland, UT quilted it for me.

She did a fantastic job, as always!  The quilting pantograph 

she used is called Fluffy Lumps.  It's a new-to-me design

that I thought complimented the scalloped/floral print in 

My Favorite Things really well!  She also quilted a tiny heart 

on the quilt for me to find - in a little game of quilters' hide and seek.  

Can you see it?

I just couldn't get enough of My Favorite Things so I decided

to make one more project with the remaining fabric I had.  But don't

worry, it was a super fast baby quilt that just takes a couple of hours to put together.

I've had many requests for this pattern called, Big Baby.

It was originally in my book, Vintage Vibe

but it's out of print now so I decided to make Big

Baby into an individual pattern which you can find in my shop, HERE.

The pantograph is called Cartwheels and the quilt finishes at 38" square.

It's a big-block baby quilt version of my Scrap Jar Stars pattern.

It goes together so fast and looks cute in any colorway!

Perfect for gift-giving!

I love this fabric line and am so thankful that I got to be a part of

the My Favorite Things Fabric Tour.  My Favorite Things is in stores now

so be sure to run out and grab some before it's all gone!

Flora's Baskets - Scrappy Version

 Hi there!  I have been wanting to share a new

project that I started a month or two ago.

It's based on my new pattern,

Flora's Baskets. 

Flora's Baskets is a pattern I designed

based on an antique quilt I saw on 

@caravanquilts Instagram feed.

[This picture is shared with permission from @caravanquilts.]

I love following that account.  It's a great resource

if you're in the market for an antique quilt!

[This picture is shared with permission from @caravanquilts.]

[This picture is shared with permission from @caravanquilts.]

If you look closely at the two pictures above you can see that the 

"flower" part in the basket block is made with diamonds

which would've had to have been made with English

Paper Piecing or Y-seams.  My block uses

traditional machine piecing.

All of that to say,

I started a new version of Flora's Baskets -

a scrappy version and I am so excited about it!

I think it's going to be so pretty.

I'm using low-volume backgrounds and 

muted pinks, blues, and yellows for the "flowers"/

"basket tops" (what do we call that part of the block?)

Anyways, if you want to make a scrappy version like me,

you will first need to get the Flora's Baskets pattern.

You can get the paper pattern HERE.

Or the PDF pattern HERE.

And then use the following info in

conjunction with the block assembly instructions

to make scrappy blocks.  This will make 2 blocks

but you can mix and match pieces so they're both unique.

1 brown square, 5" x 5"

1 brown square, 3" x 3"

2 brown squares, 2-1/2" x 2-1/2"

10 white rectangles, 2-1/2" x 4-1/2"

1 white square, 3" x 3"

2 white squares, 2-1/2" x 2-1/2"

1 pink, blue, or yellow square, 5" x 5"

8 pink, blue, or yellow squares, 2-1/2" x 2-1/2"

And then just have fun playing with your fabrics

to make as many basket blocks as required for your chosen 

quilt size.  Flora's Baskets has 3 quilt size options.

I might make a queen size because I'm loving this

project so much.  I think it will look so vintagy 

and beautiful at the foot of our bed.

I'm even saving the cutoffs and making tiny half-square

triangles out of them.  Maybe I'll make

a little pouch or bag with them someday.

I'm super excited about all of this!

If you decide to join me on any of this

please tag me on Instagram @gigis_thimble

and use the hashtags #gigisthimblepattern

and #florasbasketsquilt.

EDIT: You can check out the finished scrappy version of Flora's Baskets HERE.

Have a great day!