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.

Sewing Themed (Watercolor) Bottle Brush Trees

 Hey friends!  It's been a while since I've checked in here!  I've missed you guys! 
I've been busy working on some quilts that I hope to share with you soon but today 

I have a festive and easy craft project I want to share with you!

While doing some Christmas shopping recently I spied these cute sewing themed 

bottle brush trees and just had to get them!   Aren't they so cute on the spools of twine?  

I found them at one of my favorite stores called Sunriver Gardens located in Orem, Utah.

Shortly after I found those, I found these knitted sweater trees

at a bakery we have here in Utah called Kneaders.  

I was so inspired by the idea of creating a little Christmas "moment" in my sewing room 

so I got busy looking for more bottle brush trees!  You could buy any bottle brush trees 

that suit your fancy.  They come in so many colors and sizes.  I'm partial to the 

natural sisal bottle brush trees though.  You will also need some twine and wooden spools.  

I happened to have both of those things on hand but I have linked some options 

for all of these supplies at the end of this post.

I put them on top of my spool cubby but something felt off.  There was a lot going on 

and it was a little too busy for my liking.  I wanted a little more cohesiveness 

between all the trees so I made some simple changes.  

 First, I tore off the jute bows that came on the knitted sweater trees.  The jute was 

a little too big and drawing too much attention for my taste.  So off those came!  

Then I wrapped the big empty wooden spool that I had with some red Christmas 

scrapbooking paper.  You could also wrap it with ribbon or baker's twine.

I had seen tutorials for dying bottle brush trees with Rit Dye or Kool Aid 
but I didn't have either of those.  I also didn't have any patience.  So I wondered 

what I could use that I had on hand.  I did have some nice watercolors 

so I tried those out and they were perfect and easy.

All you do is load a paint brush with the color of your choice and paint your 

bottle brush trees with quick, sweeping motions.  I used two different colors of green.  

I added a little yellow to one of the greens to warm it up and then added 

a little black to one of them to tone it down. 

Sometimes the paint would splatter on my arm and face so make sure you cover 

your table and wear a painting smock or an old shirt or apron.  I also found 

a somewhat dry brush didn't splatter paint up as much.

Paint your trees.  Feel free to add a little Mod Podge 

after they dry and sprinkle with glitter!

That could be really cute!

While your trees are drying wrap your wooden spools with baker's twine, ribbon

or cute scrapbooking paper.  Use a little dab of hot glue to secure the ends 

of the twine or ribbon in place.  If using paper, use adhesive dots to secure the ends in place.

Add some hot glue to the base of your bottle brush tree and quickly press it onto the 

top of one of your wooden spools.  

And voila, you're done!  Stand back and admire your work (this part is very important).

Now go create your "Christmas moment", wherever that may be.

So here's my finished "moment".  Which one do you like better?

The before or after?

I've rounded up some of the supplies you'll need to make these sewing themed 

bottle brush trees including the:

Baker's Twine

Wooden Spools

Adhesive Dots

Bottle Brush Trees

HERE in my Amazon Storefront.

I hope you'll tag me on Instagram if you decide to make these trees!

My IG user name is @gigis_thimble.  

Thanks for stopping by today and happy holidays!

Playful Precut Quilts Book Tour

 One of my quilting besties published her first book!
Amanda Niederhauser recently published Playful Precut Quilts, 

a beautiful book that includes 15 projects that each feature 12" blocks -

making it easy to mix and match blocks from different patterns!

There were so many cute patterns in this book but I chose to make Flower Basket.

It's a basic patchwork pattern that uses a unique piecing technique, sewing partial seams.

I had never used that technique before.  I was a little nervous to try it but also wanted to 

push myself to learn something new!  And it was actually really easy and really fun!

Flower Basket is a 2-1/2" wide precut strip friendly pattern.

I don't have a lot of precuts in my stash so I decided to do a scrappy

blue and white version using varying shades of blue from my stash.  

Blue is the color I have the most of in my stash

and it was so fun using some of my favorite blue prints.

I put a very small dent in my blue stash but it felt good.

I even had a bolt of the blue chambray I used for the back and

the binding was leftover from a recent finish (my new pattern, United)

so this quilt was made 100% from my stash.

I LOVE those kinds of quilts!

This quilt finishes at 60" x 72" but it would be really easy to make

the pattern bigger or smaller depending on your needs.

For the quilting, I chose a new-to-me edge-to-edge pattern called Terracotta.

My friend Jen Ostler in Lehi, Utah quilted it for me.

I love the way it turned out!

I thoroughly enjoyed making this quilt and can definitely see

myself using this pattern again!

There are so many other cute projects in this book

and I love the idea of mixing and matching blocks to make

each quilt your own.  So many possibilities with this book!

You should definitely run out and grab a copy!

Even though Amanda lives in California and I live in Utah,

we get to see each other now and then.  We had a spontaneous

lunch date the other day when she was in town and you bet your bottom dollar

that I had Amanda sign my copy of Playful Precut Quilts.

Congratulations to my friend Amanda on a fantastic book, as well as, 2 darling fabric lines

with Riley Blake Designs.  I'm so happy for her and thankful to be able to call her a friend!

You can visit Amanda's blog HERE for a list of all the other makers

that participated in this book tour.  There are so many inspiring projects representing

a big variety of projects from Playful Precut Quilts.

Have a great day you guys!

Stash Hash Quilt-Along: Week 13

 Welcome to week 13 of the Stash Hash Quilt-Along!

This is the last week of the quilt-along!
If you're making the full-size quilt, the assignment for this week is to assemble the quilt top.

Lay out the Star blocks and Hashtag blocks, alternating.

Working from left to right and top to bottom, stack up the blocks in each row.

I like to use my Marilee's Numbered Pins that you can get HERE to keep everything in order. 

Take the stacks to your sewing machine and sew the blocks together to form rows.

Press according to the directions.

Sew the rows together and press.

And voila!  You are FINALLY done with your Stash Hash quilt top!  Yay!  

I just need to bind mine so come back next week to see my finished quilt!

I used a new-to-me all-over quilt pattern that I'm in love with.  It's so snuggly

with minky on the back and the quilting shows up so well on it!

Thanks to all of you that participated in the Stash Hash Quilt-Along!

I loved having all of you along for the ride!  I'd love to hear your feedback and 

any suggestions you might have in the comment section below.

Stash Hash Quilt-Along: Week 12

Welcome to week 12 of the Stash Hash Quilt-Along!

If you're making the throw-size quilt you probably finished your quilt top last week.  

You can get the back ready and take it to the quilter (or start quilting it yourself) if you'd like.

If you're making the full-size quilt, the assignment is to make the last two Hashtag blocks.

Here are my blocks:

I can't believe I'm done making blocks.

This has been so fun for me and I have just loved having you guys along for the ride!

Are you done making blocks?

Is your top put together?

I know many of you worked ahead of schedule;

I've loved seeing all of your guys' progress on Instagram!

 So that's it for this week!

Please keep sharing your blocks on Instagram.

It makes me so happy to see them and

I know it inspires others as well.  Plus,

it helps spread the word about my patterns which I really appreciate!

Please tag me @gigis_thimble and use the hashtags

#gigisthimblepattern, #stashhashquilt, and #stashhashqal

if you decide to share.  

If you're looking for the Stash Hash quilt pattern, visit my shop HERE.

Happy quilting!

Stash Hash Quilt-Along: Week 11

Good morning!  I hope you're doing well!

It's week 11 of the Stash Hash Quilt-Along and the assignment 

for this week is to sew the rows together if you're making the throw-size quilt.  

If you're making the full-size quilt the assignment is to make the last 3 Star blocks.  

Here are my blocks:

I just love making them!

What size quilt are you making?

Are you still making blocks or are you finished or playing catch up?  

Check-in with me by leaving a comment below with

your status.  I'd love to hear how you're doing.

So that's it for this week!

Please keep sharing your blocks on Instagram.

It makes me so happy to see them and

I know it inspires others as well.  Plus,

it helps spread the word about my patterns which I really appreciate!

Please tag me @gigis_thimble and use the hashtags

#gigisthimblepattern, #stashhashquilt, and #stashhashqal

if you decide to share.  

If you're looking for the Stash Hash quilt pattern, visit my shop HERE.

Happy quilting!

Stash Hash Quilt-Along: Week 10

 Hello, hello!

Welcome to week 10 of the Stash Hash Quilt-Along!

If you are making the throw size quilt then you are finished making blocks!  Yay!

You can use this week to catch up or start sewing your blocks into rows.

If you're making the full size quilt, the assignment is to make 3 Hashtag blocks.

Here are mine.

I'm getting excited to finish this quilt!

I'm even starting to think about how I want to quilt it!

I could do cables to look like a winter sweater or some sort of swirly snowflake pattern.

Do you have any great ideas for me?

Have you thought about how you're going to quilt yours?

 

Well, that's it for this week!

Please keep sharing your blocks on Instagram.

It makes me so happy to see them and

I know it inspires others as well.  Plus,

it helps spread the word about my patterns which I really appreciate!

Please tag me @gigis_thimble and use the hashtags

#gigisthimblepattern, #stashhashquilt, and #stashhashqal

if you decide to share.  

If you're looking for the Stash Hash quilt pattern, visit my shop HERE.

Happy quilting!