A Simple Charm Quilt Tutorial 2.0

As I write this blog post, the halls are decked (except for my

Christmas tree) and I am curled up under a new, large, 

Minky-backed Christmas quilt.  I wish I could say I had

some hot cocoa in hand but you're girl has got

to start laying off the treats!

Making this quilt was a necessity.  

You see, I made one just like it a few years ago 

and then one day my big sister was in town and started snooping

through my quilts.  She's never asked me for a quilt before 

but she said she loved it and had to have it!  But I actually had just given her 

another quilt as a gift so I told her she could have this one for $200.

It wasn't one I had intended on parting with as it was made to

go with my Christmas decor.  But how can you say no

when someone gets excited about one of your quilts?

She tells me all the time that she uses it every day

(the Christmas prints are subtle) so that makes me 

extremely happy.  

[This one was made in 2018.]

I started missing that quilt (probably because she kept talking about it :)).

So I collected some similar fabrics and recently finished this other one.  

I used my old tutorial called A Simple Charm Quilt.

(You can see the original post HERE.)

This pattern is so simple but it's perfect when you 

want a quick, easy project to show off some pretty fabrics.

I used parts of 2 French General Layer Cakes (Bonheur de Jour and

Fleur de Noel) plus a few fat quarters from the line 

Old Fashioned Christmas by Riley Blake (the Santas,

Candy Canes, and the text print).  They added the "Christmas"!

It's backed in beautiful cream Minky and quilted with one of my

favorite wintery pantographs, Even Simpler Cable.

My quilter, Jen Ostler in Highland, UT did her signature move and 

quilted a hidden object into the quilting.  Do you see it?

I have updated my original pattern to include 4

more size options plus info for using different cuts of fabric

besides 5" squares.  Click HERE for the free PDF.

This pattern is so simple but now all the math is done for you!

I hope you find this useful and if you decide to make

A Simple Charm Quilt please tag me on 

Instagram @gigis_thimble and use the hashtags

#gigisthimblepattern and #asimplecharmquilt

so I can see your version!

Oh, and in case you're wondering this is the twin-size quilt

finishing at 77" x 86".  I can't wait to snuggle up with it this holiday season! 

Feel free to pin this photo so you can come back to it anytime!

Happy quilting friends!

Harvest Days Quilt

 When Liza Taylor of Liza Taylor Handmade 

posted pictures a few months ago of her upcoming pattern, Harvest Days, 

I immediately fell in love!

The day the pattern was released I quickly bought the PDF and got to work.

I love this sweet color palette using an assortment of peach, pink, and purple prints 

from different fabric lines!  I sprinkled in some olive green for the little stars and I just love it!

My quilter, Jen Ostler in Highland, UT quilted it with this

beautiful panto called Breeze.  I think it's perfect for this quilt!

I used the same fabric for both the back and the binding.

I've been doing that a lot lately!  It's a great way to use

up leftover backing (and you already know it matches)!

This purple/pink color makes me so happy!

In case you're wondering, the labels are from Everemblem.

I get the 2" cotton, fold-over, sew-in labels.

If you go to their site, you'll have to pick a cotton label 

and customize it from there.  I've loved the ease of these labels.

Now I don't have an excuse to not label my quilts!

This is such a fun pattern and you can make it as scrappy as you want!

I thought the stars were so fun and of course, I love the 

pumpkins and patchwork.

I am a big fan of Liza's.  Everything she makes is beautiful.

I love her taste in fabric and all of her patterns are really fun;

often involving multiple piecing/applique techniques.

You can check out her shop HERE.

Dream Big Quilt

 Good morning friends and happy Monday!

Today I have a quilt to share that I started back in March 2022

and finally finished the binding this weekend!

The pattern is from the book, Charming Baby Quilts by my friend

Melissa Corry.  I saw one of her trunk shows when we were both teaching

and presenting at an event in February.  She shared all of the baby quilts from her book

plus alternate, bigger versions!  I was so inspired by all of the great patterns in the

book, as well as, the dark backgrounds she used in many of the quilts.

So I decided to make the Dream Big pattern

with neutral prints for the blocks and a navy floral for the background.

My friend wanted to make it with me in the same colors

so we swapped neutral squares.  It was such a great way to get a large

assortment of prints and freshen up the fabrics I had to work with

without spending a dime (the ones I had and contributed

were all from my stash!)

Melissa has instructions on her blog for how to make the 

quilts from the book, bigger because she's awesome like that.

Click HERE for details.

I fell in love with the navy floral I used.  It's a tone-on-tone Liberty

fabric by Riley Blake Designs.  

It's from their Wiltshire Shadow Collection.  I believe

it's the royal blue color but I'm not 100% on that.

I actually finished the quilt top and got it quilted in May but it took me 

FOREVER to bind it because so many other projects took precedence around that time!  

The quilting was done by Jen Ostler in Highland, UT. and she used the Gemma 3 panto.

I think it complimented the blocks perfectly!

The backing and binding fabrics are from the line,

All Hallows Eve by Fig Tree Quilts (but it's not

Halloween-y at all!)  It's just a nice tan/cream floral.

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

If you've followed me for a while you know I love blue and white

quilts.  I've made several.  They're classic and never go out of style!

My awesome nephew and his awesome girlfriend

just bought a house together so I am going to send this to them

as a housewarming gift!  I hope they like it!

I think this is such a great pattern; it would be

great in any colorway.  You can grab Melissa's book at many online retailers.

Just google, "Charming Baby Quilts by Melissa Corry"!

Have a great day friends!

The Quilt Keeper

Hello!

I've got a unique, useful, and fun idea for a gift 

that you can give to yourself, a quilty friend, or a loved one

this holiday season!

It's called the Quilt Keeper and it's a quilt/comforter

storage and display piece.  I love it because it's one more place

where I can display a quilt and the best part -

it doesn't require installation!!!

It fits perfectly over standard-size doors and can easily be

moved from room to room if needed. This is such

a great addition to the guest room in our basement so guests don't have

to wonder where an extra blanket is on those cold, chilly nights!

If you have guest rooms, an Airbnb, or are simply

just tight on space this is a great storage solution!

Plus it's just a cute way to feature a beautiful

quilt in your decor.

A little birdie told me they're having a sale right now if you buy a pack of 3 

(plus there is a discount code listed at the top of their webpage to help 

offset some of the shipping costs).  Pro tip: you could break up the pack and 

give them as gifts!  I have some family members and friends that I know would love them!

Click HERE to visit the Quilt Keeper website.

Happy holiday shopping!

Positive Vibes Quilt Pattern

 Today I want to introduce
my new quilt pattern, Positive Vibes

It's a confident beginner-friendly and fat quarter-friendly quilt pattern.

It comes with instructions for 2 different size quilts: baby and large throw.

I made this baby version in solid black and white

which I think is really striking!  It's nice that it's gender-neutral too

(for when I give it away...someday)!

I am all about large-scale prints for the back of quilts

and I'm especially obsessed with large-scale plaid prints at the moment!

This one is from the line Fleur Noire by Riley Blake.

Jen Ostler in Highland, Utah quilted it for me

with the Diagonal Plaid pantograph.  She hid an object in the quilting

per usual.  Such a fun game.  Can you find it?

I designed this pattern to go with my upcoming fabric line 

with Poppie Cotton called, Treasured Threads.

The little rectangles reminded me of stitching.

[Fabric featured here: Bloom True by Terri Conrad for Poppie Cotton]

Treasured Threads ships to stores in January 2023.

I will be hosting a quilt-along in March 2023

for the throw size Positive Vibes quilt.  A few quilt shops

will be offering kits for it.  I'll post more details at the beginning of the year.

If you'd like to snag a copy of Positive Vibes

you can visit my Etsy shop HERE.  It comes in paper and PDF.

For now, I am loving this b + w version and can't wait to make

a colorful, Treasured Threads version in a few months.

I'd love to hear what you think of Positive Vibes!

Tell me what you like about it or what colorway you would do it in.

Your feedback is always helpful and appreciated!

Thanks for stopping by today!