Gigi's Thimble: finished quilts

Showing posts with label finished quilts. Show all posts

Vintage Valentine Quilt

Tuesday, January 6, 2026

I have a new pattern to share with you guys today!

I've been working on it for a couple of months now and it's finally ready to share!

And oh, I hope you love it as much as I do! Let me introduce...Vintage Valentine!

Vintage Valentine is a timeless heart pattern that is fat eighth/fat quarter friendly

and comes with instructions for 4 different quilt sizes! I have actually been working on

two different versions (the lighter, cover quilt version in Riley Blake Designs Confetti Cotton

Solids) and a darker version that I'll be sharing today. (And don't worry, I'll be sharing

the cover quilt soon. Do I have any solids lovers out there?)

I fell in love with these prints while working at my new job

(a cute little fabric shop that just opened in American Fork, Utah!

It's called Maker's & Co. It's such a fun store; you should come visit!)

I thought the dark magenta fabric would really make the heart fabrics pop!

It's got a subtle print on it so it's got some interest, but doesn't take away from the hearts.

I made 56 hearts for a queen-size quilt!

And then...this is where the magic happens...the sashing!

High contrast for a big impact!

And once I got the quilt top made, it was off to my longarm quilter for some beautiful quilting.

Jen Ostler in Highland, Utah quilted it with the Almost Plaid panto by

The Quilting Mill. I'm really happy with how it turned out. I was being pretty

indecisive about which panto to use, but I kept coming back to this one because

I thought it worked so well with the design of the sashing.

I usually like my thread color to blend with my background fabric as much as possible

so I knew this quilt would be tricky because there is so much contrast between the

dark and light fabrics. After some debate about different thread color options,

I decided to just use the magenta color. There's so much of it that I knew it would blend

on most of the quilt and that I was going to have to be okay with it popping

on the cream fabric. I think it turned out great though. Thanks Jen!

As many of you know, Jen always hides a little object in the quilting

for a fun game of hide and seek. This time, she quilted a little heart into the design,

which was perfect! I found it when I was sewing the binding on.

Once I got the binding sewn to the front, I sewed one of the personalized quilt labels that I get from Ever Emblem onto the back. They're so easy to attach, I don't have an excuse to not label my quilts! I get the 2" cotton, fold-over, sew-in labels. If you want to get some for yourself, you will just have to pick one of their basic cotton labels and customize it from there. I always machine stitch my binding down around the labels because it's hard to hand stitch through them. But this time, I continued with the machine binding all the way around the quilt because I was in a hurry to get it done! It's going to be on display at Maker's & Co soon (where we'll be selling the pattern and kits!)

I love how this quilt has more of a "sophisticated" look,

which is perfect for my daughter's room (she's 20).

I just wish I had some big magenta euro shams to really complete the look.

Maybe with ruffles!?! How cute would that be? Maybe someday I'll get to that project!

As I said before, this pattern is fat eighth and fat quarter friendly.

But I think it would be awesome to make the hearts even scrappier.

You could use 10" squares or just fabrics from your stash

to make all of the hearts different.

One last photo...

Thank you to my boys for helping me get an outdoor shot!

It's not every day that I get two good-looking, tall men to help me with my job!

Well, that's it! My new pattern, Vintage Valentine!

I'd love to hear what you think. Please leave a comment below if you feel so inclined.

Vintage Valentine is available as a paper pattern HERE or a PDF pattern HERE.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Color Play Finished Quilt

Wednesday, October 15, 2025

A couple of years ago, my dear friend lost a child. I wanted to do something to let her know of

my love and to brighten her day just a little, so I gave her my original Color Play quilt (below).

It was made out of Riley Blake Confetti Cotton Solids and was very bright and happy.

I thought it suited my friend perfectly.

Fast forward to January of this year, I decided to make a new Color Play quilt for my home

in earthy, fall colors. I found these two prints (below) at the Quilter's Lodge in Draper, Utah.

They're Morris and Co. fabrics and inspired my whole fabric pull.

I thought they were so pretty and would go nicely in my home.

I then chose a Tilda solid fabric in the color ginger for the main fabric that runs through

each block and added in a bunch of other coordinating prints from my stash.

I used different shades of peach, greens, yellows, browns and blues.

I made sure there was plenty of contrast between my prints and the solid.

Color Play is a beginner-friendly pattern that encourages you to

play around with different color combinations! It's easy and fun!

It's 2-1/2" strip friendly (but as you know, I mostly used my stash for this one). It's a very versatile pattern. You can even rotate the blocks in different ways to truly make this pattern your own!

Color Play includes instructions for 4 different quilt sizes. I made the queen-size quilt.

My friend Jen Ostler in Highland, Utah, quilted it for me with the Vinery panto by Karlee Porter.

I thought it suited the feel of the fabrics and the diagonal layout of the blocks quite well!

I machine-bound it and then threw it in the washer and dryer for some extra crinkle.

You can really see the quilting from the back side.

Per usual, I added one of the labels I get from Ever Emblem. They're so easy to sew into the binding so I don't have an excuse to not label my quilts! I get the 2" cotton, fold-over, sew-in labels.

If you want to get some for yourself, you will just have to pick one of their basic cotton labels

and customize it from there.

Sometimes I get asked how the labels hold up. This is after one wash.

I think they do really well; however, I don't wash my quilts all that often, so keep that in mind.

I'm glad this quilt is finally finished (it took me forever to bind it and take photographs!)

But it's the perfect timing to add some nice fall vibes to my son's bedroom.

It's my favorite time of year. I love the cooler temps and cozy vibes

that blankets, sweaters, and socks bring! Warm soups and baked breads!

Snuggling up with your people at the end of a long day. It's just the best.

This pattern would be cute in any color way.

If you want to grab the pattern,

you can get the paper pattern HERE or the PDF pattern HERE.

Thanks for stopping by today! I'd love to know what you think about this quilt,

your favorite season, thing about fall, or favorite fall recipe!

Happy quilting!

Red, White, and Blue Checkered Spools Quilt

Monday, July 28, 2025

If you've been around here much, you know

I am a sucker for red, white, and blue quilts!

I was making my Honey Locust Checkered Spools quilt in June and

I just kept envisioning it in red, white, and blue! So I just had to scratch that itch!

I had the white background fabric in my stash. I actually designed that print for

the Riley Blake Designs Hush Hush 4 collection. It was originally a creamy background

with tan stars and they reprinted it in white for their Lights On 2 collection.

The print is called Seeing Stars. I was able to use fabrics from my stash for most of the spools

(although I did treat myself to a few new ones just for fun).

Checkered Spools is a 2-1/2" x 42" strip-friendly pattern but since

I just used random cuts of fabric from my stash, it's scrappier

than the original version. I love it!

I even made a scrappy back for it!

It always feels good to use up random remnants

from my stash. There's no right or wrong way to make

a scrappy back. It just depends on what size pieces of fabric you have!

And since I was in a "scrappy" mood, I thought, why not do a scrappy binding too?!?

The best part was that I only used leftover pieces of binding from

other projects! I didn't have to cut any strips for this particular project! I've made several

red, white, and blue quilts over the years so I had plenty to choose from!

Jen Ostler quilted it for me with a new-to-me quilting panto called

Starry Twist by Melissa Kelley of Sew Shabby Quilting.

This was such a fun project to work on in July!

Checkered Spools would be cute in any color way and is the

perfect pattern for a cherished bundle of 2-1/2" strips.

Checkered Spools comes with instructions for 2 quilt sizes.

This is the smaller, throw size which finishes at 64 1/2" x 80 1/2".

Quick sidenote: I am teaching this class at The Garden of Quilts in Lehi, Utah

on September 12th from 2-5 pm. I'd love for you to join me! Click HERE for details.

If you'd like to make this pattern too, you can get the

paper pattern HERE or the PDF pattern HERE,

Click HERE to see the original version of Checkered Spools.

I'm curious if you have a favorite?

Thanks for stopping by today!

Honey Locust Checkered Spools Quilt

I recently finished a new quilt called Checkered Spools.

I designed this pattern to go along with my new fabric collection

with Riley Blake Designs called Honey Locust, which is in stores now.

All you need for the quilt top is a Rolie Polie (a bundle of forty-two 2-1/2" x 42" strips),

background fabric and some yardage for the tops and bottoms of the spools.

I used this sky daisy print for the background.

I used the brown and blue hydrangea print for the binding.

And the other two browns (posies and patchwork) were used

for the top and bottom of the spools.

It was fun mixing and matching different prints for the checkerboard units.

I really wanted Honey Locust to have a curated, scrappy feel so it has

a total of 24 different sku's. There are 9 unique prints and 8 colors.

Leftover checkerboard segments are used in the fun, patchwork border.

Since I was planning on using the brown and blue hydrangea print for the binding,

I debated about these 3 prints for the backing fabric. I thought each of them

would compliment the front of the quilt and binding.

I ended up using the navy floral print called Gigi's Garden. I love using

large-scale prints for quilt backs, so it was perfect.

I think the brown and blue hydrangea print for the binding tied it all together!

I usually hand-stitch my binding but was in a hurry this time so I machine bound it.

It takes some practice but I think I've finally got my method down. In this particular case,

I used two different color threads - blue on the front and brown on the back.

Jen Ostler quilted it for me with the Interlocking Orange Peel panto by Karlee Porter.

It's one of my go-to pantos; I've used it many times over the years! Some other

pantos I considered were the Baptist Fan and Crosshatching. I guess I wanted something

classic and timeless with a little bit of a vintage feel. I landed on the Interlocking

Orange Peel and am really happy with it!

Checkered Spools comes with instructions for 2 different quilt sizes.

This is the bigger version, the full version that finishes at 80 1/2" x 96 1/2".

I turned it sideways and it fits perfectly on this queen-size bed!

This was such a fun project! And I'm not gonna lie, after I made this,

I started dreaming of having a quilting retreat center

with all the beds adorned in Checkered Spools quilts!

If you'd like to make this pattern too you can get the

paper pattern HERE,

the PDF pattern HERE,

or I have 1 kit available HERE.

I also have some of the sky daisy fabric listed in my shop as well.

You can get that HERE.

I also thought this would be adorable in red, white, and blue!

Check out that version HERE!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Pages

Vintage Valentine Quilt

Tuesday, January 6, 2026

Color Play Finished Quilt

Wednesday, October 15, 2025

Red, White, and Blue Checkered Spools Quilt

Monday, July 28, 2025

Honey Locust Checkered Spools Quilt