New project and great goods!

We love this great zipper bag the "emmaline retreat bag" from a free tutorial on Emmaline website....Jane made this version for us, a parakeet decked out with a neck tie!  These heavy weight canvas fabrics are fabulous for just this type of bag.  Sorry - the blue shown in the photo literally flew out the door - but we have several other fun options so don't hesitate to pick out something fun for yourself and make a 2nd one as a gift!  We have the wire frames in two sizes, in stock now - the one shown is the photo below is the smaller size.  

Free Pattern Here

Emmaline Retreat Bag

Here are a few other canvas options we have in the shop!

And of course, lots of our other fabrics would work fine for a tote, purse or other fun project - we love these latest group from Cotton & Steel.

Wonderland Rifle Paper for Cotton and Steel

Fresh spring colors for this group from Carrie Bloomston 

Dreamer by Carrie Bloomston for Windham Fabrics

And check out these great fabrics - perfect for a fussy cutting project?

Juxstaposey by Betz White for Riley Blake 

Spring Cleaning Sale

Well we've been waiting for the sunshine to make an appearance, and we've decided we'll just have to move forward...we are doing some spring cleaning!   We hope you'll join us for some great deals on a variety of items including reduced pricing on sale fabrics and a great assortment of odds n' ends that have surfaced as we move things around, complete inventory and make room for new goodies!  

EXTENDED SALE HOURS On THURSDAY!
Thursday April 27th 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm

And Regular Store Hours
Friday April 28th 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
Saturday April 29th 10:00 am - 6:00 pm

Do you love an old quilt?

There is a unique opportunity to view the original 1876 quilt on Lopez Island coming up soon...plan an outing to the San Juan Islands and enjoy the benefits of living in the Pacific Northwest while you're at it?!  Here are the details:

Latest Additions

We've got a few new finishes to start off our spring season - this small quilt is a variation on one we've done previously, it's a free one on the Moda Bakeshop website.  We modified this version to use yardage, rather than a charm pack, and the center square features a fussy cut portion of the lovely border print from Michael Miller called Mermaid Magic.

Free Pattern

Mermaids and Dragons

And a fun and bright small through from the Tumbling Blocks pattern by It's Sew Emma - this pattern is fat quarter friendly so it is a versatile project and a quick finish too!

Modern Tyke Tumbling Blocks

We've got fabric and patterns for both of these projects!  We have a couple of other quilts underway and lots of new inspiration on the shelves - great new books and lots of new fabric lines!  Some great variety and a few new charm packs and mini-charms if you want a sampling of Liberty Gatherings or Tabby Road.  

Liberty Gathering

Hamilton for Windham Fabrics

Tabby Road by Tula Pink for Spirit Fabric 

Indigo Summer by Hoffman

Anthology Batiks

Destash Yard Sale

Well - after one day of sixty degrees, and a bit of time at the garden nursery this weekend, I think spring fever is here to stay!  We are cleaning up and re-organizing the shelves - always making room for new fabrics right?!

We're mixing things up and are doing a small destash via instagram, so if you want to see what yardage we're offering at discounted prices, please follow us on our destash account, @twothimblesyardsale

This is something we plan to do each month, and we'll see how it goes!  The details for purchasing are outlined in the post below.  Hope you see something you need for your stash!  And of course, follow our regular instagram account for all the new fabric, samples and fun things happening!  @twothimblesquiltshop

QUILT SHOW Easter Weekend!

We will be Closed Easter Sunday but My Garden Nursery will be open and the quilts will be on display!

We hope you can find time to enjoy the show - it will be available for viewing Friday, Saturday and Sunday at:

My Garden Nursery
929 E Bakerview Rd
Bellingham,WA
360-366-8406
Business Hours are 9am-5:30pm Friday and Saturday, 10am-5pm on Sunday!

We'll be showcasing the Year of the Rooster challenge quilts, along with a group of quilts created by Reynola Pakusich...and several more from our great community of quilters.  Can't wait to see some spring quilts in the Garden!

Here is a fun wool applique project Suz designed - a great opportunity to add some stitching embellishments, and of course - you could frame it or make a fresh pillow for spring or a wall hanging.  Great seasonal decor?!

Rosalie Rabbit by Suz 

Year of the Rooster Challenge

Well - we do want to crow a bit about this Challenge - We think it was a pretty good concept, lots of room for creativity, and I love it when it all comes together so well!  Our Chinese takeout boxes were the perfect container for the challenge kits and we certainly appreciate everyone that took the time to create something for this event.  A spring quilt show in the garden will be be a perfect venue to show these off too!

In no particular order - we have a photo of each of the quilts that are on display here in the shop, and they'll be featured this weekend at the upcoming quilt show at My Garden Nursery!  We'll keep them on display for the rest of the month and return them in early May - so you'll have a chance to come and visit them more than once perhaps?!

This colorful Rooster is from a pattern design by Sarah Bailey - and the alphabet blocks are designed by Sam Hunter.  The Portland Modern Quilt Guild is promoting letters and words in their quilts and Florence has embraced the concept - using them on her quilt fronts as well as quilt backs.  Great way to make a statement!!

Seeking Truth in 2017 - Florence

And we have an identifiable color palette with this one?  Anyone have cereal for breakfast - "Taste them again, for the first time?  Thanks Leslie!

Years and Years of the Rooster - Leslie

This one titled Big Man, combines applique and embroidery and was inspired by Leah's chicken children!  A great day on the farm?

Big Man- Leah

 "Rooster" incorporates a gorgeous range of colorful prints, and some added technique with Shiva paintsticks on the background fabric.  Karen used internet images for inspiration and took off from there with great fabric choices!

Rooster - Karen

Lois sourced her rooster from information on the Chinese Calendar and incorporate the gold coins for luck into her project!

Year of the Rooster - Lois

This rooster applique design is by Sindy Rodenmayer, and Susan added some fancy decorative stitching to personalize her Rooster.  

Rooster - Susan

Kerry was our wild card entry - a rooster is included in her piece, but not the focal point.  She included lots of elements including Chinese characters for Faith and Health, qualities for the Year of the Rooster a coin for luck and prosperity along with other symbolic elements.  "The Fan is representative of the breeze created by the Rooster's wings and lanterns for light which as the Rooster ushers in the Dawn"....This one really takes the assignment to interpret the Year of the Rooster to the next level!

Untitled - Kerry 

And last but not least is a beautiful Fire Rooster that incorporates the chinese coin for the Rooster's eye. Linda got her fabric choice just right on this one don't you think?

Fire Rooster - Linda 

We love that several of the entries incorporated some of the items from the challenge kit, and we love how colorful and varied these quilts are!  Thank you so much for sharing your quilts with us.  Stop by this weekend and see them at My Garden Nursery!

Below are some photos from our long-distance participants - we have entries from Alabama, Connecticut, New Jersey and Oregon!  Thank-you for sharing your projects and we appreciate your willingness to join the fun!

All Cooped Up! - Barb

Barb used a great chicken wire fabric for the back of hers!

Danice's Year of the Rooster - Danice

This rooster looks about ready to crow - Danice's rooster is a hybrid of chinese and farmhouse style!  Her rooster design is by Sindy Rodenmayer of Fat Cat Patterns free pattern

Stand Tall Chicken - Lori

This funky chicken is making a statement about all the glory allocated to the Rooster's!  Lori took her inspiration from a favorite Folk artist, Karla Gerard and includes some great stitching!

Retro Roosters - Barbara

And Barbara was inspired by a recent project (Gypsy Wife by Jen Kingwell) using lots of strips - and vintage fabrics.  This project features some well-aged roosters, the center fabric is 57 years old!  And Barbara collaborated on this project with a donation from a blog friend in Maine - with additional vintage rooster fabric for the back - check it out below!

Back of Retro Roosters - Barb

We love how these quilts all have a strong, vibrant and upbeat feel to them - let's take those thoughts into the year ahead!  Thank-you everyone for some great inspiration.

Two Thimbles Destash Yard Sale

If you don't already follow us on Instagram - here is a good reason to start!  We'll be sharing more details and some good deals soon.  

Magpie Class

I can't believe it's been a month since our workshop with Bobi Sue - the Magpie Manor pillow sample is still on display at the shop and we have a few patterns left (and the handpainted eyes) if you're interested in tackling this great project!  

Here are a few photos from class - Bobi Sue had lots of fun inspiration and several variations to get the ideas for color combinations.  Thanks so much to those of you who participated - we hope you'll be sharing your projects with us as you complete them!  

Bobi Sue's inspiration boards

And a finished pillow from our class, below - amazing beading, hand-stitching and textures were incorporated.  Fabulous finish!!

Julieann

Here is a photo from an inspired customer who tackled hers independently!  Way to go!  

Glenys 

Delilah TOM Program is underway!

We have filled all our spots in the Delilah Template of the Month (TOM) program - so now we can focus on getting some blocks done!  This is a scrappy quilt - and some of the blocks are taking ALOT of different fabrics.  Of course, you could repeat fabrics - but we are firm believers that more fabric is better!  Here is our version of month 2 blocks!

And we've got some variety to showcase from some of our participants - Jan went to the dark side with her version and the saturated jewel tones she included really put the emphasis on the geometric shapes don't you think?  

And a collection of Carolyn Friedlander fabrics is getting a workout with these blocks Kami stitched up!

Barbara has been waiting for a reason to dip into her stash of polka dots - and it looks like she has quite the range of colors and sizes of dots to keep this interesting.   

It's going to be fun to see these develop over the course of the year - we'll be showing our blocks off periodically and we'll include some of the variations our customers are creating too so watch for Delilah updates!