A sense of place, Livingston style

Here it is: the beautiful Livingston-inspired quilt we made for the Big Sky Shop Hop! And we're giving it away! Come down to the shop during the hop (April 25- May 10) for details on getting registered to win this beauty.

We recently showed you the quilt block that we here at Thimbelina's Quilt Shop created for the hop (kits for the block are for sale in the store now). The block features a beautiful Livingston scene captured as a photo by a local photographer.

The Shop Hop's theme this year is Scenes of Montana. We loved the idea of using photos transformed into fabric so much that we made other photo blocks from local pictures. We used them to create this wall hanging, which is such a cool way to celebrate the gorgeous place we call home.

Head here for more information about the Shop Hop. 

From picture to fabric

Last week we showed you the quilt block Thimbelina's Quilt Shop created for the upcoming Scenes of Montana-themed Big Sky Shop Hop (click here read more about that block or head here for Shop Hop info.). We based our design on a picture taken by Livingston photographer Keelia Islay of Islay Photography. Julie LaDuke of Jule's Jewels Patterns helped us create a quilt focused on Keelia's photo.

We love the idea of using special photos for a really cool, meaningful quilt. Just think of the possibilities! A quilt with pictures of the kiddos for Mom or Grandma for Mother's Day. A wall hanging with photos of different generations for displaying at a big family reunion. A quilt with images from your town (like our Livingston block!) as a going away gift for a dear friend.

It's pretty simple—and affordable—to get your photos ready to quilt. Here's how we did it: First we got permission from Keelia to use her photo. Then we used Photoshop to turn the picture in a 5-inch square, just right for basing a block around. We put the image file on a little flash drive and headed to Insty-Prints of Livingston.

Insty-Prints printed the image onto iron-on transfer sheets. We took those to Mountain Air Sports of Livingston where they transferred the images onto blocks of Kona white cotton that we'd cut.

After that, we were ready to round out our image with flying geese in gorgeous batiks. The whole process of getting the image ready and processed by the two shops took about a day—super fast for such a great, unique result. We created about 60 image blocks to sell as kits during the Shop Hop. The cost per photo block worked out to be around $1 a piece. So creating your own picture blocks for a great project would be budget-friendly way to add a really special touch.

If you make a photo quilt, be sure to stop by the shop to show us your neat project! And don't forget to put the Shop Hop on your calendar: April 25-May 10.

A block for Livingston

If you've been to Livingston, you'll recognize this park bench right away.

It's along the river trail near Sacajawea Park and the band shell, facing those amazing mountains we call home. When we saw a photo of this scene taken by Livingston photographer Keelia Islay of Islay Photography, we knew it would be perfect as the Thimbelina's Quilt Shop block for the upcoming Big Sky Shop Hop. The Hop's theme is Scenes of Montana.

Keelia was so generous and agreed to let us use her photo for our block. We rounded out the image with a flying geese pattern, which we thought was fitting  since there are so many geese around the Yellowstone River. The beautiful colors in the batiks highlight Keelia's great photo.

Kits to make Thimebelina's Livingston block will be on sale in the shop (located at 118 North B St. in downtown Livingston) during the shop hop, is April 25 through May 10.

We also were so lucky to have worked with Livingston quilter Julie LaDuke of Jule's Jewels Patterns to design a quilt around Keelia's photo. We'll post a photo of the quilt soon and tell you about the process we went through to make the quilt from the picture. It really turned out nice.

We'll be posting more details about the hop in the coming days, so check back in with us soon!

More Shop Hop news

The Big Sky Shop Hop is just around the corner (April 25 through May 10), and we wanted to share some more details about this quilt-happy event!

More than 40 Montana shops will be participating, including several shops in the Livingston area and surrounding region. To find out which shops in our area are participating, head to the Big Sky Shop Hop site. Look for our circle, Circle #4, for the list and information on each store. You'll also find the full listing of all the Montana shops taking part in the Hop.

The theme for the hop is Scenes of Montana. We worked with a local photographer and a local quilter to create a truly beautiful and unique block that really says Livingston—you'll see what we mean soon! We'll post a picture soon of our gorgeous block and give you all the details about the great gals we worked with to make this block. Kits for the block will be for sale in the shop in downtown Livingston during the hop.

Hop on over to the shop

It's Shop Hop time!

Down here at Thimbelina's Quilt Shop (118 North B St. in downtown Livingston, Mont.) we are getting ready for this spring's Big Sky Shop Hop. That means we're busy making kits, picking out projects and gathering fun prizes.

The Hop runs from April 25 through May 10. More than 40 quilt stores across Montana are taking part in the shop hop. Each store will offer its own prizes, plus quilters can enter to win grand prizes once they fill up their quilt shop passports.

Check back here in the coming days as we roll out the details of what prizes we'll be featuring at Thimbelina's. We'll also be sharing information about the Shop Hop's Scenes of Montana block project and Thimbelina's own special block. We hope to see you in downtown Livingston during the Hop!

Thursday Pfaff Powerquilter demo

The new Pfaff Powerquilter 16.0 is here!

We'll be showing off this great new machine at the shop on Thursday, April 10, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

A representative from Pfaff will join us to demonstrate all the cool things this beauty can do. You'll also have a chance to try it out yourself.

This free-motion quilting machine arrived in the shop this week, and boy, are we having fun with it already! This quilter is just really, really neat. And so easy, too! With some practice, even a beginner would feel comfortable using it. We've tried out some feathers, stippling techniques and other fun freehand patterns. We love that the generous  16-inch throat makes it perfect for quilting anything from a small wall hanging to a king-sized quilt. Plus the 36-inch by 30-inch table means plenty of room to work with.

Head over to the Pfaff website to learn more about the Powerquilter 16.0. Then stop by the shop during Thursday's demo to give it a spin yourself!

We're at 118 North B St. in Livingston, Mont., near Spirits state liquor store.