N
imble Thimble, a mainstay business for fifty
years in downtown Gilroy, just received
national recognition as a “top shop” in the
current issue of Better Homes & Gardens
Quilt Sampler magazine. This is a significant accom-
plishment, considering that the magazine is published
every six months and features only seven to ten stores.
Meeting Linda Williams, the bright-blue eyed,
friendly owner of Nimble Thimble, was a crash course
in the art of quilting and the sub-culture surrounding
the art form.
“Did you know that quilting is the number one
hobby in the United States, stoking a three billion
dollar a year industry?” Linda asked. “A lot of people
read the Better Homes & Gardens Quilt Sampler. The
article highlights not only our shop, but also the city
of Gilroy; in a single day bringing in visitors from as
far away as Spokane, Kansas City and Florida. And
while it is fun to be considered a top shop in a national
magazine, the bigger point is that it has brought extra
attention and business to Gilroy.”
Williams explained that she acquired her passion
for quilting from all the women in her family; her
mother, grandmother and aunts who passed along
their love of quilting to her.
“Most people don’t have the artistic talent to become
painters or write novels. But anyone can make quilts.
What used to be done by hand can now be done with
twenty-first century tools so that anyone can create this
fabric art.”
After a forty-year career in biotech, Williams jumped
at the chance to purchase the Nimble Thimble from
the original owners when it came up for sale in 2013.
The ease of making quilts attracts the young and the
old. Men now enjoy making quilts.
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
“Quilting uses angles to create patterns and designs,”
she said. “A lot of engineers take it up.”
Quilting may be an accessible art form but quilters
put so much time and care into every stitch that when
they give one of their creations as a gift, it is also a sym-
bol of great love. To prove this point, Williams said,
“Just listen in to anyone talking about the latest quilt
they gave away as a gift to someone. The first question
the quilter gets asked is, ‘Did they (the recipient) cry?’
Often the answer is yes, showing what an emotional
experience it is when you give a quilt away.”
Notorious for giving to charities, most quilters make
quilts and donate them to those in need of comfort.
Last year Nimble Thimble’s customers donated over
$5,000 to St. Joseph’s Family Center, a local food bank;
and quilts to our veterans, the homeless, disadvan-
taged children and more recently, victims of California
wildfires. Williams teared up when telling the story
about a man who lost everything he owned in the
Sonoma wildfire last year.
“The man came back a second time to exchange the
first quilt they gave him. He said that the first quilt was
so lovely but it just wasn’t big enough. He wanted a
larger quilt that he could wrap all the way around his
body and pull tight against his chest – something that
was very comforting to him as he dealt with the trauma
surrounding him.”
At 3,200 square feet, the Nimble Thimble store is one
of the larger downtown businesses, offering a dizzying
number of fabric options. They also offer classes
including basic sewing and quilting, embroidery, free-
motion quilting and long-arm quilting. Quilt guilds
and sewing groups meet regularly, sharing tips and
friendship.
august/september 2019
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