Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Halloween Blooms - A Finish . . .

I've finished Halloween Blooms.  Besides being fun to make, I think this top turned out very festive with a great Halloween vibe.


This is Lifetime Quilt Number 187
The pattern is Halloween Blooms by Joanna Figueroa for Fig Tree and Co.  (click here)
It finished at 61" x 70"
It has approximately 1,374 pieces.
The fabric is from several companies, designers and families of fabric, some Halloween themed, ,most not.

I've also pieced my end of project scrap houses.


Four very definitely Halloween houses,




and two not so much.  I love them all.

Next up, do you think I can whip up a pumpkin project in a week?  I'm going to try.  




Friday, October 21, 2016

Halloween Blooms Update . . . .

The bloom blocks are all pieced and the sashing attached for my Halloween Blooms project.

I went with a scrappy background for my blocks, a change of pace for me.  I don't mind a background with a design, but several in one project is usually too busy for my taste, but I think this scrappy background worked fine.

The hard part, once I decided I could live with  a scrappy background, was deciding on the sashing fabric.


I didn't want the sashing to stand out, but at the same time, I didn't want the sashing to blend in, shockingly I found this sashing fabric in my stash that I think does the job.    It's from the line Bungle in the Jungle, an animal print themed line of fabric.

I just need to add three rows of border fabric and this top will be done.



Halloween Blooms is going so well I'm thinking I'll have time to squeeze in a pumpkin project while it's still pumpkin season,  hurrah!!

Friday, October 14, 2016

Annual Halloween Sewing

I got a late start on my annual Halloween project.  If you've followed my blog for very long, you may remember that I like to sew my Halloween projects during the Halloween season. Over the years I've pieced some great projects.  In 2014 I pieced Lucy, last year it was Rise and Shine-ish, and this year it's
Halloween Blooms was designed by Joanna Figueroa for Fig Tree & Co.  Available here. It finishes at  61" x 70".  Joanna is also selling a very nice Halloween Bundle of fabric,  available here.  

All three of these last projects have the same theme, orange, black and grey fabric, most of which is not Halloween fabric.  


And here is where I am right now, 15 blocks pieced.  The blocks are fun to make but take much longer than I expected.  I'm lucky if I can get 5 done after an afternoon of sewing.  But it's not a race and I'm enjoying every minute.

On a completely other unrelated topic, I ran across a wonderful pattern that I'm eager to share with you and also eager to make.  It was going to be my next project but all the wonderful pumpkins quilts I'm seeing on social media are testing my reserve.

This is what I love about this pattern, besides just the look in general, it meets a very specific need!  You know all those charm packs that you bought, and love, and wish you had bought layer cakes or fat quarter bundles instead, they are the center of these blocks!!  So  you can turn a favorite charm pack into a 72" x 84" quilt top!


The pattern Candy Bar is by Vanessa Goertzen for Lella Boutique and available here.

Several times I have blogged about a finish and get comments saying they love the fabric and wish they would have bought more, with this quilt you don't need more!  It even works with some scraps you had leftover from a favorite line that you can't get enough of, or maybe gave away and wished you hadn't!


Or maybe you're like me, hoarding a fat quarter bundle for a perfect project, but also have a charm pack you would be willing to use,  I plan to make my Candy Box with Persimmon, after I finish Halloween Blooms, and maybe after that perfect pumpkin quilt.  I must sew faster!!

PS - this is not a paid endorsement, Joanna and Vanessa did not give me free merchandise to promote these patterns, I doubt they even know who I am, just saying.

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Autumn Woods - a finish, finally

I'm so happy I didn't give up on this fabric.  It took several tries, and a lot of contemplation,  but I finally came up with a good pattern for my Autumn Woods fabric.


This is Lifetime Quilt Number 186
The focus fabric is Autumn Woods by Kate and Birdie for Moda
The background fabric is Reflect by Carolyn Friedlander for Robert Kaufman.
The pattern was inspired by High Surf in the Blue book by Vanessa Christenson.
It finished at 68" x 68"
It has approximately 1,232 pieces


The background fabric is printed on Essex Linen.  I love the look of the two different textures, the linen alongside the quilting cotton, and it was very easy to work with.  I prewashed the fabric and it didn't shrink or wrinkle.

It is heavier than the quilting cotton, and hard to press open.  I couldn't get the sharp creases that I'm used to when working only with quilting cotton, I lost quite a few points because the fabric wouldn't press as flat, due to the bulk.  It may be better suited for bags, pillows, and seat cushions.

Here is the pattern that I started with.  The pattern has large, medium and small half square triangle units.


I added more medium sized hsts and played around with their placement to get a different look.  It's hard to go wrong when you're playing with hsts.  I use the Easy Angle when piecing my units, cut them a tad bit large, and square them up.

I continue to use my project scraps to make Village houses, here's 3 more, a nice addition for Fall.


It's almost the end of the year and I almost have enough houses for my 2016 Village project.  I love it when a plan comes together.