Out of the DarkHallowe'en Blog Hop

It's that time of year again, all of the ghosts and goblins will be getting ready for their big night. Joan Kawano of Moose Stash Quilting has invited all of us to joing in the fun for the spookiest time of the year. I'm happy to add my little bit to the fun.

At our quilt guild,(The Cumberland Quilt Guild), the program coordinator asked us to use for inspiration ,a picture of a cart filled with pumpkins, and to make something that evoked a feeling in us when viewing the picture. There were a lot of pumpkins shown at our most recent meeting, although a couple of members created other things. I had a small cloth bag, one of those free ones we are given by a merchant on a special occasion. It had an advertisement on one side of the bag, and string straps for carrying. Rather than making something new, I decided to use this bag as a base for creating something that one could use during the Hallowe'en week. I used some pieces of black cotton fabric left over from a quilt background to make a pillow like shape, sewing velcro bits on the back of the bag, and the back of one of the pillow pieces. After appliquing a pumpkin with its leaves and stem on the face of the fabric, I used some metallic thread for accent and voila, I had a bag to use Hallowe'en week. After this holiday is over, I can just peel off the pumpkin, pillow shape, and create a new face for a new holiday. Christmas is coming after all.

Recently there was a "sleep at home"quilting retreat at the Northport Hall close to my cottage. The retreat planners gifted each of us with a small lined drawstring bag, ever so sweet, and I knew I had to find the pattern and make one for Hallowe'en too. The pattern is available from Jeni Baker at incolororder.com . It was added to the site in 2013.

This is mine. It is the size for the Everything bag. It was so much fun to make and quick as well.

That same program coordinator has challenged us to make something paper pieced for our November meeting. What is better than combining wishes into one project? not much I think . I love to paper piece. Years ago I undertook a pp project that was way above my skill level, and that project didn't get finished for almost 20 years. I'll show that one another day. But I have a sweet hot mat pattern designed by a quilting friend Micheline, and I think it is perfect for both the piece of fabric I have for the centre, and my guild challenge.

And coasters seemed to be another fun project for me. I found a product from Pellon, a firm double sided fusible interfacing for this project. I didn't have a pattern, but I cut a cardboard hexie template and used that as my start point. Of course these could be made in any size. I used a mug for my decision on how large to make the template. After I fussy cut a piece of my FQ I fused it to one side of the Pellon, and then I cut a backing piece one inch larger all way round and fused it to the other side of the Pellon. I trimmed the backing to 3/4 inch and made a self binding. One of my favourite things about using this interface product is that the coaster is very stable, no rocking glasses.

And what would a celebration be without a pincushion

This is a pattern I found years ago on The Retro Quilters site. It's been very popular for gifts.

This is the end of my blog post for today. Thanks Joan for letting me be a part of the fun. Matilda and I wish you a Happy Hallowe'en. Matilda is pinned on a regular basis. she oversees the sewing room