Monday, October 26, 2015

A Cup with Edgar

I found this great picture of Edgar Allan Poe on Pinterest.  It is a caricature by Mario Gonzalez, a very talented artist.  It just begged to be made into a mug rug for Halloween.  With the last of my scraps leftover from The Ghastlies quilt, I put together this tribute to Edgar, one of the greatest writers of all time  -- if you like spooky tales, that is. 



I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity. 
Edgar Allan Poe


Sunday, October 25, 2015

A Ghastlies Halloween Quilt

I have been collecting The Ghastlies fabric from Alexander Henry forever.  The characters are so fun and sets the mood perfectly for Halloween.  My stash has sat in a drawer for many years now because I never could decide how best to sew something that would feature this wonderfully creepy family.  And then it came to me -- quotes.  Famously demented quotes from movies or books would separate blocks of The Ghastlies.
 








 To make the blocks with the quotes, I purchased a packet of Sew-In Computer Fabric and printed my quotes.  Because the printer fabric is 8-1/2" x 11" I cut my family blocks to compliment that size.  The quotes are from the movies Arsenic & Old Lace and The Addams Family, and writers Edgar Allan Poe, Walter Scott, William Shakespeare, and Lewis Carroll.

I sketched a quick "blueprint" of how I wanted to blocks to look, scattering the colors about, and sewed them all together.  Some quick in-the-ditch quilting, a simple black binding, and it was done.  This was truly a make-it-in-a-weekend quilt.

I really liked how this quilt turned out and showed it off to my own family.  Imagine my surprise when they all said, "This quilt looks like you."

Whatever did they mean by that???  

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Halloween Haunts Blog Hop

Halloween Haunts 2015


Welcome!   

It's my day to reveal my creation for the Halloween Haunts Blog Hop. I had so much fun participating in last year's hop, and when Marian invited me to join in the fun this year, I jumped at the chance.   Many thanks to Marian from Seams To Be Sew for organizing this fabulous hop and inviting me to participate!

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays and quilting is a passion of mine, so why not combine the two and have monsters do a quilting bee?

This was such a fun quilt to make. The hardest part was making the actual quilt background neutral enough to show off the busy hands.  After several attempts, I chose the black and orange fabrics and a very simple pattern.

For the monster participants I chose a witch, Frankenstein's monster, a ghost, and a skeleton.  Several family members and friends saw the quilt as it progressed and most of them liked the ghost best.  Because I'm nuts, I named them all -- Witch Hazel, Frankie, Gabby the Ghost, and Bony Bonnie.

Three of the monsters brought to the quilting bee their own special pincushions.  Gabby has her dead mouse, Frankie has a wacky bat, and Bonnie borrows pins from her voodoo doll.





Witch Hazel brought her own bottle.  And of course there had to a big fat hairy spider with black rick rack legs.





















 I used purple velvet to bind my quilt and I think it gives it the perfect creepy yet classy look.


So there you have it, my contribution to the Halloween Haunts Blog Hop.  I hope you are having a wonderful time visiting everybody's sites and seeing their fantastic creations. You can find the entire list of hoppers at Marian's site at Seams to be Sew.  The participants for today's revealing are listed below.


And don't forget to stop by Marian's at  Seams to be Sew and sign up for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate from the Fat Quarter Shop.
Fat Quarter Shop

Happy Haunting!!


Thursday, October 15, 2015

Halloween Haunts

Halloween Haunts 2015
Halloween is nearly here and what better way to start it off  than with a blog hop?!?  The hop starts TOMORROW, October 16th, so mark your calendars and get ready to be happily haunted by all the clever stitchers out there!  The hop has 49 participants this year and will run from October 16th through October 28th.  My day will be October 21st.  I am SO excited to show you what I've created this year.

MORE GOOD NEWS!   The Fat Quarter Shop is giving away a $25.00 gift certificate for each day of the Halloween Haunts hop.  You can enter at any of the featured sites of the day. A winner will be announced daily at Seams To Be Sew, and it will be featured on any of the blogs that featured the giveaway entry for that featured day.


 A big THANK YOU to Marian at Seams To Be Sew for all her hard work in starting this hop and hosting it for all of us Halloween groupies. 
 
Hope to see you there!  

Here is the schedule for Halloween Haunts: