Seasonal quilt and sort of a challenge

It all started when a friend had a pattern for a pumpkin wall hanging. I asked to borrow it because I liked it and thought it would be nice on my wall (I don't make many big quilts in case you didn't know that by now.) Anyway, I remember that orange wasn't such a popular colour then (this was in the early 1990s) but as I look at this little quilt I see that I came up with two shades of orange. The label on this one says that I called it Pumpkins (yeah, I know, really original) and that it was completed in 1994.

The fabrics are all cotton polyester because I love working in solids (those little calico prints were/are not for me and that's basically all that was available for a long time for quilters.)

As you can see, there are two shades of orange. I must have been in a hurry to get this done because it is machine appliqued and I know that all the pieces are backed with interfacing because they are stiff. I should have sewn the inside of the pumpkins with darker thread since it doesn't show up at all.

I even sewed the pumpkin vines with the sewing machine. I was inventive (pat on the back.) You can see that I did hand quilt it - because that is what I do. The measurements are 17 1/2 x 23 inches. (click on any of the photos to see a closer view)

The quilt will go up on the wall somewhere. It has been sitting in the cupboard long enough (notice the fold lines?) Thanks to Mary of Outside the Line who kick-started my brain by reminding me of this little gem with her UFO pumpkin/jack-o-lantern quilt post and for emailing me to tell me to blog about it. My thanks also to Carole, the guild member who loaned me the pattern (sorry but I do not know from who or where it originated.)

Sort of a challenge...

And so, are there any other pumpkin/jack-o-lantern quilts out there that you would like to post about so we can all see what goodies are out there? Just leave a comment and a link to your post or photo.

Every Inchie Monday #41

Curiosity: the desire to learn or know about anything; inquisitiveness.

 The act of writing news items: answer the who, what, when, where, why and how. It doesn't matter whether it's a general news item in a newspaper or if you are imparting news about a meeting, these questions need to be answered.

Hallowe'en already?

It's actually Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada and right now it is more like summer - not fall. The weather has been simply gorgeous with temperatures in the mid 20s for the past few days. Today it got up to 23 and tomorrow it's supposed to be 27. Thanksgiving Monday is predicted to be around 26.

I have not been idle - I have been busy in the sewing studio. My middle daughter went to see her only nephew, little Luc, and she brought a few things with her. Luc's mom asked me if I wanted to have some fun and make him a costume for Hallowe'en. It seems that the neighbours are expecting him to be trick or treating on the 31st. At first it was to be Superman but then she said I could make a Flash, a Green Lantern or a Superman costume. Well, off I went to check the pattern company offerings online. I didn't even know that they made costumes starting at 1/2 size and going up from there. I decided to go with Simplicity 2506 and I used the little mouse version minus the ears, bow tie and belly. I chose to make Flash since he is mainly all one colour - red. I purchased some nice arctic fleece so that little Luc would be warm and also so that the one piece outfit could be used after Hallowe'en.

This is how the final costume turned out. I was advised by my eldest son that the symbol on the chest had to be there. I could forget other stuff but that symbol was a must. I hadn't even noticed it when I did my research on the outfit.

I made two pair of bootees. The yellow ones are for the costume and the red ones are to be sewn on after Hallowe'en so that the red fleece one piece can be worn when little Luc goes out daily with his dad. The centre symbol is just basted on and the belt has velcro on the back. I made the hood/helmet out of red flannel since it is two layers (it is fully lined) and fleece would have made it too thick.

It got the seal of approval and when little Luc tries it on, I will hopefully get a photo.

I have sewn a quilt top but it needs to be made bigger. Once it is put together I will post a photo before it goes on the frame. Right now though,I need to sort out sewing studio and bring it to some sort of order so I can find things.

Happy Turkey weekend!

Every Inchie Monday #40

Destination: the place to which a person or thing travels or is sent. 

 Since I am always the navigator who reads maps and tries to make some sense of symbols while my husband is the driver, I thought a map was the appropriate inspiration for my Destination inchie this week. I've not crossed an ocean and believe in seeing my own country first. Canada is so vast and very beautiful. I have, however, been to Jamaica - in my James Bond-inspired youth.

Little hats

Since my daughter asked me to make some hats for little Luc, I have been on a roll trying out different patterns. I have a few little patterns and the latest one that I chose to make out of a small piece of plaid fleece that I found in my stash is McCall's 6235. The drawing of the hat makes it appear curved but it is more like the photo and boxy.

 It is small and sewed up quickly. Being fleece helped with hand sewing the hem. I didn't have to thicken it by taking an extra seam allowance since fleece does not ravel.

This, of course, is the crown. I do like it when the written instructions and the diagrams are clear and not ambiguous.

In the previous post I showed you what I was working on and now the little hat with the pom pom is complete. The first pom pom came out a tad big so I had to make another one.

I really like the way the yarn makes it look like I was clever and changed colours to make those little white designs but, it's all in the yarn.

Now I'm off to do some more sewing. I have a deadline so I should be moving along.