My inner werewolf has come out during the Halloween Witchy Stitchy Blog Hop,
because I've been howling with joy at all the amazing Halloween inspiration.
I'm having the best time seeing what my favorite bloggers are making!
I'm hosting Bethni today because she doesn't have a blog.
I'm so excited to have her here today!
Hi all!! My name is Bethni Lee, and I live in Rougemont, NC. I've been quilting (piecing, mainly)
about 4 years. I have 3 daughters, the youngest of which has Down Syndrome. Like many of you,
I began quilting as a way to relax, and have some "me" time away from the stressors of parenting.
This is my first blog hop, and the first I've shown my work on a large scale. Though it didn't turn
out perfectly, and I had issues quilting the thing, it's perfectly imperfect, and I hope you enjoy it.
Much of the materials came from my stash, but they are from recent collections of Halloween
prints. I first cut out my 3 pumpkin shaped, and drew on the faces, using the words Trick Or
Treat for the mouths. I then used reverse applique to place the orange/yellowish batik behind the
pumpkin top, trying to give it the look of a candle burning inside. This was done with fusible
stabilizer, layering the batik on bottom, the already cut out pumpkin right side up, then the
fusible with the fusible side facing down. I then stitched around the outside of the pumpkins,
leaving a small space open to flip them inside out.
After flipping, this is what they looked like
Seeing that the colors blended in quite a bit, I stitched around the cut out faces in black thread to
make the words more prominent. That also allows the inside edges to fray when washed, and
give that appearance of the stringy insides of pumpkins. I next sewed my 2 background pieces
together, and measured the pumpkins out evenly across.
I was looking for border fabric, and though I loved those cats, I thought the border would
end up making the project too big. So I had to find another.
And this is it!! At this point I still had the quilting left to go, which has quite honestly been the
most frustrating thing of all time. My little Brother machine does not seem to free motion well,
and I ended up with horrible tension issues - even after doing numerous practice tops, changing
the needle, thread, rethreading, replacing the bobbin, cleaning the machine, and a whole host of
things to try to make it work. Unfortunately, I ended up having to do some straight line quilting
just due to time issues.
My middle girl, after seeing me so upset, said "Mom, I love it. Just like you say, it doesn't
have to be perfect, but the best to your ability. And I think its beautiful!!"
Thank God for those moments, huh? After finally deciding to outline the pumpkins and trees,
and do a crisp cross in the border, I was on my way quilting with my walking foot. Not what I
wanted, but hey…. Gotta do what you gotta do. I then put on a black and white striped
binding, and….. My Finished Project!!
Quilting (on the half decent side anyway)
I still need to wet and fluff the pumpkin edges, but that can wait. I think I'll call this
"What Do You Say?" after many times using that question while trick or treating with my
young kids, prompting them to say "TRICK OR TREAT!". Thank you so much Carol, for
allowing me to join in the fun! I had a great time, learned a new applique method, and learned
some things about posting on blogs too. Be sure to check out all the other posts from fellow
quilters doing the Witchy Stitchy Blog Hop!
Thanks, Bethni, for sharing this sweet (but spooky) project!
Wondering how to do this blog hop thing?
Start with the first name on the current day and click on it.
Once you're at that blog, see all the Halloween goodness and then click on
the next name on the list (they will have the list on their blog, too.)
Keep going to each blog (comments are very much welcomed) until you're done.
Come back the next day and start the process all over. It will last five days and be
full of incredible sewing and quilting inspiration. Not all of it will be scary, so don't
be afraid to check them out. You will be in awe of everything, I'm sure!
Ready to go to the next stop?
October 7
October 8
October 9
October 10 -TODAY
October 11
I have a giveaway!
Quilt Taffy is one of my favorite online stores so I got a gift certificate
to share with one of you. Corrie has lots of things to choose from!
