Quilting Halloween Blocks

I was so busy all day today! The time just seemed to slip away from me. I've been working on finishing the quilting on my Halloween quilt. I'm making great progress. I'm already at the bottom row! I just wanted to show you the quilting on a few of the last blocks. I just echoed around this ghost. I thought it would fit in well with the whole ghost concept. I'll be changing my thread to white to quilt inside the ghost. I want him to stay white!!

I wanted to make swirls in the background of this block. However, there are so many different types of swirls that it took me awhile to choose the right one. This one is very simple and consists of a large swirl with a simple echo around it. The skulls were just stitched in the ditch but it took forever. I couldn't connect any of the dark features so I had to break thread for each eye, nose and mouth.

I was so excited that I could do a little ruler work on this block. I was getting tired of free motion quilting backgrounds. This one is pretty easy. I just outlined each candy. I quilted lines in the triangles and loops in the smaller triangles. 

That's what I did today. I'm almost at the bottom border! I think this quilt will be done for Halloween! I'm so excited!!

I Like Thursday #288

It's time for Thursday Likes! Please visit LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color to link up with more blogs posting Thursday Likes! I finished my Purranormal Activity Halloween ornament. I used a method where I sewed right sides together. I also added batting and then turned it inside out. I inserted a square of card stock for a bit of rigidity. I added the black rickrack and sewed up my bottom opening at the same time. Then I added the ribbon and done! I think it came out great!

I finished this block on my Frightful Fun BOM. I used pebbles for the bottles and straight lines for the background.

I quilted a swirly flower in the background of this block. Those small pieces have wishbone and cross hatching. I'm hoping to have this done by Halloween but not sure I can do it. Custom quilting takes a while!!

My husband just lost 30 lb using Weight Watchers. One of the strategies that seemed to work was to eat this pop corn as a snack. Each bag is only 100 calories once it's been popped. I've started eating it too! It does make you feel full and the calories are so low!! Just thought I'd pass that along!!

Have a great weekend!!

Frightful Fun BOM

Here's my Frightful Fun Block of the Month quilt all done!! We started paper piecing this quilt back in January and it finished in September. This quilt was a very fun project. Some of the blocks were more difficult than others, but overall it was very enjoyable to work on. I opted to use different backgrounds for most of the blocks but some people used the same fabric which looks great too.

The quilt was made by working on 2 sections and then joining those sections together. I moved a few blocks around because I had too much of one fabric in one area. Many of the blocks were interchangeable so it was easy to do.

I've already started to quilt it. So far I've quilted loops around the bones and big circles in the border. I just have to come up with ideas for each block as I get to it. I'd love for it to be ready for Halloween but I'm not sure about that! Time will tell!!!

I Like Thursday #287

It's time for Thursday Likes! Please visit LeeAnna to link up to more participating blogs. I'm not sure I like this but our leaves are just beginning to change. This is the woods in my back yard. I've tried ignoring it but the yellow is definitely spreading. Autumn is almost here! I love Autumn but I'm not crazy about Winter which is just around the corner. 

I'm working on this cute little Halloween ornament. It's called Purranormal Activity and found in Halloween 2025 from Just Cross Stitch. It measures about 3" square. My daughter has already claimed it!! I'll finish it as a flat ornament.

I wanted to read Jane Eyre again and couldn't find a copy in my bookcase. I went to Barnes & Noble and found this beautiful book in their Classics section. It's such a nice book. I think I'm going to enjoy re-reading it!

Let's not forget what happened 24 years ago today. I still remember watching it on TV and being so scared. I became much more interested in the news after that day. I feel as though I was caught unaware that anything like this could happen. I follow day to day news very closely now and I'm still scared. Let's hope things improve in our country as well as the world. 

Progress on 2 BOMs

I'm on the 9th month of the Laurel Ridge BOM designed by Lynn Wilder. This month we had to make 16 blocks known as 9 Patch in a Star. These were tedious and the pieces were small! I would sew and measure just to make sure I was accurate. It was slow going but worth it in the end. I got my 16 blocks measuring at 5.5" square. I'm glad these are done. 

I'm working on the last block of the Frightful Fun BOM. This will be a fun haunted house! It will measure 24" square. It's definitely on the large size and has many sections to work on. I love adding those little scary characters in the windows! So fun!

We had a very rainy weekend so I had plenty of time to sew. I stayed inside and sewed!

I Like Thursday #286

It's time for Thursday likes!! Please visit LeeAnna to link up to more participating blogs. I'm working very diligently on the Laurel Woods BOM. This month I have to make 16 blocks called Nine Patch in a Star. They measure 5.5" square. This is slow going and very tedious but they're coming out great! I'm working on a few more. Slow and steady is key!!

My needlepoint project, Peacock at Sunset, is finished! Well, the needlepoint portion is done. I still have to block it and make it into a pillow. It measure 14" X 13". I'll be watching videos and reading up on how to finish this into a pillow for my family room.

I'm almost done this book and I just love it! If you like libraries and some history, you will love this book! A librarian discovers a secret room in her library that has 2 dollhouses. They were made years ago and are not considered to be toys. They're miniature versions of people's homes. It's a wonderful book to read. You'll love it!

The question this week asks if you went back to school clothes shopping at the start of school year. I usually did go to stores at the end of August to buy clothes for school. But a few years, my dad would make me dresses for school. Back then, I could only wear dresses. I hated the dresses he made me! He was a great tailor but his specialty was men's clothing. He made everything very plain! I wanted a few little embellishments or something cute. Nope, very well made dresses that were plain as can be! I wore them but I tried to get new clothes as the year progressed. I took my own kids to the mall every summer to buy clothes for the school year. I let them choose what they wanted. I didn't like my parents choosing for me so I didn't choose for them either!

Have a wonderful weekend! We're in for a warm and humid weekend. Just as I was getting used to the cooler weather!

Laurel Ridge Month 9

Month 9 of the Laurel Ridge BOM is called the 9 Patch in a Star Block. This quilt was designed by Lynn Wilder and and part of the The Quilt Show membership. I didn't count myself but I heard this block is made up of 45 pieces. That's a lot for a 5.5" block! I started by making the half square triangles. There are 8 HST's per block so I had to make a total of 128! I know that sounds like a lot but it's manageable if you use the 8-at-a-time method. There are lots of charts you can find online that will explain the method and tell you what size to cut depending on the finished size desired for your half square triangle. I always like to make them larger and then cut them down to size. 

The next step is to make quarter square triangles. I'm using the same 8-at-a-time method to make half square triangles. I only have to make 64 of these so that's a little better!!! However, there is one more step in making these that wasn't needed in the half square triangles. I have to sew two half square triangles together to make the hour glass shape/quarter square triangles and then cut them apart.

This picture gives you an idea of how they're finished. Hopefully, I'll be done soon! These blocks are very demanding but I love it!