Hallowe'en Handouts! Happy Hallowe'en! Trick or Treat!

What was your call out when you showed up at the door for Hallowe'en when you were a child?  I think I did all of those at various time.  I thought I'd share a couple of Hallowe'en inspired pieces I've made over the year.  Some are blocks part of a quilt and others are their own special piece.  Several years ago Karen Berry a formal member of our guild did a Quilter's Year.  She gave us some patterns for each month and you got to put them together how you wished and add some fillers.  This was her October on but I changed out the cat.  I also added some star sequins and used a small bead to help anchor them on the quilt.  That is the flash of light in the top right when my flash went off.

 As a filler for the same quilt I did a crescent moon and single star rather than the tradition Hallowe'en full harvest moon.  His eye is beaded and a star for the iris.

 This scarecrow was also one of Karen's designs.  I liked that black cat in the pumpkins so much I got two pieces of it on one driving holiday to California.

 This is a detail of a larger favourite Hallowe'en quilt I made several years ago and one of my first machine quilted pieces.  The tops of the fence are three dimensional as is the cat's tail.  I used green oval beads for his eyes. The spider in the corner is a pin I got at a craft fair and the spider web was my own idea.

 Three smiling Amigos sitting on the picket fence.  One of my few pieces that I use fusible products for the eyes, noses and mouths.

 Here is the crescent moon and star with a bat and a witch.

 And the whole quilt which comes out each Hallowe'en.

 Another favourite Autumn quilt once again using some fusible.

One last quilt to share was designed by my friend Ethel, she did a workshop for the guild we belong to and everyone used their own fabrics.  The strip along the bottom is a Patrick Lose fabric that I received a free fat quarter of when a local shop opened up.  I also added some leaf and candy buttons for Hallowe'en.

This wreath is a collection of dollar store buys along with a larger skeleton and Pier 1 witch ornament.  The black wreath was made from a long swag of that spooky black and purple stuff.

 Poor witchy didn't make it thru my peephole, that looks like it hurt!

 I found this elegant witch several years ago and I leave her up all year in front of a mirror my grandparents used to own.

 Does she not look a bit hypnotic gazing at you to wish you a safe and Happy Hallowe'en?

Let It Snow!

Last night I stayed up until about 0130 to finish stitching and take pictures of my Let It Show final snowman block.  I choose to use the wool I used for the lettering on his scarf, mittens and hat band.  I think with his sly shy smile he looks rather dapper!

Here is a close up of his mittens.  I chose to give the darker cuff to show off the stitching.

 His smiling face and more stitching on the hat band.

 Here are all the finished blocks altogether.  I don't think Stacy is planning on any sashing between the blocks but I'll wait on sewing them to be sure.  I think we will just do a final border and bind the quilt.

 I don't use fusible web unless my wool is a very loose weave.  The wool I used for my snow was from a thrift shop found skirt that I felted.  I turned the fabric from one side to the other to give either a vertical or horizontal look to the plaid.

 I use pins and stitch on the layers, I like the feel of movement of the wool against the background.  I find that using a fusible makes things look very flat and lack texture.

 Remember this view from Friday afternoon.  Well it rained most of Saturday and we've now tied with three other years to have had 26 of 29 October days of rain....

 But the sun came out at around three o'clock to pay a visit.

 You can see the clouds getting thinner. Notice how many leaves blew off with the rain and wind.

 And then the sun started to go down and light them up with golden accents.

 More blue skies as the sun came down with hints of purple in the clouds.

 I'm sad that that condo tower was built but fortunately they made it shorter than planned and I still have an enjoyable view.

 Love those two seagulls flying thru the picture.  Didn't see the crows flying off to roost for the night.

 All the gold is changing to orange and darker shade.

 Such a lucky gal am I to have this uninterrupted view of the south arm of the Fraser River and the Alex Fraser bridge in the distance.

 Almost time to say good bye to October.

 Make sure you get your pumpkins and Jack O'lanterns out to celebrate!

Sunny Friday We Could Set A Record!

For the most rainy October!  As of Friday we have had 25 days of rain this October making it the 12th  rainiest October by measurable rain.  But as of today Saturday I can hear we have rain falling so we are tying the most rainy days in October!  So we may break the record after all.  But Friday was lovely and mild and sunny.  This was my view about 4:30 Friday evening.

 A slightly different look, you can see the clouds moving in.

 I decided to challenge myself with some applique and designed a star topper for an ongoing project.  Here I've ironed the star design onto freezer paper and have turned back the edges of the star.  I use the starch and freezer paper style for my applique.

 Looks not to shabby.

 Then I ran a basting stitch around the circle portion.

 Drew it up and ironed it back.

 Checked the look from the right side.

 Then I carried it down the rest of the topper and used starch to hold it in place.

 I then placed it on top of miles of bias strips I've been sewing down and realized I needed to add a bit more background before I could stitch it down.  I did this on Friday at my sewing group.  The top isn't quite finished for a big reveal but inching closer.

 I also prepped the last block for my Let It Snow piece by Stacy West of Buttermilk Basin Designs.  This is the reverse picture that you trace.

 But when I placed how she suggested I realized the recycled wool I used for the bird had fusible interfacing on it and I actually prefer the version of him looking to his right.

 This is the teaser that Stacy released when she announced the 2016 BOM Mystery.

 Here are my blocks laid out.  Apparently she may change the snowman to the left and put the snowflake to the right and shift LET of so that vertically the two T's don't line up.  But then they spell ETO and I rather like the snowman in the snowflake and the large snowman looking at each other.

If you are interested in making this you can get the large Snowman free but the rest of the blocks are now being sold on her website Buttermilk Basin Designs as either blocks or as kits.  Now to get this guy all stitched up.

Blue Mountain Quilters' Guild Quilt Show.

Saturday morning I drove into Coquitlam to view the Blue Mountain Quilters' Show.  Here is a selection of some of the quilts that caught my attention.  This first on is by Lyn Longair who used to host a retreat I went to for a few years in Sorrento B.C.  She along with her mom and others would book a choice of two retreats back to back.  The drive up is about four hours depending on road conditions.  One Spring I encountered some snow along the Coquihalla which was a surprise but not unexpected for mountain driving in April in B.C,

 Lyn as you will see below took a machine quilting class and decided to experiment on this piece she called Blue.  Maple leaf motif.

 Flowers.

 Hills and valleys

 Grass in the wind.

 Wind with a bit of pebbles.

 Leaf motif.

 Feathers.

 This lovely piece was done by my friend Mary Shore, a combination of machine quilting and some Sashiko inspired accent stitching.

 Loved this whimsical piece.

 Squares and Yo-Yo's in the centre.

 Houses, trees and flowers along the sides.

 Crazy for Yo-Yo's by Joyce Perks.

 Whimsical Garden, sorry I didn't photograph the maker.

 She did some lovely stitchery and bead embellishments to the blocks.

 Janet Archibald was the featured quilter and they had a wall of some of her mini quilts as you entered the display.  I follow Janet on her What Next Janet instagram account.

 She does some absolutely lovely work.

 Such diversity in her pieces.

 Loved this simple floral still life.  The work on the vase is exquisite.

 This is one of my favourite pieces I've seen of hers on instagram.  A mix of contemporary and folk art.  Her machine quilting is lovely.

 One of her larger pieces.

 Simplicity.

 Another mix of folk art with contemporary influences.

 Is not the the positive negative of these two pieces not stunning.

 A very modern rainbow effect.

 Black white and red.

 I went for a bit of a walk afterwards to enjoy the respite from the rain and enjoy some of our west coast colours.

 I love how the evergreen trees set of the colours of the leaves.

 Maple leaves do come in other colours than red or green.

 Back lit by the sun.

 Moss growing on the tree trunks.

 Getting a bit crispy despite the rains we've recently had.

 Love the veins on this maple leaf.

 Gorgeous colour of yellow and brown.

 A bit of sun catching these ones.

 Catching the raindrop before it falls of the point of the leaf.

 Heart shapes in unexpected places.

 New life along side of some older bits of lichen.

 Seems so soft and green for the Autumn.

 Blue skies with some clouds creeping in.

 I could not resist this beautiful stack of yarn dyed woven cottons.

 A different mix of black and whites and creams.

 Finding good oranges can be a challenge and this plaid spoke to me along with the black and pink stripe.

 I needed some yellow thread and some 28 weight quilting thread on the orange spools.  Love Aurifil threads.

 My black and white and cream fabrics.

The show is still on today it is at a school in Coquitlam at 3700 Hastings if you can get there before four today.