Costume-Making

Rarely have I spent so much of my sewing time working on Halloween costumes as I have this month. Typically, Halloween celebrating is pretty low on my to-do list. It's just never been a "thing" for me. Decorating the house, lawn ornaments, involved costumes - not my jam. Ever.

However we had an invitation to some friends' for a costume party on Friday night. These are fun people, and so are the other guests we know who would be there. I searched Pinterest for easy "couples" costumes. The easiest one I could find was Fred and Wilma Flintstone. Boom! Voila!

I needed something easy and fast because I didn't even begin looking for ideas until I had less than a week to work with. (Procrastinator!) The Flintstones were cavemen characters, so I knew I could cobble this whole look together with as limited real sewing as possible - I didn't have to hem anything. Raw edges everywhere. It didn't matter if it looked crappy - a cavewoman made it! Hah!

If I had been more timely in my planning, I would have figured out some wig options, since Wilma was a redhead. I found a couple online that would have worked, but time was too limited by the time I began shopping.

Now, you may recall earlier in the month, I was called on by my sweet little nieces to make Harry Potter robes for them to wear to their school Halloween party. These did require a bit more attention to detail, and I was so pleased with the results. The twins were, too. *smile*

Here are some pictures that my brother sent of the girls in their robes. I love how they loved them.

Great little Gryffindors and Ravenclaws don't you think? The girls have enjoyed reading the Harry Potter books, so this was a perfect option for them this Halloween. Yay for reading!

I hope you all have a fun Halloween week. Our celebrating is pretty much over, and that's okay with me. No trick-or-treaters will find their way to our door as we are too remote. I now look forward to Thanksgiving.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

My Seasonal Table Cloth

My goal of finishing this pumpkin table cloth last month did not happen, therefore I have been determined to do it as early in this month as I could - I mean, it is the month for 'punkins!'

I first wrote about this project in a post from a few weeks back. It was started long, long before, though - like maybe 2 years prior. I had made some progress, but when I couldn't find my stash of Wonder Under, I just stopped, and stuck it all in a plastic tub. Typical.

All those months ago, I had pulled together a variety of oranges and I had a perfect brown for my base. I had even cut out 6 pumpkins.

But, like I said, I needed Wonder Under for the next step. I am sure I let the holiday get away from me, and so rather than get the necessary product, I tucked it away for another day. (That day came two years later, sadly. I am so good at procrastinating; you knew that, right???)

Since I'd made this a goal, I did finally buy the Wonder Under, and I got busy on finishing the table cloth. Tracing already-cut-out shapes was not exactly fun, but doable. Then I applied them to the cloth which  had already cut into a 43" circle.

Next, I had to zigzag stitch the pumpkins onto the cloth, which took me a few days to get to because I had to switch out sewing machines - my Featherweight was up, and it doesn't do zigzag. Finally, today, I "got 'er done."

The lining is not exactly orange, but it was the best I could do as orange isn't typically something I buy in large quantities. This peach/coral by Joanna Figuroa/Moda is close enough. It is a nice feminine feel compared to the festive Halloween look of the front.

Decorating for Halloween has never been a big deal for me, so this is about as festive as I will get.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Twins Getting Ready for Halloween

Last Saturday afternoon I headed over to Hillsboro and had a nice, long visit with Mother, and who should pop in for a visit but my favorite twin nieces. Suddenly, things got very busy! After a nice dinner provided by my brother and sister-in-law, Granny Jeannie brought out . . . activities!!

On the fireplace hearth, she had two small pumpkins that needed to be decorated, and Granny had just the stuff. The girls were in heaven! The creativity kicked in, and here are their finished pumpkins.

After they finished with their pumpkins, Granny brought out some Christmas stencils that date back to when I was a little girl! I couldn't believe that Mom still had them! The twins went right to work creating some fantastic pictures.

Last night, their mother, my s-i-l Ann, sent these pictures of them dressed in their costumes for trick-or-treat. Absolutely adorable!! It doesn't seem possible that they are 9 already. Seems like only yesterday they looked like this. If you click that link, you'll see them at age 2 in their Easter dresses. Apparently, I don't have any pictures of them prior to that posted on the blog.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Happy Halloween

I am not a huge fan of all the gory, scary Halloween stuff that seems so popular these days. Charlie Brown, Snoopy and friends are more my speed.

Charles Schultz's Peanuts cartoons were a staple of my growing up. I never tire of watching the holiday-themed specials that air. I will be tuned in tonight at 8; It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown will be on ABC. We won't have any trick-or-treaters; we live too remotely for that. In the 20 years we've been here, we've had not one, so I don't expect any this year, either.

The weatherman is saying we could be in for some nasty weather; I hope it doesn't interfere with the satellite feed!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Working Hard

I'm busy this weekend trying to completely finish the three projects shown in an earlier post. So, to pass the time, I thought I'd show you a Halloween wall hanging that I put up every October. I will apologize for all the murky pictures - using the cell phone, again, instead of a regular camera.

You may recognize this as a Thimbleberries pattern. I made it at least 10 years ago, and probably closer to 15 years ago. Time flies, and of course there is no label. (I know; I should know better.)

And, while I finish off the aforementioned projects, I have a couple waiting in the wings.


First, my brother Mark has commissioned me to make a T-shirt quilt for him. He plans to give this to his boss. All the t-shirts are from their company over the last 20+ years. I have all the shirts cut, the interfacing is applied, and the setting fabric is purchased. I like that these quilts go together so easily.

And when the t-shirt quilt is done, I am going to begin Tapestry, a pattern I saw made up in Old Town Fabrics, made of the Barbara Brackman fabric, Morris Apprentice. I am so looking forward to working with this fabric! Every piece is absolutely gorgeous, and a delight to the eyes.


This is the sample display at Old Town Fabric Shop. The fabric line is across the bottom of the picture. Won't this be a fast quilt to make? I'm chomping at the bit!

Confession: I've already cut the required 6-7/8" squares, drawn the diagonal line, and matched them up in random pairs. When I do get the other work completed, I will be able to just pick these up and chain stitch to my heart's content! *happy, happy, happy*

Happy Quilting, Friends!