Happy Halloween Sewing

Hello Everyone,

Halloween is right around the corner! I am starting to slowly get in the Halloween mood with the fall weather, misty mornings and soups of the season. A new block jumped into my head on Friday and Winnie the Witch was created. She measures 6" x 11". This block is a stand alone foundation paper pieced block (FPP) or can be mixed and matched with the Paper Dolls Mini Collection for added diversity. If you want to add a hat to any of the other paper dolls, trim the seam allowance of the head segment back 1/4" then add the hat segment.

easypatchworkSHOP

This is a PDF instant download, so if you already have the original pattern, it is a quick download you can sew up today without the added hassle of postal shipping and waiting time.

You can even add it to the Fall Freebie from last year. Did you download it last year? You can now download directly from my website without being tracked!

Look what I whipped up this morning in EQ8! I used the freebie pumpkin block from last year, added one of the bats from the Bad Kitty pattern as well as two witches (one reversed hairdo) to make this cute table runner. Wouldn't this be sew much fun to make??

17 1/2" x 32 1/2" Halloween Table Runner

You could even combine it with the original Bad Kitty Pattern and rename it - "Little Witch in the Pumpkin Patch."

If you don't like the witch and simply must have a very naughty kitty cat, there are still patterns available on Etsy. This is a combination of foundation piecing, regular piecing and appliqué.

You can even draw up your own very special Halloween table topper and have some spooky witches peeking out of the pumpkins.

Have a great week everyone! Happy Halloween Sewing!

fall freebie

To all of you fall and autumn lovers out there, here is a freebie featured on Craftsy. I intinially intended for this 10 x 12 inch block to be an add-on to the "Bad Kitty" pattern, but you can use it as a stand alone mini quilt, large mug rug or small placemat.

I really enjoyed making this and love how you can design things by sewing small squares and flipping to make new edges. I was tempted to design it with foundation paper piecing, but thought everyone (new quilters and experienced) would benefit more from the sew, cut and flip method. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Freebie from easypatchwork found on Craftsy

Here is what a quilt could look like by exchanging the cat and bat blocks for the double pumpkins and a stand alone pumpkin block:

Design Idea

There is no free tutorial for the "standing alone" pumpkin. If you are interested in this version and would like to buy the printed Bad Kitty in the Pumpkin Patch pattern (no PDF), I would be happy to give the dimensions to you. Please contact me karen@easypatchwork.de

If you make something with the free mini double pumpkins, please post on social media using the hashtag: #easypatchworkminipumpkins

Thank you and enjoy your fall!

halloween goody

Happy Halloween Everyone!! If you have little kids at home, I wish you loads of fun if you go trick or treating. If you don't, and you hand out candy, have fun looking at all of the creative costumes all those hard working mothers put together. If you are still in the spirit, here is a little goody for you. My Halloween Goody is a little paper piecing row of pumpkins finishing at 4" x 12".

My challenge to you - print out these paper pieced templates and make something with them by November 20th, 2014. Send me a picture of what you made using "Friendly Pumpkins" in the header. I will post all pictures online. One lucky Halloween (or sewing) enthusiast will randomly win this lovely handmade zippered pouch using Zen Chic fabrics. It is that simple!

You can jump on over to Craftsy to download the free pattern at my easypatchwork store. You can use the appliqué templates provided or you may create your own. Have fun with it. And if NO ONE makes something to show or share with us, I will be quite content, because I love my Zen Chic Zippered Sewing Pouch and really don't want to part with it!!

Have fun and Happy Halloween!

-Karen

halloween a'whirl

I am a member of the Doll Quilt Monthly swap where optional monthly themes are supposed to challenge you and your partner to make something creative yet on an achievable small scale. I sat the summer out and had no exchanges but so was anxious to get back in the game and start designing again. I really do love the challenge of designing for someone else; just give me a theme, and I am all over the challenge. It jolts my brains with new ideas and possibilities. The themes for September were Farmer's Market & Back to School, but I thought if we got a jump on Halloween, we both could put something out on the kitchen table for the rest of the next month of October.

I quilted just the outline of the pumpkins and thought about an allover or meander in the purple areas. Since I am so afraid to mess things up, I just left the purple areas open. I quilted the outer border of the whirlwinds and outlined the center two in the middle. I finished it off with a 1/4" binding. The faces were fun to make, but not as easy as you might think. Not all looked good with the "standard" face. It must have been that great fabric I used called Juggling Summer from Brigitte Heitland. It was a great choice for the more sophisticated Halloween quilt.

I love celebrating Halloween and am happy that Trick-or-Treating is seeping its way into German culture. (It was actually there a long time ago with "Zuckerruben" and going door to door!) I went last year with my kids Trick-or-Treating with my dear neighbor, Derya and her two kids. We had a lota of fun! I am not sure we are going to go this year. We are expecting friends for a weekend visit and think it would be nicer to visit Lego Land. I am sure they put on a fantastic show for Halloween.

I just have to put this cute little label on it using my new style and technique of outlining in the binding color/fabric and hand sew it down. It goes into the mail on Monday morning!

I really had a lot of fun creating this table runner. Maybe one of the funnest parts was the fact that I used fabrics from my stash only; I didn't buy and new fabrics! Most of the whirlwinds and pumpkins came straight from my scrap bin. You can learn more my creative process here.

Thanks for dropping by!

Karen