Realized I had so many things I could have posted around Halloween! I thought I had, in fact, shared with you about how the snowmen that sat on the porch last winter, decided to be ghosts for the month.

 

(My daughter  and granddaughter, are so weird! Each asked me today how I was going to make the snowmen turkey outfits! And they came up with the idea separately! Ghosts made sense, turkeys do not, in my opinion.)

Or, I could have written about how my mom created a yarn spider web on our porch almost 50 years ago and it has since become a tradition with my kids. There is a huge improvement this year because I crocheted the webs. I love that I can hook them up, take them down and wash them before they are packed away.

Those were fun things to do for our porch.

 

But what I really to share today is a quilt, an unfinished quilt. Halloween may be done for another year, but my quilt will take a bit longer.

There is a class on Craftsy called Woodland Critters by Wendi Gratz of ShinyHappyWorld.com. When I saw it, I knew it would be perfect for my animal loving granddaughter. I watched the class some time ago and kept it in the back of my mind. With my renewed zeal for creative pursuit, it seems like the perfect time (and hopefully, I can keep it secret til Christmas). I let her take a look at the patterns on Wendi’s site, and she wants the Cats quilt – first, anyway.

As I’ve worked on other projects, I’ve been gathering supplies. Wendi offers some free patterns on her site and I thought it might be a good idea to try her technique before I completely dove in. “Spooky Cat” seemed perfect, you know, Halloween season and the kid’s choice of the cat quilt. And so I began….

 

Isn’t she cute!? Although you can’t tell from here, there is sparkling gold thread around her neck, in the eyes and for the whiskers.

But how could I really try the technique with just one? I needed to make sure the joining would work (have I mentioned how sewing challenged I am?), so I created another, and the pumpkin was born. But what’s the use of just 2 blocks?

And then, if I was going to try the recommended soft backing, well, that would be nicer if it was more than a skinny wall hanging, right?

It may have been finished by Halloween, if I had worked from a pattern, but no! me? make it easy? is there a pattern? I kept going within asking what else would be good in this project.

Although the kid is disappointed I don’t have a Frankenstein, which would require another row of creations, I have made the decision that I am completing the test of “will I like this technique?” and calling this one good. Tonight I have almost finished quilting it with the cuddly fleece as the back and am excited to see how the binding goes.  So here’s what I’ve done. I know the pictures aren’t great but the best I can do for now. Maybe the sun will shine before it’s packed away and I can lay it out somewhere.

I’d say the house on the hill is one of my favorites, but I find I’m kind of fond of all of them!

 

 

It’s not large, but maybe good for early fall snuggling, you know, that space before you have to bundled chin to toe. So, thank you, Wendi! I think I’ve watched all of your videos a couple of times now. You make it look easy and fun – and with your great instruction, it is.

Love you! Hope you are up to some kind of good!