Showing posts with label Halloween See Saw Swap. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Halloween See Saw Swap. Show all posts

October 31, 2022

The Ghastlie Gals Wall Hanging - a Ghastlie finish

By    1:04 PM // No comments

Today being All Hallow's Eve, it's the perfect time to share a recent finish.Way back....say 10 years ago this month, I hosted a couple of Halloween themed round robin type events though this particular one was back and forth between me and one other quilter, hence I called it a See Saw Swap.

My swap partner, Edy, didn't have a blog then and unfortunately I've lost contact with her in the years since but I'm still thankful to her for the fabulous additions she made to my quilt.

I started out with one of my favorite scenes from the fabric line, the center Ghastlie sisters, that I bordered with the black and white print and then off it was sent to Edy.  













When it returned, she had added the pink and green borders to the right and bottom and the black border with the appliqued circles to the top and left sides.

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My next addition was the trees and brambles borders with a few Flying Geese blocks.

    












 

Next Edy added the skeletons and the braid borders.        

         

 

 

            









For my last contribution, half square triangles in Mauve, Green and Black were added. Edy added the final round and it was a great surprise when it made it back home for the last time.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recently I made time to put it on the frame and get it finished.   













Here it is completed.  I've enjoyed looking at this quilt this season.  Who wouldn't?  It's the Ghastlies in all their glory! The finished wall hanging has been adorning the spot above the desk in the space between our kitchen and great room so I pass by it often every day. 













The sinister sisters are still keeping their beady eyes on the happenings around them and giving everyone that eerie look that they do so well.













I backed it with this black and white spiderweb print.













The panto I chose for this one was Parchment.  I used Glide Medium Gray thread on the top and Black thread in the bobbin. It was finished off with a binding in more of the Brambles print.













It only took 10 years for this UFO to get finished and sadly it's not my oldest UFO.  I'm just happy to finally have it done. 













I've got another Ghastlie finish to share to check back soon.

January 23, 2013

Let's Go Visiting

By    8:05 AM // 9 comments
Welcome all of you who are visiting here from the the weekly Let's Go Visiting Blog Hop thought up by the wonderful Marlene from Stitching By the Lake. It was fun to see my name listed for this week's neighborly meet up. Grab a cuppa Joe and enjoy checking out my humble little place in the quilt blogisphere.

For a little info about myself, I am a mom to 2 kidlets....Jammer who is 6, was born in Vietnam and we became his forever parents in May 2007 and Sunshine who is 4, was born in China and who joined her forever family in March 2010. Being a mom to these beautiful babies is the most rewarding thing in my life.

I started quilting 3 1/2 years ago when I decided that I didn't want someone else to make my childrens' 100 Good Wishes Quilts. I wanted to do it myself. You can read all about my Journey to Quilting here and if you are wondering just what is a 100 Good Wishes Quilt, you can learn about this centuries old tradition here.
Those that have been long time readers know that I like to organize things and last spring I started doing that here on my blog with the 1st annual Modern Mini Mystery Round Robin. It was a total blast and in the end there were 32 awesome mini quilts created by folks from litterly around the world. If you click on the link in my sidebar you can read all the posts about that event and find the links to all the final reveals. 
Last year I also hosted the Halloween See Saw Swap around the same time. I love, love, love Halloween fabrics and luckily found a few other quilters who do too and we had so much fun adding to the mini quilts each month. Of course a link to all the posts about that even can be found on my sidebar.
Currently we are finishing up the Quilt U Be Mine Mini Mystery Round Robin. It is a Valentine's Day themed round robin and you won't want to miss the big reveal day on February 14th.
And last, but certainly not The Last event that I will host, the Modern Mini Mystery 2013 has just gotten underway. This year we have 18 mini quilts being worked on by ladies all over the US, in Canada and the Yukon Territory and as far away as Finland. I can't wait to receive the 1st block that I will add to next month and then to see all the final results in July.
 
In my rather short quilting journey so far, I have learned SO much, have "met" a ton of great quilters and have found some fabulous shops, both brick and mortar and online to give my business to. I have accumulated a large "To Make" list complete with the majority of the fabrics purchased already and a decent size stash for a relative newbie. I feel that I have truly found part of my soul and have so many ideas that I want to work on in the coming months including a bunch of patterns that I am developing that I hope to eventually market to shops and online to all of you. The journey is so exciting and every day I can't wait to get into my studio to just create.
 
So I hope you enjoy peaking around my blog, check out the pictures of all the quilts that I have made so far and find this a fun place to follow. I so love my followers and since I'm inching ever so closer to the big 300, as soon as that happens I'll celebrate with a giveaway.
 
Thank you Marlene for hosting this fun little neighborly get-to-know-you and I look forward to "meeting" all the other quilters that have been a part of this weekly hop. Have a great day! For me, I'm off to work now. It is a balmy 4 degrees here and I'm so looking forward to getting out in that ultra chilly temperature to freeze my entire being off. NOT! Where ever you live, I do hope you are warmer than it is here. 

October 22, 2012

Halloween See Saw Swap-The Reveals!

By    12:05 AM // 4 comments

Spooks and Goblins have been haunting the postal system since May and the wicked packages have finally arrived at their haunted abodes to stay.....forever.  A screaming good time has been had by all the bewitched participants.

During the wee hours of darkness this very day, we are revealing to you the ghastly creations that have been been brewing and whirling these many months gone by.

With a mixture Mandrake Root, Wiggentree Bark and Eye of Newt I concocted this creepy beginning to my spell. 
Then it flew on a broomstick back and forth to Edy (sorry, no blog) where she also worked her magic to help create this eerily wonderful masterpiece.
"The Ghastlie Gals"


Destined to be a wall hanging this is to be. If the skeletons don't abscond with it, the quilting and binding will be completed all in good time, my pretty, all in good time.
A 2nd batch of potion was needed, as strong and powerful as the first one, but this time the brew required Porcupine Quill, Dragon Blood and Starthistle. From the tendrils of vapors wafting from the cauldron, this creation appeared.
The journeys to the west coast and back this time was by the Transylvania Express. Julianna added many waves of her wand full of Pacific Ocean whispering winds with my own to create this charmed brew of color and patterns..
"All Hallows Eve"
The catacombs are waiting for you....wonder through their dark and damp mazes to find the other Halloween See Saw Swap participants and view their own haunted creations.





The mansion is now closed and the creatures are resting in their coffins and tombs until this time next year. It was a howling good time! Next time, won't you join us?


Jolly Kitty - Edy's Halloween See Saw Quilt

By    12:01 AM // 8 comments


What fun I had on the Halloween See Saw with Michele! My little quilt started out with a center block of a jolly Kitty ~ hand embroidered by me.
I added a starry orange/purple/green border around the starter block and sent it over to my partner! From there it just grew and grew into the little beauty you see in the pic.

I love each border that Michele added ~ every one more cute than the next. It pops with colors that I love for Halloween. It has cats, and spiders and spooky webs ~ just lots of fun fabrics. I’m enjoying looking at it for now ~ just as it is in a state of flimsy! Later on (surely before Halloween 2013) I may add another border or three and finish it up with fun quilting and a wild and crazy backing, too.

Thanks to our Swap Mama ~ Michele ~ for guiding us along the Halloween path. Thanks, Michele, for being my partner in all the fun!
And of course ~ it’s on display for everyone to enjoy this spooky season…. Happy Haunting everyone!

edyB

October 21, 2012

Beware!

By    9:38 PM // No comments

In just over 2 1/2 hours, the bewitching time will be upon us. The reveal day for the Halloween See Saw Swap is nearly upon us.

The ghosts and goblins are circling the mansion, the spiders are spinning their webs to entrap you and the coven is brewing a cauldron full of potion refreshments. 

These enchantresses will be your hauntingly horror hostesses .

Mathilda (Edy) - posting here
Esmeralda (Diane)
Davina (Celine)
Hilda (Julianne)
Willow (Kathy)
Minerva (Sharon)
Prudence (Me)

We'll be waiting for you.


October 8, 2012

Tidbits

By    9:52 AM // 10 comments
This past week hasn't been the easiest. Hopefully this week will be much better. Here are just a few of the highlights.

***Last Saturday a friend and I attended a local guild's quilt show. It wasn't huge but there were some great quilts to see. Plus there is always a teeny bit of shopping required. I was pretty restrained and just picked up a few FQ to add to my stash, some Christmas prints of my choosing because I have nothing at all for that holiday and because I have yet to find a Christmas line that I really like and also a couple of Halloween prints that I didn't have yet. You know it is really hard for me to resist these when I see them.

 
 
***I also grabbed a bunch of these, all for a whopping $5.50. Might you be wondering what I'm going to do with them?
***Then on Sunday I actually volunteered with the same guild at the show as a White Glove Lady which means I spent 4 more luxurious hours with the quilts, seeing them up close and personal as much as I wanted and talking with some really great people. It was a lot of fun. I am strongly considering joining said guild to see if I like it.

***Ever since I've been battling a sinus headache of major proportions EVERY SINGLE DAY. I don't know if the abundance of older ladies with way too much perfume on made it worse or if it is just because of my typical fall too-much-wet-weather-and-too-high-barometric-pressure are to blame, but it hasn't been fun either way.

***I finally felt up to getting a bit of sewing in mid week but Lucy decided to not cooperate again. Same problem as before. Me not happy. A brand new machine and I can't use it. Major URG!

***Friday morning I put in one more attempt to fix Lucy to no avail so I hiked it to the repair shop for help.

***Left the repair shop angry and without machine (not the shop where I bought Lucy...remember that shop no longer sells nor can service Brother machines). After carefully explaining to the owner multiple times what the problem is and all the various steps I had taken over and over to correct the issue, she continued to argue with me that she thought it was something else, something not remotely related to the actual problem.

***No matter what the repair turns out to be, she shouldn't have argued with me. Period. She could have said what she wanted to say to me in a much different way which would have not pissed me off so much. Thankfully her hubby the actual repair guy is much nicer.

***The biggest argument? She feels that Lucy isn't under warranty at all. What??? I only bought her 4 months ago! She says that the manufacturer determines warranty by the serial number and when it was actually made and it doesn't matter if a machine sat on a shelf for a long time before it was ever sold and then registered. This makes absolutely no sense at all, to me or any one else that I've told this to over the weekend. A warranty to the purchaser is a warranty to the purchaser. Plain and simple. Part of me thinks this shop owner is just a snob to any machine not bought in her store...and for your knowledge her shop is where I bought my first Brother "Sissy".

***Needless to say that once Lucy is fixed, I won't be taking any more of my machines there for service.

***So now I was left with no machine and deadlines. Not good. Now I understand why many quilters have a back up machine. But guess what, I too have a back up machine, my mother's old Singer however it isn't actually set up yet. So on Saturday morning, I dropped it off at another shop for a tune up. If this other shop does a great job, they will get my business in the future plus they are an authorized Brother dealer/service center so nasty shop owner problem solved.

***Two machines in for work and still none for me to use. What's a girl to do? Well I got the bright idea to ask to borrow back temporarily Sissy from my friend who is using her to take a beginning quilting class at a LQS. Said friend was done with her homework for this week and doesn't need her back until Wednesday night. Yippee! Some sewing can be accomplished and we can just swap Sissy back and forth for a week or two until my 2 other gals come home.

***Last night I started and finished my addition to the most recent Modern Mini Mystery Round Robin quilt that I have to work on and it will be out in the mail to the last contributor first thing tomorrow. Here is what I added.
Oh yeah, I can't show it all to you. It is a secret but make sure you mark your calendars and come back on November 19th for all the big reveals. And don't miss the Halloween See Saw Swap reveals on October 22nd.

***Lastly for this post at least, don't forget to sign up for my next mini adventure, the Quilt U be Mini Mystery Round Robin. There is a great list of quilters signed up so far but there is still plenty of room for more. Sign ups close at Midnight one week from today, on October 15th. This is one event you don't want to miss.
As for today the headache isn't too bad this morning, the kidlets are home from school, I'm going to finish a little cleaning and get the laundry put away, we are going to make cookies this afternoon and more sewing will definitely be on the agenda. I hope that you have a terrific day!

September 26, 2012

Did you vote yet?

By    5:37 PM // 2 comments
I'm still working out the details and time line for the possible swaps and round robins that I'm planning on hosting in 2013 but I could really use more input as to what you'd like to participate in. My poll is still open if you haven't yet voted.

Please head on over and share with me your ideas. There are way many more options floating around in my head than I can reasonably do so I need to narrow it down a bit. Having your thoughts on what you want to see here will help tons.

Thanks bunches!

September 16, 2012

Reveal Date/Linky Party Announcements

By    5:55 AM // 8 comments
We are nearing the end of the Halloween See Saw Swap and the Modern Mini Mystery Round Robin so it is time to announce the dates for the big Reveals/Linky Parties.
The Halloween See Saw Swap Reveal & Linky Party will be on Monday, October 22nd
The Modern Mini Mystery Round Robin Reveal & Linky Party will be on Monday, November 19th.

On each of those days I will post a link to all the participant's blogs. Those who don't have a blog  will be posted here on my blog if they want to share their final mini quilt with all of you (I really hope that they do).

I have been loving watching how my See Saw blocks have been coming along and I am so anxious to see how my starter Round Robin center block turned out. Not seeing that one's progress has been hard but that is also the fun of a Mystery Round Robin....I don't get to see it until the end.

I know all the other ladies in these two swaps are also excited to show off their quilts so mark your calendars and remember to come back here to see all the terrific reveals. Those days promise to be a whole ton of fun.

August 26, 2012

Planning Ahead for 2013 & a Poll

By    8:23 AM // 21 comments
With the end of the Modern Mini Mystery Round Robin and the Halloween See Saw Swap coming in the next couple of months, I've been thinking ahead to 2013 and what sorts of these sorts of events I might want to host. So many of you that are participating are having a great time so far and want to do more. I'm certainly not going to say No to that. I also have a totally different sort of swap in the planning stages too.

So the big question looms.....what sorts of events should we do? The Modern Mystery one for sure and you know that I'm putting a Halloween one on the schedule (as long as there are others willing to play along), but what others are you interested in? This inquiring mind wants to know.

In the future, all Mini Round Robins will be a group of 6 quilters each and will obviously run for 6 months. The current groups of 8 are working just fine but I think that groups of 6 for future ones will be easier to manage.

The See Saw Swaps will be between 2 people, you send the piece back and forth to each other for 6 months.

Please vote in the poll below so that I can have some clue as to what my readers want to see in the coming year. I ask that you only vote if you would plan on participating in one or more of these events. That will give me an idea of how many people are truly interested. You won't be held to the fire if when it comes time and you aren't able to fit it into your schedule but for planning purposes I need some ballpark number of how many of you would like to play along.

Which themed Mini Round Robins and/or See Saw Swaps would you join in during 2013 and which format do you prefer?
Mystery Round Robin
4th of July
Halloween
Christmas
Other-tell me in your comments
I prefer Mini Round Robins
I prefer Mini See Saw Swaps
Create your own poll

August 16, 2012

Not Happy!

By    8:34 AM // 3 comments
I have not turned on my sewing machine in way too long! (Huge sadness and sorrow here). I am feeling quite unsettled and out of sorts because of that. Yes I did almost finish the hand sewing of a binding while I was away last weekend (one more side to go), but I need to SEW people. I hate being all verkupmted like this.

So what have I been doing this week, besides emptying suitcases and not putting them away (there will be one more mini vacation before summer is officially over), and dealing with the never ending laundry?

This! The mega huge twice annual consignment sale is next week and everything had to be entered into their system by last night. So I have been a sorting, hanging, size grouping fiend.

We are so happy that we are finally done with the potty seats and the booster seat and the monitor. The rest of the toys and books are ones that they have outgrown and no longer play with. Gotta make room for the goodies coming in for birthdays and Christmas ya know.
If I am lucky enough to sell all of it, or at least almost all of it (I have a pretty good track record so far), then we will net about $700. Hubby has agreed that I can finally buy our new kitchen table and stools for the island. I'm starting to search now.

I still need to seal up the baggies, print the tags and attach them but I have a week to get that finished so I'm planning on getting into my studio this afternoon/evening after work. First up will be adding the next round to the Mini Mystery Round Robin block that is on my design wall. Nope, I can't show it to you so don't ask beg plead with me cause it is a mystery. How come some of you don't remember that? Anywho at least I can show you the fabrics I'll be using. Thankfully the perfect plan came to me fast so this task will get completed lickety split.

I also have not 1 but 3 Halloween See Saw blocks to add to. This one will be mine in the end. Julianne added a great orange and black bat/ghost border (which I simply love btw) but I have yet to figure out what to do next. Like Winnie the Pooh says "Think, think, think."

Here is my other one that will be mine when this swap is over. I love, love, love how it is coming along. Don't you just die over the great border Edy added. The skeletons are simply wonderful. Again though I am stumped as to what to do next. Lots more "Think, Think, Think" needed.

Plus to top it off, I have Julianne's block back already to add to. This would be my September part. She was Ms Speedy McSpeedy adding her August bit and mailing it back to me. And if you want to know, No I haven't decided what I will add next. No clue. But I'm not going to ponder it much until I get the other 2 done and out in the mail.

Wish me luck with at least getting a little sewing time today. I sew need it. Too many days away start to make this Momma quite a bit of a cranky pants.

July 26, 2012

Rewards

By    8:23 AM // 2 comments
Don't miss out on my National Hot Fudge Sundae Day giveaway. Entries are open through midnight July 31st.

Since the teacher quilts were completed and therefore no longer making me not a quilting crazy lady, I'm finally getting back to getting some other things done around the house. How I hate to have my home a mess and disorganized! Anyway, this past week I have been rewarding myself with a bit of sewing time after I complete a household task.

On Tuesday, the office was straightened out and cleaned. I swapped out the curtain rods in our bedroom (needed larger ones so they would hang correctly) and then used those rods in the office for the valances. I also got a couple of pictures hung. There is a ton more fire department plaques, awards and stuff in boxes to be unpacked and homes found for but we need to get a shelf or two for that.

As my reward I sewed the bindings on the front of the queen size Tribute to Danny quilt. I almost finished hand sewing the binding on the back last night but I was starting to nod off so I quit. Only about 2 more feet to go.

Yesterday after work (Wednesdays are only 1/2 day for me), I tackled the dishwasher and then sewed the binding onto the lap size Danny quilt.  I plan on starting the hand sewing part tonight after I complete the bit left on the bigger one and then finish this one up on the drive to my sister's house tomorrow afternoon. I can't wait to throw it in the wash to remove all the carpet lint the black fabric picked up.

After I got all the clean laundry put away I rewarded myself with some Halloween See Saw block work. Here's a peak. I know the picture is blurry (I'll fix it later) but my son dropped my camera at culture camp and now it isn't working great half the time. I guess I'll have to start shopping for a new one. I thought I knew what I wanted to add to this about 1 1/2 weeks ago but when I got ready to start on it, that idea just didn't work for me. A few days and a bunch more contemplating on my part, I figured out a better plan and got a big chuck of it done.
This will likely get finished this afternoon and then mailed off in the morning. I also want to get the binding sewn on the front of Miss M's 100 Good Wishes Quilt.
During the softball tournament on Saturday there will be a lot of down time while the games are being played so I should have some time to work on this (No I don't play softball). We typically just sit around and chat but there is no reason why I can't keep my hands busy at the same time. Plus it is a 3 hour ride home afterwards. Having this one finally done and in the mail to her by early next week is my goal.

So do you reward yourself for household tasks done? I have to say that I am liking this mix. I get needed things accomplished and fuel my creative side all at the same time. A win, win situation for me!

June 30, 2012

Mini Catch Up

By    2:15 PM // 3 comments
No this is not a report with little information (ie mini), but instead a current report on the mini quilts that I have been working on since we returned from vacation. I was really happy to finish them and get them in the mail on time.

After a lot of pondering, I finally figured out what to add as my next round for the Modern Mini Mystery Round Robin piece that I had to work on this month. I tell ya, it wasn't easy. There were so many different ways I could have taken this and deciding which one was the right one was really difficult. 

Now you didn't honestly believe that I was going to show you the entire thing, did you ? You wish! Sorry to disappoint you but only sneak peaks are allowed and this is all I'm sharing with you. The big reveal of all 32 the finished quilts in late October/early November is going to be really exciting.

Next on my to Do list are the Halloween See Saw blocks. If you remember, this was one of my center blocks.

I forgot to take a picture of it before I added the next round, but Julianne added the Orange and Black checkerboard border with the Purple cat cornerstones. Very cool.

To build on the bit of Purple she introduced, I next added the Purple and Black striped fabric and beyond that the Natural Ghastlie Bramble. The detail is hard to see in this picture so here is a better one of the recent additions.
I felt it with all the busyness of all the pieced parts so far, it needed a couple of thinner simple borders at this point. I can't wait to see what Julianne adds next.

For my other Halloween See Saw block, I did remember to snap a photo of what it looked like before I added to it.

Edy blew me away when I saw what she contributed. I just love it. The circles echo the circles on the gals cheeks. But then I was stumped. What in the world could I add next that would work well with what she had done? I was really worried that I wouldn't figure it out and would just add a plain border just to get it completed and out the door. Well...I'm happy to share that the light bulb went off in my noggin while driving the kidlets to camp and as soon as I got back home, I sketched it out and then ran with it. This is what I came up with.

Euphoria! I am jumping inside I am so happy with how this turned out. I didn't want to add a completely pieced border but adding just a few Flying Geese here and there worked perfectly. And you do notice that not all of them are pointing in the same direction, don't you? I sort of copied her plan of adding different borders to different sides, but went a bit askew and alternated which side got which border. I used the Ghastlie Crewel Mauve, a Black with tiny white polka dots from my stash, the fun Green and Black Harlequin, the Ghastlie Forest Natural and the Ghastlie Bramble Smoke.

These Mini Round Robins are turning out to be a whole lot more fun than I evern imagined they would be when I started them. I'm seeing more ideas and am attempting tons of things that I don't think I would have thought to try before. They are most definitely expanding my quilting brain ten fold. I can't wait for the next installment.

One commenter recently mentioned that she is having so much fun with it that perhaps I might consider hosting more like this in the future, maybe one for each holiday. Evidently she is hoping to have a table topper for each season. Even before she said it, I had already started conceiving the next incarnation of the Mini Round Robin so stay tuned. You won't want to miss it!
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