A Halloween quilt of my own.

Would you believe that I've never made a Halloween quilt for myself. I've designed several patterns (Creepy Countdown, Which Witch, and Spook Alley) and made the samples for those, but I've never made one for me to use. Last week that all changed.

I've had these Lizzy House prints for a while now. I really like the look of them but never found the perfect application. I finally decided to use them in a Halloween quilt of my own but was stuck on a pattern. I knew I didn't want something cutesy so I googled "Halloween Improv Quilts". Of course I had a lot of images show up but one caught my eye in particular.

I absolutely LOVE this quilt by Sherri Lynn Wood from Daintytime. It served as my main inspiration for my quilt. (If you love her quilt like I do, it's for sale!)

Next I raided my stash. Isn't this such a fun part of making a quilt? I love pulling all these different fabrics together into a fun pile. A lot of what I had was bigger pieces (fat quarters and more) but I also had some 2 1/2" strips and even smaller text scraps leftover from other projects. I played for a while with my fabric selection choosing dark orangey-reds, pumpkin-y oranges and even some more muted oranges. I choose almost black browns but even threw in a couple black pieces that we're jet-black. I was really excited when I started adding the taupe toned greys (they're some of my favorites!). The larger number print has been in my stash for a couple of years and it was perfect. By adding that print I was able to bring in a few more lights, too.

Doesn't my pile look amazing!?

When it was time to start sewing I really had to let go of my inhibitions. Its super easy for me to just start squaring everything up. My friend Kati Spencer From the Blue Chair has made several improv quilts that I adore so I channeled her when piecing. I tried really hard not to square up anything and when I did I didn't use my ruler and tried to be a bit wavy with my rotary cutter.

As I made blocks I stuck them up on my design wall. Another thing I didn't want to do was over think the whole process. So, when I made a block I stuck it up and did very little re-arranging.

I pieced the blocks into rows, then sewed the rows together. I tried to keep the integrity of each block which helped keep the rows wavy and wonky.

Seriously I am IN LOVE with this quilt. I chose to quilt it with an 80/20 batting and a super dark brown minky on the back. All that's left is to bind it and then I'll have a snuggle quilt throughout the chilly fall months. Heck! Who am I kidding? This quilt is going to be my anytime-but-summer quilt. :o)

And that's the story of how I made a Halloween quilt of my very own. (and soon I'm going to get a real picture of it!)

HAPPY SEWING!