Patterns to Try | U-Pick Pumpkin

In the middle of days of quilting the Minimal Shapes quilt, I needed a breather. So when I saw Kate of Katie Mae Quilts @katiemaequilts post a round-up of pumpkin patterns, I decided I suddenly needed to make her U-Pick Pumpkin pattern. 

It's actually a pretty clever pattern, providing both a classic "plain pumpkin" and a variety of playful jack-o'-lantern faces. I had originally been drawn to a jack-o'-lantern, but in my excitement, I laid out squares for a plain pumpkin, and decided to just go with that.

The pattern makes a good-sized pumpkin - 18.5" unfinished. After using mostly scraps to make the pumpkin, I added a narrow border all around, creating a pillow cover that would fit a pillow I already had. Ideally, I would have added a wider border and gotten a puffier pillow form, but time was of the essence, and why not use what I already had?

I quilted the pumpkin front, made a simple envelope backing (love that big dot!), and finished it off with binding to match the background. Perfect for a quick Halloween-y finish!

Bright Side Boo

It's been a while since I made a full-sized quilt with newly purchased fabric, so it felt like a special treat to make Bright Side Boo, so named because I used the Bright Side pattern by Meghan of Then Came June @thencamejune with Halloween-themed fabric. The pattern is considered a simpler version of Meghan's Sidewalk Chalk pattern, which I made for our bed several years ago. I really enjoyed making it, so thought it would be fun to try Bright Side. Plus, I thought it would go fairly quickly so I could get back to other projects in the works.

The gathering of fabric for this quilt happened pretty impulsively, after I saw the Boo-tiful Mischief Bundle at Sewtopia @sewtopia. I needed just a few more fabrics than were in the bundle, which I picked up at FabricBubb @fabricbubb, finishing with the bundle below.

So the quilt top was pretty quick to put together, and honestly I do love a mix of substrates. Once pieced, it measured 60.5" x 72.5".

For the back, I just used all the scraps and leftover yardage from the front and began to sew it all together. There wasn't much forethought to it, but I was happy enough to use so much of my original pull in it.

I went with an easy uneven grid for the quilting, in three colors - Aurifil 50wt 1104 [Neon Orange], 2535 [Magenta], and 4241 [Very Dark Grey].  I began by hera-marking lines 5" to 6" apart, depending on whether they were horizonal or vertical, as the blocks were rectangular, not square. Then I just eye-balled it to fill in, as you can attest by the view below. 

For binding, I had held out Katarina Rocella’s Grid in Negative for Art Gallery Fabrics and Ruby Star Rising Basic Alexia Marcelle Abegg Starry 2025 Witchy, debating whether to use both or not. But since I had plenty of the Grid, I decided to go with that alone. Curious what you might have chosen in my place. 

Anyway it feels great to have my Halloween-themed Bright Side done before October even starts. For now, it's hanging over the banister in our dining room, but it's all ready for a good cuddle.

Thanks to Fiona @spunstraw and Laura @silversstitches for hosting
#spookyseptembersewalong2025 and Sewtopia @sewtopia for giving me the incentive to make this quilt!

The Bat Block

A couple days ago, I was rummaging through my orange scraps thinking I'd make a little something seasonal, and found a #batblock! I pattern-tested the block for Louise @imfeelincrafty like 7 years ago. So I decided it was finally time I make it into something. Better late than never, right? 

The block being just 10.5" x 6.5", I decided to make a little wall hanging. I grabbed my stack of orange fabrics and was surprised that what I'd used in the bat block wasn't the traditional "pumpkin" orange. But I found some oranges that I liked - a mix of prints and solids, then found a few black prints to include. First, I made some improv four-patch blocks using the stacks method from Nicholas Ball's Inspiring Improv. Then I used a handful of scraps sprinkled among them to make several rows of patchwork. You may or may not be able to tell, but there's one row above the bat, and three rows below.

For quilting, I used Aurifil 50wt 2692 [Black] to quilt the bat, and that was SO fun! Then I used Aurifil 40wt 3920 [Golden Glow], a variegated thread, to quilt vertical lines below the bat and 'sky' curves above. The little hanging finished at 11" x 15", bound with a black stripe. Then I made a casing for the dowel and a hanger of black cording. Such a fun little project I didn't even have in my mind's eye two days ago!! BTW, if you love Louise's little bat block pattern as much as I do, you can find the pattern here.

W.i.P. Wednesday

Well my 'good' machine has been in the shop for over a week, but I hope to pick it up tonight! Meanwhile my trusty little Elna has served me well. So W.i.P. Wednesday can go on!

Finished projects
Trick or Treat Tote - I started the embroidery on this little project at Sewing Summit, and finished it up just in time to give to grandgirl for Halloween. The pattern is by The Sometimes Crafter, and finishes at 9" x 11". I cut the size down just a bit to make it more manageable for grandgirl, who is yet a toddler.

The orange dots and interior fabrics (including spider webs on the front lining that you can't see) were perfect, swag from SS shop-hopping.

Sew Lux Design Challenge project - The interview was posted here, and my project should be up very soon. At least I can show you the fabric bundle I got to work with! {Revised to say the tutorial is now available at Sew Lux Fabric & Gifts!}

Ongoing projects
Mod Pop Quilt-along - I have all my curves pieced!

Christmas lap quilt & Modern Crosses quilt - I've gotten plenty of cutting and piecing done, but it all needs a good press before continuing on.

Please call me on it next time I start three quilts at once! I'm making progress on all of them, but don't have much to show for it!

Upcoming projects
* UR Priceless Blog Hop project
* October & November bee blocks
* scrappy Metrolink
* more frame purses
* Polaroid block projects
* placemats
* Binary quilt using blocks from Modern Blocks Bee
* Christmas!
* Dresden project - back on the 'sometime' list, and probably no time soon

Linking up with W.i.P. Wednesday.