Friday, October 28, 2016

Pieced Pumpkin Patch: Eerie Nights Blog Hop Giveaway




Welcome to Pink Doxies--
and one stop on your Eerie Nights
Blog Hop today!

 


When Marian at Seams to Be Sew asked me if I wanted to join in a Halloween hop, I was all in. The hop is sponsored by the Fat Quarter Shop, Aurifil, Timeless Treasures, and Quilter's Dream. Enter the Rafflecopter drawing at the end of this post, and each of the other 4 blogs listed for your chance to win your own fabulous treats! Because of scheduling conflicts, Amy at Sew Incredibly Crazy is hosting in lieu of Marian. Thank you both. 



Fall is my favorite season, and Halloween is just a fun holiday. When else is it vogue to dress up, like scary movies, Trick or Treat, and eat candy? Decorating for it, though, is not really my thing. Oh, yes, when the kids were all little, but these days I am more about transitional decorations. Something I can put up in September, and leave through Thanksgiving is really my style! So I scratched my brain to come up with something that bordered between traditional and artsy, and I would love to use in my own house.



Much to everyone's surprise that knows me, I started with a fairly concrete plan that involved flying geese--or technically faux flying geese. As a shocking surprise to me, I loved them! My palette was more traditional and earthy than I would normally use, but I was more concerned with mixing a lot of different fabric styles. There are several vintage prints with plaids, modern prints, florals, Quilter's linen, and lots of Grunge.


I reached this point of the design, and actually was stumped. To help myself figure things out, I pin all kinds of fabric up, and just look at it. The most interesting thing at the end is which fabrics actually make the cut. As you can see above, it was looking rather dull in those proportions. By switching to some lighter colors, it brightened it up.


The idea of a pumpkin patch evolved in this post Halloween Quilt, and was developed from using a cross and X block. As I bounced pictures and ideas off of Sandra at mmm! quilts, she asked if the stems were going to be 3D. It was a brilliant suggestion, and I took off with it. 


Each stem became unique...


formed individually, and stitched down by hand.
(My trick is Aurifil Invisible thread.)


Quilting began on the longarm, stitching in the ditch around almost everything. At that point, I stuffed it in my back pack, and took it on vacation. During our down time, I stitched. While some of the stitches are the longer, modern style, many were kept very tiny to provide dense texture. 


The back is interesting. While it is easy to bury your longarm thread, and even the Perle Cotton No. 8 for hand quilting, the Perle Cotton No. 5 is almost impossible. I simply made the knots as neat as possible.


During the quilting process, I switched to a Clover metal thimble. What a dream! The one downfall I found was it stressed the needles, and I even had one snap, shooting pieces into my face. You can see the bend in the needle above signalling you to change your needle immediately.


One request of the hop was to showcase an older Halloween project, too. Two of my old favorites are a spider web quilt HERE, and a Zombie quilt HERE. But I really thought you would enjoy a new to me, but vintage quilt that reminds me so sweetly of fall.


I discovered this old girl in a local shop, and had to preserve her from a worse fate.


She's been well weathered, washed, and has a lovely texture.


Doesn't the stitching remind you of seed pods in the field?


For your chance to enter today's drawings, leave a comment below. Then click on the Rafflecopter, and enter your name.



Pop on over to these blogs to enter other great drawings.



Thanks for stopping by today, and follow by email to have more eye candy and quality content delivered to your email. 

Come on, Doxie girls.
Let's go sew.


114 comments:

  1. Love both your quilts past and present. I so enjoy doing hand stitching myself. I need a thimble like that.

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  2. I love the complexity and the color in your wallhanging!

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  3. It's a wonderful quilt, and the bit I like best? That black and red plaid in the border! I think it adds so much to the finished quilt.

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  4. What an interesting process with beautiful results Julie! I like your other Halloween quilts, too, and that vintage quilt - what a find!

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  5. Love your pumpkin patch quilt! The border is absolutely stunning! I really like the way you made each pumpkin stem different, and your quilting is fantastic!

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  6. Gorgeous quilt, love those flying geese!

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  7. Gorgeous quilt, love those flying geese!

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  8. What a wonderful table topper! You did an awesome job. Thanks for sharing with us.

    Thanks for a chance to win.

    usairdoll(at)gmail(dot)com

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  9. There is lots to look at in this quilted piece. I especially like the variety of fabric you used. That is an awesome thimble too.

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  10. What a lovely quilt! The hand stitching gives it a vintage look-just love the colors and fabric you chose!

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  11. Nothing compares to hand stitching!!! Gorgeous!!!

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  12. What a lovely quilt! The pumpkin stems were a great idea and I love that they are all unique.

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  13. A lovely little quilt. You did a great job.

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  14. Your pumpkin quilt is great. I really love the 3D stems and all the stitching details!

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  15. I love the way you did the stems on the pumpkins. Great colors in this quilt too.

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  16. What a lovely quilt you created. Love your color choices and stitching and those two colored flying geese are unique. Perfect vintage quilt rescue.

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  17. Those 'split' flying geese are great. The hand stitching really adds texture to your quilt too. sjvonfumetti at yahoo dot com

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  18. Those 'split' flying geese are great. The hand stitching really adds texture to your quilt too. sjvonfumetti at yahoo dot com

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  19. Great stitching on the pumpkin!

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  20. It's been so fun seeing everyones Halloween projects!

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  21. Cute quilt, the stem on the pumpkin is neat.
    patsystitch@gvtc.com

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  22. Great job on the pumpkin! Love hand stitching projects.

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  23. How I love seeing photos of things and places where I've been! I've touched that old girl of the vintage quilt and she is indeed beautiful and perfect for fall. Dayna's quilt sprawled on that very bench just a few short weeks ago! Your decorations for fall are as subtle and perfect in photos as they were in person. As for your hop quilt, I'm so glad you were able to use the 3-D stems idea; they look terrific and really add interest. But the best part of the quilt IMHO is your gorgeous hand work. The texture on the back is wonderful Julie; I want to caress it! As for neatly burying knots, I cannot see a one!

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  24. Great mini with such pretty colors! Sandra has so many super ideas, doesn't she? Adding some dimension to the pumpkin made it really special! I like those unexpected touches that really draw the eye in and it's perfect for a mini artsy quilt like this!

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  25. I love to see how ideas for quilt designs come together! Thanks for sharing and Happy Halloween!

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  26. Such a great pumpkin quilt--I especially like the stems!

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  27. This is an interesting quilt for you given where you have been travelling in your posts lately. Very nice hand quilting closeups. Sandra's idea for 3 D stems was great. The vintage quilt is really beautiful. I can see why you snapped it up.

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  28. These are all very unique designs. Thank you, peterstankovich@comcast.net

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  29. Love it! It has a vintage vibe to it! The hand quilting it the perfect addition IMO!

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  30. Thank you for showing that a combo of machine stitching and hand/big stitch work together. I am not a handquilter, but have been thinking that this may be a way for me to start.

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  31. Wow! What a gorgeous quilt! Thank you for sharing.

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  32. I like the 3D stems. There is a lot of wonderful texture on the quilt!

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  33. Thank you for sharing your quilt and thought process. I sometimes find the thought process more of an inspiration than a tutorial would be. I love the pumpkin stems.

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  34. There's so much detail in your beautiful quilt and your stitching is amazing!

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  35. Great Pumpkin...strikes again! Love the triangles too.

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  36. wow your quilt is lovely. so glad you saved that lovely quilt. It is so perfect for Autumn.

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  37. Cute pumpkins! ... But I especially love your rescue quilt! It always makes me wonder why anyone would discard such beauty . . . (lynnstck[at]yahoo.com )

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  38. Love the vintage look both of them have. No tricks just treasurers!

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  39. Your quilt turned out really sweet. Love the dimensional stems on the pumpkins!

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  40. Oh your quilt and pumpkins are darling. Love the fall colors of it. Thanks for the chance to win TREATS....
    Sewfabrics at outlook.com

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  41. I like it all - the fabrics and designs you chose for the wall hanging.

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  42. A bright +cheery Autumn Quilt! Love it! Thanks for sharing on your Blog+for the Giveaway!
    msstitcher1214@gmail.com

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  43. Love the pumpkin patch, and the 3D stems really make them pop. The colors are perfect!

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  44. Love all your projects. Thank you for sharing.

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  45. Love it! And the stems are perfect for embellishment and defining the pumpkins. I liked how the machine quilting and the hand quilting complimented each other. Thanks for linking to WIPs Be Gone.

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  46. I love how this turned out. The 3D stems where a great idea and all that yummy texture. A beautiful piece that can stay out all season long and kind of makes me hungry for pie. Umm...I clearly remember going to a certain quilting retreat and being greeted by a large black spider and black cat in Halloween pose...just saying :D

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  47. love your new and old quilts, pumpkins are sew much fun.

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  48. Your hand quilting on this project is beautiful. Thank you for the inspiration!

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  49. Very creative to make the stems 3D! I am impressed that you did all that hand quilting!!! A very nice autumn piece. I don't decorate for Halloween either--didn't even do it when the kids were little. kthurn(at)bektel(dot)com

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  50. I'm not that big on decor either so I love transitional pieces. I think those 3D stems are my favorite part of your project. Genius idea from Sandra! Also, I LOVE your spiderweb quilt. I've been wanting to make one of those for a while now. Happy Halloween!

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  51. Your project is wonderful. All that hand stitching adds so much interest. But my favorite is the vintage quilt you rescued. Thanks for the giveaway.

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  52. All the quilts are great! I especially loved the spider web quilt and the embroidered vintage quilt.

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  53. I like your pumpkin quilt and the fact that it works all through the fall. All that hand stitching is fabulous!

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  54. Your pumpkin patch quilt is wonderful -- so unique and creative! Kudos!

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  55. Love the dimensionality of the pumpkin stems and judiciously placed hand stitching.

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  56. Your flying geese border is lovely. Thanks for showing your hand stitching.

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  57. What a great pumpkin quilt and I love the intricate border. The old quilt is beautiful too.

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  58. Beautiful stitching on great variety of projects. Glad I came by! June

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  59. LOOOOVE your Quilt!! So creative!! The pumpkin stems almost convince one, that they are real! :) Your stitching is Awesome! Super job!

    Thank you too, for chance to win your Give-a-way! :D

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  60. I love the two toned flying geese!!

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  61. Nice pumpkin patch--love the borders. Wonderful 'then' quilt!

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  62. Really enjoy the look of hand stitches on quilts.

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  63. Love the way you made the pumpkin stems.

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  64. The 3D effect is so fun and what a beautiful old quilt, glad you were able to save it.

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  65. How interesting to create the outside first!

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  66. I found your blog through Crazy Mom Quilts. Your pumpkin quilt is adorable.

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  67. I love the hand stitching on your Quilt, it makes it seem so cozy. I'm with you on seasonal decor, I even have my Christmas quilts out already.

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  68. I love your antique seed pod quilt. A lovely find.

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  69. Such beautiful handwork! Love your projects.

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  70. I loved the pumpkins ty the stems are so cool...... happyness04431@yahoo.com

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  71. I loved the pumpkins ty the stems are so cool...... happyness04431@yahoo.com

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  72. Both quilts are great. I also like quilting with #8 perle cotton. I've not tried using #5 just because of the difficulty burying the knots.

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  73. Love the vintage quilt. Your pumpkins quilt can really stay up the entire fall. I love the mix of fabrics, and the 3-D stems. What a lovely way of combining a lot of your skills in one quilt!

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  74. Your quilt is awesome. Love your hand quilting. and the dimensional pumpkin stems are just perfect. thank you for sharing.

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  75. The 3D stems are so worth the time you must have spent on them.

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  76. All the detail in your quilt is amazing. I loved the pumpkin stems.

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  77. All the detail in your quilt is amazing. I loved the pumpkin stems.

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  78. Your pumpkin quilt is really cute and I love saving old stitchery too!!

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  79. I love, love, love your pumpkins! What a great quilt!

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  80. I really love the rosie fabric you used, Julie. I'm crazy about the unexpected backgrounds and remind myself to surprise myself when I go shopping in my stash. Seeing your quilt drives that lesson home. :)

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  81. Wonderful choice to add the pinkish floral fabric. It was a daring move that I wouldn't have thought of. It looks so nice. Also love the 3-D stems. Great point of interest. Such a sweet finish!

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  82. Great quilt! Love the pumpkin stems.
    nikilsend(at)outlook(dot)com

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  83. Love you big stitch quilting. I really need to try that. :)

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  84. Love you big stitch quilting. I really need to try that. :)

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  85. I love the new you but the spider web is great too.

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  86. Haven't tried big stitching before, but you make it look easy. WIll have to try it.

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  87. Absolutely gorgeous work . Thanks for sharing x

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  88. Sweet! A lot of work went into that little quiltlet! I'm especially smitten with the borders. I'm participating in a round robin, and that's similar to what I have in my head to do. It's nice to have a real visual!

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  89. I love the pumpkins! And your quilting as well.

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  90. Very fun pumpkins. The stems are perfect! A great wall hanging for autumn. Congrats on a beautiful finish.

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  91. I really enjoyed seeing your process of choosing the fabrics and love that you used such a wide variety of seemingly unrelated pieces. And yet, put all together, they make a wonderful whole! Such a cute little piece.

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  92. I love your quilt and your rescued treasure! Thanks!

    Please click on the delaineelliott above for my email link.

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  94. Loving all of your hand stitching! Really great projects, thanks for sharing!

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  95. I love your hand stitching and your quilt.
    gandn74@ymail.com

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  96. Great quilt - I love your faux geese!!

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  97. Julie, this cute is so charming! I absolutely love the mix of fabrics old and new. It's perfect! So is the mix of longarm and hand quilting. What great choices you made. This is so you!

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  98. Wow. You put a lot of work into this beautiful quilt. Thanks foe sharing

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  99. Looove your Quilt!! Awesome job!! Your quilting is Super too...love the hand stitching!!!

    Thank you for chance to win your Give-a-way too :)

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  100. That's a lot of work you put into your quilt. Thanks for the chance.

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  101. Love the sweet but quirky look of this Halloween wall hanging.

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  102. Good morning, Julie! I've been AWOL from the blogosphere for the past couple of weeks so I'm catching up. Those quilts you're making for the twins look delicious -- remind me of ice cream sherbet! -- but I smirked when I read your reflections about the quilts' future appeal when the girls are older. I have made a few minky backed quilts for little ones and have learned that yes, they DO love them, but they love them to DEATH! My niece who is now a third grader still will not give up her baby quilt even though it is literally disintegrating, with batting falling out and it looks like the nastiest rag... And I am thrilled to death every time I see her with it.

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  103. This is such a joyous and fresh looking quilt! I loved following your progress on this piece.
    I saw that we use the same thimble... isn't this one fantastic? I could wear it for hours without noticing it.
    Thank you for participating to my Fabric, Thread and Yarn link party. Have a good day!

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Thoughtful comments are Honey to My Heart! Thank you for taking time to leave such words. Feel free to email me directly with any specific questions at julie@pinkdoxies.com
Julie
Pink Doxie Mama