We finally have a quilt finish around here! I actually finished the Ghastlies before Christmas (just barely) but I couldn’t show them to you because I made three of them — one for MeMum and BigDaddy, one for MyDadLovesMeBestSister and CrazyBIL and one for us.
I love that they’re getting their little photo session in the winter. Ghastlies should be surrounded by the stark black and whiteness of the cold, not the pretty greens or autumn colors of the other seasons.
I had a hard time deciding how to quilt the little creepers. Since the pattern is a wonky log cabin and I chose to “float” them on a bed of gray, the gray sashing isn’t straight. I ended up quilting big wonky zig zags in the gray. In my mind, I was thinking of the visual version of that screeching music from the movie Psycho.
Then I free-motioned around each little character and did 1/4″ quilting along each color of the log cabin. Try that on a domestic machine — it was a pain in the behind. Stitch down a side, turn, stitch down the next side, turn…round and round to complete each block. I didn’t think I’d be able to keep the stitching straight if I tried to free-motion it. I’m really happy with the quilting, but it was very time-consuming.
I backed the quilts with a solid piece of the ghastlie print. This is the only picture I got of the back — rather sinister looking in jail, I think. The blocks are each 14″ and each quilt measures 56″ x 70″. Perfect for snuggling while listening to werewolves howling outside.
At the end of our photo session, I took the Ghastlies for a little swing in MyDadLovesMeBestSister’s tire swing. They seemed to really love the ride.
What they didn’t love was the snowy adventure. Little hammer girl was very unimpressed.
And the coven of witches were downright whizzed off. They were whispering about me and when I tried to get close enough to hear what they were saying, that skinny little witch on the right turned around and gave me a death stare.
Fine. I dried them off, folded them up, and put them in the cupboard. They have until October to wipe those scowls off of their faces!
XOXO,
Anna
I love them! I really need to get off my hiney and start working on my ghastlies quilt. Okay, I’m inspired.
Too cute!? I love the fabric, I just never came up with a way to use it. You came up with a fantastic look! Lucky family members.
Those are awesome! After seeing this, I know it’s okay to work on Halloween projects in January :)
Very entertaining post, I was chuckling at my computer! The quilts are lovely too. Dad, Mum, and Sis are very lucky.
Those are so amazing!
They are wonderful! Are you saving them for next year to give to everyone?
Oh, my! You have been ambitious (and brave) to make 3 quilts at once. They really are wonderful to see and your photographs of them are excellent!
How cool is that tire swing! Fantastic job on the Ghastlies…love the back, too. They are the best use of “wonky” I’ve seen.
Sympathies on the pain in the behind! So worth it though. It makes me physically ill that these are ready, already, for Halloween. I think maybe we should burn you at the stake….What say you Brigitta?
Oh my goodness! I am in love! Are you quite sure your family members will show sufficient appreciation for these beauties? I could provide a very good home for one of them, you know…
Fantastic! I love them.
I have to say those quilts are super! I love all the little characters on them too. I will admit that when I used to read my children bedtime stories there was always one about a witch somewhere!
They are so cute, Anna!! I love that fabric; reminds me of Edward Gorey drawings.
So wish we were realated!! They are fabulous!!!
Ooh, I like the setting on those blocks. The gray is perfect with them. Very nice!
Nice job! I really like the Ghastlies quilts. They turned out great.
Fabulous quilts! You couldn’t have picked a better setting for the photos. Your machine must have been working overtime to get them done, congratulations on three great finishes.
Well, no wonder you’ve been so quiet. You’ve been working your little fingers to the bone, haven’t you! Three at once is AWESOME!!
Those are just great! And your comments about the little characters cracked me UP!!! You are so cute!
Wonderful quilts in a beautiful Wintery setting! Great finishes Anna!!
These are fantastic! The fabric is amazing and the colours against the winter are lovely.
They are brilliant!! You definitely get all the best fabric over there!! Check out Monday’s post – there is a little special something for you!
These turned out fabulous – so inspiring!
Love your photo session. You can never have too much of a good thing. I think three of these is just about right…
; )
Happy New Year Anna!
What a treat of a post, your work never ceases to amaze me!
Those quilts are amazing, but then, of course, you knew that! ;)
I love your quilts!!! I really wanted that fabric and never seem to find, now I wish I did!! Beautiful job!!
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the ghastlies! Cannot believe you got them done in the time you did! Congratulations on the 4 year mark with the blog! LOVE it too! Hugs!
the quilts are fabulous, fun & down right fantastic!
anna, your ghastlies rock!
What great quilts…love the photo session! PERFECT!
Love your quilts Anna,they are just perfect and so cool. Great photos too! Psycho music and zig-zags,you probably couldn’t get it out of your head as you were quilting!!!
How did I not see this fabric…this is stinkin’ cute…
EEK! Something meant to be scary shouldn’t be that cute! Great quilting!
Wow, that skinny little witch really grimmed you out didn’tshe? I am totally in love with these quilts. They are awesome! I have some of this fabric and may have to use it in a similar manner. Thanks for the idea!
Wow! These turned out amazing!
totally cooool!!! i LOVE these quilts – and you lasted THREE times longer with the Ghastlies than i did – little hammer girl packs a mean whallop.
Anna I adore the quilts you did a wonderful job piecing and quilting them. You know how much I love Halloween and these are just perfect. Can’t believe you got three of them finished how great! smooch~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Love your ghastlies! I was just working on mine last nite.
I think I like you because you imagine screechy psycho music in your mind while quilting your sashing.
And our dear friend Molly, well she’s got a plan….. Let’s hold off Molly, we can continue to use her for inspiration and our shame-o-meter.
You did the quilts the same. That’s cool. And the blocks….looks like each block is similar each time…oh my.
Have a fun day Anna.
:waves madly from under the warm covers in my freezing house
Anna it turned out soooooooo cute! I absolutley love it!!! Maybe I should send you my uncut Ghastlies to work your magic on! :) You just make the best stuff!!! lol
Love from Oklahoma,
-Amy
Those are fantastic Anna!! And I’m still kicking myself for not buying any!
Truly amazing quilts and THREE of them! Where do you get your stamina Anna! great job.
:-)
LOVE IT!
I’ve got some half yard cuts of The Ghastlies squirelled away, waiting for the right project and some solid time to think and create. I love what you came up with, it really suits them!
LOL, well you have to watch out for those quilt witches ;-) xoxoox Clarice
Cute as can be…oops…ghastlies probably would rather be scary as can be! I am sooo impressed, how you manged to pull of 3 and quilt them yourself and do Christmas….well done Anna.
So cute! Now I know why you don’t have time to read. You were too busy quilting.
What fantastic quilts!! Everything about them is perfect for a cold, windy night when who-knows-what is prowling around giving you the shi-i-i-i-ivers.
Where-oh-where can I buy the Ghastly fabric? I need some whimsy in my life! Maybe some pillowcases for my girls and SIL?? I’ll come up with something! Oh, please share the source kind Anna!!
Hugs,
Joni
I laughed out loud when I read this post, Anna. In my experience, skinny little witches are always nasty! LOL! I hope you told her to eat a newt and get over herself before you put her away in the cupboard. That’s a good saying, isn’t it? I might use that in my real life…Oh, go eat a newt and get over yourself…it has a good ring.
LOVE the quilts. You’re the bomb!
~Cassie
Oh these are too wonderful! I love the putty setting color – very cool.
These will be so fun to cuddle with, lots to look at and laugh about – love your narration!
thanks for sharing these with us
Oh, my gosh! Anna- they are fabulous! You are right about them being surrounded by snow, it’s perfect for their pallid complexions. Hope you are staying warm. We’ve been iced in since yesterday and it looks like we’ll be so at least until Thursday. Oh, well, I am getting a lot done. :)
Wow, wow, wow, wow freaking wow!!! I LOVE THE QUILTS! One for you, one for me, one for Sarah… right?
three of them? wonderful work! so glad there is one for you! love that girl with hammer!
You promised completed quilts and you delivered! I’m still working on the embroidery pattern that I am making to be in the center of my Ghastlie’s quilt. I LOVED the strips of black on the back of the quilt. It made me think of a wrought iron fence. I’ll have to ‘lift’ that idea from you…
;0
Glad to hear that Psycho influenced your quilting…lol. I really like the quilting and all of your time and effort really paid off….they are adorable. I bet they were a big hit!
Wow! That’s all I can say – wow wow wow!
Wow! So cute! I love them and I love the backing too! Just perfect!! I think we’re on the same page though cause I just posted a halloween quilt [that’s almost finished] on my blog. I think we’re twins…
Woah! I love the quilts Anna! They are faaaaantastic! Congrats on getting them done in time. Finally getting some inspiration and time around here to start sewing again. I AM SO PSYCHED! :)
I totally love the quilts! I want to try my hand at free-motion quilting.
They are fab Anna! And I’m so impressed that you managed to make 3 quilts! Lucy xx
Boy when you finish…you finish alot! I LUV the coven of witches…I think I must get some of the fabric and have the “coven” be our knitting group – maybe on a knitting bag…just for a kick.
They would totally understand – we are mostly a laid back, kind sort, but you know sometimes the
bitch (witch) just has to come out for a short while to get things taken care of.
You are such a wickedly talented friend – what will be your next potion brew up Ms Anna?
xoxo, robin
They are fabulous!1 You did an amazing job and got the colours, patterns and quilting just right!
How fun, Anna, I love them! I think I would keep them around all year, just because I think those witches are hilarious!
Those quilts are amazing! And you made 3 of them! Wow, I’m triple-y impressed. :) And I’m sure the recipients are thrilled. :)
This is absolutly outstanding.
Amazing what you can do with fabric.
Oh I wish I had half your talent
Anna, I love them!!!! So so cute. That fabric is awesome. Glad you dried them off before giving.
omg I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!! I would never be able to put it away!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You are three times crazier than me and three times more talented. There is something not quite right about your productivity level … there must be some little secret to your energizer bunny abilities … could it be that you convinced some of those little witches to help you or did you have to eat all the brown M&Ms in the state just to go quilting on and on until you were done with all three quilts? Envious, but with complete admiration, I remain. Carolina
How CUTE! Neat photos of their photo-op too!
I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE those quilts!!! Way to go Anna!
Oh my gosh, your Ghastlie quilt turned out so cute! I love the free floating style. You are SO talented. And your family is really lucky to have received those!
OH what a wonderful quilts!!! I just ran across your blog the other day and love it.
Your ideas are so awsume!!!
Anna,
You know I love these quilts!! They are so fun, and wickedly beautiful.
What a clever person Anna…. three quilts at once!! When I read that I immediately had to have a lie down!! Puts me to shame when I can’t even finish one at a time!!
Rainbow smiles
Gloria
Oh Wow, oh wow, oh wow! what fantastically, wonderful quilts! I think I need a lie down too, three finishes, I’m exhausted just thinking about it *grin*. toni xxx
oooooh, anna, you’re most amazing!!! i LOVE your ghastlies quilts!!! the quilting is fabulous!
will you adopt me & and make me a quilt like that? :)
i’m sure your family is over the moon to get them!!!
Oh Anna, they’re fantastic! I love the colours and that zig-zag quilting is brilliant.
I also just love the look that naughty witch is giving you! These are going to be loved by their lucky recipients :o)
xxx
Wow, not 1 but 3 ghastlies, you sure are ambitious. I bet your family loved their quilts. They turned out fantastic! Great job Anna!
absolutely positively love them!
You are just too funny!!! Very cute quilt!!
So, so, so, so, so, so CUTE! I’m glad you took the little beasts out in the cold to get their reactions. Your family must love you to DEATH!
Jody
What a ghastly looking quilt! I love it! Got any spare quilts pour moi? lol Thanks for sharing!
Oh my. These are lovelies. I love how you staged them, too. What a darling quilt design. It fits the subject perfectly. Of course they are creative and beautiful – you made them!
hi anna! such a cute quilt and post here! LOL – girls in jail! you are so talented, my friend, so talented!
happy new year!
xxoo
becky
Amazing!! Okay, I think that says it all. :)
Where can I get the ghastlies fabric? I MUST GET THIS FABRIC!!! I have been wanting to make a quilt for my daughter but couldn’t find a fabric/ pattern- and this is beyond perfect!!! I anyone has some of this fabric they would agree to sell- PLEASE shoot me an email! Thank you!
wi.dragonfly@hotmail.com