Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Ghastlies quilt is finished!

It's done!  Muahahahahaaaaaa!  (Did that sound evil?)


This quilt has to be the most "unnecessary" quilt I have ever made.  And the most fun!  It all just fell into place so instinctively, and I enjoyed every minute of the process.  Let's face it, normally I utter more than a few curse words in the quilt-making process,  but this one was smooth sailing!


Truth be told, I don't even really like Halloween.  But when I was introduced to Alexander Henry's The Ghastlies while at Sewing Summit last fall, I loved it, and bought a half hard with no particular plans.  I started making some wonky blocks with it last fall, inspired by Thumbelina's quilt.  I thought I would just make a wall hanging, but as the blocks accumulated, I ended up with more than enough for a quilt, especially once adding the wonky border- this thing finished at 65 by 75 inches!

Once the top was made, I instantly had visions of quilting it with a large, sprawling spiderweb. The epicentre is to the top left of the quilt (you can click on the photo to enlarge and see the quilting better).  I used a thick Aurafil thread in a yellow-orange shade so that the quilting is quite pronounced.





 I used the same thread to topstitch the binding for continuity.


I even love the back- found this perfect spiderweb fabric at Fabricland on clearance for $3.50/meter.  Score!




It was Canadian Thanksgiving yesterday, and we headed out to rural Manitoba to have dinner with The Hubs' family.  This "Haunted House" is just down the road from their farm....all perfectly rusted and falling down!  Even the day was grey and rainy and desolate...perfect for photographing a Ghastly quilt.  I have to give a shout-out to The Hubs for climbing over barbed-wire fences, avoiding the multiple cow patties, and patiently holding this up in the rain while I gleefully took photos!






Wishing you a SPOOKTACULAR day!

Shared at Quilt Story and linked up to A Ghastly Gathering at alidiza, which runs until October 28!

A Ghastly Gathering!

38 comments:

Heather D. said...

Yes, very evil! :)

The setting for your photos is perfect for this quilt, as is the web quilting design.

And is that SNOW I see on the ground??

I was just telling my son this morning that snow on his birthday (nov 30) or later is okay with me. :) We're on Vancouver Island so it's not as common as where you live, especially this early in the season, but I grew up in Alberta so I do remember Halloweens in snow suits!

Flo @ Butterfly Quilting said...

Perfect!! I was not a big fan of the Ghastlie line until I saw what you created with it! Very fun!

Amy Friend said...

I am not a Ghastlie fan but I like this quilt! I think it is the colors you added to it that do it for me. Nice!

Tracey Jacobsen said...

such a great quilt! Love the photos and oh my word that quilting!

I was *just* thinking (like 10 minutes ago?) that I don't really feel any need for a Halloween quilt, or have any real fondness for them, except for I thought Kristie's Ghastly quilt was cute...
great job! :)

Stephanie Granite said...

I love it! The Ghastlies is one of my favorite fabrics and I love how you used it! I have half yards of 7 or so of the prints and haven't yet figured out what to do with it yet, but maybe I'll try some wonky improv and see where it leads me. Love the quilting on this as well

Little Island Quilting said...

You purchased a 'half hard'...interesting;-)

I like it even though, like you, I'm not really into Halloween.

bethanndodd said...

Turned out spooktacular! Sometimes an unnecessary quilt is just what we need. Looking even more forward to cutting into mine now ;)
Smiles~Beth

KendasCrafts said...

looks great! Love the spider web quilting!

Carolyn S. said...

Love it! That is so fun. Great design and quilting and photos. Thanks for sharing.

Angela said...

perfection!!

Toni said...

I love that spiderweb quilting! Well, really the whole quilt is awesome. Glad you had such a good time with it!

Stephanie said...

Love it! So much :)

liniecat said...

Totally fabulous!

Jennifer said...

Love it! I'm not super crazy about halloween either but this quilt is a lot of fun. Nice quilting and your photography is perfect!

Jennifer :0

felicity said...

It's delightful! And the photographs are perfect. Love the big spiderweb, and the whole thing is just perfect.

Shay said...

Hey you! LOVE that spiderweb quilting. It’s perfect for the quilt , which is by the way , absolutely spook-tastic.

Dont you love it when a quilt just comes together like its meant to be ?

Love the “eerie “ barn backdrop for the photo shoot too.

Katie B said...

These pictures are so creepy! Are you kidding me with that car? Shudder.

You know I love this quilt, but I have to say the quilting is INsane. I'm serious. Surely this is going to be a year-round quilt, right? You won't be shoving it in the closet on Nov. 1?

Kelli Fannin Quilts said...

This is so fabulous! The quilt, the quilting, the backing, it's all so perfect.. right down to the photo shoot! Love all the photos. xo

Laurene said...

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this quilt! You inspired me to purchase some Ghastlies fabric. I hope you know how incredibly talented you are, and I look forward to checking out your blog posts :-)

Katy Cameron said...

I absolutely love this! And I'm sure we all need a few unnecessary quilts just 'cos the fabric's cool ;o)

Unknown said...

I love the Ghastlies and I adore this quilt of yours. As a matter of fact, my twins have on Ghastlies smock tops that I made for them.

Susanne said...

Looks stunning!

Natalie said...

Very cool quilt, and I love love the backdrop you found for your photos! It suits the quilt perfectly-- totally worth the effort of climbing fences and taking photos in the rain. Your hubby is clearly a keeper!

Leah said...

I love this quilt! The colors are perfect together!!!

Michele said...

Oh I just love, love, love it! I am obsessed with the Ghastlies and just a few minutes ago, was working on my own Ghasltie quilt plan. Now to just get my sewing machine back from the shop so that I can get going on it would be helpful.

Amanda said...

I love this quilt. Your decision to add the mustard yellow made this quilt pop and injected some much needed whimsy into the ghastlie world. The spider web quilting was a perfect choice.

alidiza said...

WOW!!! This came out beautifully... the quilting really makes it! I LOVE the spiderweb, absolutely perfect:-) Thanks for linking up!!!

alidiza said...

WOW!!! This came out beautifully... the quilting really makes it! I LOVE the spiderweb, absolutely perfect:-) Thanks for linking up!!!

Svetlana said...

wow!!!! totally awesome! and what a great Halloweeny house, too.

Nic said...

Aww, what a well trained hubby ;)
LOVE the quilt. I do love the ghastlies. I discovered them last year and started collecting, though like you wasn't sure what to use them for.
Love the spiderweb quilting. It's started to give me ideas, so thanks for that as well :)

Amy said...

I love your quilt! Is there a pattern that you used?

Carla said...

What an amazing place to photograph that quilt. Absolutely amazing on all fronts

Unknown said...

I love, love, LOVE this quilt! Just amazing.

Dana Gaffney said...

I love the colors you picked! The orange and pink makes the quilt so much fun. Love those Ghastlies.

Jacey said...

I love the way you quilted it! It's awesome. I agree; the Ghastlies fabric is my favorite of the halloween variety. I am especially enamored with the cat print! Fun!!

Terri said...

Love the quilting, too!
Hugs

MalinisQuilts said...

Love your Ghastiles quilt. Love the pop of orange color in your blocks.

Thimbleanna said...

Your quilt is fantastic! -aren't they fun to make? I love the way you quilted it too!