Halloween in NC

 We have stayed in NC and happily celebrated Halloween with Avery and company.

Avery was a "Diny" (Dinosaur)

I found this hoodie and they added the tail.

PERFECT!

Avery got to meet Pikachu.

I don't think he was really wild about the Kit Kat he got to eat.

Most of it ended up on his face and in his hands, LOL.

It was a great night and we were so happy to be able to spend it with Avery and his family.

Happy Halloween y'all!

~XOP~

Friend Time

 While Chris was in Canada, my friend lost power at her place. 
 She decided to bring her dog and come stay with me. 

 We set up my whole downstairs as a sewing camp!  

We ended up making Quicksmart, Midi bags. 

 We made them as Trick-Or-Treat bags.  

We pooled our Halloween fabrics to give us no duplicates.

I love this girl so much!

I cut out enough to make a few more too.

Cole was helping me.

Finn too!

Finn loves Kailie

Our finished bags!

We both have more to sew.  

I cut out a bunch for my SIL's grand kids and gave them to her.

I cut out more to make for some other kids too.

Waiting on more Midi interfacing.

~XOP~

Happy Halloween

I LOVE Halloween.  I love seeing the kids all dressed up and handing out the candy. 

 I found some of my kids old costumes.  

Hubby wanted me to get rid of them but nooooooooo, I neeeeeeed to keep them!  

HAHA

Since I don't have any littles I thought I would show you what my daughter made.  

She made dragon wings for her peacock, Stan!

Isn't he so cute as a dragon??  

She attached the wings to the "diaper" I made for his predecessor, Beep.

I hope you all have a fun and safe Halloween!

~XOP~

WIPs With Friends

Sorry this is going up late but as you can imagine I have had lots to do since returning home!

I did manage to work on a few things on Sunday.  

I had volunteered to do some pattern testing for a friend and so made this adorable block.  

Of course I now need an entire herd of these, right?

Her pattern is not released yet, but soon.

 I also managed to get binding made for the fish quilt and the fox quilt (both at the quilter's).

So now this will be ready once I get them back.

I hung my Halloween quilt and I smile every time I see this.

Hubby took some small lights and decorated this pumpkin for our porch last night.

So clever!!

Happy Halloween everyone!

What are you working on?  Please share using the link below.

I am linking up with Sew Fresh Quilts too.

~XOP~

An InLinkz Link-up

Halloween

Yes I know it is not Halloween or October any longer but we had a Halloween party and 

I wanted to share a few things with you.  

The BEST part  was when my daughter dressed up her cat, Lenore, as a peacock. 

 I am fairly certain Lenore did not agree!

We did some food prep that turned out pretty cute!  I was loving these pudding cups.

 She made "eyeballs" using Gouda cheese, ketchup and black olives.  

She couldn't make the "veins" very well and ended up using a needle and syringe.  

It worked perfectly!

She had rented a tent and we decorated it. 

 It was so cute, but we couldn't be outside as it was raining and so so cold!

One of my favorite things she got this year was this cat skeleton.  (It was plastic). 

 I think we need to get it a collar and 

a name tag for next year with a sign saying we forgot to feed her!

It turned out to be a small party but it was fun to spend time with my daughter prepping. 

 We used to host a Halloween party every year at our house when the kids were small and

 now she wants to carry on that tradition.  

I have gifted her all my Halloween "stuff".  

Hmmm, I wonder who wants all the Christmas stuff??  LOL

Back to quilty stuff soon, I promise. 

 I am making another chenille blanket and need to get the binding on a quilt.

  I am hoping to make the binding and attach it before quilting tonight so I can have a few hours to hand stitch at quilt group tonight.

I am taking a paper piecing class next week,

 being taught by Carolyn Friedlander at Pink Castle Fabrics.  

The pattern she is teaching is her new one Outhouse. 

 I am very excited to go to the class and also her trunk show!

~XOP~

Holiday Lane Blog Hop

I don't usually join in these things but my BFF Pauline (Quiltin' Queen) is hosting 

so I wanted to support her and join in the hopping mania. 

 Any of you who know me know that I am sometimes a bit of a rebel. 

 I did ask if we could make something other than a pillow and she told me yes. 

 I don't really like making pillows, so this will be a tutorial for something a little different!

OK so here goes!

  I decided that first of all "Holiday Lane" could be any holiday right? 

 You all know my favorite holiday is Halloween so my project is Halloween themed. 

 I want to thank Jill over at Jillily Studios for her pattern it was easy to follow and 

easy to adapt to my finished project too.

I decided instead of a pillow I would be making a sewing machine cover!! 

 I hope you would like to join me and make one along with me!!  

The first thing you need to know are the dimensions of your sewing machine. 

 You will need the:

Height, Length and Width.  I used the dimensions as follows and will show you how to make your calculations to make your cover fit your machine too.

My height was 13"   Length  18.5" and width 9"

To calculate your dimensions:

Width 18.5" + 3"= 21.5"
           ^
your length here

Length 13" x 2 = 26" + 9" = 39"
            ^                     ^
Your height here      Your width here

I hope this makes sense to you!  It is a little confusing!

You will also need
 ~48" of ribbon cut into eight  12" lengths, color and width of your choice.
Batting and fabric for center of cover and the back (based on your measurements)
small bits of fabric for embellishments.

I added up the width of each separate house section until I had a width that worked for me and

 made the panels accordingly. 

 For one side I made house sections 1, 2, 5, and 3. 

 For the other side I made house sections 4, 5, 2, 1, and 6.  

I sewed my panels together and then the fun began! 

 The embellishments! 

 I decided it needed some cool roofs. 

 So rick rack it was! 

 I used Steam a Seam in a roll to apply the rick rack to the roofs.

Then I fused it into place and began to put on the other fused things.  

A moon, some ghosts, a witch's hat etc.
You can find my patterns for them over here

 Just get creative with your embellishments!!

I was having fun with this step!

I stitched everything down too.  

Sometimes I did a blanket stitch,

Most of the time I did a straight line stitch. 

(You can see it here on the back)

Don't forget to stitch your rick rack down too. 

 I just followed the line of the rick rack and zig zagged the ends. 

 I also used Fray Check on the ends as added assurance!

After you have all your embellishments done and sewn in place measure from the base of the house to the top of the piece and add the measurements together.  

Subtract that from the final number you got for your "Length" above, mine was 39 total and

 I had to subtract the measurements of both panels.  

This is the amount you need to add in between both panels to make the cover complete.

 Pin then sew each panel to opposite sides.

Now comes making the actual cover part. 

 I cut a piece of the black the same size as the entire cover. 

 You have to cut a piece of batting the same size too.  

At this point you need to put your ribbon ties on the front of the cover. 

 Measure 6" from the bottom on each side and 6" from the top on each side. 

 Pin your ribbons there.

Time to layer your cover. First the batting, then the backing and then the top (RST with the backing).  Pin in place,

Your ties will be in between the top and the backing.

Sew all the way round leaving an opening for turning. 

 Trim corners before turning.

Turn press and pin opening closed

Press all the way around and top stitch all the way around. 

 I did it twice so I didn't have to stitch the opening closed by hand (yes I'm THAT lazy!)

I put a piece of tape down the center and suing my walking foot I stitched down one side.  

Then I stitched organic lines all the way to the sewn panels.  

I also quilted around the houses, and all of the fused elements. 

 I added stitched on windows and doors to quilt that part down too.

Here is the finished sewing machine cover, both sides!

**Note the bling on the bottom of this one!**

It fits my BFF's machine perfectly!  

I hope you like it Pauline.

 I made it so you would have something to remember hosting your first blog hop! 

 I am so proud of you and how far you have come!

Now it is time to go and visit everyone else that is posting on this day!

Tuesday November 27

Cindy's Crafty Creations

Woolie Mammoth

Lily Patch Quilts

Insanity Defense

Ginger Snaps Quilts

quiltingbydawn

Scrapbook-Chickadoodle

Mama Spark's World

Marla's Crafts

Annie Oak Designs

Count it *all* Joy

Stitching by the Lake

A Stitch in Time

I hope you have enjoyed my tutorial! 

 Please let me know what you think of it.

Thanks for the visit!

~XOP~