Friday, October 05, 2007

Happy Howloween Again

Here's Happy Howloween, a free-piecing sampler I made back in 2001. I had already made several wallhangings by then using the letters, but this was the first time I really and truly played with making all sorts of other images.


Click on the picture to get a much larger and clearer image. I think these colors must vibrate or something - makes it harder to look at. Notice how the left edge of the quilt dips in. I told you I refuse to square quilts.

I recently posted some blocks from this quilt here and last year I detailed each row of the quilt here. My first asterisk spider is in here somewhere. I was playing with the letter w to see if it looked better with the slants going this way, but it most definitely doesn't.
I've sworn off using graphic fabric like this for letters:

This is a B made the easy way. I definitely don't like it as well as how I make them now.

I want my mummy:

The child mummy. The legs are falling off, which I didn't do deliberately but I refuse to rip out and redo work that doesn't need it. My theory: adds charm.
And here's mummy mummy. I gave her the hat and handbag to try and emphasize the joke.

This is how I actually take detail shots. Standing on the quilt. I was going to crop my feet out, but then realized how apropo they are in this shot. Smell my feet!

This is a quilt that I can just pick apart - I see so many areas that I would do differently today. Despite that, it makes me smile. Fun and bright. I definitely learned a lot from making it.

22 comments:

Clare said...

This quilt is my 2nd favourite of yours. I love the different sections. I too don't square. I've tried, but my eye can't see straight lines so I've given up.

BTW I've missed out on L.Q'king again! $38 on EBay - yulch!

Hedgehog said...

This might be my favorite of all your quilts, too!! Thanks for all the close-ups! Can't wait to get back to my fish this weekend!

Tazzie said...

I wouldn't change a think in this quilt Tonya, I just adore it. My special faves are the skeleton and Frankie.
*hugs*
Tazzie
:-)

Tazzie said...

My errant fingers made a typo ... make that 'wouldn't change a thing'
*hugs*
T

Joyce said...

I love this quilt. I like the way the letters in Trick or Treat touch each other. I must try that on my next one. I always leave spaces but sometimes the piece gets too big.

Anonymous said...

i love the skeleton

Anonymous said...

This is just the best Halloween-y quilt yet. I just love all the lettering. I'm going to HAVE to do a quilt with lettering on it SOON.

Tracey in CT said...

This is so cute! I'm having trouble figuring the sizes of the letters, mine seem so HUGE. Can you tell me how big your are? For example, how wie is the 'trick or treat, smell my feet" section? I have a feeling that my 1.75" strips are just too wide.

Ms. Jan said...

Well I'm nuts about this quilt and if you ever tire of the "flaws" you can send it to me!!! LOLOLOL

atet said...

Love this quilt -- and like you -- I've got works I'm happy with. For the level of skill and/or experience I had at the time they are great. Would I change things now? You bet. Would I go back and fix them? No way -- they remind me of what I like/don't like and what I've learned. Kind of like life that :0).

Anonymous said...

Tonya, you are the best and this quilt is wonder! You made me decide to make a "letter" quilt, though I could not enroll in the workshop in time, and now I see that the "boxed workshop" is not for Europe, either:-) But I would really love to do something at least quarter as creative and fun as your Howloween quilt. Thanks.

Susan said...

Thanks for all the close-ups. I actually like the stripe in the letters - I can see why you might decide not to do it again, but what if it hadn't been paired with the lime green bright?

Colleen formerly of South Africa said...

I love this quilt...and especially love the "unsquaredness". Probably wouldn't have noticed it at all if you hadn't pointed it out...but glad you did. I love WONKY!Love your blog too. Colleen in South Africa

Quiltdivajulie said...

2 things -

Are those orange spikey's around Happy Howloween? If so, would you take a closer up pic (or two) and email them to me (that might get me through until you have time to write out your how-to notes, although (see my e-mail) I may now be off in another direction...)

ALSO - how do you do your posts so that each (ALL) of the pics enlarge when clicked (when I post, only the first pic will "blow up" while the others remain fixed).

LOVE this quilt - such fun (it's okay to reflect on what you'd do differently now, but don't criticize yourself!! The piece is AWESOME just as it is!)

Thanks a bunch!!

Magpie Sue said...

Fun, fun, fun! It's delightful. And wouldn't we all change some things after the fact (if it were worth it)? There are so many good ideas in this quilt. Wonderful source of inspiration for the rest of us :- )

black bear cabin said...

Love it!!!! Thanks for sharing!
lisajo

Nellie's Needles said...

SMILE! (there's a big grin from ear to ear on my face)

Erin said...

the quilt is perfect! what an imagination you have and it was certainly inspiring, you should send it to a quilting magazine for next years issue! I love your blog! from a blogger in Nashua NH USA! I also have a cat, my quilting buddy is with me everywhere I go..he watches me cut, sew, quilt, sleep, he supervises! HE likes brighter colors! hehehe...so he would really love your quilt!

Cher said...

oh I remember some of this quilt-and it certainly is great to see it again, so much fun! it makes me smile too.

Anonymous said...

thank you for more pictures of "Howloween", and the spiders.....know why mind didn't work out quite right

jmb_craftypickle said...

I love this one all together...I guess I hadn't seen it yet...
Great!

Marge said...

This post about Happy Howloween is a wonderful tutorial. It's very helpful to read about the process that you went through making this fun quilt. I hope that quilters who still think that this is beyond them understand that you take it a section at a time. Even though you see lots of changes that you would now make, it is truly a materpiece.