Talk To Me Tuesday (TTMT #13) October 17, 2017

Tuesday has come around once again in the blink of an eye. I have a new TTMT video up on my RsIslandCrafts YouTube channel.  If you want to see what the rest of the Tuesday bunch is up to you can see their videos on the TTMT blog.

I finally have a fully finished Halloween Hop wall hanging!!!  WooHoo!  I don't remember when I bought this kit but it has been a few years. I cut out the bones and fused them down last year or maybe the year before. This year I was determined to get him finished. I guess making videos for TTMT and YouTube have given me that extra push that I need. 

I did a basic free motion meander for the quilting using black thread in the center and green in the borders. The binding is the same fabric as the borders because I liked the way the piece flowed. The pattern recommended black binding but I felt that it made an abrupt stop like a picture in a frame. This way felt like it flowed better but that just might be me and since it's mine I get to choose, right? lol

It's hard to get a picture of something glowing but you can kinda see how it glows. The bones aren't just straight up white. They have what I think of as a jungle leaf print which is why the glowing picture looks a bit mottled. Trust me, he looks awesome in person.

I had so much fun making this wall hanging. I think Bartie needs a girlfriend but that might be for another year. Now to dig in the wip bin and see what I can finish next.

Halloween Hexi Table Toppers

While wandering on around Pinterest recently I came across some hexagon table toppers. I thought they looked really neat so I had to make one... or four lol. I had so much fun making these that I could make a dozen more and probably will.

This one is for my house but you can find the rest in my RsIslandCrafts ArtFire shop. I can't keep them all especially since we don't have any tables lol. I will hang ours on the wall probably.

I like this back but I wish it glowed in the dark. That would be fun even it is on a table and you wouldn't be able to see it. I would know it's there and peek all the time.

I used one Halloween jelly roll that I've had for quite some time for all the Halloween fabric hexie toppers. I really like the lime green, purple, orange combo. I really think these toppers would look great with a big chunky candle in the center. I can picture an orange chunky candle on this one.

I think this is my favorite backing fabric out of all the Halloween hexie toppers. I love pumpkins and so cute with purple witch's hats.

I wasn't sure how a striped hexie topper  would look but I like this one too. This one reminds me of witch's hats. I think it's the stripes messing with my eyes but it's fun

  I've also been hoarding this backing fabric for awhile. Little Halloween badges with cats, bats, and pumpkins oh my!

I had a mini jelly roll sampler from Connecting Threads that I purchased in 2009/2010. I've told y'all I had some old stash to work through before I could restock the stash. lol I love how bright this Springtime topper turned out. Wouldn't this one look sweet with a little Easter bunny and basket in the center? I chose the green backing because it reminds me of grass.

If you're interested in knowing how I made these hexagon table toppers I did do a Sew With Me video over on my YouTube channel. I stitched what I like to call the With's Hat topper in that video.

Boo

See the upper right corner, yep another windy day lol


I was playing in my Halloween stash again. This time I broke out the Go! cutter and tumbler die.  I cut a bunch of tumblers and then started playing. I still need to sew down the letters and ghosts and then add a border.

Hubby really likes both of them but I'm still on the fence. I think the second one is better though. The first one just seems a bit busy for my eyes but that might change once I add the border(s). I do like wall hangings or table toppers that have words on them.

Witchy treat bag

In my box of Halloween fabric that I recently acquired, I found a panel for this adorable Witchy Trick or Treat bag. Very cute!

(back)

Nice and simple. Just the way I like it sometimes. It's always a good thing when you can whip out a project without much muss or fuss. I love the long term, thought provoking, need to pay attention projects too, but a quickie is good too :)

Check out these feet! The feet have two layers of cotton batting in them.

The bag portion has batting on the front and back also. Gives it nice body.

I just quilted a quick outline to hold it all together.

The panel said to use fusible interfacing for the handles but my fusible is in the bedroom closet and Hubby was napping at the time. Not wanting to wake him, I used some Halloween ribbon instead :)

(lining)

I was going to put it up in the shop but Hubby said to please put it up for our first Granddaughter. OK Hubby, you win this one since I love this bag!!

Ghoul's Guild

I'm a member of the Goul's Guild over on ArtFire. There are some very talented artists in this guild. I love all things Halloween so this guild was great for me!

One of the talented members is located right here in sunny Florida. Surpreyes has some awesome trinket boxes listed in her ArtFire shop. I LOVE this mummy box! Very Halloween-y. Plus, it's not too scary to have sitting on a table...even year round.

Spooktacular swap update

I'm almost finished with my theme blocks for Jane's Spooktacular Swap! I just need to sign my name on the front. I want to see if I can find a gold pen to write my name somewhere in the web design.



These blocks are all from things I had around the house. The black fabric was a sheet in it's former life until I brought it home from the thrift store. The purple spiders are cut from a fleece blanket that I used as backing for some bibs. I have a box full of embroidery thread that I use for small projects (I did have a few almost full skeins in there too).

I went back and forth about whether or not these would be good for the swap but I really like how they turned out. Plus, a swap is about getting a variety of things and I hope these will be a nice surprise in everyone's quilts.

Hexing quilt top complete

I finished hand piecing the hexagon Halloween quilt recently. I had a fun time working on it. I was worried it might be one of those projects that I am eager to start but then never actually finish.





I hand embroidered different Halloween inspired motifs in the white center hexagons. There's a bat, a couple pumpkins, a few sayings (including BOO), a skull, a witch's hat, and a ghost or two. A fun little mix if I do say so myself :)




I've decided to just square up all four sides and then I can bind it like a regular quilt. I was going to put a border on but then decided I like it just the way it is. I have some more fun Halloween fabric for the back and bindings too.




I'm hoping to get it quilted this weekend. I have a few I would like to get finished this weekend. Luckily they are all baby size.

I still had a bunch of hexes left over so I decided to make a Halloween stocking with some of them. I'm thinking about quilting the top and having a plain back and lining.



Now to decide on the next hex project. If you love hexagons, stop by The Great Hexagon Quilt Along 2!

Hexing a long

Coming along nicely....

Winter fun

I've been trying to come up with some fun new scarves. I saw the hug scarf over at Knitty and my mind started going wild! A hug for every season!!


Santa hug scarf...Santa's green mittens, furry white cuff, and long red sleeves:

No hugs from the snowman...just a double ended snowman scarf. I like how the actual scarf part is plain, but the hanging snowmen add a little fun.


This is the scarf that started it all for me...a witches hug scarf! This one went fast in my etsy shop!

Halloween at Team Etsykids!!

Halloween at Team Etsykids!!
Originally uploaded by rsislandcrafts

Some fun Halloween things from over at Team Etsy kids!!

Halloween quilt

My youngest Robbie (9) always wants one of anything I make. This month, he decided he just had to have a new quilt because I was making them for the kids next door. Every weekend he has been hounding me to see if I had finished his quilt yet. He picked the fabric from my stash and I decided to try making half square triangles. Without much thought or plan, I just stitched a bunch together. Then, I let Robbie help with the layout. Surprisingly, we were able to get a few designs out of my random cuttings.










I think this quilt will last him for a long time. It will take a few years for him to outgrow one this size.



I decided to use embroidery floss to make a few outlines of bats in the orange squares. I also used the word BOO because of course it works for Halloween and also that is his nickname that Momma gave him a few years back. Then I just added some random squiggly lines that are one of my machine's stitches. I used glow in the dark thread for the squiggles. I wanted to machine quilt the whole thing, but I need some more practice before I can get a handle on that. It was actually relaxing to hand stitch even the small amount I did. I might need to practice on a smaller quilt and try hand quilting....


I also let Robbie pick out the back fabric. We just used a sheet we found at Walmart. I actually like this color.


Full size view...

I love how colorful it looks in his room. He was so cute when I first gave it to him Sunday afternoon. He wouldn't let anyone else touch it. He wouldn't even use it while he was playing video games. Normally, he likes to wrap up in a comforter because he says his room is too cold from the air conditioning. He told me he wanted to keep his new quilt "new" feeling until bed time. How sweet!