Friday, October 16, 2020

Halloween Candy Tablerunner

It's almost Halloween, and stores are overflowing with candy right now in preparation for trick o' treat season. Not quite sure how that's going to work this year due to COVID-19 restrictions, but whether or not kids go door to door, everyone still wants their sweet tooth satisfied!

Whether folks venture out or party at home, a very fun way to add to the festivities is to take some those sweet treats and turn them into this adorable Halloween Candy table runner!

candy corn and green penny candy make a table runner on purple by QuiltFabrication

Though chocolate confections are my favorite, Halloween just wouldn't be complete without candy corn. Add to that some penny candy, that wrapped hard candy that seems to be in every bank, restaurant, or store candy dish, to make one very hard-to-resist bit of sweetness!

candy corn and green candy for a table runner by QuiltFabrication

Remember my Candy Corn block? Well, I had no plans to use it as is, so I took it apart, back to the individual candy corn pieces.

candy corn quilt blocks by QuiltFabrication

With the help of EQ and graph paper, I designed the Penny Candy block (pattern coming next week),

green penny candy quilt block by QuiltFabrication

and manipulated it to create the Halloween Candy runner.

closeup of Halloween Candy table runner by QuiltFabrication

With the addition of 2" borders in a fun Halloween print, plus the pantograph "Snack Attack" in Glide Cool Grey, I've got a very fun Halloween (and food) themed runner. Let the party begin!

Halloween Candy table runner on a table with pumpkins by QuiltFabrication

A few more details about the Halloween Candy table runner:

it measures approximately 13 1/2" x 44"
fabric requirements use both fat quarters and yardage
blocks are pieced NOT paper pieced
the pattern is listed for the intermediate quilter, though a highly confident beginner would have success following to the very detailed diagrams
the Halloween Candy table runner pattern is at special pricing, now thru Oct 31, 2020. Get it before time runs out!

Next week, the Penny Candy block will be available. It's a modified version, featuring a standard block size. The pattern will also include directions for making Penny Candy without the stripes, plus block layout ideas. Hmm, I'm visualizing another quilt - Christmas is just around the corner.

Until then, Happy Quilting everyone!

My Favorite Patterns

Tuesday, October 6, 2020

Family is the Heart of Home

Welcome to another month of Quilt Block Mania! We have over 25 designers participating this month, with each offering a block for the month of October. The theme this month is 'Family'. I've designed a very modern block, Family is the Heart of Home, complete with a great family story. The little pincushion birds should be a clue.

green birdhouse with black roof and three hearts plus two red birds

Back in April, we were thrilled to have a pair of Western Bluebirds choose one of our birdhouses to build their nest. This was the first time I had seen this bird species in the yard, so this was quite the honor.

Of the five decorative birdhouses we have, they chose the one above, probably because of it's easy access to a nearby fence and food sources beyond. It also gave them a great spot to keep an eye on the growing family.

Each day, I would grab the binoculars and peer at the birdhouse through the bathroom window, which is approximately 25 feet straight across the yard from the nest.

We loved hearing their demanding chirps, which got louder when they knew Mom or Dad was close by. They would crowd the opening to get whatever food was being served. It was fascinating to watch these parents take care of their young, even cleaning out the nest.

Just how many were there? Early in their nesting stage and when I knew both parents were gone, I peeked inside with a flashlight and counted five eggs. Prolific!

But that doesn't mean they all survived. Ultimately, 3 babies died, but 2 fledged, with one hopping around in the yard for a day before making it high into a tree. Below is a grainy picture of him, taken through the screen of another window - he's only about 8 feet away from me, sitting on cement, and taking a rest in between flight trials.

It was such a joy watching this little family, and I was sad to see them go. But I have hopes for next spring! We have 3 new birdhouses, supposedly for bluebirds, and we currently have had 3 bluebirds visiting a watering dish. The outlook is promising!

Along with the 3 houses that are meant for nest building, I also picked up this modern decorative one, replacing a log cabin birdhouse that was deteriorating. Who knows, maybe they'll choose this one instead.

modern cream colored decorative birdhouse

And it's this new modern birdhouse that I have based my Family is the Heart of Home quilt block design upon. It has the love of the family of bluebirds represented by the hearts,

and the given Design Seeds palette to coordinate with all the other October Family blocks for one great looking quilt.

My easy Family is the Heart of Home quilt block is both beginner friendly and fat quarter friendly. The pattern includes 12" and 8" block sizes, plus applique templates for each. See the Family is the Heart of Home quilt block pattern, in two colorways and sizes, in my Etsy shop.

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