STUD (Swap Till You Drop) Sept-Oct Halloween Theme

My partner, Scrapnchick has received the mini quilt that I made her for this round.  This means I can finally share it here.  This is and the other STUD swap I've done this round is why it's been so quiet here the last week or so.  I can't share here if I want it to be a surprise and I'm big on surprises.    For this round Halloween was the theme.  Not hard for me, I just had to go to my already designed unfinished projects and steal from them.  I did some tweeking to make it fit this venue and it was ready to go.  Oh, oh my partner posted that she likes spiderwebs.  I wasn't planning on that.

That made me rethink the ghosts in the offsetting corners.  I still wanted to do them but I wanted the spiderwebs to be seen too.  "Flash" goes my brain.  What if the Ghosts were made from organza.  I could burn the edges and sew them on.  Better yet what if I sewed them on with Glow in the Dark Thread.  This resulted in 2 technical problems that delayed my finishing the quilt on time.

Most Spiderweb blocks are made using 4 blocks that intersect.  This would make the web way to large for a mini quilt.  After a search of the web, I found this pattern.  So I designed my mini quilt around this block.  The problem was I didn't read the directions.  This block is made by sewing strips together, cutting this into squares.  Then cutting the squares in half on the diagonal.  Easy right, just like half square triagles. Just pieced.  The problem was it's done completely random and the block comes
out the size it comes out.  I decided on what size strips I would cut to do a small enough block.  This quilt is not suppose to be bigger than 15"  Half of 15 is 7 1/2", right.  Well the first block game out to be 8 1/2".  Too large!!!  So I recut strips 1/4" smaller thinking this should get me closer to the right size.  Wrong!!  It came out about 6" finished.  Instead of making another test, I just added a border around the web to make it float.  Whew!!! 

Second problem came when I tried to attach the first ghost.  I thought and thought about this and decided to use paper piecing paper. I could temporarily sew the ghost to the paper, thereby stablizing the organza.  Then I could cut out the ghost and zigzag it in place on the quilt.  This would work because the back of the ghost was in the seam allowance, so I could pull the paper out through this side.  Wrong, wrong, wrong!!!!!   The paper is stronger then the organza!!!  The organza tore before the paper!!!!  This was a nightmare.  I was going to be late!!!   I still had to do my other swap for the same group.  Ughhh!

I refused to change my design.  I needed to make it work!!!  After several sleeples nights and a consultation with my BFF in Texas. I came up with the idea that maybe I should cut out a fusible web to be about  1/8" around the outside edge of the ghost.  That would stabilize it long enough to zigzag around it.  Hopefully.    As you can see it worked.   Here is the entire package that I sent Scrapnchick.

Here is the quilt that arrived from Scrapnchick. Isn't it great.  I love the black and white

border fabric and the way it cries fall not just halloween.  Below is the whole package.  That large green button is really a little box filled with colorful buttons.  The Jackolatern face is a small mugrug.  It's so cute!  I love it!  Then there is a pad of paper with a magnet on the back.  It's now joined all my frig art.  I've been very lucky this round with my partners.

Swapping is Fun!!!!

Marjory