Eerie Nights Blog Hop.

Hi everyone welcome to the first day of the Eerie Nights blog hop

Will you be going trick or treating this Halloween? I prefer to stay in doors and read or sew or watch TV. Here in London, trick or treat is a bit hit and miss. A few of years ago we had lots of callers and most of them were children, two years ago most of them were adults, mainly medical students at the local hospital and last year our door bell didn't ring even once. However just because trick or treat isn't a big deal doesn't mean we dislike Halloween or don't join in. A lot of people decorate their house and enjoy the festivities. When our children were younger we used to have a family party and play dunking for apples and other Halloween games. In the past I've made table runners especially for the party.

This one was great down the middle of the table and we used it for our Guide party as well.

Last year I made this table topper for my coffee table. I can't find the photo of the finished version and after Halloween my friend bagged it for her house this year

I loved the leaves on this as they were made from wool and gave a lovely different texture effect.

This year I'm making mug rugs for friends. The first one I have made several times before using slightly different orange fabric but sticking to the same colour combinations and backing fabric.

This one is staying home with me as I can't find my previous Halloween mug rug. The background was the same but the orange had pumpkins on it.

I've also almost finished the other two mug rugs. I have told my regular readers that I recently bought a new machine and so I decided to try it out by making these mug rugs. The making was a slow process because the machine operates quite differently from my old one. It is a lot bigger, computer controlled and looks like it may be capable of powering the USS Enterprise. I know that in the end it will be very quick and easy to use but at present it is taking a bit of getting used to......maybe reading the whole instruction book may have helped?  I'm pleased with the way the mug rugs have come out so far. I have a little hand stitching to do on them before I quilt them, mainly giving them faces!.

I used a narrow zigzag stitch to applique the pieces onto the backing. I also used glue stick to hold the pieces in place whilst I stitched. My new machine has a button for raising and lowering the pressure foot and I kept on forgetting this when I needed to change the direction of the stitching. I also forgot I was using the start/stop button and kept taking my foot off the non existent foot pedal and wondered why the machine was still working. The pressure lever is heavy to use so getting used to the button will be a great help.

I think I like this one better as the kitten is so sweet. He is going to have green eyes. I've pencilled in where I need to embroider his little nose. I used some wool fabric for the kitten as I liked the texture.

There are some fluffy bits around the applique that need to be trimmed but otherwise not bad especially for the first time using the machine. 

Several year ago I made mini tote bags to keep the treats in out in my hall. I managed to find one to use again this year. Ignore the fluffy character in the other bag he just likes photo bombing other people's pictures. These totes are really quick to make and make great gift bags.

Picasso our very own witches cat has been practising his moves recently. He loves to look a little menacing and can arch his back with the best of them. He likes Halloween, it's the perfect time for black cats.

Now you have 2 things to do.

The first is to enter the give away which is sponsored by Fat Quarter shop. This is running on all the blogs taking part in the hop.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Then you need to visit the other people taking part today to see what they have created.

20-Oct

Seams To Be Sew
Christine / No Blog
Cloth and Paper Studio
Thrift Shop Commando
Sew Many Yarns

Thank you for stopping by and special thanks to Marian from Seams to be sew and Amy from Sew Incredibly Crazy for organising the hop and keeping us on track.

Looking forward to seeing you again soon and good luck in the give away.

Lyndsey