Halloween Happenings and FREE pattern
Not sure why I have so many Halloween quilts, but I do! One of my favorites is a simple one made with my bat appliqué. Here she is finished. (OK. Maybe they're boys and girls; I'm not sure.) I ran this pattern back in 2012. It's time I ran it again, right?
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| Bat Wreath block with striped binding and a few scary spiders |
Now for some steps and I'll give you the pattern, too!
First, a TRUE story:
When my husband and I were newly married (1977), living in Africa, we used to play guitars together after dinner. We would sit on the edge of the bed and croon our tunes. Out of the corner of my eye I caught some movement on the bed and then fear gripped me. A BAT WAS CRAWLING TOWARD US. Yikes! Phil took care of it and then when we went to the kitchen, we found another one floating in our pan of dishwater. Seems they came down this open vent and were looking for a warm place to settle down. Bats are NOT my favorite creature, but they do have a vital place in our ecosystem.
I transferred my appliqué to freezer paper and cut out. Ironed it to black fabric that has fusible webbing on wrong side.
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| I made a freezer paper template and cut black bats from fused fabric. |
Cut out bat . . .
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| Here is one black bat with garlands of pumpkins and tiny bats. |
Auditioning 3 bats on background fabric . . .
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| 3 bats scattered on my 12-1/2" background square. |
I finger pressed diagonal lines on the background square and then aligned the bats as shown. This bat has appeared in several of my Block a Day Calendars and I re-sized it so it would work with this size square.
Since it's just a small one square project, I was able to quickly free-motion quilt it. Here it is from the back.
I took my finished block outside for better photography. I grabbed a few glittery spiders for "mood."
And without the spiders, in case they scared you.
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| Four bats in a circle. Note the beautiful secondary design in the center. |
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| You can see my quilting better from the wrong side. |
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| Bat Wreath block with striped binding and a few scary spiders |
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| Bat Wreath block minus the spiders (in case they scared you) |
Here is the free appliqué template for the Bat. Please DO NOT reprint for others. Give them this url and tell them to get their own.
Always enjoy the stories that surround your patterns. My mother was absolutely terrified of bats. Thanks for the applique pattern.
ReplyDeleteI think most people are terrified of bats! They can be scary. Glad they cruise at night (when I'm in bed!)
DeleteThank you for sharing this quilt. And the pattern. I am not a fan of bats but if I put them in some fun Halloween fabrics, they would be cute. Happy Autumn.
ReplyDeleteHi, Lori. I’m not sure I know anyone who is a “fan” of bats! But, they are key to our eco order - they eat a lot of those nasty bugs that bug us! And they really want to keep their distance from humans. I used these bats first in my Halloween Boo quilt, which I’ll feature in a week or so. I’ve had it on my blog before, but it’s a timeless Halloween quilt without all the really scary stuff.
DeleteThanks for stopping by,
Debby
Okay, now you can say you know ONE. I am a big fan of bats. One of my geography classes went out at night with the rangers and tagged them to find out their habitat and home colony. They were so gentle and they are wonderful families.
DeleteEven the vampire bats (a horrid misnomer!) only drink small amounts from large animals like cows and horses. The insect-eaters do eat more than their weight in bugs, and I hate to think how over-run we would be without them. It's bad enough with them! In addition, Bat guano makes an excellent fertilizer. It’s fast-acting, has little odor, and can be worked into the soil before planting or during active growth. I love these useful little creatures, and there is not much that's more amazing than watching them come out of caves or under bridges into the sunset!
Hi Debby! It's funny, but I really have to concentrate to see the bat shape. It could easily be a finial shape, no?! It's much easier for me to see when you had them just scattered on that pretty orange fabric. I have several Batman fans - my best friend, my nephew and a little great-nephew. This would be cool on a quilt for one or all of them. Thanks for sharing the pattern! ~smile~ Roseanne
ReplyDeleteI made your pattern years ago and am happy to see it again. My ex used to work in a paper mill and they had these big barrels of tennis rackets all around the place. Whenever a bat was seen in the building (it was next to the river) everybody would shut down their stations, grab a bat, and chase it out. If they didn't it would get in the machinery and oh what a mess. The workers looked forward to the break. LOL
ReplyDeleteI seem to make a lot of Halloween quilts, too, and it isn't even my favorite holiday, but the fabrics are cute. That center piece would be wonderful in a Baltimore Album quilt! Thank you for the template.
ReplyDelete