It's Halloween

I've gone trick or treating...

Candy Corn

Candy Corn

Tomorrow is Halloween, a day for fun, trick-or-treat, and candy.  This week's project is made of cute candy prints cut into equilateral triangles.  

Using an Accuquilt die made quick work of cutting and sewing.  Sized at 24" x 29", Candy Corn fits just right on my coffee table or kitchen bar. 

Notice the empty candy jar?  We've already gobbled up the first batch of Halloween treats. 

Candy Stripe

Candy Stripe

Doesn't this cheerful scrap quilt put a smile on your face? Four inch squares of pink, lime, yellow and turquoise prints are randomly set in four-square blocks, then framed with bright striped sashing and squares of lime dots.

I repeated the stripes for the back, with border and binding in a pink Dear Stella crosshatch pattern. It's quilted in one huge circle, starting at center and spiraling out to the edges. Happy and girly, this 36” x 45” beauty could be a baby gift or a lap quilt. I really enjoyed working on Candy Stripe, using up more of my fabric inventory while creating something useful.

🔴 🔴 🔴

“I found I could say things

in colors and shapes

that I couldn't say any other way 

--things I had no words for.” 

Georgia O'Keeffe

 

🔴 🔴 🔴

“Clean out a corner of your mind

and creativity will instantly fill it.”

Dee Hock

Best Memories of Halloween

 Any holiday that involves large quantities of candy, especially chocolate, ranks high on my favorites list. Dressing up in silly or scary costumes only adds to the excitement. Whether you're a child or an adult, this is one fun time of year. When I see the expressions on the faces of little goblins, memories of Halloweens past are vivid in my mind.

Years ago, my best friend Pam and I got out early and covered nearly every house in our neighborhood, an area 5 blocks square. I remember the crunch of leaves as we dashed from house to house. We knew which people gave out the best goodies, so we tried to hit them early. We decorated paper grocery sacks to carry our loot at first, but changed to pillowcases that held more and avoided the loss of precious candy when the bag ripped.

Choosing a costume was so much fun. I remember being a pirate, ballerina, hobo, princess, cowgirl, bunny, 20's flapper, witch, and cheerleader. Sometimes I had a store-bought costume with those awful plastic masks...I wore glasses so the masks never fit right and made my glasses fog up. Other times I helped my mama sew one or we'd piece together something out of her closet. Some years we had to wear coats or rain gear over our costumes, which absolutely ruined the effect.

We'd drive out to my grandparent's after trick or treat so they could see us. She made the most delectable popcorn balls and chocolate fudge candy. Even if we didn't go on Halloween, she made sure we got those yummy, sticky snacks sometime that week. We got huge hauls of candy, and got to eat what we wanted. My mama always filled the candy dish in the living room so not much was left over at our house. My favorite candy? Nearly all of them, but creamy delicious chocolate is the best, hands down.

When I had my own business, we chose a theme and went all out decorating the office. We served treats and our customers stopped by to see our secret costumes. Memorable themes were: western, gypsy, 50's, favorite animal, Gone with the Wind era (Miss Scarlett here), pirates, coven of witches, and pajama party. Favorite candy was fun: our pregnant receptionist was a peanut M&M, I was a Hershey's kiss, the two others were Baby Ruth and licorice.

The best year was Addam's Family—we won the Hendersonville Chamber of Commerce prize for best costumes. I was Morticia, the other three were Uncle Fester, Pugsley, and Wednesday. No one was tall enough to be Lurch and we decided that Gomez was out of town. Thing sat on the front desk, and our office was transformed into the creepy Addams Family mansion. We laughed all week and got very little work done that day, but it was great fun!

As you prepare to dole out treats this year, remember your favorite Halloween with a smile, and save a few dozen extra pieces of candy for yourself. 

Trick or treat!