Pumpkins!

I was the winner of the block of the month drawing at my guild meeting and came home with twelve pumpkin blocks. I knew they were destined to be a UFO unless I made them up into something soon. As in any event of this type, they were slightly different sizes but I measured the smallest and trimmed the others accordingly. On closer inspection I also noted that some blocks had a different background fabric – similar in color but different in imprinted pattern. This is something I would never do, being kind of self-restricting in my own choices, but in this case I decided to let it be and go with the flow. It adds to the informality.

Since the blocks are approximately 8" square, a 3 x 4 arrangement does not yield a very large quilt. I considered a 5 x 2 arrangement for a wide, short wall hanging, or a 2 x 5 arrangement for a tall, skinny wall hanging. Either configuration could alternatively be used as a long table runner. For a table runner, I then realized I would have to decide how to orient the pumpkins so they would be right side up at least half the time as viewed from each side of the table. I then considered adding sashing between the blocks. Maybe the sashing intersections should be another fabric? Whoa! This decision making was getting complicated and violating my "make it up soon" intention. I chose my simplest first choice, the 3 x 4 configuration, and  decided to enlarge the finished quilt by adding a border around the outside edge. Rather than scrounge in my stash for enough of one border fabric I instead used two fat quarters. The border width was decided by how many widths I could get from a fat quarter. Seaming them on the diagonal in alternating fabrics gave me this result.

The trimmings from those diagonal seams on the fat quarters left me sixteen triangles that I sewed into eight HSTs to use someplace else on a different future project.

I needed to choose a background fabric. I had only one yard of deep-toned barn fabric, not quite enough length for the backing. I could piece upper and lower extensions on it. Or I could use the pixellated check fabric. I had 2½ yards of it and its colors went well. But somehow I did not want to cut into that 2½ yardage.  

I added extensions to the barn fabric. The back looks like this on the top and bottom. I was  conscientious and made up my binding right away from a ½ yard remnant I had. The binding fabric will complement both the front and the back, not really contrasting with either.

I sandwiched the top for FMQing with a scrap from my supply of bamboo batting and hope to get to the FMQ in the next couple of days. I am going to try to keep it simple but I still need to decide what that "simple" will be. I seem to like diagonal furrows and may do them in the border. Those pumpkin stripes call out to be stitched in the ditch. The background... maybe meander or perhaps loopy vines...? For now I am linking up to Let's Bee Social #200.