Happy Jacks!

I have a name for my new Jack O'Lantern quilt--Happy Jacks! What do you think? When I was making it, I thought some of the Jack faces were kind of scary, but when I look at it now, they seem pretty happy to me. And why wouldn't they be? Just about everyone seems to like them!

So, yes, I'll give you directions to make the quilt. In fact, I think I'll make a four-patch version along with you and have a giveaway when it's done. This is my 600th post, so that seems like a good reason to celebrate--don't you agree?

But don't start leaving me comments to enter the giveaway just yet--I'll ask for those in a few days. In the meantime, since only one of you can win the giveaway and I know there are more than one of you who would like your own Happy Jack quilt, get out your scraps and sew along with us.

The way I'm going to do this is I'll first give you instructions for making the pumpkin blocks. The cutting and sewing instructions will be for ONE BLOCK. If you want a nine patch, like I made, you'll need to make nine blocks. Of course, you could just make one block and make it into a pillow cover or a treat bag. Or make a four-patch (like I'll be making this time) and have a small wallhanging or table topper. If you make 25 blocks, you'll have a decent sized lap quilt. Clear? So for one block:

Cut:

From orange (pumpkin) fabric:

2 pieces 6-1/2" by 3-1/2"

From green (stem) fabric:
2 pieces 1-1/4" square

1 piece 2" square

From blue (background) fabric:
2 pieces 2" by 2-3/4"
4 pieces 2" square
1 piece 2" by 6-1/2"

2 pieces 2" by 9-1/2"

Of course, you can use something other than blue for your background fabric--cream, black, or golden yellow are a few suggestions. I liked the blue because I like the orange and blue combination and I plan to use mine in my kitchen--which has a lot of blue.

I'm going to stop here tonight to give you time to cut your pumpkin block pieces. Tomorrow night I'll give you directions and a few photos on piecing the pumpkins. The next night, I'll talk about sashing and tell you how I set mine and give you measurements for that part. Also, either that night or the next, I'll show you how I made the faces and sewed them on as I quilted. I DO hope you'll make a Happy Jack quilt project and either post a photo on your blog or, if you don't have a blog, send me a photo and I'll share it on mine.

Happy quilting!