Well, I can't post a picture of this because of Copyright settings on the JMD website (which of course is fine) but this cute little wallhanging says "Having Nothing to Stitch is Scary!" ....and it's right!
CLICK HERE to see the quilt, and CLICK HERE for the pattern PDF.
Pattern is by Janet M. Davies for JMD Designs in New Zealand. Great project, Janet - thank you for sharing!
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Lovely Frankenstein's 31 Days of Halloween: Night on Bald Mountain
This is taken from Fantasia (1940), and it is part of the last segment entitled "Night on Bald Mountain." It tells the tale of darkness being defeated by light - It begins with Modest Mussorgsky's (1839-1881) "Night on Bald Mountain" composition, filled with ghosts, ghouls, demons and witches terrorizing a small mountain town by night, and the then trandsitioning into "Ave Maria" at sun up, where the forces of the good and holy banish the demons of the night. Considering it was made by Disney in 1940, the beginning is pretty dark and, for kids, pretty scary.
Now, since it's 31 Days of Halloween, I am just playing the Mussorgsky half and omitting the Ave Maria (beautiful though it is). So, on to the spooky and scary 1940s Night on Bald Mountain!
Now, since it's 31 Days of Halloween, I am just playing the Mussorgsky half and omitting the Ave Maria (beautiful though it is). So, on to the spooky and scary 1940s Night on Bald Mountain!
Shop Hop: Sew Oregon 2011
Sew Oregon is just about here! We (The Cotton Patch) along with 49 other wonderful Oregon quilt stores, will be participating in this shop hop. Click on the Sew Oregon link to view more details on the official website but for those unfamiliar with shop hops and Sew Oregon, I'll give a little explanation.
A shop hop is an extended event held by regional quilt stores, usually lasting 2-3 weeks, where free quilt blocks are offered using 1 or more common fabrics between shops. Customers can travel shop to shop to get a free block at each one, and to shop in their store As you accumulate these free blocks, depending on how many shops you choose to visit, you will be able to make a quilt commemorating your trip. The free blocks give you incentive to get out to store you otherwise don't visit often, and it's a great way to get out of twon with friends.
Now for the boring rules and regulations. Every store has their own rules as far as passports go. The Cotton Patch's rules are as follows:
- One Passport stamp per customer.
- You must be present to recieve stamps, either in-store or visibly waiting in the car. We will not stamp Passports for friends who are not present. Even if a store you've already visited stamped multiple Passports for you, we are not required to do the same.
- We always ask if your companions with Passports are quilters as well. We do not give stamps to children or to tag-a-long husbands who are along for the ride but don't quilt - stamps go to quilters only and we allow only one Passport per quilter. Even if a previous store stamped their Passports, again, we are not required to do so as well.
- We don't discriminate; we will give stamps to young and male quilters, but as stated before, we will ask.
Every year Sew Oregon is an absolute blast. I'll be going around to a few shops, on what will be my very first shop hop, with my friend Isabelle. It's going to be a lot of fun! I know us gals at the shop can't wait to see all of our regulars and the new faces that Sew Oregon brings, and I'm excited to see (and buy) the wonderful things our local quilt shops have to offer!
See you on the hop!
Monday, October 3, 2011
Lovely Frankenstein's 31 Days of Halloween: Origin of the Jack o' Lantern
Well, the term "Jack o' Lantern" was orginally used to describe a night watchman carry a lantern, with the earliest known use of the term popping up East Anglia in the mid 1600s. This soon became a more general term for any man carry a lantern at night. Outside of East Anglia, the term became synonymous with Will o' the Wisp phenomena (left).
So where does the carving aspect of the Jack o' Lantern tradition come from? Well, there are many different tellings of the story from cultures all over the world, but the one most often associated with western Halloween traditions is that of Stingy Jack. As with any oral tradition, there are many variations told on the story, but the most commonly told version is as follows:
Stingy Jack was a miserable, old drunk who liked to play malicious tricks on everyone he knew: family, friends, and strangers alike. One day Jack was getting chased by some villagers from whom he had stolen. As he ran, he met the Devil who claimed it was his time to die and that he had come for his soul. Despite his age and constant drunkeness, Jack was a clever man and thought of a way to stall his death and therefore his trip to Hell. He tempting the Devil himself with a chance to trick the church-going villagers chasing him into granting him their souls - giving the Devil more souls to drag to Hell than just his own. Knowing the Devil could take any shape he chose, he told the Devil to turn into a coin with which he would pay for the stolen goods, and then the Devil could take his form back after the debt had been paid. When the coin disappeared after the Devil took his original form, the Christian villagers would fight over who had stolen it, and by accepting the Devil as payment they implied the promise of their souls to him. The Devil, eager to take more souls with him, agreed to Jack's plan. He turned himself into a silver coin and jumped into Jack's wallet, only to find himself next to a cross Jack had also stolen from the villagers. Before the Devil could change his form to punish Jack for tricking him, Jack had closed the wallet tight.The holy cross stripped the Devil of his powers and so he was trapped, the Devil himself subject to Jack's decision to end the trick.
After much argument, Stingy Jack conceded to end the trick and free the Devil, but on one condition: Devil must promise him not to take his soul to Hell when he died. Begrudgingly, the Devil promised not to take his soul and so Jack stayed good to his word, removed the holy cross and let the Devil out to return to Hell without him.
Many years later, Jack finally succumbed to old age and hard living and passed away with little sorrow from the village and his family. He went to the gates of Heaven and demanded entry. Saint Peter rejected his demands, and said that he was far too mean and cruel, and had led a miserable and worthless life on Earth without repentence and was therefore unfit to enter the kingdom of God. Jack turned around and journeyed down to Hell to meet with the Devil that he had tricked so many years ago. Jack demanded that he be let in to Hell after being rejected from Heaven, but the Devil kept his promise and would not allow him to enter Hell.
Having been rejected from both Heaven and Hell, Jack was scared and had nowhere to go but to wander for the rest of eternity through the darkness between Heaven and Hell. frustrated and destitute, he asked the Devil how he could leave Hell too, as there was no light for him to find his way by. The Devil laughed at his misfortune, and mockingly tossed him a single ember from the flames of Hell to help him light his way. Taking pity on Jack's soul, God gave him a hollowed out turnip in which to carry the single ember. From that day onward, Stingy Jack roamed the Earth without a resting place, unwelcome in Heaven and in Hell, lighting his way with his eternally glowing turnip and was known as "Jack of the Lantern" - Jack o' Lantern.
Replicating the story of Stingy Jack, young men started carving turnips and pumpkins to scare travellers into thinking they had met Jack of the Lantern. Children carried the craved gourds to represent the trapped souls of loved ones in Purgatory on All Saints Day and All Souls Day. From there it became a tradition to carve and light the gourds and over the years it became less religious and mischievous and more decorative and indicative of Halloween.
So there we have it! The origins of the Jack o' Lantern. Pretty neat, huh?
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Lovely Frankenstein's 31 Days of Halloween: Free Halloween Door Hanger Pattern
or, get right down to the nitty gritty and go directly to the free pattern:
The Lovely Frankenstein Quilting Laboratory Special
Take a deep breath, temperate climate countries of the Northern Hemisphere...do you smell it? That's fall you smell our there my dears - the slight chill in the air, the light musty scent of fallen leaves...wonderful, isn't it? But there's something else lingering in the fall air...something...spooky.
Oh my pretties, it's the Halloween season...my favorite season of all! (as thought you couldn't tell by the Halloween themed blog). This year I'm doing something special in honor of my favorite holiday: This month kicks off the first Lovely Frankenstein's 31 Days of Halloween. That means every day there will be something Halloween related - free projects, decorating ideas for outside and in the home, costume ideas, Halloween trivia and all that great stuff.
So I hope you join me for Lovely Frankenstein's 31 Days of Halloween...if you dare!
Oh my pretties, it's the Halloween season...my favorite season of all! (as thought you couldn't tell by the Halloween themed blog). This year I'm doing something special in honor of my favorite holiday: This month kicks off the first Lovely Frankenstein's 31 Days of Halloween. That means every day there will be something Halloween related - free projects, decorating ideas for outside and in the home, costume ideas, Halloween trivia and all that great stuff.
So I hope you join me for Lovely Frankenstein's 31 Days of Halloween...if you dare!
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