Halloween block; finished....almost!

This is the Halloween block I've been working on. I've finished it into a small wall hanging, about 14" square. The buttons are just sitting on it at this point. I'm still not sure where I want to put them; corners or centers of the black triangles. I also need to add a sleeve or some means to hang it. Maybe just some long ribbons at the top to tie to a rail of some type.

The costumes; fall of 2000? 2001?

I'm not sure how this photo will look enlarged on here. The print fabric that I used in the fall swap block is a scrap left over from the two costumes that are in this little photo. Michaela, on the left, is about 6 in this photo, and has a witch dress with a bodice of the fabric, with black sleeves and skirt. Trystan, on the right, is about 15, and has a fitted top of the fabric, with shiny burgundy sleeves and a black skirt.

The frame is a little wooden one that I got at JoAnn's and painted.

Season to season swap for fall.

The Crazy Quilting for Newbies group is doing a "swap" for each season of the year beginning this fall. We are to piece an 8" block and embellish approximately 1/2 of it, then send it to Gerry who will assign us a partner. The partner will embellish the other 1/2, then the block goes back to Gerry, and she sends it back to us. There's been some confusion about this process, I think since it's called a "swap", but the swapping is temporary. We will get our original blocks back, just 1/2 embellished by our partner.
Mine is Halloween themed. That orange, burgundy and black print near the center is the last bit of some fabric I've had for about 7 years. I originally bought it to make costumes for my two younger daughters. The piece I had left was so narrow that it didn't have a whole tree on it. I went ahead and pieced it in, using red, burgundy, black, a bit of honking orange, midnight blue, and purple. I love putting purple next to orange, so I did that here. It's not something one can do just anywhere, but for a Halloween block, it seems appropriate... sort of a colorful BOO! to you.
When I started embellishing it last night, I got the idea to have the black bat silhouettes extend out of the print and onto the neighboring shiny burgundy fabric. I satin stitched a third bat on the seam line, so it looks like one bat is escaping the confines of the print. Then I thought I should do the same thing for the branches of the tree, so they extend into the red and blue patches to the left. Then I got out my gold thread and extended the lightning! I am having so much fun with this block...

So come on, take a walk with me....we'll follow the dark path beyond the red and black hills, toward the setting sun....to see what lies behind the purple hill.....I dare you!