Guess what...

I'm done!

pre-binding/quilting and all that:

My favorite parts:

The wavy stitching on the patchwork section that matches the trimming

The ghost and its curly billowy stitching

 
The whole witch ...

but especially her ruffled skirt!

(I hate using the flash...)

And here's a look at the back--my first try at freehand stitching! (this is the background section- it doesn't show too much in the front because the purple fabric is already quite squiggly)

It's trickier than it seems, but once I got the hang of it it was much better. If you don't know what freehand sewing is (that would be me before I asked the lady at the store), essentially you change the foot to a freehand foot 

Freehand foot -- or something that looks similar

and lower the feed dogs (the little shark-fin looking things that help pull the fabric through at a steady speed-- there's a switch on the back typically to lower them)

feed dogs

so that you can stitch wherever you want: you move the fabric around yourself. It's pretty fun.

I wish I could take all the credit for this project, but I followed pretty faithfully the original pattern-- I saw it all done in the cotton shop and just loved it. They sell the pattern and instructions, and you can also buy a fabric kit with all the pieces that has just enough fabric to make it (minus the padding and fusible). This is the company and they have so many adorable ideas! I'm thinking I want to make up my own next time, maybe something for Christmas... but we shall see!

Anyway, I can't wait to hang these guys up for Halloween, but I really should wait till October... is that really a whole month away? No, it's pretty much two months. Oh well. They can go up October 15th :)