Halloween Cat

Halloween cat, Halloween cat

Why do you mew and mew like that?

Neither I nor the moon,

Like your tune 

So scat! Halloween cat!

At least that is how the preschool song goes. This was a favorite of my middle child who happened to be born in late October and always loved dressing up in his Halloween costumes.

Although I've created a number of fall-themed quilting projects through the years, this is the first distinctly Halloween quilt that I have made. The pattern is one that I picked up while quilt shop hopping in 2015. Although the example wasn't Halloween specific, I thought it would be a great project for using some of the Halloween prints that I had collected over the years. I also wanted to add a few embellishments of my own to give it a little more of a seasonal look. I do have to say that I was quite pleased with the end result. I hope you will enjoy a closer look at this creation as well.
I was able to find an outline of a bat that I could size down to fit the pattern. I made sure to include a purple cat and to find a way to use other fun prints such as the one with squiggly lines.

For the spider, I traced the oval and then used embroidery thread to free-hand the legs and silk strand. Note the plaid with bats and the polka dot print for the cats.

I borrowed the broom pattern from a snowman quilt pattern. Here the squiggle pattern is horizontal to add a little variety.

The pumpkin shapes are also borrowed from other appliqué patterns.

Picking out the quilting patterns was fun. Rather than a feather pattern for the border, I opted for this one called "Pumpkin Pie." I like the way it turned out.

For the middle, I opted for an edge-to-edge design that featured leaves and vines.

Here's another look at the quilting.

I know that among my readers there are likely to be multiple attitudes toward Halloween. This particular commentary is one that resonates with me and some of the attitudes I have toward this holiday: Signposts: How should Christians handle disagreement over Halloween? For someone like me who works in a pediatric hospital, Halloween is a fun day of dressing up and creating a fun atmosphere for celebrating our patients. Our day includes a parade around the unit with designated stops for trick-or-treating. At home, my husband and I enjoy using the evening as an opportunity to interact with our neighbors and to admire all of the great costumes that come to our door. We also enjoy the teenagers who come by later in the evening and make sure that we have some of the better treats on hand for them.

This particular October 31 happens to mark the 500th anniversary of what is regarded as the beginning of the Protestant Reformation when Martin Luther pinned his 95 theses to the cathedral wall in Wittenberg, Germany. One of the books of the Bible that was particularly meaningful to Luther was the book of Galatians through which he came to understand the freedom that he had through the grace that had been extended to him through Christ's death and resurrection. I will close this post with Paul's instructions regarding this gift of freedom. 

For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. Galatians 5:13