Vintage Halloween Quilts Over the Years

VINTAGE HALLOWEEN 2017

Each year we create a curated bundle of what we envision "vintage Halloween" to be. Since 2012 when we first started this tradition, we have collected and compiled soft orange, warm black, various greys and creams throughout the year in order to put together the best Vintage Halloween bundles we can come up with. All of the fabrics are MODA, all of them contain a little Fig Tree but are mixed with so many different designers and collections that we couldn't possibly name them or tell you what's in each bundle. Since we have received so many questions and emails about past projects, we thought we would reminisce a little and see all of the patterns we have done.

You can work on any of these vintage Halloween quilts with this years bundles, just like you can use past year's bundles for any of the other patterns. You might have to add a few fabrics from your stash here or there, or add more background or sashing for a particular pattern, but all of the bundles have had 12 or more 1/2 yard cuts and all the blocks would be easily made with any of them.

So if you don't have a vintage Halloween collection of your own yet.... well it might just be time to start creating one with a whole lot of choices.

To get started, nab one of this year's bundles that we still have available and pick which one of these fun patterns you want to get started with. Remember that this year's bundle comes with the Fresh Laundry pattern but you can also buy any of the other patterns featured throughout the years too to start your collection. Its never too late to start!

 

VINTAGE HALLOWEEN 2016

 

 

 

 

 

 

VINTAGE HALLOWEEN 2015

Introducing Halloween Faire, a vintage Halloween version of our popular County Fair pattern.

And a link HERE to the PDF that gives you the info to make the County Fair pattern in this Halloween version.

 

 

VINTAGE HALLOWEEN 2014

Fall is in the air around here! Finally the weather seems to be turning a little bit toward my absolute favorite season of the year! Almost time for all my favorite sweaters to come out!!

 

 

But ofcourse we had way too many good leftovers and so we created a second quilt with what we stil had in the bundle....

And as promised to those of you who purchased the kit [we are making up more this week for those of you still interested], here is the info on the HALLOWEEN CHECKERBOARDS quilt, the second quilt from the bundle...

CLICK HERE for the Checkerboard Instructions in a PDF. The fnished size can be up to 58" x 66"... a perfect lap throw that can be whipped up so fast you could have it done this season!

 

 

VINTAGE HALLOWEEN 2013

The new pattern is called "Spools Quartet" and this version is "Halloween Spools" and it is made with 12 different warm blacks, soft greys and our signature butterscotch oranges. It is the kind of quilt that comes together in a weekend with simple cutting and construction. Whip one out this week just in time to display for Halloween... really and truly! These blocks are crazy simple with no triangles, using the square, sew and flip method that most of you are probably familiar with.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:  Spools Quarter or Halloween Spools

Size: 68" x 68"

Fabric: Can be made with a jelly roll or in this case (12) 1/4 yds. oranges, blacks and greys.

 

VINTAGE HALLOWEEN 2012

Introducing, the Lollipops pattern in our Halloween Pops version. We are in love with this quilt and can't wait for it to come home and enjoy some time on our couch.  

 

 

 

 Believe it or not but all of these blocks are made with 2 1/2" strips and no templates to sew! If you are familiar with our Papillon pattern or the Dresden Plate pattern in our Fresh Vintage #16, this uses the same method but even simplified. We even figured out a way to get a perfectly flat "plate" each and every time with a little hint. You gotta love that.

SO THAT'S ALL THE VINTAGE HALLOWEEN INFO I CAN DIG UP FROM THE PAST YEARS. We have several of the patterns with the halloween variations up in our SHOP right now if you want to check them out. And this year's bundles are available in 2 different styles.

 

Happy Vintage Halloweening!

 

 

Halloween Blooms

EDIT: We now have more bundles HALLOWEEN II available!

Its that time everyone... summer is slowly coming to a close and many of us are starting to think of harvest time. Many of you will know what that means around here.... its VINTAGE HALLOWEEN BUNDLE TIME at Fig Tree!

 

 

Each year at about this time, we debut a new vintage Halloween feeling bundle full of butterscotch oranges, ivory creams, soft greys and charcoals and warm blacks. We look forward to working on this bundle each year and we know that so many of you look forward to seeing and using it too!

 

[pattern is also available on its own in the shop] 

This year we have decided to use one of our favorite classic vintage blocks for the pattern. It is traditionally called ROLLING STONES but it also goes by lots of other names, most commonly also known as the Broken Wheel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are offering the bundle on its own [with the pattern] and also with the ivory background as a kit [with the pattern]. Click HERE for more info on either. Please read the descriptions carefully to see what is and isn't in each bundle and/or kit.

Please note that in the pictures of the actual quilt here on the blog we have added in some Farmhouse scraps and a few fabrics from our upcoming Chestnut Street collection. Those fabrics are not in your bundle because they do not ship to stores until later in September. If you have Farmhouse scraps we encourage you to throw some in or wait until Chestnut Street arrives and add in a couple of the oranges during construction!

MORE BUNDLES

In case any of you want to add or augment your vintage Halloween stash with some more oranges, blacks or creams, we have a couple other bundles up today as well so that you can do that!

 

 

 

We hope you have fun Halloween shopping!

Joanna

Its a Snails Trail & a bit more Halloween!

Over the last year, I have had the privilege of working on a great feature for American Patchwork & Quilting magazine. It has been called MAKE IT MINI! In each issue we chose one of the full size quilts featured and "made it mini" on the back page of that issue. I have gotten to work with bright fabrics and reproduction ones and a few other styles in between! I have even worked from my scraps. I have had the great fortune to work with one of my collections twice, at the beginning of the series and then again now. It has been a lot of fun.

Today I wanted to show this month's MAKE IT MINI, available in the official December issue of American Patchwork & Quilting. I hear it has started to ship out to subscribers now and will be on newsstands anyway now if its not already there!

We love this little quilt! And we have offered kits for it. You will need to get the magazine on your own.

used with permission from American Patchwork & Quilting magazine 2015 Meredith Corp. 

used with permission from American Patchwork & Quilting magazine 2015 Meredith Corp.  

    

 

Click HERE for  more info.

 

And do you guys remember some of these other ones...

  

 

 

 

This sure has been a fun series to work on! Thanks American Patchwork & Quilting for being such a great partner!

Oh and on a little side note... we got so many requests from all of you lovely people about wanting more Halloween bundles, that we have one more for you. Hopefully this time everyone who wants one will be able to nab one!

Love you guys!

Joanna

 

 

As Promised...

Fall is in the air around here! Finally the weather seems to be turning a little bit toward my absolute favorite season of the year! Almost time for all my favorite sweaters to come out!!

Last week we released a new Halloween Kit in what has become our annual Halloween project made from a mix of blacks, oranges, greys and creams. We love creating these projects so much and look forward to them every year. The quilts are not from a certain line or Fig Tree collection but instead are a mix of different MODA fabrics, always starting with a few of our favorite Fig Tree oranges and going from there to see what we can come up with! Its one of my favorite parts of the process... the creating of a color palette!

In this year's bundle, the fabrics were just screaming to be made into one of our newest patterns, Navajo Stars. Now I love the original Navajo Stars ALOT... one of my all time favorite quilts.

 

 Navajo Stars is created entirely from SOMERSET fabrics!

Originally this pattern was inspired by this quilt below. I absolutely fell in love with those stars but had NO INTENTION of making them out of hexagons. When I squinted, I saw strips and we had a Honeybun coming with our collection so it was one of those light bulb moments!

 

 

And the moment we started working on it, it just looked and felt like the designs in a traditional Navajo blanket. Hence the name.

 

 

 

 

But I am also pretty sure that I like it just as much as this years Halloween bundle quilt... SPIDERWEB! Same pattern, different colors!

 

But ofcourse we had way too many good leftovers and so we created a second quilt with what we stil had in the bundle....

And as promised to those of you who purchased the kit [we are making up more this week for those of you still interested], here is the info on the HALLOWEEN CHECKERBOARDS quilt, the second quilt from the bundle...

CLICK HERE for the Checkerboard Instructions in a PDF. The fnished size can be up to 58" x 66"... a perfect lap throw that can be whipped up so fast you could have it done this season!

CLICK HERE for more info on the Spiderweb kits.

Talk to you soon. I am going back to pattern editing and sample making. Up this week, a little friend to join some of our other creatures :-)!

 

 

Moda Love Blog Tour Wrap-up

Thanks everyone for coming along on our tour, for shopping our sale and for helping us to have such a wonderful week! Its been a lot of fun to read so many of your comments and to find out what Fig Tree goodies you might be working on next.

I can't wait to see some of those projects finished! If you don't already, follow us on INSTAGRAM and tag me when you are working on something Fig Tree so I can see what you are up to. Its really such a fun way to keep up with each other in an informal way! We are figtreeandco in case you are looking for us.

I hope that you learned something fun and interesting about each and every one of us on this tour, I know I did!

Today I have a few quick things to share with you...

 

A NEW KIT

 

What started off as an impromptu Halloween mix kit a few years ago has become a highly popular annual event with an almost cult following of classic Halloween "flavored" kits each year and this year is no different! You guys are the best customers ever!

The kits are a wonderful mix of MODA designers and the oranges, greys, blacks and creams are handpicked to work together in these classic designs. This year's kit is a Halloween take on our very popular NAVAJO STARS pattern and we are so happy with the result [the quilt literally came back from Diana's this afternoon so it is not even bound]. Speaking of quilting... don't you love it???

Anyway, this year's kit consists of a bundle of 11 fabrics and a cream with dot fabric for the background. For more info, click HERE.

 

 

LAST DAY OF THE SALE

We have extended our 20% Pattern Sale through the end of today so if you haven't had a chance to go shopping yet, go for it! We hardly ever do sales like this so take advantage while you can! Click HERE to shop!

 

BLOG HOP WINNERS

I know this is why most of you are here today so here goes...

On September 7 at 4:21, Ginny said...

"9 in the body and 13 with titles. I have Pineapple and Fig that I just truly love and have on my list of makes but I think Jumpingjacks may just pull ahead of it!"

 

On September 11 at 5:57, Laura F. said...

I" count 13 total with the titles! I have had painted ladies on my list for a while but Sail Away is another one that I want to make for my nephew! He loves water and sailboats! Also, LOVE Somerset!! Beautiful!"

 

On September 5 at 5:55, Kay Eyles said...

"Navajo Star has just joined my must sew list, it looked amazing on your post, but love the mini fruits too. Moda Love appeared 13 times including titles, but 9 times in red throughout the post. Thanks for a fun giveaway."

So if you are Ginny, Laura or Kay, email us and we will get your goodies out to you. Each of you has won a Somerset precut [courtesy of the wonderful folks at MODA] and a few Fig Tree patterns! If you are international, we will pay the equivalent of domestic shipping.

Check back with us in the weeks to come to see what we are up to for Market!

And don't forget that Somerset yardage will start shipping soon and very soon. If you want to know more info about what is happening with us, sign up for our NEWSLETTER, HERE!

Talk to you soon!

 

 

 

Halloween Spools

Today we wanted to show you what we are working on at the moment and for our upcoming retail show in October [coming up way too soon!].

We have used one of our brand new patterns [for release in Houston at the end of October] and transformed it into a quick and simple Halloween quilt that we think you might just love as much as we do.

The new pattern is called "Spools Quartet" and this version is "Halloween Spools" and it is made with 12 different warm blacks, soft greys and our signature butterscotch oranges. It is the kind of quilt that comes together in a weekend with simple cutting and construction. Whip one out this week just in time to display for Halloween... really and truly! These blocks are crazy simple with no triangles, using the square, sew and flip method that most of you are probably familiar with.

As you can see in the photos we haven't even had a chance to bind it yet, but we had to show it to you nevertheless! The binding will be the same butterscotch solid as you see on the back of the quilt.

If the pattern looks at all familiar, that is because it was once released as an exclusive Fig Tree Club pattern several years ago and due to its popularity we have decided to recreate it into a standard Fig Tree pattern.

We hope you enjoy the photos. Kit and pattern info will be at the bottom of the post.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:  Spools Quarter or Halloween Spools

Size: 68" x 68"

Fabric: Can be made with a jelly roll or in this case (12) 1/4 yds. oranges, blacks and greys. The collections in this kit [exactly as shown above] include Tapestry, Little Black Dress, Essential Dots, Bella Solids, Merry Medley, Avalon, Boho, French General and others! Kit includes pattern and solid butterscotch binding.

The fabrics as will be seen on the final pattern in October will be shown out of our current Honeysweet collection as well as the upcoming Mirabelle line, due out in stores in Spring 2014.

Available: Kits are available now with printed patterns. Patterns themselves will be ready by the end of October.

 

Click HERE for more kit information.

Housekeeping...

Not the actual kind unfortunately, since that really needs to be happening around here right about now, but the quilting kind. Although if anyone has any offers to help with the actual kind.... well, let's just say that I am ready and willing to make a deal :-)!!

 

Just a couple of things that many of you might want to know...

 

SOLD OUT

All of the Halloween Pops have shipped as of last week. This kit was so crazy popular that we re-ordered fabric several times and made as many kits as we could. We are still getting emails about whether or not we might be able to make more but we just can't. We are so sorry for those of you who missed out. We really did try to make as many as we possibly could!

 

[On a little side note, we are working on a new version of this quilt. Can we say a little Christmas? Stay tuned for sneak peeks...]

 

Many of you have asked about the fabrics we used for the Halloween version. We did not work with one collection on this kit, nor did we stick to just Fig Tree fabrics. Here are some suggestions for fabrics if you would like to make your own...

ORANGES

The oranges are perfect from our brand new TAPESTRY collection. Out in stores as of this week so be sure to go and get some of those yummy oranges before they dissapear. Other Fig Tree lines that have the same orange... Mill House Inn and Breakfast at Tiffany's are also great if you happen to have those in your stash.

Another great orange fabric that we used in the kit was the houndstooth from Deb Strain's GIVE THANKS collection. That was perfect for this quilt.

We have found the same tone of orange also in Sandy Gervais' GRAND FINALE group as well as pretty similiar to Sweetwater's, LUCY'S CRAB SHACK, line.

The solid that we used for both the blades and the center circles is the MODA BELLA SOLID, Golden Wheat. 

 

BLACKS

We used black fabrics from Deb Strain's GIVE THANKS [black houndstooth], Basic Grey's LITTLE BLACK DRESS, Sandy Gervais' MERRY MEDLEY, MODA ESSENTIAL DOTS and others.

 

BACKGROUNDS

We used MODA BELLA SNOW and AMERICAN JANE PINDOT for the backgrounds. We used MODA ESSENTIAL DOTS in eggshell or the MODA BELLA SOLID in parchment. We love both of those.

 

BACKINGS

 

We have a few, really just a few, backings available for those of you who purchased HALLOWEEN POPS kit. The links are here for those of you interested....

https://store.figtreeandcompany.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=Polka_Dot_Backing_Pops

 

https://store.figtreeandcompany.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=Grey_Backing_Pops

 

MILKY WAY

Many of you have emailed or expressed an interest in a kit of the Milky Way pattern, in any number of varieties. We will have Christmas versions of this pattern kitted up as a part of our 2nd Annual 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS sale. If you would like to be on a pre-order list for that kit, please contact us.

We did have several of the Milky Way kits made up of TAPESTRY, left from our retail show last month. Once the dust settles on all of the other kits going out this week, we will let you know if we still have any available.

We will also make up this pattern in the patriotic colorway in the Spring so you can always stay tuned for that if Americana is more your cup of tea.

 

PATTERN SHOWCASES

No, we are not done with these yet. In fact stay tuned for another one later today!

 

Speaking of 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS... stay tuned for upcoming information about that fun and crazy event!

 

Talk to you soon,

 

Joanna

Showcase #1: Lollipops

 

 

 

 Some of our newest projects that went on to Market for us this year.

 

So I promised some sneak peeks this weekend just so we could all pretend that we are at Market sending you debuts and new pattern showcases. I know its not the same but what's a girl to do!

Wow, I could get used to this "market from the couch with a diet coke" approach!  So come and pretend a bit with me!  Instead of a booth to share, we'll show off some of our brand new goodies...

 

Each time I share a new pattern release, I  tell you that I have a favorite and even though I am not supposed to [its kind of like having a favorite amongst your children, I mean come on!]. There is usually something about one of the quilts that really just sings to me personally a bit more than the others. This time around however, I don't have a favorite or really, I have 6 or 7 favorites and I can't seem to pick one to be more favorite than the others.

So to make it easier on my poor little psyche, I will just tell you that each one is my favorite for that day. And then I will tell you the same thing the next day. Deal? Deal.

 

Introducing my newest favorite quilt.... LOLLIPOPS.

The pattern has 2 completely different versions of the same block, one with larger and thinner pieces and one with fatter and wider ones. The results are both stunning and yet completely different even though the blocks and the quilts are created and put together in exactly the same way. I love that about a pattern!

Not to mention the fact that there are no sewing templates or rulers or anything in this method, just straight sewing. You gotta love how these blocks come together!

 

CARNIVAL LOLLIPOPS VERSIONS

 

 ... The AVALON version of the larger CARNIVAL LOLLIPOPS pattern. We topstitched this version of the block onto the background and machine appliqued the center circles. This lovely quilt was pieced by my dear friend Valerie Marsh. She did a wonderful job as always.

 

... there is something about the soft grey background that makes these simple, graphic blocks really sing! I love the color combo. For the background, you could either use the grey with dot print from our AVALON grouping or one of your favorite grey/tan solids. Either way, the results are fab.

 

... this version of the quilt is currently hanging at the MODA booth in HOUSTON. Have you seen it? If you have, send pictures!

 

... perfect for the summer or Americana or patriotic or... gosh, I can think of lots of ways to make this quilt again.

 

 ... this is the same quilt, same layout done out of our TAPESTRY collection [our fall line due out in stores any minute, literally, now]. Whereas the first one is Americana, this one is definitely warm and harvest and yet still modern and graphic all at the same time. I love this version a lot. Maybe its my favorite :-). I am really looking forward to this one returning so that I can enjoy it this fall. It is currently on its way to HOUSTON FESTIVAL, so you should be able to see it in person if you are going.

 

 ... this one is also topstitched straight onto the background, but the center circles are appliqued. This TAPESTRY version of the quilt was pieced by the amazing Sherri McConnell, words do not describe this girl's skill with fabric and a deadline! Love her!

 

... Diana decided to crosshatch the centers on this one to give us something a bit different and I love the result. 

 

 

... surprises me every time, how different a pattern can look simply by changing the colors of the backgrounds or other small changes!

 

LITTLE LOLLIES VERSIONS

Since we can never leave well enough alone, we thought it would be fun to give you another alternative in the pattern, a different size and width of "fan blade" that ends up making a completely different block.

 

 

... our AVALON sample of this LITTLE LOLLIES version. This just makes me think Spring and Fresh and Americana and, well it makes me think of lollipops at the beach in Avalon. Go figure. Its my favorite!

 

Below is our latest version of this same quilt, our HALLOWEEN POPS version which we made up just in time for our retail show a few weeks ago.

Wow, did this little sucker move like crazy! Who knew people would love this one so much! Personally, we were just so "wowed" by the pairing of some of our favorite MODA blacks and our "Fig Tree" toned oranges that we couldn't resist a little seasonal pairing for this time of year.

 

 ... start collecting some wonderful blacks and oranges right now when they are abundant and get started on this quilt for next year!

 

... the oranges and blacks paired with a little grey for the sashing and some creams for the backgrounds and you are good to go. This one was so much fun to put together and we did it all in the studio! Have I chosen a favorite yet, because in case I haven't, this one is my favorite!

 

... these blocks were machine appliqued with YLI silk thread instead of topstitched like the previous samples This creates a slightly different feel that mimics hand applique with a lot less work! Both methods have really good results and make these blocks so fun to finish. It just depends on what you prefer. 

 

We are currently working on yet another version of this quilt so stay tuned for that one too! Did someone say Christmas?

 

PATTERN INFO

NAME: LOLLIPOPS-- both CARNIVAL LOLLIPOPS [larger blocks] and LITTLE LOLLIES [smaller, squat blocks]

SIZE: CARNIVAL is app. 81" x 81"/ LITTLE LOLLIES is app. 61" x 77"

FABRIC: As noted above, we used both our upcoming AVALON collections as well as our almost due to release TAPESTRY collection in the above samples. We also made a harvest/halloween version out of oranges, blacks and creams from a variety of MODA collections including TAPESTRY, LITTLE BLACK DRESS, MODA ESSENTIAL DOTS, GIVE THANKS and MODA BELLA SOLIDS.

MORE INFO:  For pattern info click HERE. For a few kits left for the TAPESTRY version, go to our SHOP page. 

 

Halloween Pops...

We are currently at the Pacific International Quilt Festival in Santa Clara CA, enjoying the quilt world with so many of you! If you are local or have travelled to the show as so many of you have, we hope you will come and see us at our Fig Tree booth. We are in the usual spot in the 500's with a lot of new goodies and patterns to share! We will post booth and show pictures in the next couple of days I promise.

 

For now, we wanted to share with you one of our newest patterns and the Halloween version of this quilt that we have made especially for the show and in honor of this month....

 

Introducing, the Lollipops pattern in our Halloween Pops version. We know this is a bit different from our usual color palette and style but we are in love with this quilt and can't wait for it to come home and enjoy some time on our couch. 

We have saved a few kits for you all just in case you are not able to come and visit us in the booth. For more info click HERE...

 

 

 

 

 

... we apologize for the convention center lighting, this is the best we could do for today. 

 

The pattern, Lollipops, has several other versions of the modified Dresden Plate block as seen here and we will show you more this weekend. Once we show you all the versions of the pattern you'll have to tell us which is your favorite [only this version has a kit for now].

Believe it or not but all of these blocks are made with 2 1/2" strips and no templates to sew! If you are familiar with our Papillon pattern or the Dresden Plate pattern in our Fresh Vintage #16, this uses the same method but even simplified. We even figured out a way to get a perfectly flat "plate" each and every time with a little hint. You gotta love that.

The kids are already fighting over who gets it in their room first. I guess its going to be another game of ro-sham-bo at our house. I have absolutely no idea how to actually spell that but I think you know what I mean!

 

Happy October and Pacific International!!

 

Show Special #1

Happy Halloween Everybody!

 

I forgot to tell you what the show special was yesterday so here I am with a quick stop by...

 

Today's special is the new All Hallow's Eve Wall Hanging Kit from our Fresh Vintage #17 pattern [pattern included in kit]. Its a fun 18" x 18" wall hanging or table topper that is perfect for the whole fall season. Start on it right away and finish the next day or get started on next year's project!

 

We have a few of them left and with the special code "candy" [type into the special code box during checkout. Do not add the parentheses/just the word]  for 20% off! You can't beat that. Click here.

Talk to you tomorrow for more show sneak peeks....