Ombre Ghost Quilt

 I'm a big fan of all of the Modern Holiday quilt patterns by Then Came June and Pen and Paper Patterns, and The Ghost Quilt has been on my "to make" list for awhile.  So when both of my kiddos requested a ghost quilt for Halloween this year, I excitedly began planning two different versions of this quilt! 

For my daughter's ghost quilt, I planned an ombre color scheme.  I was inspired by an ombre ghost t-shirt design created a few years ago by Patchwork Threads.  Unfortunately, the t-shirts are no longer being printed, but I'm still holding on to hope that they'll be re-printed...I'd be the first in line to buy one!! 

The coloring sheet included in the pattern definitely came in handy...I love it when pattern writers include a coloring page!  It takes me back to my kindergarten coloring days, only now I can drink wine while I color. 

When planning my color scheme, I made good use of my Art Gallery Pure Solids magnetic color chips to help me decide which colors to use for each ghost.  These color chips are honestly the best purchase I've made in awhile...I've used them so much when making color choices for my quilts.  I feel like I could write a whole blog post just about these magnetic color chips, but if you're interested in snagging some for yourself, I ordered them from Woven and Woolly. 

I also mixed in some Ruby Star Society Speckled Metallic fabrics from my stash.  The Speckled fabrics have been some of my favorites to use in my quilts because they read a lot like a solid, but the subtle metallic flecks add a little extra interest to your quilt.  Below, I've listed all 25 fabric colors used for each ghost in order from left to right:

• AGF Pure Solid-Raw Gold
• AGF Pure Solid- Honey
• Ruby Star Society Speckled- Strawberry
• AGF Pure Solid- Blossomed
• AGF Pure Solid- Georgia Peach
• Ruby Star Society Speckled- Cactus
• Ruby Star Society Speckled- Melon
• AGF Pure Solid- Apricot Crepe
• AGF Pure Solid- Miami Sunset
• Ruby Star Society Speckled- Sorbet
• AGF Pure Solid- Blushing
• AGF Pure Solid- Peach Sherbet
• Ruby Star Society Speckled- Peach
• AGF Pure Solid- Quartz Pink
• AGF Pure Solid- Field of Lavender
• Ruby Star Society Speckled- Cotton Candy
• Ruby Star Society Speckled- Peony
• Ruby Star Society Speckled- Witchy
• AGF Pure Solid- Verve Violet
• AGF Pure Solid- Purple Wine
• Ruby Star Society Speckled- Daisy
• AGF Pure Solid- Sugar Plum
• AGF Pure Solid- Sweet Fig
• Ruby Star Society Speckled- Blue Slate
• AGF Pure Solid- Magnetism

For the background, I used Ruby Star Society Speckled Metallic in Neon Pink, which is kind of a creamy off white color.  I used a simple serpentine stitch for the quilting, spacing my lines about 1 1/2 inches apart...I think the wavy lines add the perfect movement to these flying ghosts!  

One of my favorite things about this quilt is the backing...I used a buffalo plaid Mammoth flannel by Robert Kaufman.  Not only does the backing add to the coziness, but I think the black and white print also balances out the bright colors on the front of the quilt.  

To finish this fun quilt, I added an ombre binding, using leftover scraps from some of the purple colors used in the quilt top.  

Binding used to be my least favorite step of the quilt process, but since learning to do a chunky hand stitch to secure the binding to the back of my quilts, it's growing on me.  I actually have been enjoying the extra time spent with my quilts on the couch hand stitching the binding.  And I love the little extra detail and sense of intention that a visible hand stitched binding adds to a quilt.  

My two little ghosts were excited to wrap up in their new quilts this past Halloween!  After trick-or-treating, we winded down by reading The Little Ghost Who Was a Quilt ...one of my favorite Halloween books ever!  I was able to snap this sweet picture on our porch earlier in the evening...I love how excited they get about new quilts.  I hope that never changes. 

Now that Halloween is over, it's time to move on to Christmas projects...I've actually already started a few new Christmas projects, but I also have some Christmas WIPs to finish up from last year, so I'm going to be a busy elf these next few months!