Pumpkin-y Goodness

(one of the volleyball-size pumpkins in our garden - there's one for each of us plus an extra little "runt")

One of my favorite ways to decorate for Autumn and Halloween is with pumpkins. One of my most-loved colors, besides granny-smith-apple green, is pumpkin-orange. I love to decorate with it, wear it, cook with it. It's cheerful, warm and comforting.

For a couple of years, every time I've gone through my fabric stash looking for something, I've passed over a group of Autumn-themed fat quarters and thought how I need to find something to do with them. Well, I finally did, and I used Amy's tutorial for her quilt-as-you-sew table runner.

I had all the material except for the backing. I bought 1/2 yard of fabric (Keepsake Calico quilting cottons are 40% off right now at Joann's!) and made the width of the fabric be the length of the runner. After sewing it all together, I trimmed it to about 43" long x 16" wide. Also, I used my walking foot to keep all the layers feeding through the machine evenly. I was feeling bold using black thread for the quilting, but I do really like seeing the random black pinstripes. This was so fun, quick and easy that I know I'll be making more in the future.

Last year I made these little cutie pumpkins and knocked each one out in about 20 minutes. There's only a bit of hand sewing, and the rest is stuffing and hot gluing. Check back next week for a tutorial...I need a second pair of hands to take photos, and my 4-year-old's attempts are a little blurry. :-)

Finally, baking with pumpkin is a favorite of mine. For a good way to use up pumpkin puree and apples, I highly recommend this recipe. I made it the other day, and we ate it warm with a dollop of whipped cream.

What are your favorite ways with pumpkins?