When August rolls around, I immediately feel that spark of anticipation for all things autumn . . . pumpkins, sweaters, candles, mums, fall foliage and football. Autumn in Minnesota usually brings comfortably warm days followed by cool, crisp evenings. The heat waves are (mostly) behind us, and we’re back to sitting outdoors near a campfire. But even when I feel myself leaning into the season to come, I don’t allow myself to decorate for autumn until after Labor Day. Until then, I get my fall fix by sewing with fall fabrics!
Earlier this summer I shared an autumn table topper I made using my free pattern, Floating Squares. My color palette included oranges that ranged from butterscotch to rusty brown, with lilac and purple mixed in. I’ve continued that color scheme in my newest project, a pillow I’ll be making using a single block from my Pumpkin Run pattern.
Do you like my little pumpkin? With his unique lilac color, I’ve decided he’s one of those fancy heirloom pumpkins you can buy at the farmer’s market. I was thrilled to sew from my stash to make this small project. It pays to save every treasured scrap from past projects!
This pillow top is all the more yummy because of the mix of quilter’s cotton, cotton wovens, and yarn dyed linen. It’s going to be so cozy once I get it quilted! Here are the fabrics I used:
- Pumpkin: Seedling Seeds in plum (Katarina Roccella for Art Gallery Fabrics)
- Star: Fanciful Flights in gilded (Sharon Holland for Art Gallery Fabrics)
- Larger purple points: Sprout Woven in mulberry (Fableism)
- Smaller lilac squares: Cultivated (Bonnie Christine for Art Gallery Fabrics)
- White Background: Dotted Veil Ballerina (Art Gallery Fabrics)
- Border: Essex Yarn Dyed Linen in mocha (Robert Kaufman Fabrics)
Pumpkin Run is a runner pattern that finishes at 34 1/2” long by 12 1/2” and features three pumpkin-in-star blocks framed by thin sashing and corner stones. Here’s a photo of the original. You can see that I arranged my blocks so that the runner could hang vertically on a skinny wall space or over a quilt ladder or chair back. You could also arrange the blocks so that the pumpkins ran horizontally if you wanted to use this on a table.
For this autumn pillow project, I made only one block and finished it off with a border that is 3 ½” wide. The completed block is 16 ½” square. After I quilt the top, I’ll make a simple envelope-style backing, bind the project, and insert a 16” pillow square.
I feel like I’m off to a great start with some new autumn pieces to grace my home. In this picture you can see the autumn granny square I made recently. I have another small crochet project that I’m also hoping to get done this month, as it will tie in with these pieces nicely.
If you are looking for a quick afternoon project that gives you all the fall feels, I hope you’ll give Pumpkin Run a try. Whether you make the runner or just one block, I know you’ll enjoy the project. Pumpkin Run is available in PDF format on my Etsy shop.
Wishing you a wonderful month of August! Thanks so much for stopping by!
~Taunja