Appliqueing One Dotty Pumpkin

dotty- adjective
        somewhat mad or eccentric

Perhaps I should have named my blog  The Dotty Sewist because I think that definition suits all too well.  

I decided I want to work on something small and fallish in the sewing room.
 What about a pumpkin for starters?  Fields full of ripening pumpkins are a common sight here and I love to see the splashes of bright orange appear amid all the leaves. There's something so cheering about a pile of pumpkins; it's no wonder it's such a common photo on calendars.

 And what could be simpler than drawing a pumpkin.  I wanted a nice fat one.
I decided I wanted a pumpkin in pieces that I could embroider the edges and hopefully, make it a little more interesting by doing so. Jenny of Elefantz uses that technique to great effect and you can follow that link to get instructions plus a free pattern to practice on which she generously provides.

The first pumpkin I drew was too large on the 10 inch square so I had to remake each piece much smaller there on the right. I actually used my scissors as I often find I can cut a shape better with scissors than drawing it out (I know, weird!).

I realized my iron is too big.  I need one of those swish tiny irons for ironing tiny folds.  I finally gave up this part of the process in frustration.  I didn't want to scar myself with the hot iron because I think that's where this was heading.

Oh oh...A big boo boo.
 These are freezer paper templates that I realized too late...well you know what I'm going to say.  I forgot to reverse the pattern.  Such a newbie mistake I couldn't believe it. When am I going to get my wits about me and stop making such simple errors. And after I'd cut up my nice new fabric. Yuck.
 So back to the scissors and more cutting, this time a large pumpkin shape. To the right is my one large pumpkin and I decided to cut it into the pieces ...then no chance of errors I figured.

 So far so good but I'm not holding my breath.

The stem really helps with the pumpkin look. You can see my fabric folds to help guide my positioning...I need all the help I can get.  I don't have a good eye for straight things (or backward things apparently).

Ironed down and everything looks to be in place and about right for the the size of the block.

I've just finished a little blanket stitch around each of the pieces.  I used one strand of embroidery floss in a variegated orange colour.  Second thoughts...it didn't pop enough; should have stuck with the regular old orange thread.

One Dotty Pumpkin - done!

Too bad I don't need another one now that I've worked it all out.  In the end I must admit I enjoyed doing this especially once I figured I was on the right track.

Any suggestions for a tiny iron?
Have you felt the need to sew a pumpkin lately?