Welcome to my stop on the Quilt Block Mania Blog Hop. Each of the designers participating in the hop are sharing a block pattern inspired by this month’s theme, which is Halloween!

I know. It’s a month early for Halloween. But we wanted you to have time to make our blocks for the holiday and now you have a whole month!

This month we were inspired by this color palette. The warm palette is simply perfect for fall, isn’t it?

Having a color palette as a guide helps me gather fabrics that will go well together. Here’s my fabric pull.

With a Halloween theme, my immediate thought was of a black cat. I have a black cat named Zora, and she inspires me all the time while I’m quilting (or do I mean she distracts me with her constant begging for head scratches?) Here she is practically falling off my desk to get my attention.

Anyway, the black cat in my block is conjuring up a cauldron full of fun just for you! I call my pattern Familiar, after the name given to witch’s cats.

My Familiar block uses raw edge applique. If you’ve never tried raw edge applique here is a photo a tutorial here on my blog to help you.

There are tons of designers in this hop so be sure to visit all of them for your free pattern. Here are links to all the blocks in the Quilt Block Mania Halloween Series:

"Which Hat?" at Pretty Piney
Black Cat at Inquiring Quilter
Ring of Pumpkins at Always Expect Moore
Haunted House at Powered by Quilting
Three Treats at Sew Brainy
Bat at Slice of Pi Quilts
Day of the Dead Skull at Duck Creek Mountain Quilting
Gypsy Wagon Fortune Teller at Orange Blossom Quilt
Monster at Seams to be Sew
Patchwork Pumpkin at Quilted Diary
Stacked Pumpkins at Perkins Dry Goods
Spooky Star at Block of the Mo .com
Leaf Ghost at Off the Wall Quilt
Leaf and Vine at Quilt Moments
Frankenstein at Around the Bobbin
Bat by Heidi Pridemore
Candy Corn by Quilt Fabrication
Dark night by Cotton Street Commons
Pumpkin by Sew on the Go
Pumpkin and Bat by ScrapDash
Pumpkin Chain by Stash Bandit
Happy Jack-o-lantern by Patti's Patchwork
Foundation Pieced Creepy Eyes by Amarar Creacions
Spooky Trees by Aunt Em's Quilts
Upside Down Witch by Appliques Quilts and More
Scaredy Kitty by Tacy Gray
Sun-Boo-Net Sue by Blue Bear Quilts
Spider by Oh Kay Quilting
Candy, Pumpkins, and Witch Hat by Utah Quilt Appraiser

I’ve decided to make a mini quilt with my block to hang on a small quilt hanger. My plan is to create a block for each month and to make a sort of seasonal quilt calendar for my sewing room. I’ve only gotten one block done so far, but I have plans to quilt up my Back to School and Halloween blocks soon.

So far for Quilt Block Mania I’ve made a Beach Umbrella for July and a Chalkboard for August. If you missed getting either pattern, they’re available in my shop.

Quilt Block Mania returns next month with the theme, “Family” so be sure to come back on the first Tuesday of the month to see what I create!

How do I get the free Familiar Block pattern?

My Familiar Block pattern was free to my email subscribers in September. To purchase the pattern for a small fee click here.

Speaking of which is there is so much going on here this week.

Happenings Here at Inquiring Quilter

If you haven’t yet, be sure to check out this post about the latest block for QAL By the Sea! If you haven’t joined us yet it’s not too late to make the first blocks and enter our giveaway.

I hope you’ll join me and my Partners in Design in this fun quilt along!

Also, be sure to check out the latest block in the Around the Block - USA Tour Blog Hop. Each week on Sunday, you can download a free block pattern for the featured state! Don’t miss it!

Tomorrow you can return here and share your quilts and works in progress on my weekly Wednesday link up l call Wait Loss Wednesday (the idea is to encourage you to stop waiting and to instead finish those long standing wips.) We’ve got a great group that meets every week to share what they’ve been working on and I’d love for you to be a part of it!

If you’re looking to make new friends, join me on Facebook this Saturday for my weekly online quilting retreat I call my Saturday Sew-In. The fun starts at 8 AM EST and runs through 6 PM EST. It’s not live but there are get to know you prompts throughout the day to spark discussion and friendship. This is a fun and friendly group and you’ll soon make friends—real friends.

In addition, you’ll be inspired by other quilter’s projects and you’ll gets tons of encouragement as you share your own. If you’ve been missing companionship since COVID started, I guarantee you’ll find it here. Saturday Sew-In takes place in my private Facebook group. Click here to join my Facebook group. Be sure to answer the questions so I know your not a bot.