Unusual Animals

Can you believe it's June already? I can hardly believe it. I'm almost halfway through another year of weekly quilts. I had a tough time deciding on a theme, so I went with an odd one.
I've been researching unusual animals for possible theme inclusion, and when I happened upon the narwhal, I knew this was it for June. The hard part is that I will be away 2 weekends of June, so I had to thin of something simple.
This weekend really disappeared fast... I spent most of Saturday drawing and painting ATCs for my weekend retreat in 2 weeks. Sunday was supposed to be a Mustang only car show with my dad and brother (both own Mustang Cobra cars... one day...) but it was "rained out" and I spent the time washing and hand waxing my car (a Saturn) instead. It never really rained, and I have a nasty "cloudy day sunburn" to show for it. So.... back to my narwhal.
I drew exactly 3 of these before it was right, a drawing in my bedside drawing pad at night, then the ATC, and the mockup for the fusible for this piece. I do love him, he's just so cute.
Narwhal's tusks were hunted by Vikings and often sold a fake unicorn horns, worth about as much as a castle in Medieval times.

More Zombie Awesome-ness

Last night I drew and inked these cute zombies, even took the time to watercolor one of them.

Can't wait to work on this quilt!

Sneak Peek: Adorable Zombies sketches

I hinted at these elsewhere, and folks seemed interested, so here are my sketches for an upcoming quilt series of adorable cute zombies. Click the picture for a better view...

Happy Hina Matsuri Day!

In keeping with researching Japanese culture and themes, happy Hina Matsuri day, other wise known as Doll Festival or Girls' Day!

I made this Hina quilt last year as part of my Japanese Doll theme. It's still so Kawaii! Also, I purchased some Hina Matsuri display dolls from Jbox.com, which I am very happy about. Here is my little display!

I have this cute bowl of Konpeito to celebrate with, and DH and I are going out for Japanese cuisine tonight. We're also going to try plum wine, and we may float a little origami doll out on the pond. We don't have kids, but we can still send our misfortunes out on the water to be washed away with the doll instead of us.

I hope you have a happy Hina Matsuri day too!

End of January

I'm sorry I didn't get to posting this after they were made, but it's been super crazy after going to NYC for the New York Comic Con. (Which was fun, if exhausting...It's a sign I'm getting too old for this crap.)

January's final weekly quilt is of "kadomatsu" or traditional New Year's decorations which represent Heaven, Humanity, and Earth. They are placed at entryways and at gates in Japan, and are literally translated as "gate pines". I have seen some "plush" versions of kadomatsu, but my little graphic one is cute too. They make fake plastic ones that you can put up year after year, like the holiday decorations of your choice. I wanted to make this closer to the beginning of January, but couldn't figure out what to decorate the bamboo with.

I really enjoyed learning more about Japan for this month's theme.

Good Fortune and Long Life

Both of these designs were made in my sketchbook next to one another...

The "Maneki Neko" or "beckoning cat" is very popular in Japanese culture. I could not resist making my own very cute, wide-eyed cat.


The owl, or fukurou, is a good luck symbol in Japan as well. The sounds of the Japanese word for owl also mean "no trouble" which means the owl is lucky. It also symbolizes old age, and owl themed gifts are often given when someone turns 60. I wish my owl was on a lighter background now, because you cannot see just how adorable he is.

Only one more week of Japanese culture weeklies to go.

Weekly Quilt Series- A rabbit jumps over the moon

Where we westerners see a "man in the moon", the Japanese see a rabbit in the moon. The rabbit and moon together is a popular theme. My usagi (rabbit) is jumping into the moon for the night.

I absolutely love this background fabric by Lakehouse Designs. I wish I had more than the little fat quarter I have of it (or what is left of it). When I put the moon on the background, there was a design problem. You could see the flowers "through" the moon, and they were very distracting. I quilted over them quite a bit, and it still didn't "knock them back" (as Pokey Bolton says). So, even though the piece was quilted and bound, newly confident via Judy Coates Perez and my recent class with her, I dragged out the Setacolor black paint, and painted over the flowers. The "cool" thing was that Lakehouse outlined the flower with a thin shimmery rim and metallic gold, which the paint didn't really cover. In the end it was so much better for having "shadow flowers" inside the moon. I really like the new piece. This month's theme has been fun so far.

Weekly Quilt Series- January 2009

It's time to show my first piece in my 2009 Weekly quilt series. This year, I changed the size, and I'm still going to do Monthly Themes. This month's is "Cute Japanese Culture".

This is a "nengajo", or a new years wish postcard, celebrating 2009 as the year of the cow (or ox). My cute cow was drawn on New Years Day in my sketch book, and then I blew it up to be the size needed for the quilt, which is 8 inches by 5 inches (the new series size). In Japan, nengajo are sent to the post office before New Years' Day specially marked as nengajo, and all delivered on New Year's exactly.

I picked the size because I could put two week's worth stacked into a plastic sleeve holder that holds regular sheets of paper.

Another year passes

I'm on vacation this week also, and have been enjoying the relaxing times I have spent at home with DH. I have not been sewing as much as I had expected, because my DH got a new video game for Christmas that I am enjoying watching unfold, probably as much as he is enjoying playing it. I have been doing a lot of thinking about the past year and am really looking forward to 2009.
I have decided to do another year of weekly quilts, but I have decided to challenge myself again with changing the size and continuing to do them in themed groups by month. The size for 2009 is 8 inches by 5 inches, landscape orientation. I have a theme already for January.
I got great presents for Christmas from the DearHusband, and he was even so thoughtful as to wrap my gifts in fabric! Plenty of things with which to make art this year, and some more Nohohon Zoku (Hidamari No Tami) for my office. I have the best collection of these now.
I have been doing plenty of Japanese culture research for some quilt themes this year. I love the idea of nengajo, New Year's postcards that are supposed to arrive on Jan 1. This year is the year of the cow (or Ox), and it's also the sign of my birth year too. I love some of the holidays and traditions of Japan.
Anyways, have a great New Years celebration, be safe, and see you again in 2009, with a lovely giveaway!

On the mend

It's rotten to be sick, and this cold really knocked me for a loop. I was so drained, I thought sewing this weekend would be impossible.

Luckily, I felt ok enough to sew a bit today, so I got a couple of things done.

I also found a few minutes to scan everything I have done lately for your viewing pleasure.

These monsters were so freaking cute to do. I can definitely see patterns for these in the future.

These ATCs are for trades I'm involved in over at ATCSforAll.com.

Lastly these are November's theme, fall leaves. Anotehr topic suggested by the DH. Those perfect leaves are silk leaves bought from a craft store.

Quickie Update

I'm about to get on a plane to Las Vegas for work, but here's some of my latest work.

This robot is either putting his heart back or taking it out. Your choice.
The last of the Robot theme. He's kinda happy.

This is 12 x 12 inches. It's made for my calendar entry for January for my Fiber Art Divas group. This looks exactly like the sketch and like what I pictured in my head.

Gotta run, but that contest I want to run is coming soon. Stay tuned!

Even evil robots need love...

After seeing Wall-E, sad robots in love are quite popular. This is my take on a sad, slightly evil, cute robot with a broken heart. I love the blue circuitry fabric, of which I only have a small bit left.

Destroy! Destroy!

Sitting in the bookstore, drinking a cup of coffee with my DH, I mentioned I did not know what I would do for August's theme. It's a 5 weekend month, meaning there will be 5 of this theme.

DH says "You should do Robots".

Immediately, these robots come to mind. Cute but Evil Robots. My dad likes robots, we're both fans of The Day The Earth Stood Still. We're eagerly waiting for the remake.

I didn't expect to be overflowing with so many cute robots for ideas! So Robots it is... For you Muppin!

Last of the Japanese Dolls

There are a lot of Japanese dolls I could make, but this one lent itself to my very cute (kawaii) theme. This is a "teru teru bezu" doll. These are made from cloth and given a little drawn-on face and hung much like Halloween ghosts. They are supposed to ward off rain. My little teru teru bezu is soooo cute! He's a bit dimensional, as his head is stuffed and raised up a bit. I had a great time making him on the plane to San Diego.

July's weekly theme is Japanese dolls

I love Japanese culture. I especially love the idea of Kawaii (Cute) and Zakka (Simple living). This week's doll is a daruma doll. I first learned about these from a Nohohon Zoku special edition I have that was made as a gift for "good luck with studying for tests". The idea of the daruma doll is that the doll comes with white eyes. You make a wish, and fill in the one eye. When your wish comes true, you fill in the other eye and hang proudly in your home. I made my wish and sewed in the one eye. If my wish comes true, I will fill in the other eye and post it finished here.

I like this kawaii version of the daruma so much that I might offer it as a pattern. What do you think?

Shrine to Nohohon Zoku

I love Nohohon Zoku (Hidamari No Tami) dolls from Japan. I collect them and put them in my office. I find most of them at the comic book shows my company sends me to. Gives me something to look for while I am there. I have about 10 of them now. This month's journal shrine quilt is a funny little Nohohon Zoku. I outlined him in grey because I thought black would be too harsh for this little guy. I am particularly proud of the soft pallate and my satin stitching. Not a fan of the leaf quilting I attempted, but, what can one do? The below pic is just some of my Hidamari, including some other "solar" toys on my desk.

Grow a Pear

This pear was entirely painted. I drew a funny pear with a face on it for a swap at my favorite ATC trading site a few weeks ago. I decided to do an all painted quilt for this week's work.

ALA Judy Perez! The pear is tsukineko inks, and the background is Jaquard Lumiere paint. So cute!

Baby Sock Flower Bouquet

I made this bouquet of "flowers" out of a pack of baby socks I got from Target. My cousin had a party for her daughter's Christening and I thought this would make a cute gift in place of a quilt I am still working towards.

Recycled Materials Month- Tenkei Marshmallows

I saved this bag after consuming the delicious chocolate-filled marshmallows inside for over a year. I love the little character on it. I also got sent a pack of candies and San-X tissues from the Japanese Etsy seller who my husband bought my Gocco machine from. So I wanted to make a mini quilt out of the candy wrappers and tissues for my first week on the "recycled materials" theme. I love Japanese "kawaii" or "super cute" stuff. This way I get to keep the little bag and tissue as artwork...

I have been on a "green" kick since before Earth Hour... I have switched a good number of incandescent bulbs to fluorescent ones. I'm buying less chemicals and cleaning with more natural solutions, and am trying to switch from paper towels to rags that we can rewash. I have a new high efficiency washer and dryer too. My heat is on 67 degrees and my air was barely below 80 degrees last summer. It's a small start.