urban quilter

The terms "urban" and "modern" are tossed around with increasingly less meaning these days, but quilter Amy Ahlstrom puts those adjectives to good use. Her colorful quilted cityscapes evoke neon signs, skylines and Chinatown.




See more at her site HERE!

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craftastic!

guess it's been awhile; let's catch up on the latest in unusual crafting!
first off, we have this knitted green eggs and ham by Craftster member The Izz:





next up,a Nintendo game cross-stitch sampler by Flickr user CrystalPowell:



also these minimalist Harry Potter pillows by etsy seller Kim Gadbois:



and finally, the twisted creations of etsy seller frankentoys, who re-combines stuffed animals in new and bizarre ways!


see more of their items for sale HERE!

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girl scouts got nothing on this!

etsy seller LEEMESZAROS specializes in handmade merit badges for adults! whether they "quit cold turkey" or "have a bun in the oven", show your appreciation for that special someone's accomplishments!


see lots more in their ETSY STORE!

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be careful how you set your blocks....

....or your prize-winning quilt could end up on Failblog as a "Nazi quilt"!



you have been warned!

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CHICKENS NEED SWEATERS!

the UK-based nonprofit, Little Hen Rescue saves featherless chickens from factory farms. apparently the birds need help keeping warm, as the group is asking for donations of chicken sweaters. as a former vegetarian, I definitely have mixed feelings about this...on one hand I do feel sorry for them, but you could also give them a nice coat of breadcrumbs :P


the SWEATER PATTERN is on their site, if you're interested. coming soon: pigs in blankets.

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UPDATE

RE: my previous post about weird plushes, looks like we can add a couple more to the list.

Roadkill Toys has a new line of squished critters that come with removable dismboweled guts... and their very own death certificate?!?


You can order your own at their site HERE, if you're into that sort of thing....

Or if you're in more of a DIY mood, pick up this felt zombie how-to book by Nicola Tedman & Sarah Skeate. it includes patterns for a zombie pirate, bride, kitty, Thriller Michael Jackson and lots more!


available from book retailers and AMAZON.COM

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EXTREME IRONING!!!

The new competitive sport of extreme ironing, or EI, has taken place on cliffs, underwater, on skis & parachutes, and other equally absurd locations. if you have a hubby who doesn't "get" sewing, be sure to show him this....he may not understand, but he's sure to enjoy.


read more about it at the WIKIPEDIA entry!

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plush WHATS!?!?

Is there ANYTHING that hasn't been made into plush toys? based on the following, I would say no:

first off, we have a line of stuffed viruses, bacteria and other microscopic friends from giantmicrobes.com:


Next up, check out these plush internal organs from iheartguts.com:



And let's not forget this line of German toys based on mental illnesses, as covered by Time magazine:




But the pants-down winner here is the handmade plush POOPS from Anna Chambers' burgerlog.com:



If I missed any crazy plushes that should be in here, give me a holler at kawaiiquilts at yahoo dot com!

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that bridge looked cold

Artist Dave Cole and a team of volunteers covered this bridge in Melbourne, Australia with giant knitted panels made from surveyor's tape:


More awesomeness, brought to you again by DUDECRAFT

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"Better Marriage" batting??

When I saw the TV commercial for this odor-absorbing blanket, my first thought was, I wonder if it could be used as batting? or at least using the active inner layer. know someone with an odiferous partner? gift them a quilt with this sewn into it, and they'll be none the wiser!


read more or order one HERE...though they are currently sold out. if anyone tries this, please let me know what the results are!

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tat who?

These are great! Dollmaker Mimi Kirchner found a great use for those cheesy toile prints: dye the white part to a skin tone, and make tattooed dolls!




More of these, plus some quilts at her BLOG

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morse code quilt

Blogger "QuilterGeek" made this quilt for her little brother to take to college. The pattern of bars actually spell out messages in morse code, such as "Change passwords and underwear often", and other words of wisdom.




You can read the whole story HERE. There's also a link to a pattern & directions!

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drive-by quilting!

Quilt guru Ricky Tims has come up with a unique way to keep himself and some fans entertained as he drives across the country to quilt shows. He posts his route on facebook & twitter, and quilters in the area can time it to wave their quilts from a bridge as he passes by. the results are photographed and posted on his blog.

To read more or get in on the fun, click HERE!

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That quilt looks good enough to eat!

Today I just had to share these delicious quilt-themed cakes with you!









That last one is from the blog of quilter Linda M. Poole, where you can see more quilt and sewing related cakes. Dig in!

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I can see my house from here!

Quilter Valerie Goodwin is a professor of architecture at Florida A & M University. She makes quilts based on maps, aerial views and other geometric interpretations of the landscape. What a neat idea!


Lots more photos, plus workshop info on her HOMEPAGE

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grab your board

UK company Rockett St. George designed this awesome Skullduggery line of ironing board covers. Skulls, spiderwebs, pirates and more are available in 3 sizes.



available on their website

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quilters bug out!

The Northwest Quilters Guilt of Portland, OR quilted this VW Bug to promote their quilt show! Janice Jones  and Maureen Orr Eldred assembled over 200 blocks made by guild members.


lots more pix on FLICKR

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Get your mind in the gutter!

On my trip to Japan in 2001, one of the many interesting details I noticed was that all the sewer covers were embossed with beautiful designs. So I was pretty stoked a few years ago when I found not one but TWO books of quilting designs based on them! Just proves once again that inspiration is everywhere.




available on AMAZON

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The Knitting Clock

Industrial designer Siren Elise Wilhelmsen made a clock that knits  2 meters of scarf over the course of one year, and at that rate it's more productive than I am!


more here, courtesy of Neatorama

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umm....wow?

Apparently, you can spice up your ironing with these hunky pinup guy ironing board covers: when a hot iron is applied, the towel disappears, revealing what's underneath! also available in a female version, if that's your thang.




Available from the UK version of AMAZON, as well as a few quilt and novelty shops online

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more embroider-mation

is this getting to be a genre?? Aubrey Longley-Cook of Atlanta has animated an embroidered 15-frame cycle of a dog running. speaking as a professional animator, it's pretty slow- usually run cycles are about 6-8 frames....but quite impressive nonetheless!




see the animated version on her blog, spoolspectrum

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AAAAAGGGGHH!!!

Look at these adorable sewing machine & iron toys!! They're available in papercraft pattern form from etsy seller FantasticToys, but I imagine they would be easy to adapt for a plush fabric version.




go HERE for this and lots more super cute toys & patterns!!!

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Viva las arpilleras!

Arpilleras are intricately detailed, hand appliqued tapestries made by women in Lima, Peru. They depict colorful scenes of country and village life, with plenty of flowers, crops, animals, and people in 3-D.

more info and some for sale HERE; they can also be found on ebay.

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we're now featured on quilterblogs.com!

you can read dozens of quilting-related blogs all in once place! they also have a quilt store locator and product giveaways!

Quilter Blogs & Store Search

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and while we're on the subject....

of guys, that is...crochet artist Nathan vincent turns "manly doilies" from a contradiction in terms into reality.



via DUDECRAFT, more great work on his site (linked from there).

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THERE they are.

If you're a quilter, I'm sure you have noticed the almost complete absence of men in the field, as they make up just a few percent of the demographic. well, you can stop wondering where they all are, because I found them! (some of them, at least.) seems they hang out over on the MANQUILTERS blog.

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why not?

Etsy artist SteffBomb makes offbeat plush items, including this chainsaw!

her store is HERE

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emBREADery

Just when I think I've seen it all, I get proven wrong again. Catherine McEver has created some embroidery that looks good enough to eat, and will floss your teeth to boot!

Hungry for more? Click HERE!

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foot-made art

Chinese embroiderer Gao Baoying does amazing stitch work...WITH HER FEET!! (I want to see her THREAD A NEEDLE with them!)

more amazing photos HERE!

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sewing machine X printer = THIS

when you just have to match that thread exactly to the fabric, look no further than this thread-dying sewing machine! guess that's another set of ink cartridges we'll need to buy....

more info HERE

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