And now, in the shameless self-promotion department:
my etsy store is now open for your shopping pleasure! Handmade kawaii ornaments, felt and plush figures, pillows; stained glass and more. Drop by and have a look!
SHOW ME THE CUTE!
Apparently, Frank Zappa commissioned this quilt to be made out of women's undergarments, which he requested the ladies at some of his shows to donate. I wish I could make up stuff like this.
see it HERE
rockin' heavy metal-inspired quilts, from Seattle designer Boo Davis:
visit her site at http://www.quiltsryche.com/
Felt food is all the rage in Japan lately, especially desserts. These make great toys and pincushions! 
See lots more HERE
If you want to make some yourself, I reccommend this book:
available on AMAZON
A pair of simple kitty dolls I made for my nieces for Christmas. 
This pattern and lots more are found in the translated Japanese book, "CUTE DOLLS" by Aranzi Aranzo. Even the pattern book is drawn in a super cute, almost comic book-like style, with little animal characters narrating the directions.
This and more great books available from their site here,also available on Amazon.
it's called HAPPY KITTY BUNNY PONY, and it's full of vintage American cuteness.
Available from Amazon
...or at least from photos of space. By New York artist Jimmy McBride.
more HERE
Seriously! If it wasn't for the $100 entry fee, I would totally do this.
http://www.thedreamrocket.com/
I'm lucky enough to live within driving distance of the world's biggest annual quilt convention, in Houston. Went to check it out this weekend, and was totally blown away by the incredible artistry and variety of work. Here are a few of the highlights for me:
quilted 3-D elephant
funky houses
photo-realistic
cartoon
by Kathy York
dogs montage
giant advent calendar
See more award-winning quilts HERE
I have never been able to make up my mind if Hello Kitty is cute or not. I mean, she's got all the right ingredients- simplicity, kawaii proportions, Japanese....but she's completely emotionless and expressionless. No mouth. And those soulless black eyes that follow you around the room...*shudder*
On the other hand, someone who has a cute spleen with a pink bow can't be ALL evil...right?
details HERE
A set of quilted pillows I made for my mom for Xmas...these will match a full size quilt I'm also making for her. (That's the view down the beach at Waikiki.) I painted the front pieces with watercolor crayons on white cotton, then free-motion quilted them. Then I cut the backs from Hawaiian fabric and sewed the pillows and stuffed them. Last, I got a few silk leis from a party shop, un-strung the flowers and stitched them around the seams by hand. So glad to finally have a completed project!
I love how the old 8-bit video game graphics are perfect for quilting with tiny squares, like this great Nintendo piece. Excellent work, especially for a first quilt. From the Craftster forums:
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=220857.0
SUPERBUZZY is one-stop shopping for real Japanese fabrics, craft books & supplies! HAI!
http://www.superbuzzy.com/
How cool is this?? Amazing and well done Muppets quilt, from the Craftster forums.
I like the use of faux fur where appropriate, and the way some of the characters break out of the block borders.
More pictures here
Apparently so! Here's a brilliant idea I wish I'd thought of: Skelanimals! So cute. so simple. so goth. so all over Target, Hot topic and everywhere else. Good for them!
http://skelanimals.com/
This is a fun, easy project! Buy this fabric panel that has book pictures printed on it, and quilt it together. The directions are even printed right on the fabric. Neat!
available from the eQuilter website
I'm so glad I live in an age where there can be a sewing machine called- are you ready for this?- the THREADBANGER. I need one just for the name alone.
http://www.threadbanger.com/post/8942/threadbanger-janome-sewing-machines
Italian graphic artist Tokidoki (Japanese for "sometimes") designs cute characters with a Japanese influence. Loads of great merch on his site:
http://www.tokidoki.it/
Whether you realize it or not, you are probably familiar with Sunbonnet Sue. That's the name of the Holly Hobby-type pioneer girl who appears on tons of country craft type items, including quilts. Glad to see that by the time this quilt was made 30 years ago, some people were already fed up with the smarmy, down-home traditionalism, and sent the hussy to meet her maker in a variety of interesting ways. This is the earliest example of an "alternative" quilt I have found, and it also makes me very happy!
http://www.sundrysites.com/embroidery/sunbonnetsues.htm
I have always found this slightly disturbing...Japanese toy company San-X has a line of toys called Nyan Nyan Nyanko (roughly "Mew Mew Kittens"). It consists of adorable kittens- in FOOD. Kittens in sushi. Kittens in desserts. Kittens in burgers. But they look...HAPPY. Do they WANT to be eaten? Are they made of food? Is this cute? Is it sad? Is it both? AAA!!! Don't worry little kitties, I won't eat you! :(
http://www.thosehappydays.com/nyako/nykeychains.htm
Let's face it, not everyone has the time or ambition to put months or years into a traditional quilt. The forums over at Craftster have some great ideas for realistic projects for the casual quilter. Check out this great punk T-shirt guerrila quilt. I especially love the masking tape quilting guides. Makes me wish I still had all my old band T-shirts...
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=315674.html
"KAWAII" is Japanese for "cute". And nobody does cute like the Japanese!
Case in point: my all-time favorite character, Hamutaro. (known in the USA as Hamtaro)
http://www.hamtaro.com/home.html
As cute as the animated version is, the original children's books by Ritsuko Kawai are even better! (What would you expect from someone whose NAME is almost "kawaii"!)done in a soft, textured pastel style, I have yet to see anything cuter. A few have been translated into English, and are available on Amazon.
