A Tainted Selfie...

Remember me mentioning that I met Lawrence Gilliard Jr (Bob from The Walking Dead), at Walker Stalker Con in Orlando last weekend? He took a selfie of us (and one of my Bob's BBQ quilt) with his own personal phone - and today he posted the selfie to his Instagram!

He is such an extremely nice guy! It was terrific getting to meet him!!!

Its Giveaway Time!

It's Giveaway Time!

We were SO close to reaching our 500 followers mark.... and then after posting all of my zombie pics we lost 40 followers. Really people, you didnt expect zombie pics from someone with a name like Zombie Quilter? Oh well, its like they say - F 'Em If They Cant Take A Joke! ;-)

So lets do a giveaway for a couple reasons..... 1 - lets make back our numbers, but this time with COOL people! and 2 - Im still in a great mood after Walker Stalker Con and am ready to share it with the world! So here we go! (Prizes: A custom skully mug rug, 2 spools of Sulky metallic thread, a FQ of cute sewing themed fabric and a MQG ruler)

To enter this giveaway contest you must do 3 easy peasy little things...

1. Comment on this blog post!
2. Follow me on Instagram - @zombiequilter
3. Regram and Tag 3 friends in the Giveaway Post on Instagram

Thats it folks! Good luck! The winner will be chosen by a random number generator on July 1st!

p.s. If you want EXTRA entries you may complete steps 2 and three once per day between now and July 1st! The more entries, the more chances to win!

When all the zombies (and the zombie hunters) came to town...

June 27th, 2015 --- this date will go down in history as the day that Orlando was taken over by zombies.... and zombie hunters too (yikes). This zombie quilter was right in the middle of it too! But don't worry - I knew that I wouldn't be able to attend Walker Stalker Con without a good disguise if I wanted to make it out of there in one piece (more or less). So, I donned my very best "human disguise" and jumped right in! Of course I disguised the zombie children as well, so they were safe too!

Armed with a bag of quilted goodies... we headed in and went straight to the autograph line for Lawrence Gillard Jr. who played Bob on The Walking Dead. I couldn't wait to show him my "Bob's BBQ" mini quilt! The line moved pretty quickly and I resisted the urge to eat the people in front of me, although my stomach did growl a few times. So is the life of a zombie quilter, I guess.... When I finally made it to the front of the line, I was so excited, and Lawrence did NOT disappoint! I happily found out that he is one of the nicest zombie hunters you could ask for (wow that sounded a little contradictory coming from me, but still)! He chatted and smiled and just seemed SO genuine! Its really great when actors enjoy meeting their fans! So then I showed him the quilt... I was pretty nervous - what if he didnt think it was funny? After all, it did serve as a reminder of his death on the show. He took one look at it and had a terrifically bright smile and said he loved it! He even took a picture of it with his own phone! Then he took a picture of us together -- how exciting! It really made my day! I ended up with not one, but TWO hugs from this awesome guy before I left! I left him with a zombie hand mug rug as a gift - silly me forgot to tell him what it was for... but hey, he can use it any way that he likes, haha! I did mention that I follow him on Instagram, so hopefully we may see those pictures pop up at some point - how awesome would that be?!!! Before I left, he was super sweet enough to sign the Bob Quilt for me. He asked where I wanted him to sign and I said, anywhere you like... he said -- the foot of course! LOL! So, thats what he did! I am so thrilled about it, this beautify will hang proudly in my sewing room and help inspire me to create more and more. Thank you SOOOOO much Lawrence - you are AMAZING!!!

After getting Lawrence's autograph we shuffled around and were able to snap a few pics of other stars from The Walking Dead too. I wish that we would have had the opportunity to meet them all personally, but zombie quilters don't usually have a lot of cash flow - or at least this one doesn't, so ya know.... I gotta remember to eat a millionaire soon and take his wallet.

David Morrissey - The Governor

Scott Wilson - Hershel Greene

Emily Kinney - Beth Greene

Lennie James - Morgan

Jeff Kober - Joe
(He was the leader of the group that took in Darrel and taught him about "CLAIMED", lol... and he also got his throat torn out by Rick)

Greg Nicotero - Producer/Director of The Walking Dead

Ross Marquand - Aaron

Seth Gilliam - Father Gabriel

Tyler James Williams - Noah
Michael Traynor - Nicholas
(The "Noah's" booth was next to "Nicholas's" booth, and when Noah needed a break he went out behind Nicholas's booth - but stopped and chatted and smiled a bit before he left. I was scowling just a bit at Nicholas when I saw this and he looked at me a little puzzled. So I said "you got the guy killed and now you are friendly with him?". Michael Traynor just smiled and said something that I WISH I could have heard clearly, but I couldn't because of the noise. He seemed like a really cool guy!)

So by the time we had finished making the rounds it was time.... time to get in line to see Norman! Even though the photo op we bought said 6:30, everyone started lining up at 4:30... and its a good thing we were in the right place to get in line, or we would have been even farther back in the gigantic line. Everyone was cool though and, being like the southerner I am at heart, I chatted with everyone in line, lol. Met a great father/daughter duo from Naples. When the stars walked by and everyone clammered to see - the father was cool enough to give my youngest zombie a boost to see what was going on. She is such a skinny little zombie, she really needs to eat more brains...

The lines for the autographs and photo ops for Norman Reedus were sooooooo long! They never let up the whole day. I heard a rumor that he didnt even take any breaks so that he could fit in every single fan who wanted to see him. How awesome is that?! I wish we would have been able t get an autograph, but it was a choice between one or the other and the zombie kids wanted to do the photo op. In hindsight the autograph would have been better, because people who got autographs actually got to talk to him. The photo op people are ushered in and out really quickly with no time to talk.

When we first walked up to Norman he crouched down and gave a high-ten to my youngest zombie -- that totally made her day! Its all that she is talking about! The older zombie gave him the zombie pouch filled with chocolate that we made him, and she said "its filled with chocolate"-- he looked at it and said "I have soooo much chocolate!". I guess a lot of people brought him chocolate, haha. I gave him the mini quilt, but there wasn't time to talk to him about it (darn it). I am kinda disappointed - I had really hoped to show it to him. We didnt know how the photo ops worked and that it would be over so quickly. But hey - we got to get a picture with Norman, so we can't complain. I hope he actually got his gifts and they didnt end up in the abyss though. Guess we can hope!

As we left, the father/daughter duo behind us let us know that they secretly did a little video of the photo op. Because it was done on the secret, its not a terrific video, but hey - its more than I was able to do - so I was thankful they offered to share it with us! If you watch closely at the beginning of the part where we go in, you can see a glimpse of Norman giving the high-ten. You can also see him look at the zombie pouch and say that about all the chocolate, lol And just as we were leaving he said "Thank you ladies.". Im glad we had the video because unfortunately we didnt hear it. Norman was so awesome and we were so thankful that he cares so much for his fans to dedicate his entire day to seeing so many of us! I heard that it was close to a thousand!!!

A very special zombie thank you to all of the wonderful actors from The Walking Dead who came to Orlando to hang out with their fans! There were many more there that we didnt get a chance to meet and take pictures of (my older zombie is really mad at me for not helping her meet Michael Cudlitz (Abraham) - as he is her big time favorite. Oh well, hopefully next year!

A zombie gives a gift to a zombie hunter...

Not gonna lie - the whole am is pretty excited to go to Walker Stalker Con this Saturday! So in just a few days we will get to meet some of our favorite stars from The Walking Dead.... unreal! Being the fans that we are, my zombie-kiddos and I decided that we could not meet Norman Reedus (Daryl Dixon) empty handed! I started working on a new version of my "bird quilt" that I could got our favorite zombie hunter with on Saturday. Here is the result....

It isn't exactly like the first.... but I like it. Hopefully Norman will too - who knows, maybe it will make it into his next nook! He just released a book called "Thanks For All The Niceness" that is compiled of pictures of 100 different things that fans have given him. You can get the book here: http://bigbaldbook.com. I especially think the lady who sent him one of her breast implants was pretty interesting.... and Norman, being Norman - kept it and used it as a cell phone stand. LOL.... But anyway, back to my quilt! So I appliquéd the hand and then used some free motion quilting with my Juki monster to highlight and accentuate things. Then I quilted words and phrases into the negative space around the hand.... words like "Triumph" (his motorcycle), "NMD" (his initials, "Eye in the Dark" (the name of his cat), "Chinatown" (where he lives in NY), "chocolate" (one of his weaknesses), "Big Bald Head" (the name of his production company), and "Mingus" (the name of his son). Hopefully making it personal will keep it from the burn barrel, lol....

Since Norman is so into cats, I used some fun cat-newspaper fabric to back the quilt. I always get a laugh when I read this fabric! And for a change, I actually remembered to put a label on it!

OH I forgot to mention that on the sleeve of the hand I wrote the initials TWD, which of course stands for The Walking Dead and drew a little crossbow!

The zombie children wanted in on the game too... so they helped me create a cute little zombie pouch. The outside has the wording from the hospital doors that Rick found in season one (Dont Open Dead Inside), and I lined it with zombie fabric.... so literally when you open the pouch - there are dead inside! LOL The girls are filling it with hershey's kisses since Norman is a big chocolate lover... they said they wanted a chance to tell all their friends that they gave him kisses for real - haha!

So, I would say that the zombies are ready to hit the Walker Stalker Con this Saturday -- very excited!!! Will keep you all posted!

zombie drool and rotten brains, ZQ

The Zombie Quilter Meets The Zombie Hunter.....

This Saturday, I will be attending the Walker Stalker Con in Orlando. Its a huge geek-fest and its pretty spectacular! Lots of zombies and zombie lovers and other various nerdy folks gathering. I'm pretty excited about it.

I will be taking my Bird Quilt to have the master bird-flipper himself sign it....

You remember my bird quilt, right?

I'm pretty excited about it! My only fear is that Norman will have his crossbow handy and not realize that I am on a quilter-only diet these days, so unless he has recently bought himself a Juki - he is pretty safe! I mean really... a teeny nibble probably wouldn't hurt anything though... ummm, yeah, ok... sorry - drifted off there for a sec!

Stay tuned zombie lovers -- pics and stories from the front line to come very soon! Will this zombie survive going face to face with the most fierce zombie killer ever? Only one way to find out!

zombie drool and rotting brains.... ZQ

A Gypsy Heart.... ZOMBIE

Just finished appliqueing this beauty... I'm calling her Lucy. Did some free motion quilting here and there too. Just have to finish the top/quilt and bind to be complete.

Also, did you see the Walking Dead pouch I did last week? It came out fun!

Keep on stitching all of you zombie lovers... don't let rotten flesh and missing digits stop you!

zombie drool and rotten brains..... ZQ

I Am A Sewing Machine....

I have been finishing up projects left and right, I am happy to say. Had a slight set-back yesterday when my pink finger fell off - but so is the life of a zombie. Thankfully I sew on a Juki -- so I just loaded that baby up with some 12wt Aurifil and stitched it right back on! It looks great too - I used hot pink... stylin and profilin!

Here is a pouch that I just finished for a friend of mine. She is a zombie lover too...

I also finished up my mini quilt for the #wonderlandcraftswap on Instagram. My partner is a big time Mad Hatter lover, so I hope she likes it. I found this super cool Kokka fabric and just fell in love with it. Hope it works! If she complains, I will just eat her, simple as that.

Done and Done!

zombie drool and rotten brains, ZQ

Take Your Zombie To The Beach...

Did you know that zombies like to go to the beach? Yep! We don't have to worry about skin cancer, so we can enjoy the sun as much as we want. We aren't bothered by seaweed either - that slimy stuff is fun to play with, not sure what you humans' problem is! We don't have to worry about sharks either, as its a well known fact that sharks only like live food!

That pic up at the top is a pic of my uncle. It was taken in Miami just a few weeks ago. He posted it to our family's zombiebook page (its like Facebook, but for zombies). He said that the beach patrol made him put his clothes back on when he tried to go out onto the nude beach. Apparently the other beachgoers took issue with some of his missing body parts/flesh. Unequal treatment plain and simple! I personally advised him to call Morgan and Morgan -- maybe they are "for the zombies" too?

I've noticed that these days I am sewing a lot more than I have been and enjoying more leisure time. Its been nice. I urge you - from one zombie to... well, whatever you happen to be.... don't forget to take some time for yourself! Trust me on this - life is over a lot quicker than you think. One day you are a quilter and the next a zombie (and then a zombie quilter of course)....

Take time to taste the brains
(ITS BETTER THAN SMELLING THE FLOWERS!)

zombie drool and rotten brains, ZQ

Zombies zombies everywhere....

Self Portrait

i heart zombies

Tutorial #1 - A Pet Collar!

Tutorial #1 .... A Custom Pet Collar For Our Furry Baby!

Let's start out with a list if necessities...

1. paracord buckles... I got these from wally world for two bucks. But you can get them at any craft supply place.
2. a quick turn tool... this thing is something I will never be without! They come in a pack of three for about eight bucks. I got mine at Joann Fabric.
3. a length of whatever fabric that you choose (we will measure to see how much you need
4. Misc stuff.... a tape measure, a rotary cutter, ruler and quality thread (my stuff of choice came from Dritz, Olfa, Omni-Grid and Aurifil).

Let's start with measuring. If you are like me, and your fingers are falling off because you are a zombie, this can be a difficult task. But for the rest of you - it should be a piece of cake! Just measure around your pup's neck - tight enough to not allow them to wiggle out of it, but loose enough for them to be able to breathe (unless they are a zombie dog)...

Miss Coco here measures at 13". We will want to pad it a little on each end to allow room to attach the paracord clip. So lets go cut a piece of fabric that is 16" long by 3" wide. That gives us an inch and a half on each end - but remember, we can always trim off any excess if we need to! I don't personally go wider than that for a few reasons... 1: its hard to get through the paracord clip and 2: it tends to fold while Coco is wearing it because she is a small dog. If you were making one for a labrador or something, I would certainly go much wider with the cut - and of course get a much larger paracord clip!

After we cut, fold the piece in half lengthwise with right sides facing and sew along the open edges with a 1/4" seam.

Once we have our piece sewn together, its time to use our handy dandy quick turn tool! I just love this thing!

After we have turned our tube - we will give it a press with our iron and then top stitch down both vertical edges to give it a nice finished look. I like my seam to be running down the center of the backside of the collar, but honestly, it really makes no difference. Fold the end of your finished tube to form a little triangle to make it easier to fit through the opening of the paracord clip. Slip it through and fold it back onto itself and tack it down. Make sure you are folding it towards the BACK side of the collar and make sure that you have your paracord clip facing in the right direction to close when you are finished. I like to play with mine a bit to make extra sure before I sew it on. Ive had to rip it out a few times and learned this the hard way!

And after we have tacked down both ends...

TA DA! You did it! You made your fur baby a beautiful ne collar! It can be washed, it can be easily taken off the paracord clip and changed, and the best part os that it can be easily customized! My Coco has one for all of the colors of the rainbow practically! And all of the holidays too of course!

I hope you liked my tutorial. This was the first but it won't be the last!

Zombie drool and rotten brains,
ZQ

It's Finished!

I finally finished my zombie quilt for the #zombieapocalypseswap2015 on Instagram! I'm really happy with how it turned out. The fabric did fight me in a few places when I free motion quilted the dripping blood, but I don't think that its enough to ruin the whole thing. I had a lot of fun free motioning the back too.... check out the heartbeats and the little zombie hand at the bottom. I almost didnt bind it but turn it inside out like a pillow.... but at the end I gave in to the quilt police and bound it. It kind of covers up some of the art though.... oh well. I quilted it with invisible thread by Sulky. That was good and bad. It was good because it didnt cover up any of the appliqué. But it was bad because - well lets face it - that stuff is a pain in the ass! I bet I had to rethread a dozen times before it was finished. Whew..... back to my Aurifil, thank you very much!
(All piecing and FMQ was done with Aurifil 40wt thread)
#aurigirl4life

****UPDATE: Since this posting things have changed a bit. I have created another mini for my swap partner and have decided to KEEP this beauty for myself! :)

zombie drool and rotten brains, ZQ

Zombies Need Love Too...

So have you ever wondered why there are no good zombie/human love stories? I mean hey - we have seen humans and werewolves, and humans and vampires (tired and done).... but whats the prejudice against zombies? Are we not cute enough, do we not smell good enough, are we not fun to make out with..... yeah ok most of the answers to those questions are NO, I admit it. But it doesn't mean that this is a bad idea.... I am thinking a zombie and human love story is past due. And - for the good of society - I am willing to take one for the team and be the zombie to make this a reality. To make things easier, I have compiled a list of acceptable human counterparts...... A: Norman Reedus B: Kit Harington and C: Graham McTavish..... I am waiting to be approached by Hollywood. I will keep you posted!

A Walking Dead Themed Mini Quilt.

It's coming right along! This is for the Zombie Apocalypse swap on IG. All of my Walking Dead peeps should "get it". ;-)

***UPDATE -- since this posting things have changed a bit and I have created another swap item for my partner. I have decided to KEEp this beauty for myself!!! :)

Hour Baskets Everywhere!

Have you made an hour basket, or two or three or a dozen of them yet? Let me warn you, they are very addictive! A wonderful and easy tutorial by the talented Kelby Sews (Find the tutorial on her blog, HERE).

This is my first Hour Basket. Its for the Zombie Apocalypse swap on IG.


And now, with the end of the school year finally here and the need for teacher gifts - a second one has already been produced!


This is a terrific little pattern and the tutorial that Kelby Sews made is easy to follow - even for beginners. So if you need a quick gift, keep this one in mind. Hey, if a zombie can do it, anyone can do it!