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!