Just don't do it while driving

I love you, The Onion.

Just a crappy little quilt

This is one of the first quilts I made a few years ago. At the time, I wanted to make something cute, simple and original....but every subject I wanted to do (video games, heavy metal, tattoos etc) had been quilted before. Then I thought of the one thing I was SURE no one had done yet! (so far I have not been proven wrong on this.) I also like the idea of something being simultaneously cute and repulsive. And thus was born what you see before you. It was done in fused applique (or should I say, crapplique?), machine pieced and quilted.

I entered this in the 2010 Austin quilt show, where it won 3rd place in the novice category. I was feeling pretty good about this....until I realized there were only 3 entries in the category! LOL. At least I can now say I'm an "award-winning quilter"! 

Apocalypse Wow!

A UK quilter by the name of Ferret makes some amazing art quilts, some of them based on photographs- like this one of Perttu Kivilaakso, cello player for the great Finnish symphonic metal band Apocalyptica.
You can see more of her work on her website, Ferret Fabrications.

I'm dreaming....of a BLACK CHRISTMAS!!!

So last year after Christmas, I happened to find this black pre-lit tree on sale super cheap, and couldn't pass it up. I haven't had a tree of my own since I moved away from home 20+ years ago, so I've had lots of fun all year coming up with ideas for the 1st annual BLACK CHRISTMAS!

My first idea was to take a few heavy metal patches I have been collecting, and turn them into quilted ornaments! (I figure I'm kind of past the age where I can get away with wearing them on a grungy denim vest....) They turned out pretty cool! I am working on a tutorial for these, so stay tuned.

Then around Halloween, I happened to see a big plastic chain decoration, and realized it would make a great "metal" garland for the tree! Can't wait for next fall to roll around and see what other cool items can be found.

Finally, this weekend I put it all together while listening to a playlist I made of metal covers of Christmas songs! It's fairly poppy with Twisted Sister etc, but super fun. Here's a link in case you want to check it out (may contain a bit of NSFW language ;)

This is something I'll keep adding to every year. Next I need to make a black tree skirt!