Squiggle Stripe Design

I meant to write more blog posts for recent designs and projects, but was so busy with life (moving and work) that I forgot. Oops. This post will be on my current Spoonflower entry, and the next post will be a catch up of new designs. I plan on finally photographing a few sewing projects this week and will have posts for at least one later this week.

The current Spoonflower Fabric of the Week contest is something right up my alley. Spoonflower partnered with The Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University to hold a limited palette contest for fabric designs that would fit in a Matisse painting. The contest theme is for an upcoming exhibit at The Nasher Museum, and the Top Ten designs will be featured at an event there.

Matisse happens to be one of my favorite artists, so this contest was a must for me. I like both his earlier paintings with the bold use of color and design and his later paper cutouts that still have the bold designs. I drew inspiration from both his early and later works for my entry, Squiggle Stripe:

Squiggle Stripe, fat quarter 21"x18" view shown. Click image to see repeat in yardage.

I've been on a bit of a diagonal kick lately, which is good considering there are diagonal elements in several Matisse works. Creating shapes and lines that weren't perfect was a bit hard for me, but was also fun. Getting the repeat right was much easier after messing with several other diagonal repeats, even if this one wasn't a typical diagonal.

While the contest brief led to the impression of the designs working well for home decor purposes, I think my design would also be great for a summer outfit. I am imagining a full skirt or even a dress made from this fabric. A fashion scarf would also look great with this fabric.

You can vote for your favorite entries for the Matisse/Nasher contest at Spoonflower here. The contest ends Wednesday. There are lots of fantastic entries in a wide variety of styles, so be sure to check out the contest.

*Up next: a catch up post with new designs and recent contest entries.*

Pretty Creepy Crawlies?

Halloween is the time for costumes, candy, decorations, spooky movies, and things that go bump in the night. Oh, and those sometimes terrifying things that crawl and slither. Creepy crawlies find their way into spooky decor, food, costumes, attractions, films, and even fabric. The current Fabric of the Week contest at Spoonflower is for Creepy Crawlies themed fabrics, just in time for Halloween. I went a slightly pretty route, and created a pattern inspired by scrollwork designs found in wrought iron. My entry for the Creepy Crawlies contest is Scrollwork Creepy Crawlies Iron:

Scrollwork Creepy Crawlies Iron, shown at fat quarter 21"x18" view. Click image to see pattern in yardage.

I hand drew stylized versions of spiders, scorpions, snakes, beetles, worms, and centipedes in a scrollwork style. Hearts, squiggly lines, and spirals fill in the print. I outlined the design with a black marker, then scanned it into my computer where the repeat was slightly corrected. This black and grey version was done with the contest in mind, and for a slightly creepy feel. I think it would be wonderful as a flocked fabric, or even just a flocked design on paper. I also think it would make a fun print for a frilly dress costume.

Scrollwork Creepy Crawlies is also available in a brown and tan colorway, shown below:

Scrollwork Creepy Crawlies Leather, shown at test swatch 8"x8" view. Click image to see pattern in yardage.

The brown colorway was created as a not so creepy alternative to the black colorway. It also has an aged feel, which would also make this colorway great for costumes. I actually had steampunk fashions in mind for this colorway too, as I had recently looked at mechanical versions of animals (some of which are included in this print).

You can vote for your favorite creepy crawlies fabrics here until Wednesday evening. In addition to designs perfect for Halloween, there are also plenty of cute and pretty non-holiday designs in the contest. There are also a fair number that have candy and creepies in the design. (The most popular candy included is of course, candy corn). You may have to put aside some fears for voting, but some of the designs may win you over. Or, may just scare you even more.

I still need to photograph my cupcake zombie sewn up and its sweets. Photoshoot! (And then I'll have some sweets!) Remember to check out the creepy crawly fabrics at Spoonflower, and check back for the cupcake zombie project post.

*Past Contest Result*
-Zombie Plush Toy: Cupcake Zombie! 17/88

AHHH! Attack of the Cupcake Zombie!

I have been busy lately, and slacked off on blog posts. I do have my jacket sewing project completed, but need to photograph it and then can do a blog post for it. In the meantime, I have a new cut and sew kit in a contest and for sale. The current Fabric of the Week contest at Spoonflower is for a Zombie Plush Toy cut and sew kit. I personally am not a fan of zombies or gore, but like to make cut and sew kits. For this contest, I decided to go to the dark side and create a kawaii style cupcake zombie. (While I love lots of Japanese things, I can only handle so much kawaii stuff before I go crazy). Here is my entry, Cupcake Zombie!:

Cupcake Zombie!, fat quarter 21"x18" view shown. Click image to go to fabric page.

The contest guidelines called for the pattern to fit on a fat quarter of fabric sized 21"x18". My fun kit includes the pieces, instructions, and list of needed supplies to make this slightly crazy looking cupcake zombie. Also included in the kit are three flat zombie cupcakes that can be used as appliques or turned into patches.

The cupcake zombie eats sweets instead of brains. As such, any candy should be hidden from this cute and clumsy zombie. It had a horrible accident with a lollipop stick and lost an eye. Luckily, it found a peppermint. Though it can't see with the peppermint, it appears more normal. Its frosting is a great way to store candy under further use. (The candy gets sewn to the frosting wherever desired).

You can vote for your favorite Zombie Plush Toy kits here until Wednesday. There are a lot of traditionally gory zombies, but there are also cute gore free kits in the contest. There are also a wide variety of zombie types and some humorous entries.

I do have the cupcake base sewn up, but need to find felt pieces for the lollipop sticks. Once I find the felt, the candy pieces will be sewn up and attached to the cupcake's frosting. Then I'll post pictures probably in a new blog post. (Oh, and take pictures of my finished jacket for a future post). Until then, vote for your favorite zombie cut and sew kits and watch some spooky films!

*Past Contest Results*
-Typewriter: Keys & Ribbons Plaid 112/169
-Earth Science: Sun & Storm Stripes 130/160