Crapplique

Stag

2011-12-13T07:47:00.000-08:00

I think for the most part, people don’t think of insects as beautiful, so when I met a girl with a specimen collection that celebrated such a crazy range of insects, I wanted to contribute to it in some way.

Stag beetles are pretty big bugs, so it’s pretty easy to see how people couldn’t help but notice them. Forever ago, people believed stag beetles brought good fortune, so they wouldn’t just admire them, they would carry the specimens with them, often wearing them as amulets.

I didn’t make an amulet, but I hope this stitching can hold its own on that incredible specimen wall of hers.

Rambo

2011-09-06T19:56:00.001-07:00

Simple Dismemberment Plan Potholders

2010-10-15T08:14:00.000-07:00

Another one for the "potholder series," if you will. These Dismemberment Plan tribute potholders were designed for this amazing girl who regularly opens my eyes to new music, so I thought what better way to celebrate her birthday than to pay homage to one of her established music loves?

Photo credit: T. Tough

Actual album art:

Click the potholders tag to see the others!

Thank You/Autumn Card

2010-10-07T09:24:00.001-07:00

Last October, this musician did an amazing favor for me, and I couldn't help but remember and still be grateful this October. I decided to make a second thank you note, and this is what I came up with:

I seriously love the fall.

Florida Invaders

2010-09-10T06:22:00.000-07:00

Floridians see Florida differently than other people do.

The creepiest thing I have ever made

2010-09-05T07:29:00.001-07:00

Brian Simpson doll. (Is that redundant?)

The man himself:

Custom Bridesmaid Dainties

2010-08-24T20:22:00.000-07:00

I probably shouldn't be blogging about any of this . . . .

Bridal dainty detail:

Knitted Beer Coozie

2010-08-19T16:32:00.000-07:00

I've never been one to use a beer coozie ever, but I needed to make a quick thank you present for a friend, and he loves beer, so I thought, why not knit him a coozie. I did it with variegated yarn and personalized it with felt and embroidery thread (my go-tos).

Scream! Emoticon Pillow

2010-07-16T06:46:00.001-07:00

Because life really is that exciting when you hang with KG.

Happy Birthday, girl!

(Blue knit pillowcase with neon/glow-in the dark emoticon embellishment.)

Pizza Cucina

2010-06-20T11:21:00.000-07:00

Monitor Lizard (aka dragon)

2010-06-09T20:50:00.000-07:00

I'm working on a piece of art to trade with a talented lady, and this is the main detail. He's a monitor lizard, originally all the way from the Nile River, who now lives in Florida, just like me. He's 17 inches long and 5 inches tall. I created him using felt and embroidery thread.

I used this photograph, which I found on the USGS page of Nonindigenous Aquatic Species, as my model. Isn't he just as handsome in real life?

Because he's so long and the Internet isn't, I figured some people might want to see close-ups to check out the detailing (mainly me). Here's his head:

His middle:

And his tail:

I'll post the full project when it's done! Hopefully in the next week!

Culture Vulture Book Jacket

2010-05-15T13:17:00.000-07:00

Culture vulture: A person with a predatory interest in the arts.

Complementary Chowder

2010-04-11T17:33:00.001-07:00

Dancing Buns

2010-04-07T14:11:00.001-07:00

Kris got a hole in her shirt, which is the worst! But we fixed it up with a couple of dancing bunnies.

Abbey Road Potholder

2010-03-05T16:17:00.000-08:00

I got new batteries, so, yay, for more detailed images! This was more fun than I expected, but I still would've liked to have done more with it.

(Just in case you are somehow unfamiliar with The Beatles' album Abbey Road...)

Slanted and Enchanted Potholder, take 2

2010-03-02T21:56:00.001-08:00

How could I deny enjoying the process of duplicating this potholder based on the album art of the Pavement record, Slanted and Enchanted for ThrillerMag's "What Is Indie?" issue?

I tightened it up a little bit, making the area the art covered take up most of the potholder, which I think is an improvement. I also went with white for the border and left out the yellow entirely, which may or may not have been the best take on it, depending on what attracts you most about the busy album cover.

Here's a closeup:

Unicorn Pillow

2010-02-24T11:09:00.000-08:00

I stitched a unicorn onto blue fabric, then stuffed it with filling for 10 billion hours. Here it is in all its glory. After finishing, I realized I didn't give the unicorn a horn. Is a unicorn a unicorn without a horn? Maybe I should call it Rainbow Pony Pillow. Either way, Travis is stuck with it.

I also made new pillows for my bed. They only get to be in the background, though, because the unicorn pillow is too special to not be front and center in every pillow picture from now til the rest of eternity.

House slippers for Ma

2009-12-29T07:49:00.000-08:00

These pictures are way dark, but the slippers actually turned out admirably. I was into them.

STOCKING stitch, Fascinating.

2009-11-24T17:43:00.001-08:00

I've been playing with different patterns, trying to come to terms with all of the maneuvers so that I can pick out exactly which pattern I want to use for the adult-sized booties. As I've been knitting along, I've noticed something very, very obvious about knitting:

If it doesn't feel right then it isn't right.

It really shouldn't be difficult. When you're knitting the way you're supposed to, you naturally get into a rhythm. If the yarn feels too tight around the needle, something is wrong. If you don't like what you see, something is really wrong. If you can't figure out how on earth to continue the stitch because yarn is just criss-crossing everywhere, put down the needles and watch TV or read for a little while.

Knitting kind of feels like doing friendship bracelets when I was a kid. Crossing the threads in different patterns, it was a monotonous, endless task. And that's what knitting is, too: the same thing over and over again until when? Until it's done.

That's kind of how it is with a lot of things, eh?

I know this isn't particularly enlightened, but I kind of like the relationship.

Knitting101

2009-11-22T16:36:00.000-08:00

I learned how to knit! !!!!! I'm beyond excited about this new and freaking insane avenue for passing time. Did you know how many different knit stitches there are?! Did you know about different needles and different styles and how individuals develop their own unique handling with the needle as they do with holding pencils?! Knitting is like handwriting. Awesome.

This is my first project with my first skein of yarn. Shout out to Christin Upshaw who "showed me the ropes" (leave me alone, I'm ecstatic).

My favorite part is how perfect the rows look. It's so satisfying. Once you get into a solid rhythm, they just churn out. Row after freaking row.

OK, so maybe my absolute favorite part is having a badass scarf that I would probably never be willing to spend money on from a store. Also, I'm a Floridian and have no excuse to be purchasing warm weather fripperies.

Up next, adult-sized booties. Oh purling, I will destroy you.

Neko Case - Middle Cyclone

2009-11-21T09:53:00.001-08:00

The-saurus/Halloween 2009

2009-11-01T15:05:00.000-08:00

Thesaurus "book jacket":

Synonym dress (synonyms for "Awesome"):

The whole ensemble:

Don't worry, no one else really got it either. Sigh.

Gurren Lagann Hat (Take 2)

2009-09-16T17:42:00.001-07:00

OKso, this loooooks a lot like the first attempt at this hat:

but if you look at the details, hopefully you'll see some improvement:

when you put it on, the arch pops up:

from this angle, you can soooorta see how I constructed the arch differently this time, to give it a triangular shape:

from the side:

again, the hat is supposed to be an adaptation of this badass:

Morningbell Guitar Strap Patches

2009-09-10T12:24:00.001-07:00

If you haven't picked up the new Morningbell album "Sincerely, Severely," you must really hate your ears.

Shoes I Desperately Want to Duplicate

2009-07-28T14:27:00.000-07:00

Pavement Potholders

2009-07-23T21:37:00.000-07:00

For people who like Pavement but don't like touching hot things: this one's for you.

This one's based off the album cover for "Slanted and Enchanted."

This one's based off the album cover for "Wowee Zowee."
And this is how I imagine they would look in an ordinary kitchen scenario:

Gurren Lagann Hat Prototype

2009-07-14T20:10:00.000-07:00

She out-cuted me.

2009-06-19T21:21:00.000-07:00

Let It Rain

2009-06-04T21:48:00.001-07:00

Tandem Slide

2009-06-04T21:46:00.001-07:00

Patches

2009-05-25T18:25:00.001-07:00

Urchin

2009-05-24T14:58:00.001-07:00

Eel

2009-05-24T11:45:00.001-07:00

Snail

2009-05-24T11:33:00.001-07:00

Alligator Bitch Patch

2009-05-23T18:34:00.001-07:00

Fisherman Tale

2009-05-23T13:28:00.001-07:00

Seagull

2009-05-23T13:27:00.001-07:00

Norasaur

2009-05-15T08:05:00.000-07:00

Seahorse Stitchin'

2009-05-13T18:35:00.000-07:00

The Crab is Indifferent.

2009-05-12T21:21:00.001-07:00

Whale Shark Attack

2009-05-11T21:33:00.001-07:00

Squid

2009-05-06T12:30:00.001-07:00

Went with white!

RAWR!

2009-05-04T18:43:00.001-07:00

For Nora Bee

2009-03-19T18:17:00.001-07:00

Detail close-up:

Never Smile at a Crocodile!

2009-01-15T10:31:00.001-08:00

Birthday present for Joey, floor pillow featuring the crocodile from Peter Pan based on:

Dress for my mother

2008-12-23T22:42:00.001-08:00

The cutest thing I have ever made.

2008-12-20T16:18:00.001-08:00

The dress is blue knit with an elastic waistband. The creature is from a Henry Darger painting. The rest is just pure love. Please come out to Grandma Party tomorrow!

Vinyl Applique Headbands

2008-12-18T19:19:00.000-08:00

More headbands!

2008-12-17T17:52:00.000-08:00

Neon Headbands!

2008-12-16T18:05:00.001-08:00

Headbands also available at Grandma Party! THIS Sunday!

Dresses (before)

2008-12-15T14:55:00.001-08:00

Grandma Party Skirt Lineup

2008-12-15T12:44:00.001-08:00

All skirts available for sale at Grandma Party on Dec. 21, 2008 at Stardust Coffee and Video!

Rockhopper Penguin Skirt

2008-12-06T11:27:00.000-08:00

Red knit skirt with cotton floral trim and a studly Rockhopper penguin felt embellishment.

Sheep Skirt

2008-12-06T10:59:00.000-08:00

Black knit skirt with floral knit trim and a completely noncomformist, stylish felt sheep.

Cardinal Tank

2008-10-21T18:43:00.001-07:00

Cotton muslin tank top with polyester lining and green felt cardinal embellishment.

Wall-E

2008-08-31T17:05:00.001-07:00

Joanna's bags

2008-08-23T15:29:00.001-07:00

the work table:

bag number one:based on this photo/graffiti:bag number 2based on this t-shirt:

Graffiti into Felt

2008-08-16T16:37:00.000-07:00

based on:

So this picture is especially terrible quality. Someday, I'll get a real camera and show you some detailing.

Nikolas from The Care Bears Movie

2008-07-26T15:29:00.001-07:00

Had to change the colors to fit the scheme, but it turned out OK.

Katy the Kitty

2008-07-22T18:28:00.001-07:00

sorry (always) for the terrible quality.

Secret of Nimh

2008-07-22T18:11:00.000-07:00

Hell Mutt, the helmet

2008-02-07T16:21:00.000-08:00

Every month at GreenGreenYellow.com, a topic is chosen with which each artist must come up with a submission. The topic this month was helmet, and now this loveable creature is in my life.

special requests

2008-01-30T13:42:00.000-08:00

For Tiffany

For Marky Monikers

For Paige the coolest

For Randy

For Green Green Yellow

For Joey

For Darrah

original ties

2008-01-30T13:41:00.000-08:00

<"http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m102/mattandmuff/paisley.jpg">

original bags

2008-01-30T13:39:00.000-08:00

fictional characters

2008-01-30T13:35:00.000-08:00