Blogger's Quilt Festival : Growth Review Art Quilt

Oh....and what is this you ask?

Detail of hand stitching "Growth Review"

 My entry piece for the Blogger's Quilt Fest. and newest finished piece!

I'm tentatively naming it "Growth Review" which I will explain in a moment.

I'm rather excited by this new piece, it kinda came out of no where and a doodle.

Pretty keen on this one I am. 

Okay, I'll keep it short and sweet. I was doodling before bed. Made a drawing similar to this art quilt. I was surprised by the face I drew. Like I didn't know where it came from. Anyhow, I went to sleep and the next day was determined to make something new. I have some deadlines coming up and needed a new piece to hang in an art show. 

I dove into a bag of green scraps and was intending on some mix of floral and geometric designs. A few hours later (right before bed) I finished piecing this. The face changed a bit from the drawing, and I changed it around two more times before I quilted it. Actually I changed my mind all over the place with this piece. It felt really good to have no guidelines or finished image to work toward. Anything could work.

I'm calling it "Growth Review" because I pondered on the artistic path I've followed over the last 10 years. (This year marks 10 years since my grandma's passing and the beginning of my journey into textile arts.)

Kinda heavy. I'm happy with my progress however. I've come a long way, from sewing for months before learning that my machine could Free Motion quilt instead of 'faking' it, to teaching, pattern writing, fabric dying and doll making. I feel like I've reached a whole new playing field. 

With serious determination, you can do anything!

"Growth Review"

12.5 in. x 26 in.

Textile

Machine and Hand stitching

Raw edge applique

Reverse applique

Thank you so much for stopping by! Hope you'll vote for my art quilt  here.

Now go vote and visit all the amaz-balls amounts of talents out there all lining up for the show over at AmysCreativeSide.com

!!GiVeAwAy DaY!! with Sew Mama Sew!!

Hello and Welcome!!!
I'm joining in with the fun over at Sew Mama Sew today for Giveaway Day!
I have never had a giveaway on my blog before, so I rounded up a mixture of prizes to giveaway and will have 5 winners!!!
Lets take a look at what I have:

Prize #1
Mammal Chupie Handmade: Clutch in Blue Dots + Snail pin + Button Ring

Prize #2
Mammal Chupie Handmade: Clutch in Blue Plaid + Snail pin + Button Ring

Prize #3
Mammal Chupie Handmade: Scrap Cat plush in Yellow

Prize #4 

Watercolor Kit to make Pillow or Table Runner (note: center "water" fabric is not included)

(front of package)

(Backside of package)

Prize #5

Set of (4) Seasonal Floral Applique Patterns

Awesome stuff huh? So now I'm sure you're wondering how in the heck you might win one of the above prizes?!?!

Well here you go: 

How to Win! 

1. Leave a comment on this post answering this question:

What is your favorite quilt pattern or block?

(I need some ideas as to what to make with my newest fabrics, see here)

AND

2. Follow this blog anyway you like and tell me how you do so in the same comment!

(One comment per person please)

This giveaway is open to international entries!

Giveaway closes Friday May 16th @ 5pm PST

Giveaway is now closed. Winners will be announced here Sat. May 17th

It's that easy! You have all week to leave your comments and browse this blog!

And please go visit all the other amazing blog giveaways linking up at Sew Mama Sew today!

There are two link pages, one for Handmade Giveaways and one for Supplies Giveaways, my link is under the "Handmade" page since the majority of my prizes are made by me! Enjoy!

Block-a-Day Project and a very Pretty Finish

Janurary is over. That was fast. But I feel like I had a good go at all the projects I have to tackle.

First up my 365 Day Project: Block-a-Day

Pheww!!! That was no easy task! Jumping into making myself make a block a day, even if I was nice and didn't really give myself too many rules, was hard! I need to practice making it routine. Pick a time of day. This month I found myself doing well in the first two weeks, then I'd slack and have to play catch up. I played catch up for the rest of the month! Not to far behind, only usually a day or two. And proudly, they were all finished by the last day of the month.

Here they are.....randomly placed on the design wall.

I'm still unsure about the end results. Originally I thought I'd put the months worth of blocks all together in one quilt, ending up with 12 quilts at the end of the year. Now that I see them all together, I want more to play with!

So for now I will keep them in a nice gift box, and keep pondering. I could put Jan-June together and split it into two quilts also. I just can't decide as of yet.

I have made a page (see menu above) to keep all the blocks as I go. I'm still not happy with the layout of the page either, so be patient as I change it around until I like it.

January was fun! I put my arse to work and joined in with some BOM's mentioned in this post.

I got two of my four BOM's done, which is not too bad since I started mid-way through the month. Some more catch up to do indeed!

For Pat Sloan's Globetrotter, here's my center block for January.

MMmmmmm!! I am so in love with my color choices for this block. I also stumbled across some quilting inspiration for this block here. Now I can't decide if I was to quilt-as-i-go or wait. Hmmmm. Check out the Flickr group for the Mystery BOM, so many different variations!

Happy Febuary Everyone! 

For the first of the month....

I'm linking up with Lily's quilts! Check these out!!! What a great opportunity for small scale bloggers to meet and greet! Spread the love people!

Joining In & Keeping Busy, Sunday Stash #1

I wanted to share my list of things I'm going to "Participate" in.
Take a look, you may want to join in the fun too!
Shall we dive in?


Globetrotting designed & hosted by Pat Sloan
This one is very interesting with the videos from Pat and history highlights behind each block. I'm making the first block (center square) in this creamsicle/gray color pallet. Flickr group can be found here.

"Fiesta de la Flores"2014 applique BOM with
Reeze of Morning Glory Designs

I just discovered this woman and her incredible applique work! Amazing details! I'm really excited to participate in this BOM and do some relaxing handstitching. My grandmother loved to do applique as do I. Here's what I've pulled for the first block, using scraps of course! *A heads up, the patterns are only available for free during the current month. If you miss a block, she sells them for a very reasonable price.*

Aurifill Designer of the Month Challenge
Each month a different designer, block and chances to win!
I have yet to sew with any Aurifill, so I am really happy to follow along and have a chance to win some thread! Plus, each month is a designer feature with really indepth interviews. I love learning about other quilters! January's block features 'Spools' and a neat tablerunner project. Here's my color pallet for this one, again using up my scraps! Flickr group can be found here.

Pantone's Color of the Year Challenge

This year's color, Radiant Orchid. Which happens to be one of my favorite haircolors! There have been some fabulous posts by Pantone on pinterest. I just might be up for the challenge!

Classic Meets Modern with Erin at Sew at Home Mummy
A wonderful quilt along featuring a classic block each month and a challenge to participants to give it a "modern" twist. The results will be inspirational! I'm making the January block in a mulberry pallet (scraps!). Flickr group can be found here.

And of course, the Finish Along 2014 hosted by Katy of The Littlest Thistle. You can read my post about that here.

This is just a small list that I'm going to work hard at following along with. I know there are more, leave a link here if you've got BOM's or QAL's to share and I'll update!


I'm also sharing some sewing supplies/fabric purchases of this last week and linking up with another newly found linky party, Sunday Stash with Molli Sparkles! The bling is so much fun!

A trip to the Salvation Army and a 50% off coupon for the whole store from my mother, I scored! Found doll hair, a scrapbook album, some amazing vintage weaving books and yes, over 20 embroidery hoops, various sizes. Those were a steal....way less than a dollar a piece!

And my sewing bounty from a trip to Joann's. Fat quarters, muslin yardage (for new dolls!) and APQ magazine for the Tone-It-Down pattern. Not pictured (but purchased!) are the batting and stuffing which was all I really needed. You know how a trip to the fabric store goes.

Off to make some blocks!

Happy Stitching!

'Participation' & 2014 Goals

Last year I had some pretty nice finishes, but overall, I don't feel like I accomplished a lot sewing wise. I jotted down a list of achievables for this year and damn it, I'm going to do it!

'Flamingo Me' self-portrait quilt 04-2013

Creative Goals for 2014

• Get all UFO's finished or repurposed ( two bins worth spanning over 7 years eek!)
• Frequent Blogging + Blog rejuvenation
• Participate (actively) in online QAL/BOM's
• Regular photo uploads to Flickr
• Etsy shop up and running again
• 365 day project (successfully underway!)
• Design/sell quilting and sewing patterns 
• Develop my branding style "Mammal Chupie"
• Be published in quilting world
• Join my first "swap" online
• Write out my Artist CV
• Design/dye fabrics
• Make a stash book to document fabrics
• Teach more classes!
• Have a table during monthly Downtown Art Walk
• Have previous blog printed into a book
• Do more creative writing
• Make more books
• Restore my 69' VW Bus

It's not a huge list. But The activities on it will sure keep me busy! And seeing as it's already half way through January, it's good that I've started on some of these!

If you can't tell, my word for this year is "Participate". I find myself spending hours, days, months, years just staring into the creative abyss of the online quiliting world. I'm tired of just staring. Time to do!