Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Stitching the Undead

I've been uber busy with web stuff and starting my new job (um, hi ... it ROCKS) - so something has had to fall behind. You'd think the crafting would, right? Nah. In my line of priorities, crafting comes in waaaaay above things like laundry, house cleaning and exercising (all much to my husband's dismay. eh) I actually have some gifts and things I'd like to make for the holidays, but - no - again I chose what should technically be a lower priority thing to do: stitching for the Feeling Stitchy October challenge. Not that it's not important or fun, but when you've got heaps of responsibilities, it probably shouldn't dominate them, right?

TheHellToTheFreakingToTheNo.

I almost didn't participate, because I knew things were going to be hectic this month, but when an idea hit me as I was falling asleep the other night, I knew there was no stopping it. I had been wondering what I would stitch, because even though I love Halloween, I don't love "typical" Halloween stuff (pumpkins and whatnot) and was trying to think of something more fun and ... gory.

And then it came to me.

I'm a big fan of Floresita - I love her amazing embroidery and her incredible generosity to scan, clean up and post vintage transfers for folks to use. One of those transfers struck me when she posted it ... and not in a good way. The Workbasket Jitterbug Girl always seemed a little creepy to me. Something about her face ... that smile ... those somewhat vacant eyes. On the surface, she seemed like a clean-cut, wholesome gal, but I saw her true identity underneath those carefully placed dimples.

And so she became ... Zombie Jitterbug Girl.


I must confess that my stitching on this project is sub-par. I had to zip through it in just a couple of evenings (thank goodness for DVRd My Life on the D-List marathon). I took a lot of shortcuts, and the back is a MESS! (grandma would be horrified!) But she's fun, and it's strangely satisfying to stitch something just a tad gruesome. Completing her has helped finally get me in a Halloween mood. The hot weather around here has been pissing me off and keeping me from getting into the spirit of things. Nothing like a severed head to remedy that!

16 comments :

  1. Holy crap, that's the funniest thing ever! I burst out laughing and startled my office-mate.

    HelltotheFreakingtotheNo = Awesome. :-)

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  2. You totally rule! Flor's gonna love it!!

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  3. damn girl you did NOT just get boing boing'd! congrats! - ryan j.

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  4. This is great! So cool! I would love to have some zombie hankies or napkins or something!

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  5. Oh. My. God. I am in love! You are a genius, my friend!!! :)

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  6. Heeee! Thanks, Flor! Glad it gets your stamp of approval. I was nervous. ; )

    Thanks for all the kind words, y'all!

    A friend just gave me the new name for this piece of work: Zombroidery. Brilliant!

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  7. That is the BEST, Rach! Hilarious. Booya for getting Boing Boing'd!!! This most certainly earned you the honor.

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  8. This is one of the coolest things I've ever seen!

    Surfed over from Crafster :)

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  9. Hiya! Just cruised in from another blog and glad I did! That's the funniest, most clever and creepy in a good way piece of embroidery I've ever seen! I'm bookmarkin' ya!

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  10. I love it. I don´t care about the back - the front is good enough for me. Keep it up.... (or down - I do understand your priorities fully).

    Yvonne
    www.fjellvang.no/quilt

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  11. I just found my new favorite craft blogger. That's just hilarious. Stumbled.

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  12. YOU ARE TOO FUNNY!!! I love it. I am sitting here right now trying to get my lazy sleepy head of a daughter to look at it, she would like it...seriously. You did a wonderful job and I don't care what the back looks like. A++++++ from me.

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  13. I just found my way here (post-Halloween) and that "zombroidery" is wonderful-you have invented a whole new genre.

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  14. How can I transfer the printed picture of Zombie Girl to my fabric? (I'm sort of new to this!)

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  15. Here are some tips on transferring images to fabric for embroidery. Hope they help! Enjoy! :)

    http://peptogirl.blogspot.com/2010/04/stitch-school-lesson-2.html

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Thank you so much for your comments! I read every single one of them. I do my best to respond when I can.

Have fun and be nice! :)
XOX
Rach