A Feather in Umbrella Prints Trimmings

Posted on May 15, 2014May 15, 2014 Posted in Bags, QuiltingTagged feather, Umbrella Prints, umbrella prints trimmings8 Comments

A couple of months ago I discovered one of my favorite fabric companies, Umbrella Prints was having a competition with their trimmings. I ordered two trimmings packs and got busy making up a bag of my own design with the blue trimmings.

Umbrella Prints Trimmings Challenge | Entropy Always Wins.

With another pack of beautiful brown and black trimmings in my possession, I couldn’t resist playing some more. Last night without a well thought out plan, I just started cutting and sewing (my favorite way to create) and came up with a feather. I picked up some scrap leather from a local upholstery store recently on sale ($4 for two beautiful brown scraps and some white 80s style leather that I am dreaming up plans for). I am hoping to put the feather and leather together into a clutch or ipad case. I would love any suggestions!

This is not my first rodeo with pieced feathers. I made a bag and some pillows with the very popular Anna Maria Horner free feather pattern, (Anna Maria Horner) and some hand printed Malka Dubrawsky fabric (a stitch in dye by stitchindye on Etsy).

I will finish this little project up by the end of the month and still not sure if I will add it to the official Umbrella Prints Trimmings Competition. (Umbrella Prints: 2014 Umbrella Prints Trimmings Competition) Regardless, I LOVE creating with these fabric tidbits.

My husband and I are taking our kids to Washington DC next week. If you have any good recommendations for restaurants or off the radar favorite attractions send them my way.

Hillary

Carolyn Friedlander Park Pattern Pillows

Posted on May 8, 2014June 29, 2014 Posted in Quilting2 Comments

Boy I love a project finish! Last night as I was marathon watching Downton Abbey on disk (we’re those weird types who have had no TV reception for years) I finished hand sewing my Carolyn Friedlander pattern pillows. I am now officially obsessed with needle turn appliqué!

It is hard to go wrong with one of Carolyn’s patterns. She has the modern aesthetic down to a tea. Mix that with some Maze and Vale uber cool fabric and we have a winner-new pillows for our house.

See all the Carolyn Friedlander Patterns here: carolyn friedlander | fresh, modern quilt patterns.

Maze and Vale fabric here: Maze & Vale.

Carolyn’s patterns are so wonderful, she may even tempt me into paper piecing which is another quilting modality I have yet to try. So much to learn!

Forward Motion

Posted on May 7, 2014May 7, 2014 Posted in Knitting, QuiltingTagged Knitting, quiltingLeave a comment

Catching up on family and work needs after my weekend retreat but also making slow, steady progress on knitting and sewing projects. I’ve been adding to my hexie quilt a few hexies at a time and loving how it is evolving. Also making SLOW progress on my first lace weight shawl. Oh my goodness, this knitting takes so much attention. I have to constantly check the pattern which is not what I am used to with knitting projects. It doesn’t yet much look like the finished product on Ravelry. I am hoping for miracles when finished and blocked. Pattern here:

Ravelry: Windspiel pattern by Nicole Eitzinger.

Lastly, I did finish my Carolyn Friedlander Needleturn applique on vacation and liked it so much I am working on another with more fun Maze and Vale fabric. I’m hoping they will come together as complimentary pillows that are not too matchy-matchy.

Hope your crafting is moving forward as well.

Hillary

Machine Quilt-As-You-Go Wrapped Hexagon Quilt

Posted on April 28, 2014April 28, 2014 Posted in Quilting13 Comments

Can I admit something? Hexagon projects have both intrigued and intimidated me for years. I’m a girl who likes to see results quickly and the idea of spending so much time hand sewing hexagons together has always put me off.

This weekend I ran across a book, Quilt-opedia by Laura Jane Taylor with a hexagon project that helped me break through my hexagon timidity.

Quilt-opedia: The Only Quilting Reference You’ll Ever Need: Laura Jane Taylor: 9781250044792: Amazon.com: Books.

In her featured project, you wrap a larger hexagon around a smaller hexagon with some batting sandwiched in between. She gives you the option of hand sewing them together, but again because of my impatient nature and the fact that I believe a machine stitch will better secure the pieces against the wear that my intended baby blanket may encounter, I have been machine stitching them with a decorative flower stitch.

I am using some Anna Maria Horner Little Folks Voile that I have been holding onto forever and combining them with a peppered cotton in brown/grey. Within a couple hours, the project is well under way. And the best part . . . to finish it off, I will just need to trim to a rectangle and bind. (By the way, these clover wonder clips are the BOMB. This has been my first project using them and I am in love.)

A Quilt Finish

Posted on April 12, 2014April 12, 2014 Posted in QuiltingTagged jeans, Linen, Quilt, quilting, repurposed, repurposing, upcycled6 Comments

Woot! Woot! I finished a quilt top and oh my I love this quilt. It is a quilt of my own design made from repurposed jeans of ours and new and vintage linen with a touch of corduroy. The fabrics make this quilt heavier then my other quilts and it feels reassuring somehow to cuddle up with a retake on my favorite old jeans.

I tried to partially echo the Plus design from the front on the back and quilted this up on the diagonals.

In other news, I came up with a design for the Umbrella Prints Trimmings Challenge (Umbrella Prints: Golden Ticket) and I’m super psyched to share it with you. Hope it comes out as I envision. Happy crafting!

The Backstory Quilt Completed

Posted on February 26, 2014 Posted in QuiltingTagged baby gift, baby quilt, fireplace mantel, Kaffe Fassett, Quilt10 Comments

I quilted up The Backstory Quilt today. It is on it’s way to one of the only girl babies (and her mama) in my sphere. I loved using the back of the Kaffe Fassett fabric so much for parts of the front that I flipped the fabric over for the back and the binding. It is so soft and girlie. I quilted it in straight lines following the rectangular shape of the quilt.

This quilt was small enough I was able to display it from the mantel in our bedroom. My husband has designed and made most of the wood furniture in our house as well as both our fireplace mantels and the vanity in our bathroom. A few years ago when we were remodeling part of the house I drew a picture of the mantel that I wanted and he constructed this for me. So grateful for my guy.

The Backstory Quilt Top

Posted on February 4, 2014February 4, 2014 Posted in QuiltingTagged courthouse steps, Kaffe Fassett, Quilt, quilting, sewing6 Comments

I like to think of myself as a modern girl. For the most part I like bold designs and bright colors but sometimes I like some softness. There’s nothing like a traditional design quilt made of pinks and blues that you can wrap yourself up in with a cup of tea by the fire to bring the blood pressure down a few points. With that desire in mind I pulled out some favorite Kaffe Fassett fabrics from my stash and started making up a new quilt top. I decided to go with a traditional courthouse steps design but again since I am a modern woman I had to break the rules a bit. 😉 I flipped the fabrics to the wrong side for the sides of the pattern which brought even more softness to the quilt.

I got the idea of flipping the fabrics over from the first quilt I ever made. I bought a quilt kit off of ebay several years ago and loved the effect Kaffe suggested of flipping the fabric for a more washed out effect.

Baby and Mom Gift Trio in the Mail

Posted on January 22, 2014January 22, 2014 Posted in Bags, QuiltingTagged baby gift, baby quilt, Bag, handmade, Quilt1 Comment

I think I’m done with red for a bit.

I finished quilting up my simple triangle baby quilt (https://entropyalwayswinsblog.com/2014/01/16/a-modern-baby-quilt-top/) and have packaged it up along with a bag for mom (https://entropyalwayswinsblog.com/2014/01/18/a-momma-bag/) and Rufus the dog (https://entropyalwayswinsblog.com/2014/01/10/introducing-rufus/) for baby. I did some simple geometric quilting for the quilt and used a vintage cotton/linen fabric for the back.

PASTELS, HERE I COME!

A Modern Baby Quilt Top

Posted on January 16, 2014January 16, 2014 Posted in QuiltingTagged baby quilt, modern, Quilt, quilting1 Comment

I’m continuing to work on a group of handmade goodies for a baby boy. Today I made a simple Quilt top. To add some interest to this simple design I added texture by using Denim and corduroy to the Kona cotton. Next up, a bag for momma.

Jane Completed

Posted on January 14, 2014 Posted in QuiltingTagged Elizabeth Hartman, handmade, Heather Bailey, Kaffe Fassett, Nicey Jane, Quilt, quilting5 Comments

I finally completed my “Jane Fell in the Brambles” quilt, previously blogged here: https://entropyalwayswinsblog.com/2013/10/30/jane-in-the-brambles-quilt-top/. It is an adaptation of Elizabeth Hartman’s Sparkle Punch quilt using fabric from Heather Bailey’s Nicey Jane line, Alexander Henry’s Ghastly Bramble fabric and a Kaffe Fassett print for the back. I went with varied width horizontal lines for quilting. The colors remind me of spring and make me happy in these short winter days.