Mentor Pillows

Posted on August 23, 2014 Posted in Everything Else, QuiltingTagged modernquilt, pillows, quilting2 Comments

Does anyone else have project images in their heads begging to be made? I am plagued with many. Sometimes the translation into tactile pieces hits the mark and sometimes . . . not so much. These pillows to be honest are better in person then in my brain – a heartfelt success. Not too long ago I ordered some hand dyed fabric from Malka Dubrawsky of Stichindye and wanted to use them for pillows. If you’ve never checked out Malka’s patterns and work, you need to – so inspiring.

A Stitch in Dye.

I also have been pouring through Carolyn Friedlander’s new book, Savor Each Stitch as well as her other patterns.

carolyn friedlander | fresh, modern quilt patterns.

I was hoping to translate her Circle Lattice pattern into a pillow but couldn’t make it work dimension-wise so I made up my own pattern. Using Marcus Fabric Organic Cotton Canvas combined with Malka’s hand dyed lovelies and following Carolyn’s techniques, I needle turn appliquéd the designs on.

On Instagram I’ve been inspired and loving the work of Chawne of CauchyComplete.

completely cauchy.

I have especially been drawn to her hand quilting, Using some thicker Aurifil thread, in a much more simple fashion then Chawne, I hand quilted to finish the fronts.

These pillows begged to be called Mentor Pillows because they are inspired by artists (in my mind mentors) whose work I admire: Malka, Carolyn and Chawne.

The next idea waiting to come to life in fabric is a quilt design based on a wooden table I have been lusting over. This project shoud be fun!

Happy weekend everyone.

Hillary

A Palate Cleanse

Posted on July 26, 2014July 26, 2014 Posted in Knitting, QuiltingTagged Knitting, modernquilt, Quilt, quilting14 Comments

Bold, Graphic, Black, White – These themes have been calling me this week, perhaps in reaction to the color overload of our recent vacation. I’ve ditched the small needles and delicate lace weight yarn for some lovely worsted weight hand dyed yarn in dark gray by Neighborhood Fiber Company. I also finished up a quilt top this morning in black and white linen/cotton by Rober Kaufman that is all bold and graphic. These have provided quite the palate cleanse.

My quilt top was heavily inspired by the work of Mark Grotjahn. You can find some of his paintings here:

PHILLIPS : Art Auctions | Contemporary Art | Exhibitions | Private Sales | Private Collections.

I’m calling it “Queuing Theory” which per the Wikipedia definition means “the mathematical study of waiting lines, or queues”.

I’m not quite sure how to quilt this bold beauty up. A big package of Aurifil thread came into by possesion recently. Here’s hoping it lives up to it’s amazing reputation.

in other news, the challenge of working with lace weight yarn paid off and a picture of my Windspiel shawl was picked up by Flickr Explore. My husband is happy to remind me that it is actually HIS picture. 🙂

Windspiel Lace Shawl- Explore | Flickr – Photo Sharing!.

I have about 4 more quilt designs and several bag designs percolating but the next few weeks are full of work and family.

Cheers,

Hillary

Big Blue Complete

Posted on July 1, 2014 Posted in QuiltingTagged modernquilt, Quilt, quilting13 Comments

I came home from vacation to a wonderful surprise. My Big Blue quilt top had been shipped to me from Emily Sessions. I quilt most of my quilts but when I am looking for something special I have turned to Emily to do custom quilting for me.

emerson quilting | longarm quilt design.

Emily does a wonderful job. You can see her work on another quilt of mine here:

Life in the ER Quilt | Entropy Always Wins.

Loving how this quilt has turned out. It was heavily inspired by a painting of Alain Bilteryest.

Alain Biltereyst – Minimalist Geometric Paintings / Aqua-Velvet.

I think it looks a little like a flag while one of my friends says it looks like “two sergeants getting married”. That comment had me investigating military badges and medals. . . I may have found a new fount of inspiration.

Happy creating everyone.

Hillary

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

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 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.

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.