Umbrella Prints Trimmings Competition 2014 - Dark

Because I like to work under imaginary pressure I've waited until the last minute to finish up my entries for the Umbrella Prints Trimmings Competition 2014.

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I finished up the construction of this little guy last week, but wanted to mount it in a way that was more pleasing to my aesthetic. I'm very utilitarian, so the idea of making a mini quilt for decoration is very foreign. That being said, I've recently become OBSESSED with mini quilts and small piecing. Awesome. We've also got a huge blank wall over the bed, and I decided that I would use this opportunity to push myself and make a mini quilt for the bedroom.

Broken Umbrellas

**Edited to add:

Voting is live!

If you want to show your love comment on the Umbrella Prints Trimmings Competition 2014 pin here!

To see all entries check out the Umbrella Prints Trimmings Competition Pinterest Board here!
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"Broken Umbrella" is 18 inches square, and hand quilted. I used just about a complete dark trimmings pack (including a selvedge!), with a creamy/white chambray for the background and a cotton/linen blend for the binding. The dark pack I got was mostly heavier weight fabrics, so I thought these background and binding fabrics played off the texture nicely.

I made a stack of 'converging corners' (Film in the Fridge) - inspired blocks and started arranging them until I was happy. I went more modern for this layout because I was already out of my comfort zone and figured: "in for a penny, in for a pound." The mini is named 'Broken Umbrella" because I couldn't remember the name of the block I was making and kept calling it a broken cabin, and since the fabric is Umbrella Prints...you see where I'm heading.

Waiting for layout inspiration to strike. 

I then hand quilted the quilt using a radiating circular pattern over each of the colored portions. I used Aurifil Lana 12 wt floss in a maroon and oatmeal-y color (sorry, lost the color codes).

100% hand quilted. I've got the index finger callus to prove it!

Quilting close-up. 

Quilting close-up. See the selvedge? It's like I cited the fabric designer!

I finished it off by mounting it in a large frame from Ikea. I've got a store about a 10 minute walk away, which is both a blessing and a curse. Especially when you are browsing for pillow forms and instead end up walking home with a gigantic picture frame.

I glued some leftover burlap to the background and sewed the mini onto that with some basting stitches. We'll see how long it holds together, but I'm enjoying it for now.

Almost in it's final resting place.
Looks strangely wrinkly and bowed in this photo. 

All entries will be posted to the Umbrella Prints Trimmings Competition Pinterest Page May 30th. There's a judged winner and a people's choice winner (so don't be shy about commenting - on any entry). Feel free to use this as an opportunity to pin-crastinate.

Umbrella Prints Trimmings Competition 2014 - Soft

**Edited to add:

Voting is live!

If you want to show your love comment on the Umbrella Prints Trimmings Competition 2014 pin here!

To see all entries check out the Umbrella Prints Trimmings Competition Pinterest Board here!
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I've heard about the Umbrella Prints Trimmings Competition in the past, and I've seen some of the beautiful creations that come out of them. I decided to throw my hat in the game with not one, but two, packs. I was originally going to combine them into one project, but as typically happens I ended up making two totally different things. Both of which I needed anyway, so if I don't gain fame and fortune as a result of this competition it'll be no skin off my nose.

With the soft colors pack I made two sunglasses cases (or eyeglasses, I suppose it doesn't matter what the lenses look like).

All sides of each case. Close-ups to follow. 

The green case was my tester. I wanted to make sure that I had the top shaped correctly for the frame (purchased on Etsy at MeiMei Supplies), but I didn't want to make a plain old boring case. So I played around with the umbrella prints and made a tiny patchwork block (squares finish at 1/2") and an improv 'crazy pieced' block. I set them both in this Joel Dewbery True Colors teal woodgrain fabric. Now it reminds me of a barn quilt of sorts.

Both Sides of Improv Case.

For the second case I modified my pattern just slightly, and I think I'm a bit happier with the way it went together. I used a feather pattern that I made myself, and Pointelle in Shade (Art Gallery) for the background.

Both sides of Feather Case. 

For each case I sewed the purse frame on by hand using this cool linen thread I found at my LQS. I had to meet the credit card spending limit - so I HAD to buy something else.

So, this is my first entry for the competition 2014. I used about 3/4 of the trimmings pack, and I really loved all the fabrics. My favorite was the New Waves in Green Tea Ice Cream. I could go crazy with some yardage of that print!

All entries will be posted to the Umbrella Prints Trimmings Competition Pinterest Page May 30th. There's a judged winner and a people's choice winner (so don't be shy about commenting - on any entry). Feel free to fall into a pin-coma while you peruse the entries.

I'll just close off this post with a couple more photos. Couldn't stop taking pictures, and then I couldn't choose!

Another shot of the feather case.

Detail of clasp and stitching. 

Cases with sunnies. Don't worry, I have a pair for each case.  

Linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts Finish it up Friday!

Blogger's Quilt Festival - Broken Umbrella

Here's my first ever entry in the Blogger's Quilt Festival. I'm entering in the Hand Quilting section.

I just finished the quilt portion of my Umbrella Trimmings Competition mini quilt, and I thought I'd share it here as well. It's 18" square, and I was inspired by the converging corners tutorial by Film in the Fridge. Each block finished at 4.5 inches, and I hand quilted it in radiating circles using Aurifil Lana 12 wt embroidery floss.

I used a maroon color near the converged corners to bring out the reddish colors, and a neutral color in the rest of the quilt.

The back of the quilt. Not perfect, but not so terrible. That's my homemade label, I use a stamp kit and put my initials on one side and the date on the other.

I like how the Aurifil blends in with the background. I also like how the background really makes the 'converging corners' seem to float.

Dino wanted in on the photoshoot. I couldn't resist. 

Check out all the other entries at the Bloggers Quilt Festival, voting starts tomorrow, and lasts all week!

As I just finished this quilt, I'm also linking up to Finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts. 

Broken Umbrella - WiP Wednesday

This year I'm trying my hand at the Umbrella Prints Trimmings Competition. I love their textiles, and I think it's a great way to encourage a waste-nothing mentality (if only I was so conscientious with my own scraps - I guess that'll be another project!)

I bought two trimmings packets and was planning on combining them, but when I opened them up and looked at the prints and colors I decided on two projects. Here's the progress on my project with the Dark trimmings pack. I decided to make a mini quilt based on the Converging Corners Tutorial by Film in the Fridge. I'm going to call it Broken Umbrella, because I couldn't remember the more positive sounding 'converging corners', and could only think of 'broken cabin' when I was trying to remember what this tutorial was called (ha!)

Some of my favorites. One of my favorite prints of all time
is the one in the upper right of the right block/upper left of the left block. 

What I envisioned as I made the blocks. 

Playing around with the layout 1.

Playing around with the layout 2. 

Playing around with the layout 3. 

I haven't sewn them all together yet, but I think I know which layout I'm going to choose...which one do you like the most? I've got to get this finished up soon so I can throw it into the ring as a contender by May 30th! 

Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced WiP Wednesday.