Eve

Photos from a recent trip to Encounter Bay.  Eve chose her favourite Umbrella Prints fabrics so we could make some clothes and Little Papaya Studio made this fantastic hat for her which she hasn't taken it off since. Such a happy day and seeing Eve in our fabrics is a joy!

Grace

Grace wearing a tiered top made out of one of our favourite Umbrella Prints fabric designs Bird in Paradise . The stunning background is of South Australia's Fleurieu Peninsula just before the sun set.

Adelaide sundress

The lovely ladies at The Drapery made this sweet Townmouse Adelaide dress by Melbourne designer Kristine Lempriere using Umbrella Prints' Brushstrokes in Gold Olive. Check out more sweet photos of this beautiful spring day here along with pattern.

And the winners are ......

A big congratulations to our two winners of the 2015 Umbrella Prints Trimmings Challenge.
Taking equal first place in the new Quilt category and our Open category are .....

Amy Gunson of Bad Skirt with her beautiful Handcrafted quilt and Hillary Goodwin & Robin Gails of Entropy Always Wins with their Friendship & Motherhood Picnic Blanket.

Here is what this years gorgeously talented industry judge Maura of Folk Fibers had to say about Amy's quilt, her first place choice for the Quilt Category: "I really love the simple design, it feels classic and original, two qualities that goes so well together in quilt making. The quality and presentation are both so beautiful, I especially enjoy the angled yet soft lines from the actual quilting. I'm yearning to see it in-person I can tell the depth and beauty is beyond the photograph. The presentation is clean and simple yet a touch of personality with the chair. I also think it's clever how the small prints challenge was executed with small piecing, overall fantastic quilt!"

Maura also loved Umbrella Prints' first choice for the Open category, the Friendship & Motherhood Picnic Blanket by Hillary & Robin, saying "The meaning and creativity of this quilt is enough to melt my heart. Life is magical let's all make quilts!"

Isn't Maura just the sweetest, thank you for helping us choose the winners - it was no easy task !


The Audience (Pinners) Prize* was won by the delightful Katherine Ferrier for all of her thoughtful comments and support. 


QUILT category winner - Amy Gunson of Bad Skirt with her beautiful Handcrafted quilt
 

OPEN category winner Hillary Goodwin & Robin Gails of Entropy Always Wins with their Friendship & Motherhood Picnic Blanket

Maura also picked two more honorable mentions, this is what she had to say about Elli Beaven's Marina Triangle Quilt: "This quilt jumped out at me from the beginning due to the traditional use of the triangle or pyramid pattern with the use of a contemporary print. I will always love a monochromatic blue quilts, it feels very cohesive and beautiful." 

and 

Karen Lowry's Laurel Wreath Applique: "This quilt is incredibly clever in the way it highlights the umbrella prints!! It's clean, simple, modern, and overall a darling design."

We want to give a big heart felt thank you to everyone who participated this year, from those who bought a packet of Trimmings (with very good intentions) to those who helped share all the fun and encourage those who entered and of course all of the AMAZING creative people who put so much thought and love into their designs & hand made items.

Make sure you go along and take a look on the pinterest board (it's never too late to like and share what you love) and remember to click through and read all of the beautiful stories.

Over the following weeks we look forward to sharing with you more of the beautiful projects created with Umbrella Prints Trimmings.

*we noticed that some people may not have noticed the change in the challenge rules. There is no longer a popular vote but instead a winner for an audience member who pins and comments. We listened to what many of you had said regarding a popularity contest and agreed, so created a new prize that reflects the inclusive nature of the Umbrella Prints Trimmings Challenge.

 
 

It's judging & pinning & CHECK IT OUT time

It's finally time to check out what all of the amazingly creative people have been making with Umbrella Prints Trimmings* over the past couple of months. That time when you turn these scraggly (yummy scraggly) bits of Trimmings - otherwise destined for the recycle bin, into stunning creations of warmth and cleverness, weaving, stitching even gluing your own stories into the fabric. We here at Umbrella Prints HQ have been truly moved by the amount of effort and gorgeousness this year.

We are currently madly organising your entries so that they are pinnable and ready to view here later this afternoon on our pinterest board 2015 Umbrella Prints Trimmings Challenge.

*All of these entries are made with one packet of Umbrella Prints fabric Trimmings. There are three major prizes this year including a NEW quilt prize judged by Maura Grace Ambrose of FOLK FIBERS + Pin & leave an encouraging comment to be in the running to win the NEW Pinners Prize from now until June 4.  Remember to click through to see the story behind each entry & check out this previous post for more challenge details.

Thank you to all of those playing along on Instagram it has been so much fun checking out the hashtag #umbrellaprintstrimmingschallenge every week to see the behind the scenes photos of your Trimmings creations.

Winners are announced on June 5!! Exciting!


 

Get your entries in

The 2015 Umbrella Prints Trimmings Challenge is fast coming to a close ... May 30 is the last day to email us with your links to images of your brilliantly gorgeous entries.

We have certainly got our work cut out for us this year with some absolute stunning projects coming through the Umbrella Prints inbox.

Vote for your favourite Umbrella Prints Trimmings Challenge entries over on Pinterest and a parcel of fabric might be on it's way to your house!  
Remember we have our NEW Audience Prize to encourage the love and sharing of all the hard work we will randomly gift a lucky person who comments & repins* with $100 worth of Umbrella Prints fabric.


Plus there are two major prizes this year

NEW Quilters' Prize
To celebrate the skills of the quilting community we have $300 worth of Umbrella Prints organic fabric or product to give for the most outstanding quilt, chosen by the gorgeously talented Maura Grace Ambrose of Folk Fibers! 


Makers' Prize
$300 cash for the most innovative, beautiful, creative and well presented entry as judged by Umbrella Prints.


*Entries are posted to this Pinterest board on June 1 - repin & comment on all your favourite Trimmings creations to be in the running to win this prize.

SEE YOU ALL ON MONDAY LOVELIES!!

Revealing our Trimmings Quilt judge for 2015

(Photo credit Josh Goleman)


The gorgeously adorable Maura Grace Ambrose of Folk Fibers! 

If you don't know and swoon over this talented girl's quilts already, then you will in about two seconds, you will fall in love with her naturally dyed textiles, hand quilted designs and the Texan sun.

(All photo credits: Folk Fibers)

Maura has a wonderfully eclectic background from which she has created the world that is Folk Fibers, working in preschools, organic farms, traveling America as well as study in Textile Design + Fiber Arts at Savannah College of Art & Design. She recently lectured at Quiltcon 2015 and was the worthy recipient of the 2013 Martha Stewart Award.

We love Maura's passion and dedication to her craft, you can see here, here & here on her blog, sharing the fascinating dye process with her meticulous record keeping. Maura organically grows, harvests, and forages for natural dyes around Austin then uses 100% natural fibers to create gorgeous solid colours (she loves them for their timeless appeal & so do we).  How rewarding it must feel to create an artwork from literally the ground up.

All of Maura's quilts are hand stitched, and whilst knowing this does take more time she believes the heirloom results are valuable and worth it - a one of a kind beauty that can be passed down for generations.

A few years ago and again recently we have been trying our hands at using natural dye stuffs, like Australian Indigo, to create new backing cloths for our prints and can appreciate the time and commitment it takes to gather, simmer and steep. We are looking forward to learning everything we can about these processes and are grateful that Maura is so generous with her experience.

We saw this photo doing the rounds on Pinterest some time ago and love Maura's hand stitching with sashiko thread.

We love staring into this stunning quilt, imagine, all of those colours have been created naturally!

We also love Maura's hand made cedar boxes that carry her quilts. Cute logo.

(Photo credit Buff Strickland)

(Photo credit Josh Goleman)


Take a wander through Maura's blog and instagram pics and we'll see you on the other side of the Trimmings Challenge with Maura's favourite quilt! Thank you Maura.

Tell all your quilty friends, let's charm her cotton socks off.