Cloud 9 New Block Blog Hop

Posted on September 14, 2016September 13, 2016 by thenotsodramaticlifeadmin / Posted in Fabric, Quilting Community / 40 Comments

I love designing new blocks and quilt designs, and I am so excited to work with the wonderful palette of solids provided by Cloud 9 Fabrics!

Designing this block took me back to my undergrad years as a painting major when I spent a great deal of time experimenting with pattern, particularly plaid.

The group of Organic Cirrus Solids in a Berry Harvest Color Palette included a dark and light version of two of the colors, so I was inspired to use these to create an illusion of dimension.

Standard machine piecing techniques are used to construct this block, so anyone who is comfortable with accurate cutting and stitching a consistent 1/4″ seam allowance can make this block. The pattern for Berry Patch Plaid is available as a free download on Craftsy.

Multiple blocks would make an awesome complete quilt!

More than 60 new blocks have been shared during this three day hop, so I hope you will take a look at some of the wonderful designs that have been created in this color scheme!

A big thank you to Cloud 9 Fabrics and our wonderful hosts, Yvonne of Quilting Jet Girl, Cheryl of Meadow Mist Designs, and Stephanie of Late Night Quilter!

Today you will see new posts from these bloggers:

Host: Stephanie @Late Night Quilter

Kathy @Kathys Kwilts and More
Paige @Quilted Blooms
Mary @Strip Quilts Pass it On
Allison @Woodberry Way
Seven @The Concerned Craft
Olusola @Alice Samuel’s Quilt Co.
Ann @Brown Paws Quilting
Jodie @Persimmon + Pear
Vicki @Orchid Owl Quilts
Kitty @Night Quilter
Francine @Mochawildchild
Shelley @The Carpenter’s Daughter who Quilts
Jayne @Twiggy and Opal
Geraldine @Living Water Quilter
Shannon @Shannon Fraser Designs
Lisa @Sunlight In Winter Quilts
Jessica @Quilty Habit
Cassandra @The (not so) Dramatic Life
Deanna @Stitches Quilting
Denise @Craft Traditions

Tuesday’s Bloggers were:

Host: Cheryl @Meadow Mist Designs

Miranda @I Have Purple Hair
Jennifer @The Inquiring Quilter
Sarah @123 Quilt
Leanne @Devoted Quilter
Jen @Patterns By Jen
Jennifer @RV Quilting
Amanda @Quiltologie
Sharon @Yellow Cat Quilt Designs
Jen @A Dream and A Stitch
Jen @Faith and Fabric
Carole @Carole Lyles Shaw
Stephanie @Quilt’n Party
Susan @Sevenoaks Street Quilts
Katrin @Now What Puppilalla
Amista @Hilltop Custom Designs
Nicole @Handwrought Quilts
Marla @Penny Lane Quilts
Silvia @A Stranger View
Sarah @Smiles Too Loudly
Carrie @the zen quilter
Mary @Quilting is in My Blood
Velda @GRANNYcanQUILT

Mondays designers were:

Host: Yvonne @Quilting Jetgirl

Abigail @Cut & Alter
Janice @Color, Creating, and Quilting!
Lorinda @Laurel, Poppy, and Pine
Melva @Melva Loves Scraps
Renee @Quilts of a Feather
Kathryn @Upitis Quilts
Kim @Leland Ave Studios
Amanda @this mom quilts
Holly @Lighthouse Lane Designs
Irene @Patchwork and Pastry
Jennifer @Dizzy Quilter
Karen @Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats
Anne @Said With Love
Suzy @Adventurous Applique and Quilting
Sharla @Thistle Thicket Studio
Kathleen @Smiles From Kate
Amanda @Gypsy Moon Quilt Co.
Sarah @Sarah Goer Quilts
Chelsea @Patch the Giraffe
Jinger @Trials of a Newbie Quilter
Anja @Anja Quilts
Daisy @Ants to Sugar

Crystalized Citrus: A Hoffman Challenge Quilt

Posted on July 6, 2016 by thenotsodramaticlifeadmin / Posted in Finished Quilts, Quilting, Quilting Community / 11 Comments

Crystalized Citrus is my first Hoffman Challenge quilt, and I am thrilled with the result! I was cutting it really close time wise, so it was quite a relief when they extended the deadline by a week- it saved me a late night getting the binding on!

For many years I had seen the Hoffman Challenge quilts exhibited at the Rotary Quilt Show that coincided with the AQS show in Paducah. It was my first introduction to the concept of a challenge quilt, and I was intrigued. This year was the first time I was able to find the fabric in a local shop before it completely sold out, and it is the best fabric challenge print yet! The butterfly print on the right is the required challenge fabric and the print on the left was an optional coordinate that I really liked, but didn’t end up using in the finished design. Both of these fabrics are printed digitally so there is an almost infinite range of colors since the process isn’t limited by traditional printing processes.

When I’m designing with a specific print in mind, I like to alter it to see it in a new way. I had thought about creating a “Butterfly Garden” by turning the wings into flower petals, but as I was starting the idea of vibrant citrus came to mind. The butterfly wings turned into the flesh of the fruit and the neutral space of the print became the membranes. I pulled a variety of prints from my stash to create the skin of the fruits. My main goal was to keep the challenge fabric the star of the show.

I intentionally chose to balance the representational aspects of this design with the abstract. The pieces of fruit do not overlap and the improv piecing in the flesh of the citrus doesn’t create an ultra realistic image. These aspects of the design allowed for quilting that defies realism and creates a more abstract overall design.

The primary quilting design is matchstick quilting going both horizontally and vertically. Most of the horizontal quilting is done in white with guest appearances from purple and the local color of each fruit to create a grounding shadow. The color of each piece of citrus infuses the background above it with colorful vertical matchstick quilting. Free motion quilting further defines each piece of fruit in the composition.

Quilt Stats

Title: Crystalized Citrus

Size: 24″x21″

Techniques: Machine Improv Piecing, hand appliqué

Quilting: Matchstick and free motion quilting done on my A-1 Elite longarm

Fabric: Hoffman Crystalia digitally printed fabric in opal, assorted cotton prints and solids.

Batting: Hobbs 80/20 cotton blend

Thread: Pieced and appliquéd with Gutermann Mara 100 in coordinating colors, Quilted with six colors of 50wt Aurifil cotton thread

Binding: Facing done with the same white fabric used for the background and backing of the quilt

Goal #1 is Finished!

Hour Basket Swap

Posted on March 31, 2016 by thenotsodramaticlifeadmin / Posted in Bags and Pouches, Quilting Community, Sewing / 4 Comments

This month one of my local quilt groups, The Columbus Modern Quilters, had a swap of one hour baskets, and I was eager to sign up. The tutorial we used is by Hearts and Bees, and is available on Craftsy. I had never made one before, but all it took was one practice basket, and I was hooked!

Hour Basket Exterior

My partner listed Carolyn Friedlander as one of her favorite designers, so I thought it would be fun to make a basket entirely with her fabrics. Flying geese patchwork made up the design on both sides of the basket.

Patchwork panels for an hour basket

For the interior, I used a strip of orange fabric that matches the arrows on the exterior of the basket, and finished it off with a wide grid that also coordinates with the basket exterior.

Hour Basket Interior

The swap was so much fun, and everyone loved the basket they received. I was delighted that this basket was for me! This is one of my favorite shades of blue, and it is just perfect for spring!

The Hour Basket that I received in the guild swap

This also completes my One Monthly goal entry for March!

Travel Bag

Posted on February 16, 2016February 16, 2016 by thenotsodramaticlifeadmin / Posted in Bags and Pouches, Quilting, Quilting Community / 7 Comments

This week will be my first Quilt Con, and to mark the occasion I made a new carry on bag.

I drew up this pattern to work with a fat quarter bundle that I had of Tula Pink’s Elizabeth line along with some denim scraps that I had from another project. The effect is unified, yet scrappy. The front and back of the bag are identical with a zipper pocket and an open pocket behind it. Behind each zipper pocket is a section of coordinating fabric that was pieced in to help stretch the main bag fabric.

The bag is quilted in sections to allow all of the raw edges to be enclosed as the bag came together. The final construction seams attach the bag front and back to the side panel. These seams are stitched with the seam allowances toward the exterior of the bag which will help to give a bit of extra structure to this soft case. The raw edges are enclosed using a custom made bias tape from one of the striped fat quarters in the Tula Pink bundle.

I am excited to take this bag on its inaugural voyage this week so I will have a better idea of what adjustments I should make if I were to create this design again. If you are at QuiltCon, I hope to have a chance to meet you and perhaps exchange buttons!

Goal #8 is Complete!

Moroccan Star: A Michael Miller Challenge Quilt

Posted on December 7, 2015December 6, 2015 by thenotsodramaticlifeadmin / Posted in Fabric, Finished Quilts, Quilt Shows, Quilting, Quilting Community / 5 Comments

This summer, the Modern Quilt Guild (MQG) announced this year’s Michael Miller fabric challenge, and I couldn’t resist signing up. Those metallic prints are so much fun! I had an idea at that point, but once the fabrics arrived, I decided to change directions based on the exact prints that arrived.

Glittery metallics made me think of shining stars and opulence. I typically prefer silver, but for this project I was really drawn to the gold printed fabrics. To supplement the package of fabric sent by Michael Miller, I purchased some of the white and gold confetti dot also from the Glitz collection, and a Michael Miller black solid.

This design started with the fabric printed to imply interlocking circles. I started experimenting by creating circles highlighting different sections of the print. Once the circle sizes were determined, I drafted the motif that would create the final star design. I started the construction by hand appliquéing the circles to the white background pieces. Those pieces were then added to the solid black background.

For the quilting, I wanted to break up the background by using different quilting designs on either side of the appliquéd star motifs. The quilting thread is a very dark grey which added a bit of extra dimension to the solid color surface. I used the longarm for this quilt and the circle pattern was entirely free-motion using a dot to dot technique. It is far from perfect, but it was the first time I had attempted this, so it could have been far worse! I tend to like a hand drawn quality in free motion quilting, so I ultimately decided to leave it in and embrace the character of the piece.

The lines around the stars and the tightly spaced vertical lines are also free-motion, but for the horizontal lines on the left side of the quilt I did lock the machine on the track before hand guiding the stitching.

This quilt was one of my entries in to QuiltCon, so now I (like many of you!) are waiting to hear which quilts we will see at the show in February.

Quilt Stats

Title: Moroccan Stars

Size: 41″ x 40.5″

Techniques: Needle turn appliqué

Quilting: Free motion and linear quilting done on an A-1 Longarm

Fabric: Michael Miller Glitz collection and Michael Miller solid

Batting: Hobbs 80/20 in black

Thread: Hand appliquéd with Gutermann Mara 100 in white, Quilted with 50wt Aurifil in a a dark grey

Binding: Michael Miller solid black fabric (to match background) cut in 2″ wide bias strips, machine stitched to the front, hand stitched to the back

Goal #23 is finished!