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!

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day: Zippered Pouches

Posted on May 6, 2015May 11, 2015 by thenotsodramaticlifeadmin / Posted in Bags and Pouches, Blog Information, Giveaway / 115 Comments

Today, in conjunction with Sew Mama Sew‘s Giveaway day, is the first giveaway I have done on this blog. My blog is about five months old now, and I am excited to offer the chance to win these zippered pouches to all of my visitors. I am very grateful for the kind words and support offered by those who have joined me in these early months, and I am excited to welcome new friends as well!

I am trained as a theatrical scenic and costume designer and technician, but this blog focuses on my life outside of the theatre- The (not so) Dramatic Life. Most of the work I share here is quilting related, but other sewing projects pop up from time to time. My big project for the year is Mini Quilt Mania, for which I am creating a new mini quilt almost every week of the year for a total of 50 quilts. I have done 18 so far, and I am thoroughly enjoying the process!

Pouch Lining

There are two zippered pouches in this giveaway. They each have a blue denim exterior and are fully lined and trimmed with a cotton print from Amy Butler’s Violette fabric line. The larger pouch is 6″x10″x4.5″ and would be a great container for carrying small projects or corralling toiletries when you travel.

The smaller pouch is an octagon measuring about 3.75″x3.75″ and is grommeted for use as a key ring. This is perfect for carrying a little money, a phone charger, or thumb drive. I have written a tutorial for creating this cord/coin pouch if you would like to make your own!

Would you like to enter to win this pair of pouches? It’s easy- here’s how:

Leave a comment on this post telling me what project(s) you are working on right now and/or what your quilting or sewing goals are. Is there a pattern you want to make? A technique you would like to try? A fabric line you are eager to use? Is there a tutorial you would like to see made? I love hearing what you are up to and interested in!
Followers, both long time and new, get a bonus entry! Near the top of the sidebar there are several options for following me including Bloglovin’, Instagram, and Pinterest. To get the bonus entry please leave a comment telling me how you follow.

This giveaway is open through 5pm PST on Sunday, May 10. All comments on this post received by that time will be included in a random drawing.

I will email and post the winner on the blog on or before Wednesday, May 13. Once I have the shipping address for the winner, your package will be in the mail by Friday, May 15. (Should the winner not respond with a shipping address by Friday, May 15, I will draw a new winner and contact them via email and the blog)

There are lots more fantastic giveaways of both hand crafted items and supplies at Sew Mama Sew, so be sure to check those out as well! Good Luck!

Update from May 11, 2015: The winner of this giveaway is Catrin Lewis- Congratulations Catrin!

Here are some other posts you may enjoy!

Mini Quilt Mania

Rainbow Rotary

Marsala Mini

Winter Trees

Cord/Coin Pouches

Create Your Own Tote Bag Tutorial Series

2015 Second Quarter Finish Goals

Posted on April 7, 2015April 7, 2015 by thenotsodramaticlifeadmin / Posted in Mini Quilt Mania 2015, Quilting, Sewing, Works In Progress (WIP) / 17 Comments

I can hardly believe we are entering the second quarter of 2015! This time around I have a ~~unrealistically~~ long list and a mix of goals: a dozen mini quilts, a few larger projects, a couple bags, a some smaller gifts.

I am excited to once again join in the Finish Along fun with Adrianne at On the Windy Side!

Goals 1-12

In order to keep up with Mini Quilt Mania I am planning to make a dozen more mini quilts for the second quarter of this year. These are in various stages of completion: sketches, patterns drafted, fabrics chosen, and a couple are even being sewn!

Goal 13

In January I started a starburst quilt based on my Happy New Year! mini quilt, and this project is a rollover from Q1. I have this piece about half quilted right now, and I would really like to get this one finished up this quarter!

Goal 14

For my Modern Quilt Guild Riley Blake challenge quilt I am making a “potholder” style quilt using hexagonal bound blocks rather than the more traditional squares. This quilt will be completely reversible, with one side being predominantly turquoise with the other side leaning toward the pinks in the collection. Right now the quilt is about halfway pieced.

Goal 15

I knew as soon as I saw the Viewfinder fabric in Melody Miller’s Playful collection by Cotton and Steel that I wanted a Quilted Purse made with it. I am slightly scaling up the pattern I created for my current purse. I have set the zipper into the top panel, quilted the main fabric, and made the handles.

Goal 16

Sometimes I wish I had a Cross-body bag to carry when I need a more hands-free shopping (or quilt show) experience. I have sketched the design, pulled fabrics, and I am looking for a source for a double tab purse zipper that is at least 30″. This shouldn’t be so hard to find- I mean- you must be able to buy luggage zippers, right? Any sourcing suggestions?

Goal 17

I designed and made these cute little blocks for my Baubles Quilt months ago. I need to put together a top and get this thing quilted and finished!

Goal 18

This Secret Project (roll over from Q1) is still quilted, ready for finishing, and needs to stop hanging out under my work table! Here’s hoping this quilt makes it into a finished pile this quarter!

Goal 19

I am going to be needing a few small thank you gifts for this summer, so I am hoping to get six (or more) cord/coin pouches made.

Goal 20

This quilted pillow top needs a zippered back and finishing.

Goal 21

I bought this fabric last summer to make a skirt. Now that it is warming up again I need to get this made up!

Goal 22

I recently started another Bionic Bag, and I will be finishing it up in Q2. I have all my pieces cut, interfacing fused, zippers installed, sides assembled, and the outer panel quilted.

Goal 23

I started a set of placemats last fall. I have a set of four that just need the binding finished.

Goal 24

I started sewing this hexagon project when I needed some handwork. I’m not entirely certain how large this is going to get, but I’m hoping to discover what exactly this wants to be.

Goal 25

In the first quarter I created a baby quilt sized Sweet and Simple Hashtag Quilt. This quarter I will be making a lap quilt size version of this quilt.

Goal 26

This summer I’ll be working as a theatrical cutter/draper. (A draper uses the performer’s measurements to create patterns for a costume.) I haven’t done this in awhile (I’m pretty excited to return to it!), and when I pulled out my sewing apron it was really worn. I will definitely need to find time to make a replacement before I leave for this job! I have some denim left over from another project, and I am still deciding what fabric to use for the accent. These are my top choices right now.

This list is super long, and I recognize that a some of these projects may not get finished (or even touched) this quarter, but a lot of items are pretty far along, so once again I am cautiously optimistic!

Pi Day: Mini Quilt #11

Posted on March 14, 2015March 18, 2015 by thenotsodramaticlifeadmin / Posted in Finished Quilts, Holiday Sewing, Mini Quilt Mania 2015, Quilting / 17 Comments

Happy π Day! Best wishes for peace, hope, and joy during the glorious season of pi day- Who can’t get behind a holiday that requires the consumption of pie! There are so many kinds of pie you could celebrate with . . . fruit pie, cream pie, ice cream pie, chocolate pie . . . Or a savory pie . . . pot pie, shepherd’s pie, pizza pie, quiche . . . Okay now I’m hungry. I thought that the best way to celebrate such a wonderful day would be to make a mini quilt that could serve as a pie plate mat.

I knew I wanted to do a circular mini quilt, and a pie motif seemed too perfect to pass up. I pieced a “lattice” top and then used a bias cut strip of fabric to create the outer edge of the “crust.” I had never attempted curving a bias strip around the edge of a full circle, but this worked out well (a great deal of steam was involved).

Today is a particularly special π Day since twice today we will have seven digits past the decimal point align with the date and time. 3.1415926 translates to March (month 3) Day (14th) Year (’15) and Time (9:26 am & pm). To commemorate this once in a lifetime event I decided to embroider these numbers to my mini quilt.

The backing and binding fabric is a grey print- think tin pie plate. For the quilting I decided to keep it simple by stitching around the edge of each red square in the lattice work. Of course “simple” involved a whole lot of thread tails to bury- maybe I should have thought that through a bit more! But since I like the result, we’ll say it was worth it!

Now to see the pie mat in action:

Coconut Pie with Meringue Topping- I adore Meringue.

Cherry Pie.

Quilt Stats

Title: π, pi, PIE!

Size: 14″ Diameter. 3.1415926 x 14″ = 43.98229″ Circumference

Techniques: Machine Piecing

Quilting: Machine quilting- stitching in the ditch

Fabrics: Red: Batik, Tan: Print from Carolyn Friedlander’s “Doe” line, Grey: Lonni Rossi print from Andover Fabrics

Batting: Hobbs Heirloom Bleached Cotton Batting

Thread: Pieced with white Gutermann Mara 100, Quilted using Mettler cotton quilting thread in red

Binding: Bias in coordinating grey fabric, cut in 2″ strips, machine stitched to the front, hand stitched to the back

What was new:

Adding a strip of bias around a circle and pressing it flat (other than bias binding)

Quilt 11 / 50

Goal #10 is Finished!

I’m linking up with Show Off Saturday at Sew Can She, Let’s Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts, and Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation. Please stop in to see all of the fantastic work being done!

Sweet and Simple Chevron Quilt

Posted on March 13, 2015March 13, 2015 by thenotsodramaticlifeadmin / Posted in Finished Quilts, Quilting / 1 Comment

Today I want to share with you another “Sweet and Simple” quilt. Like the Hashtag Quilt I shared with you recently, this quilt would be a great quilt for a beginning quilter, or anyone who would like to put together a cute and quick baby quilt. Chevrons have a classic charm that can go from sweet to sophisticated, and the chevron in this baby quilt is created using half square triangles.

I chose bright blue and orange, because I adore complementary colors, and this combo is one of my favorites.

Quilting that emphasizes the chevron design seemed appropriate for the quilt. I kept the quilting simple in the orange and blue areas, but added extra lines in the white areas to create some additional texture. I like the look of the quilting pattern on the back of the piece as well, but next time I’m going to seek out a cute print instead of using plain white. What can I say?- I had it on hand!

Quilt Stats

Title: Sweet and Simple Chevron

Size: 32″x41″

Techniques: Pieced using half square triangles

Quilting: Echoing Chevron stitching using a walking foot on a Bernina 1008

Fabrics: Kona Cotton in White, Doe, and a lovely blue floral print that I have no information for, but would love to have some more- Does anyone recognize it?

Batting: Warm and White Cotton Batting

Thread: Pieced using Gutermann Mara 100 in white, Quilted with white Signature Cotton Machine Quilting Thread

Binding: Bias from a stash fabric cut in 2″ strips, machine stitched to the quilt front and hand stitched to the back