Columbus Cityscape Block of the Month: Thurber House

Posted on October 1, 2018 by thenotsodramaticlifeadmin / Posted in Columbus Cityscape Quilt, Quilting, Works In Progress (WIP) / Leave a comment

At one time Thurber House was home to author and cartoonist James Thurber, and it is now a prominent literary center in the city of Columbus. Throughout the year, the center brings authors to the city and offers workshops to encourage the art of writing in community members of all ages. There are rumors that this house is haunted, so it is a perfect choice for October!

The angles and details of this building are fabulous. I wish that I could have included all the details, but to do that this block would have to be enormous. The smallest details of this block finish at 1/8″ wide.

This pattern is available from Dabble and Stitch in Columbus, Ohio. If you have already purchased the pattern, you can access the extra templates here. You will need the password included in the pattern instructions to access this page.

I will be demonstrating the construction of a portion of this block Sunday, October 14th at 1pm at Dabble and Stitch.

Columbus Cityscape Block of the Month: History Center

Posted on September 1, 2018September 1, 2018 by thenotsodramaticlifeadmin / Posted in Columbus Cityscape Quilt, Quilting, Works In Progress (WIP) / 2 Comments

The Ohio History Connection is situated between the Ohio State Fairgrounds and a heavily trafficked section of interstate. This positioning has made the building a significant landmark in the city of Columbus.

The main building appears to rise up from the surrounding landscape and forms a wonderfully symmetrical building with a strong visual perspective.

I have been having fun selecting a few specialty fabrics for some of the buildings, and the banner on the history center was a perfect opportunity for some fussy cutting. The banner on the building has an image of a mastodon skeleton, but mastodon fabric is really hard to come by, so we took some artistic liberty and substituted some really cute dinosaur fabric instead. At least they are both (unfortunately) extinct!

I will be doing a demonstration of a portion of this block at Dabble and Stitch tomorrow, Sunday, September 2 at 1pm!

Columbus Cityscape Block of the Month: State Fair

Posted on August 20, 2018 by thenotsodramaticlifeadmin / Posted in Columbus Cityscape Quilt, Quilting, Works In Progress (WIP) / 3 Comments

The Ohio State Fair has been a tradition since 1850, and it continues to be a favorite summer destination for Ohio families to both learn and have fun. County and State Fairs have always honored the makers in their communities, which makes the inclusion of the fair in this quilt particularly appropriate. The fair runs for a week and a half from the end of July to through the beginning of August, so I knew that the fair block would be perfect for August.

The Ohio State Fair has taken place in the same location since 1886, and the buildings that comprise the fairgrounds have been constructed throughout the years since then. The architecture has evolved to meet the needs of each department, so the overall look of the fairgrounds is quite eclectic.

I chose to focus on the Poultry and Rabbit Pavilion for two main reasons:

The architecture of the building is one of the most distinctive on the fairgrounds, and
I raised chickens in 4-H, so I always spend an inordinate amount of time visiting the poultry barns at every fair I attend.

I have noticed that I am drawn to buildings with green trim, so this was right up my alley!

The occupants of the pavilion are usually quite interested in their visitors. This pullet (female chicken born in the same year) was particularly social.

The feather patterns on these birds are stunning!

Did you know that the color egg a chicken lays corresponds to the color of its earlobe, not the color of its feathers? I didn’t know this until I raised egg layers for the first time, and got a gorgeous brown egg from my snowy white flock of chickens!

I will refrain from showing you the dozens of other chicken photos I have taken this year, but I’m starting to think there may be a chicken quilt in my future! The pattern for this block, and the rest of the quilt, are available exclusively from Dabble and Stitch in Columbus, Ohio.

If you have already purchased the pattern, you can access the extra templates here. You will need the password included in the pattern instructions to access this page.

Columbus Cityscape Block of the Month: Zoo

Posted on July 2, 2018 by thenotsodramaticlifeadmin / Posted in Columbus Cityscape Quilt, Quilting / 2 Comments

Columbus, Ohio is home to a world class zoo, and I am excited that July’s block of the month will focus on this amazing location!

The zoo is a heavily themed location, with much of the architectural styling based on other locations around the world. I knew that I didn’t want to copy anything that has already been reinterpreted, so I started thinking about what comes to mind for this particular zoo. Near the top of the list is their highly successful (and ecologically responsible) polar bear breading program. In late 2016, three polar bear cubs were born at the zoo, and the photos I used for this block were from the following summer. The cubs are nearly grown up now! I am pretty sure these photos are of Amelia Grey and her mother, Anana.

I wanted a good profile angle for the quilt block, and this photo was the winner. To start the design process, I added the photo to an AutoCad document, then traced the major sections of the bear to find the shapes that would best create the form in fabric. Red lines tend to show up well on most photographs.

In the quilt the polar bear is in the top left corner, so she can overlook the city! The pattern for this block is available exclusively from Dabble and Stitch in Columbus, Ohio. I will also be doing a free demonstration of paper piecing for this block Sunday, July 8, 2018 at 1pm at the shop.

You can find out more about the polar bears at the Columbus Zoo by reading about the four cubs born at the zoo. This article talks a lot about Nora, the first cub born at the zoo, but they also talk about the three cubs born in 2016. There is also a lot of good information about polar bears in general.

Light Show: December Block of the Month

Posted on December 11, 2017December 11, 2017 by thenotsodramaticlifeadmin / Posted in 2017 Block of the Month, Classes, Quilting / Leave a comment

The block of the month I have been doing with Dabble and Stitch in Columbus, Ohio has been humming along, and we are now at the final block. This design is inspired by the holiday light shows that appear this time of year, and focuses on the displays at the Columbus Zoo.

This block is based on a 12 sided polygon, which is a reflection of the shape of the building which houses the historic carousel located on the zoo grounds. The green corners creating this shape also create the suggestion of the center of an evergreen wreath.

At the center of the zoo grounds there is a lake that is center stage to a musical choreographed light show with trees of lights floating on the water. The blue fabric represents both the water of the lake and the night sky. Many of the light designs constructing the trees consist of vertical stripes which are shown in the orange and violet triangles.

The red and white candy cane stripe placed diagonally across the block is inspired by the lights wrapping the posts of a bridge leading to one of the buildings.

This block is fairly easy foundation paper piecing and is done in four sections. I absolutely love how it looks when these blocks are put together. They create an awesome secondary pattern with stars and diagonal stripes.

I started experimenting with some different color schemes, and I love this one that adds an extra color to the star points!

This pattern is available through Dabble and Stitch.