In May, we are making a 6-inch (finished size), scrappy Green Leaf block pairs. Teresa made this Green Leaf block. The block is made from four or more fabrics: at least 2 lights for the background, and at least 2 greens for the leaf. You may make a maximum of 5 block pairs (10 blocks) for chances in the drawing at the end of the month. The target set size for the winners will be 48 blocks.   Block Pattern   You can find the block...

It has not been a good day at Sophie Junction today.  The weather is lousy, though I did manage to take some “blocks in the wild” photos during the brief moments of sunshine we had this afternoon.   I also made some more May lotto blocks and took a bunch of good in-progress photos for the block pattern today. And then this happened.  I uploaded the photos from my camera (deleting them from the camera) to my computer … but...

In April, we made 6-inch paper-pieced Butterfly blocks. Susan made this one.  In total, 29 quilters made 75 blocks which were won by Elizabeth and Deborah. Complete guidelines and links to the block pattern are in this post: Orange You Going To Try Paper Piecing in April?  The Tag for ALL blog posts about this block is butterfly. Tips and alternatives for this block are in these posts: Notes and Options for Butterfly Blocks More Tips and...

I came up empty when trying to come up with something about butterfly nets and this month’s winners … but  nothing is coming, so I’ll just tell you that the two winners are: Elizabeth C – 40 blocks Deborah B – 35 blocks Congratulations to your both. The winners should look for email from me this morning … everyone else will hear about where to mail their blocks after I’ve heard back from the lucky...

If you have made and posted blocks this month, you should have email from me with the sneak peek at the May block. Be sure to let me know ASAP if you should have received it, but didn’t … or vice-versa. It’s also a good time to double check that the information I have for you and your blocks is correct on the At-a-Glance page....

I mailed my blocks–1 each to all five winners–yesterday.  There are a lot of reasons for the delay … a sort of comedy of errors, that no one needs to hear. I aspire to be a good example, but this month, I am a BAD one.  Don’t be like me. In the perfect Block Lotto of my dreams, the winner of the previous month receives all her blocks by the time the sneak peek for the next month goes out, which is unlikely … even if all the...

During the sneak peek, I said that I had an idea for how to make this month’s block without paper piecing it.  Yesterday, I finally got around to trying it. The basics are that I printed the foundation pattern onto the non-shiny side of freezer paper (cut to size and flattened to fit through my printer). I cut the printed foundation apart and ironed the templates onto my fabrics, then used a ruler and rotary cutter to add 1/4 inch seam...

One of these butterflies is not like the others … because it’s not paper pieced.  I have details on my blog today, if you’re curious: How Many Ways … For what it’s worth, I think this alternative is just as much work and just as fussy as paper piecing can be … except there’s no paper to remove when you’re done 😉 I’ll also include more details on another post here, in a minute … in the...

I am still seeing butterflies, butterfly blocks and quilt everywhere–I even saw an actual butterfly outside in the garden this weekend … Béa shared her butterfly (and Birds in the Air) blocks for her OMMS on her blog (and the Block Lotto Facebook page),  then Moira tagged me on Facebook with a photo of hers.  I am posting it while we get her account set up and info updated. Welcome back to the Block Lotto...

I fell asleep thinking about combining the Butterfly block with one from Block Lotto’s past (April 2009) and woke up (too early) still thinking about it.  I gave up on falling back to sleep, first made coffee and then quickly drew this in EQ.     18 Butterfly blocks + 17 traditional Thrifty blocks + 4 inch borders = 38 by 50 inch baby quilt. You can find directions for making the thrifty block on Sophie Junction in this post:...

Since it seems I can’t stop thinking about things I need to post about here … I keep thinking that it has been a while since I mentioned the Facebook page I set up for the Block Lotto and some of you who are knew here might not know about it. Block Lotto I link the important posts and share quilts from the Gallery and other blogs. If you’re “on Facebook” and didn’t know about it, you might want to check it...

If you made and posted Violet blocks last month, you should have fresh email from me with the mailing info. Please take a moment to make sure the information I have for YOU is correct and let me know if you find an error.  I confess to being a little sleep deprived … which makes me less detail-oriented than I should be, but wanted to get the chart out to all of you so that those 222 violets we made can start flying to the winners. If you...