For January and February, we have made/are making blocks where the main fabric color is pretty narrowly defined–Blue or Purple in January, Brown in February–and there is more variation of colors allowed in the light backgrounds.  I have always loved scrappy backgrounds in all kinds of quilts and was thinking of continuing this kind of fabric guideline for the background in upcoming blocks, but … what do you think?   How do you feel...

I’ve finished my blocks for the pair of samplers I’m making with this year’s blocks. Here are my blocks for the scrap happy graduated sampler. Because I plan to put them in the upper right corner, where they will be surrounded by scrappy red and orange setting rectangles, I choose warm “browns” and used a light gold for some of the alternate color. I also started cutting some of those red and orange rectangles for...

In March, 2002, we also made Snail’s Trail/Monkey Wrench blocks. These are most of the 34 blocks that were made in the third month of the first year of the Block Lotto.     I think I am the only one still around from the list of makers: Dorothy, Elaine, Ivy, Jana, Jeri, Jessica, Kit, Marcia, Mary Pat, Sherri, Vicky and me.   These are completely scrappy 12-inch blocks, made using Marcia Hohn’s Monkey Wrench pattern on...

Marianne pointed out some errors in the pattern and I was reminded how this time around, it felt like I was beating my head against MicroSoft as I put it together.  In any event, the list of errors are: The numbering was screwed up.  It turns out that when I fixed it on one page, it automatically changed the numbering on another page. Part of the text at the bottom of the first page was cut off (about where to find 9/16 on your ruler). The...

I can’t call this a frequently asked questions post yet because a couple of these questions have only come up once so far, but since I know if one person asks a question or encounters a problem, there are likely others with the same question/issue, I’ve created this post and will add/update it as necessary.   Q. Why doesn’t the pattern number pages correctly when I save paper and print on both sides?  A. I considered...

If you made and posted Birds-in-the-Air blocks in January–or if I posted them for you–you should have email from me with the mailing information you need to send them on their way to one or more of our winners. If you didn’t receive the email, have problems opening the attachment or find an error in the information, please let me know ASAP. This month’s Rainbow Scraps Challenge colors (Brown and Pink) reminded me of these framed...

Here’s how my five Snail’s Trails blocks look on the wall. I was curious how they would look set on point, but honestly … I think this block is more dynamic in a straight set because of the spiraling diagonal lines in the block itself. I am donating the chances for these...

Here is the list of blocks–added as we make them in 2016, with links to the monthly announcement post.  It will be updated throughout this year.   January – Birds in the Air July – Spiky Leaf  February – Snail’s Trails August – Split 9-Patch  March – Violet September – Barn Door April – Butterfly  October – May – Green Leaf Pairs  November – June – Improv Bullseye...

Snail’s Trail is another traditional block whose strong graphic design has made it a classic. We will be making a 6-inch (finished size) block.  All the lotto blocks this year will be 6 inch squares (finished size). The block is made from two fabrics.  We will be using Brown combined with a pastel or light, low volume print. You may make a maximum of 9 blocks for chances in the drawing at the end of the month. The target set size for the...

We began a year of 6 inch (finished size) blocks in 2016 with the traditional block, Birds in the Air. 42 quilters made 254 blocks, which were won by Andra, Cathy L, Erin, Lori, and Mary. Complete guidelines for the January block and links to the block pattern are in this post: New Year, New Block and Birds in the Air   The tag for ALL blog posts about this month’s block: in the air   Quilt-Along 2016 began this month.  Updates appear...

We ended with a total of 251 Birds-in-the-Air blocks, of which 50 were donated without chances in the drawing. The random number generator created this list of 5 random numbers, which means our winners for January are …

Janet emailed a photo of her blocks to me, completed the steps to join, but never posted it, so I am posting it for...