If you have made and posted your January blocks … you should have sneak peek email from me with the information for the February block. This is a good time for everyone who has made blocks to double-check that I have them correctly on the list on the At-A-Glance page–this is especially true if you should have but did not receive the sneak peek email from me. Because we are using the Rainbow Scraps Challenge colors, I will not be able to...

Whether you were one of the winners of the X and Plus blocks last fall, made some of the blocks for yourself, or, like me, are thinking about making some for your own project, here’s some beautiful Free-Motion quilting (FMQ) inspiration, from Kathleen’s Quilts. If you like what you see, be sure to click over for more photos and read her blog post where she steps through how she did...

I suspect I am the last to mail the December lotto blocks … but if I’m not, please make it a priority to get your December lotto blocks in the mail this week. I was headed to the post office a little over a week ago when my car died.  It’s an ancient vehicle and the cost to repair it is probably not worth it … but while I figure out what I’m going to do about it, I am a pedestrian. The post office isn’t far...

Why is alliteration so irresistible? I’ve made my January blocks for both 2016 lotto block samplers and created a 2016 QAL page on this website with the information you need if you’re quilting along, decide to quilt along later and want to catch up or are just curious and want to follow-along.   On the 2016 QAL page, you’ll also find the code for a Blog badge for the Old MacDonald Mystery Sampler (OMMS), since everyone...

Mary Jane Cardwell has been a part of the Block Lotto nearly since it’s beginning many years ago on a quilting forum and in recent years led her own block lotto there. Our paths crossed many times in the quilting community and she became a friend I never met. On January 4, she shared that she had Stage 4 Colon Cancer which has affected the liver, the lungs and the brain.  A couple days ago she began chemo therapy.  She died last night....

The company that hosts blocklotto.com is moving this site from one data center (in southern California) to another (in Portland, Oregon).  If Block Lotto seems to be really slow next week, that’s probably why.  Here’s part of their email to me about it: Hello Beloved Customer, We’ve recently opened up a brand-spanking new data center in Portland, Oregon! We’ve got plans to move your sites to servers in this new data center at the...

I have just emailed everyone who has made and posted blocks last month with the information you need to mail your December blocks. If you made Wonky Strips and should have received the email but didn’t, let me know ASAP. (Looking in your email application’s SPAM folder first is always a good idea.) If you received it, I would appreciate it if you would open the attachment and confirm that the information I have for you is correct...

Today on Sophie Junction, I blogged about the two sampler ideas I had for this year’s blocks.  As I was trying to describe them when I can’t really describe them, I realized that the biggest difference is that one is much more of a mystery. In my coming attractions post a couple weeks ago, I shared the sampler layout idea below, with some color variations to show how you might choose colors to make it your own–this is the less...

Was anyone wondering what the story was when they saw the photo of my blocks outside on the deck in the snow? (I cannot believe that my landlord disagreed with me when I told him he really needed to maintain the deck …) The photo was a silly idea I had when I was making the blocks after reading a Rainbow Scraps post to double check the color of the month there–if you’re curious about the backstory, I blogged about it today on Sophie...

I am still catching up with finishing up last month’s lotto (and trying to climb out of this funk I’ve been in over the holidays), but in the meantime, I wanted to share this quilt-in-progress from Aunt Marti’s blog.  Look familiar? These blocks have the opposite light/dark fabric placement than ours with a wider range of colors–maybe inspiration for making your own quilt? I am considering making a few of these blocks each...

Birds in the Air is one of those traditional blocks whose strong graphic design can make it seem quite contemporary. We will be making a 6-inch (finished size) block.  All the lotto blocks this year will be 6 inch squares (finished size). 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 winners will be 48 blocks. This year, I will be hosting the block patterns on Payhip, mostly...

I’m sorry for the delay in the December drawing (and posting the January block).  Chalk it up to life’s challenges (mine) and please forgive me. Before I can post the winners, I have to share newbie Teresa’s blocks. She emailed me this photo yesterday when she was having problems logging into her new account. Teresa, don’t forget you still owe me your mailing address … keep reading to see why it’s very...