‘Twas the day before Christmas  The Block Lotto sneak peek is due  But I have fallen behind in things …  and may not be able to get it to  you (on time).    I may not be as busy as the man in red, nor have list that is nearly as long, but … I have fallen behind and made a last minute change in the January block choice which put me even further behind and I am not sure when I will get the sneak peek at the first block of...

I wanted to give you a peek at my plans for Block Lotto 2016: The Blocks   Next year all blocks will be 6 inches square (finished size). They represent a mix of traditional, improvisational and original pieced designs. Some are more abstract/geometric, some of pictorial and one is a Block Lotto favorite that we’ll revisit in a new color way.  As usual, they will be made with a mix of techniques, with options for those that prefer one...

A while back when I was questioning whether or not to continue the Block Lotto in 2016, you responded with a lot of support and some suggestions on how you could help. I have given it a lot of thought, exchanged email with some of you on the subject, and want to give you some concrete ideas about how you can help the Block Lotto continue and help me do the things I have to do to keep it going. One of the interesting discussions was around the...

If you made and posted blocks in November, you should have email from me with the mailing info sheet.  You might notice that the numbers are a little different than published yesterday–Kay didn’t get her 2 blocks posted in time for the drawing and opted to send them on to one of the winners, which means 2 more blocks for Pat.  Thanks Kay! The holidays make us busy and make the the post office busy. In much of the US, the weather can be a...

In December, we are making another long rectangle block made from scrappy fabrics of your choice with the addition of Black and White.  These blocks are 5 by 18 1/2 inches (to finish at 4 1/2 by 18 inches).     I made this one. The fabric guidelines and my directions for making this block can be found here: Wonky Strips Block Pattern   You may make a maximum of 9 blocks for chances in the drawing at the end of the month. The...

In November, 37 quilters made 177 X and Plus Blocks. They were won by Deana, Kristin, Marianne and Pat K. I made this one. Complete guidelines and links to the block pattern and optional template are in this post: X and Plus Equals … November Block   Tag for ALL blog posts about this month’s block: xplus Here’s the list of blocks made and who made them: Blocks entered into Drawing: And – 2 Barbara P – 4...

Congratulations to the winners of the November X and Plus blocks. Marianne gets 48 blocks! Deana gets 48 blocks! Kristin gets 40 blocks! Pat K. gets 37 blocks! Congratulations, ladies!

I have sent the list of names of everyone in the drawing to Debbie, who didn’t make blocks this month and volunteered to randomly choose the winners. We have enough blocks for FOUR WINNERS.

I seemed to have picked up a bug last weekend … and just couldn’t get around to making the blocks and putting together the directions for the sneak peek until today. If you have made and posted your blocks this month (through today), you should have received email from me with the information about the December block. My intent with the fabric guidelines for December is that you should be able to pick up whatever you’ve been...

As the end of the year approaches, time seems to move more quickly … I can’t believe that November is almost gone. The deadline for posting in time to receive the sneak peek email with information about the December block is noon (on the US east coast) tomorrow. The deadline for posting in time to be included in the drawing for these incredible blocks everyone has made is 7 days later, on November...

The older I get, the harder it is for me to adapt to the time changes for daylight savings time … especially when I haven’t been sleeping that well anyway.  In most of the US, in theory, we had an extra hour of sleep last night as the clocks rolled back an hour. But I was awake around 3 AM–which would have been 4 AM the day before, but was still way too early, though the cats were very excited about it.  Even though I stayed in bed...

This is one of those blocks that have been floating around the blogiverse for a while. To create a 9-inch version, I redrew it with proportions to make it easy to measure and cut. Laurina made this one. The fabric guidelines and my directions for making this block can be found here: X and Plus Block Pattern The block directions give you options for how you cut and construct the Plus and the X. One of the options for the X-units is to use...