Mod Mod Sampler Finished!
I finally finished this just a moment ago and was so excited I threw it down in my yard and snapped a photo so I could post it for you. I did it as quilt-as-you-go, and found tutorials on the internet that let me finish the sashing and the binding totally by machine. It’s what a mod mod quilt deserves, don’t you think?
This is the queen size, so it’s very big! My mother loved it when she saw it, so I am going to give it to her. After I wash it.
Thanks Sophie for the pattern and the super fun year of mod blocks!
Fabric name by chance?
Peggy and Sue,
I believe these two fabrics were yalls and I would love to see if you have the name of the fabric. I would love to purchase more of this fabric to use within my quilt.
The first fabric is a grey with a yellow circle and the second fabric is a yellow backgro
und with purple short lines creating boxes.
I am hoping these are current fabrics and not ones that have been in your stash long!
Sorry I messed up
Sorry I messed up on the earlier post forgot to change setting. Tried to fix it. Have not posted or participated in a while I was just checking in to make sure I still could.. Hope to have a little time to make a few blocks. Hope that I still can.
Very excited to be a winner~
I am super excited to share the winning status with Sophie~ A huge thank you to Sophie for sharing her blocks with me. Sophie, mine are being mailed tomorrow to you. I cannot wait to start receiving the blocks. I have already thought of a couple of different quilts I could make using them. Thanks again everyone~
Which Color?
Kathie’s mention of the abundance of blue fabrics in her stash prompted me to put together this quickie poll:
If you follow the Block Lotto by mail or through a feed reader, you may have to click over to the Block Lotto site to see/vote in the poll … or you can use this link (goes directly to the poll on the Poll Code site … with ads.)
Tips for Making the 9-Patch Plaid Block
At the Block Lotto, perfectly made blocks are a GOAL, but NOT a requirement. It is also a place to try new things, practice and improve techniques. With that in mind, a couple of people have shared tips for making this month’s 9-Patch Plaid block and I thought to share them in a post of their own, as a place to share other problems/tips that come up in June.
Keeping 9-Patch Seams Aligned
During the sneak peek, Karen B had this tip for ensuring that the intersecting seams are aligned when you are inserting the strips to make perfectly aligned seams in your blocks.
After adding 1 black strip to a “9P portion” and going to add the next “9P portion, mark on the strip with a chalk pencil where the 9P seam comes to the strip and pin-match that to the 2nd 9P portion before stitching. Use this technique when one is sewing the long strip to a row of blocks that have sashing between them when assembling a quilt top.Karen thought that it was too easy for the graphics to look “off” if she didn’t pin-match the sections. She said, “Just slapping the pieces to the black strip did not give me a good block.”Some folks might not go to the trouble to pin-match the joining areas as maybe have always used cornerstones or don’t realize how even an itty-bitty place that is off when using highly contrasting colors such as white and the blue can look glaring, especially since those strips are so narrow …. small units tend to show up mismatches more than large units.
Like Karen, I also pinned my blocks at those intersections to keep them from shifting when I was sewing the second seam of the inserted strip, though I didn’t mark them, I eyeballed it by lining up the seams of the top and bottom 9-Patch sections.
Keeping the Pieces in the Right Places
Barb P sent this photo to show how she uses pins to keep the orientation of the cut-up pieces of the 9-patch straight.
If you’ve been around awhile, you know that I am a dyslexic quilter and always looking for ways to make sure I don’t get things flipped the wrong way around when sewing them together. I think this is a good technique to help you keep the pieces in the right place … though I will confess that I personally only made ONE of those cuts at a time, sewed it in place, then made the second cut.
Trouble-Shooting Size Issues
This is another easy block that, because it has a total of 6 seams, can have size issues. Small deviations in your 1/4 inch seams can multiply to create blocks with size issues. If your blocks turn out too small (or too large), I would check these measurements:
- The center square should be exactly 3 inches square.
- The inserted strips should measure exactly 1/2-inch wide.
finished the quilt top for the August Red Stars!
I decided to embrace a Christmas theme so added green columns to make this a full queen size. I made 5 or 6 additional blocks so the full size is 6 columns of 10 blocks of 6×9 rectangular stars. The full length doesn’t show because I had to drape one row over the rail. I hope to get this to my long arm quilter this week (if I can find the backing in my sewing room). thanks to everyone who made these stars. Beautiful variety and range of reds! I’ll post again when I have it quilted and bound. I think it will wonderfully cuddly to sleep under in the Christmas season!
A Funny Story Whilst Preparing for the Drawing
While I am waiting for the clock to tick down to our deadline today, I thought I’d share some of the thoughts that have been bouncing around in my head.
At the beginning of this month, I planned to blog about just how much I appreciate all of you and your willingness to make whatever block I choose for you each month. This experience is a stark contrast to what happens in my guild whenever I suggest almost anything–they are a group of wildly diverse and talented quilters, but … they are so entrenched in doing everything the way they have always done it, even as the guild continues to fail financially and in membership numbers. As much as I know some of them like my quilts and my ideas–they continue to walk in lock-step with the quilters at the top of that well-defined social pyramid. Last month I was involved in starting up a Santa Fe Chapter of the Modern Quilt Guild (I am an individual member of MQG) and some of the modern quilters from the established guild came to an organization meeting just to talk me out of it … because they are happy with the way things are or they would like to be involved but are afraid of offending the powers-that-be at the guild.
That is the context of my quilting life in Santa Fe and why I appreciate you all so much. Whatever theme I choose for us–liberated/improv blocks, modern(ish) blocks, small traditional blocks, rectangular blocks, or a happy mix of blocks that may or may not relate to one another at all–you have been willing to try making them … apparently up until I planned to tell you how much I love that you are willing to suspend disbelief and try to see the possibilities in these colors and blocks that I do.
The irony of how I had come to this new realization and appreciation for you all this month and wanted to blog about it … just when my block/color choice clearly missed the mark is not lost on me. Very few blocks were made this month and almost half of them were donated.
It would have felt odd and a bit egocentric, I think, had I posted about how I love that you suspend disbelief, sometimes, and follow along … during a month when few are actually following along 😉 And so, here I am telling you about how the universe (and you) put me in my place with your disinterest.
If my life were not such a struggle right now, I would find the time to work on my sampler so, perhaps, you could see what I see in the possibilities for this year’s blocks.
Perhaps interest will continue to decline and this will be the last for the Block Lotto. Almost 14 years later, it certainly has lasted longer than I ever anticipated.
Reminders about the Rules
There is a link to the Block Lotto Basics on the home page.
I also include the link in the email I send to everyone who expresses interest in joining the Block Lotto.
It’s not a long list and yet a couple of the rules never quite seem to stick with everyone.
If things don’t seem to be working the way you expect, please take a moment and review the basics. I have updated the page with the acceptable range of block measurements for this year’s blocks and a more explicit statement about posting photos of your blocks in a blog post authored by you in order to count in the drawing.
I know it seems a small thing to those of you who expect me to post/count your blocks for you, chase you down when you win, or chase the blocks you fail to mail … and if the Block Lotto were my JOB, I might agree. I do this for fun and there are already quite a few tasks to keep things humming month after month. If you are unwilling to follow the rules, figure it out and do your part (including making blocks that others will be happy to win), then the Block Lotto may not be the group for you.