For June, in the Mod-Mod Quilt-Along, we’re adding sunrise blocks. Here’s how many blocks you’ll need to make this month, added to the chart of blocks we’ve made so far.   Small Crib Throw Twin F/Q King Sunrise Blocks 2 2 4 6 10 14 Diagonal Bars Blocks 4 4 8 12 12 20 Triangles-in-a-Square Blocks 3 3 6 9 9 12 Star Chain Blocks 1 2 2 3 4 5 Bead-on-a-String 3 6 7 10 13 17 Double Chevron Blocks 1 2 3 4 6 8   If you...

Thank you, Julie P, Cathy and Charlene, for helping me make those make-up Star Chain blocks.   (The background of the large block really is lime green and not nearly as yellow as it looks on my screen and probably yours.) While I was working on them today, I couldn’t resist making a few little star-chain blocks.  The little blocks on the right are 5 1/4 inches (finished size).  The center star is made from 3/4-inch units … I...

When you are posting a photo of your blocks to enter the drawing, use the category blocks. When you are posting an update saying that you have mailed your blocks or received blocks in the mail, select the category sent and received. When you put your post in the category blocks, your post is featured on the home page in the recent work section. When you put a sent and received update post in the blocks category instead, here’s what the...

I mailed blocks to Jude, Cathy, Debbie and Julianne this morning.

Here’s the latest of my sunrise blocks–I hand-pieced while watching a little television Sunday and Monday evening. The photo suffers a little from poor light; I woke up very early this morning and even after enjoying my morning latté on the roof deck while the sun was rising and the cats played around on the roof, there wasn’t yet enough good natural light for a photo in the studio.  The background is a white-on-white fabric. I...

If you made blue and cream Diagonal Bars blocks in May, you should have email from me with the information you need to mail them to the winners. Let me know ASAP if you didn’t receive the email from me or if you find any errors. Like the email says. I’d really appreciate it if everyone would mail their blocks no later than June 15. And while I have your attention … As far as I know, none of the MARCH winners have received...

The size of the arc which is part of this month’s Sunrise block was determined by the size of a sheet of US letter-sized paper to make it easy to print the foundation pattern. I intended to put together a tutorial this month, describing how to draw your own pattern, so that you could make a sun, half-sun or quarter sun (AKA New York Beauty block) in any size you needed for other projects.  And then, while I was looking for an old photo in...

As a woman of a certain age, I can remember when handmade items were not generally valued and the term home made mostly had a bad connotation.  A couple decades ago, I remember a (dress) designer friend telling me how she avoided anything that suggested, “loving hands at home.” Times have changed and along with a renewed interest in knitting, quilting and sewing by a younger generation, handmade items have become valued in our...

These are the first two sunrise blocks that I made.  I thought they would be a good place to start sharing suggestions for techniques and tips for making the blocks.  I am starting the conversation with my experience, but I hope that, if you decide to make the block, you’ll also share yours.  I’ll use this post to gather our collective experiences as encouragement and help for those that may be feeling a little intimidated. For the...

Are you ready for a challenge? I truly believe this 7 by 14-inch (finished size) Sunrise block is SO much easier than it looks, but it might look a little scary to you.  Peggy made this one. Because of the larger size, you make make a maximum of SIX blocks to enter into the drawing. If you make multiple blocks, depending on the total number of blocks made (and number of winners we have), I may be asking you to mail a maximum of TWO to each of...

In May, 41 quilters made 205 lotto blocks.  They were won by Jude, Cathy, Debbie and Julianne.  This post is our archive of activity that month. The block was a 7-inch square (finished size) block called Diagonal Bars, made in true blues with cream/light tan. Here are four, made by Kim. Complete guidelines for the block and link to the directions are in this post: May’s Block is Diagonal Bars The tag for ALL blog posts about this block:...

The deadline for the drawing–NOON Eastern Daylight Time in the US–has passed and I’m working on the list, which I will be sending on to Elizabeth to choose the winners. She expects to be home and picking winners in a couple hours from now, so if you have your fingers crossed for luck … you might want to loosen them up a bit so nothing goes numb 🙂