Aside from the sneak peek and follow-on messages with corrections, Q&A or eye candy, I don’t send many email messages to you and most of them are one way–informational messages from me to you. Sometimes though, I really do need a reply.  For example: There is a question about one/some of the blocks you have posted and whether they follow the rules or, when there’s an oops, if you plan to fix it or forget it. There’s a...

  Here’s what happens when you make multiple block using all three methods in the block directions.   I wanted to make sure that it really worked out with all blocks having unique 3-fabric combinations … and it did 🙂 Since I ended up making 13 blocks–4 from method 1, 8 from method 2 and a paper foundation pieced block–I put them on my design wall in an on point orientation.   Ive included details of my quilt block-making...

Lately, I’ve been thinking about my fabric stash and how little fabric I’ve had to purchase lately because I can almost always find what I need in my own fabric collection. I know some quilters that buy fabrics for a specific project and toss or give away the left-overs … but I suppose I am closer to the ladies in the cartoon. How about you?  Do you have a fabric stash?  When you start a new project, do you turn to your stash,...

In April,  we are making a 7-inch square block called Triangles-in-a-Square in bright colors with white. The block pattern directions include three methods for making it: Triangles-in-a-Square Block Directions Depending upon the method you use to make your blocks, you may also find these tip sheets helpful: Tips for Making Half-Square Triangles Tips for Making Flying Geese Units In April, you can make a maximum of 9 blocks to enter in the Block...

The block for March was a a big, 14-inch square (finished size)  Star Chain block, made from green with the quilters choice for two other fabrics, one light and one with high contrast. Forty quilters made 102 Star Chain blocks, which were won by 6 quilters (each receiving 17 blocks).  This post serves as an archive of blocks made and won. Guidelines for March are here: Star Chains on Green for March   Tags Tag for ALL blog posts about the Star...

I have just sent the list of names for the drawing to Debbie, who will be choosing our SIX WINNERS today. Each winner will receive a set of 17 blocks. Good luck to everyone!

One of our January winners received a chevron block that is ALMOST AN INCH TOO SMALL in one direction and a HALF INCH TOO SMALL in the other.  It’s hard for me to imagine that the maker didn’t know she was sending an unusable block, but, I will suspend disbelief and remind everyone that the last step of making your blocks is MEASURING THEM to make sure they fit within the guidelines for the Block Lotto. Blocks for the lotto must be...

The sneak peak email with the information for the April block has been sent. If you made and posted Star Chain blocks earlier this month, you should have email from me–if you should have, but didn’t receive it, let me know ASAP. This is a good time for everyone who has made blocks, to confirm that I have correctly captured your information on the at-a-glance page. If you haven’t yet made blocks for March and are curious what April...

When I made my blocks for the lotto, I started thinking about making a quilt from these blocks in scrappy greens which led me to start thinking about the ways to make the block scrappy. The easiest, most straightforward approach would be to cut the background fabrics from different greens. You could also make it more scrappy by making the large 4 1/2 by 6 1/2-inch rectangles from two or more pieces. You could look at the block differently and...

Someone emailed me yesterday and asked for help making the Quarter-square Triangles (QST) that form the points for the star center in this month’s block.   She was cutting them larger and trimming to size and kept ending up with points that were a little unequal. I realized that the main reason that I, personally, usually do NOT cut larger when making these is because trimming them to size can be fiddly because you have to make sure the...

I already shared the Star Chain blocks I’ve made for my samplers in this post.  Here’s my collection of blocks for two quilts. I happened to have an empty design wall, so I couldn’t resist arranging them as they will be the in the quilts. The understated queen size now has a bit of aqua:   And the mystery colored throw made as part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge with blocks made from shades of  blues, pinks and teals...

Because quite a few quilters have already made their Star Chain blocks and assembled their first Module(s), I thought I would go ahead and publish the complete information for the March update. This month, we add Star Chain blocks to our quilts and assemble the first module.  Here are the blocks you’ll need so far Small Crib Throw Twin F/Q King 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...