Kim asked in a comment if I could post something about my  grand plan for this year.  It’s really not so grand, but here’s my plan. I gave those of you who received the January sneak peek before Christmas a glimpse inside my head and told you that after a year of mostly figurative blocks in 2013,  this year we’ll be making blocks with a strong geometric feel in three (finished) sizes: 7 inch square 7 by 14 inch rectangle 14 inch...

I’m back from the post office. Since it’s really hit or miss and there’s no way to know if I’ll find an empty post office (no line) or a line going out the door, I wanted to finish up my block for Julie’s Cotton Robin and mail it as the same time as my Stripes and Duds & Orphans.  The line was short, but the guy in front of me was terribly unorganized.  When the clerk finished with my stuff, she said,...

Elizabeth joined the Block Lotto last summer.  She recently offered a set of her beautiful hand dyed fabrics for a give-away.  Thank you, Elizabeth! These are 6 1/2 by 30-inch pieces–about 3 yards of them.  They would make lovely Double Chevron blocks or just about anything else you wanted to make from them. The base fabric she uses is a tightly woven cotton, very much like batik fabric.  The fabrics you win will be similar to these. Elizabeth...

While the December winners are waiting for our stripes blocks to arrive, here’s a minimalist setting idea. This quilt is from the Infinite Variety exhibit of red and quilts in New York a few years ago. The photo is a screen shot from the Infinite Variety iPad app....

There are many many others, but here are some chevron or zig-zag quilts I’ve seen lately.  A few, like the first two here, are older than you might guess.   This one is called simply Zig Zag Pattern has been dated as 1901-1929. It was made  by Viola Haeline Dollar Lake in Lumber City, Georgia. I found it on the Quilt Index site.   I also found this even older two color example, dated as 1850-1875, with vertical zig zags,...

Here are my six blocks, donated for January. For those who were wondering “what was she thinking” when she chose these colors … it all started when I was playing with colored pencils and paper, capturing my ideas for the blocks this year, drawing them (in black and white), then making paper “virtual blocks,” coloring them in with colored pencils and moving them around to see how one might design a quilt from this...

Do you make quilting resolutions?  Have a bucket list of quilts to make or techniques to learn?  Set specific quilting goals? Do you have a list of quilts you plan to make in 2014 or UFOs you plan to finish? Blog about your quilting plans for 2014 and share a link here. If, like me, you’re not one for lists and schedules when it comes to quilting, join me in challenging yourself to set ONE quilting goal for...

This month we are making a 7 by 14 inch (finished size) Double Chevron block using white (a solid or white-on-white print) and a purple, brown or gray fabric of your choice. Here are two of mine. The block pattern directions are here: Double Chevron Quilt Block Because these blocks are larger, you can make a maximum of 6 blocks for chances in the drawing at the end of the month.  As always, if you like, you can make more and donate them to the...

The block for December was a 6-inch by 9-inch (finished size) Stripes block, made from 2 fabrics, white plus one of the quilter’s choice.   Helen made this one. Guidelines used for this month are here: Ending the Year With Stripes  37 quilters made 228 blocks which were divided among five quilters. In addition, 11 quilters contributed 72 Dud and Orphan blocks for our bonus drawing.    December Topic for Block Lotto Linky Party Let’s Blog...

If you made and posted Stripes blocks and/or entered the Duds & Orphans lotto, you should have email from me with the mailing info for your blocks. There are separate messages for each type of blocks. Let me know ASAP if you didn’t receive the email or if you find errors on the info sheets.

First,  for the Stripes Lotto Blocks.  We ended with a total of 225 blocks, which means each of 5 winners will receive a set of 45.  And the winners, as determined by Mr. Random.Org are: Belinda Elizabeth C. Julianne Kathie Mary Jane Mr. Random.Org was a little difficult when it came time to pick the winners for our bonus drawing for Duds and Orphans. He kept wanting to pick Kathy … but after a few tries, we ended up with this list of...

Just a friendly reminder that the deadline for BOTH drawings–December’s Stripes blocks and the Duds & Orphans is at noon today (east coast US time) which is a little less than 2 hours away.