I happened to flip through an issue of The Quilter while shopping tonight and this Jewel Box quilt jumped out at me because … I saw our April block, Triangles in a Square in the center of those Jewel Box blocks, and then realized how you could construct a variation of the traditional Jewel Box design by making that block and alternating it with a block constructed from four 4-patches. You would cut the squares for the 4-patches 2 1/4 inch...

I started making the Diagonal Bars blocks for my Mod-Mod Throw quilt, using the Rainbow Scraps Challenge color of the month: Green.  Here’s my first of eight blocks. A couple of quilters have emailed me about their problems with the block coming out the wrong size, so, as I made this block, I paid close attention at each step looking for answers for them. Technically speaking, when you put a 5 inch square (the finished size of the 5 bars...

I escaped to my Guild retreat this past weekend and devoted myself to getting started on Sophie’s mod-mod quilt, which I’m making in blue-and-white in the queen size. Fun! My fellow quilters were very interested in what I was making, as they are usually a bit more traditional. I’m excited to be off on this new adventure. Thanks...

Christa said (in a comment) that she is sometimes inspired by the Block Lotto.  I find that I usually get ideas for using the blocks as we make them, too. As part of the Rainbow Scraps Challenge, each month, I have been making a single, super-sized (10 x 15 inches) scrappy Oak Leaf block in the designated color of the month. This month’s color is green (bright or dark). I don’t know why I settled on this particular size, but it...

It doesn’t really feel like spring lately in Northern New Mexico, but I know that when it returns, I will feel inspired by the blue skies and blooms. How about you?  Are you inspired by nature?  Do color ideas sometimes come from the clothes you are wearing?  Do you go to a guild meeting, quilt show or retreat and come home full of inspiration and ideas for new quilts you want to make?  Do you look for quilt design ideas between the...

Just in time! Marie...

My name is Nicole  and although I have been lurking, this is my first time putting blocks into the block lottery, even though I’ve been quilting for 20 years (made my first quilt when I was 20).  I am very excited about the block lottery.  The blocks was easy but it was a challenge to make each one different..  So in the end I made six blocks for the lottery and 12 for my quilt of all the blocks this year. The picture of my blocks is not...

These were blocks from 2011 or 2012, and I’ve posted pictures before as it was a work in progress. Now it’s quilted and bound, so I thought I would share the finished quilt.  Thanks to all who made the squares!   (that’s our new cat Nick sitting on the quilt)....

With some of the discussion about the lotto lately, and with going back and re-reading Sophie’s excellent guide to All Things Lotto, I was thinking about the Lotto and my involvement in it, and thought I’d share a little of that history for anyone who might be interested (the rest of you can skip this message, lol). When I first joined the Block Lotto, it was hosted on about.com, and known as the Beginner Block Lotto – it had...

I recently updated the page, Block Lotto Basics, to include a couple things that I realize I have been taking for granted and some other information that I may have been only including in an email message. My intent was to still keep it brief, but to cover, as the title suggests, all the basics. I would appreciate it if you would take a look and let me know if I’ve left anything out that you feel should be there or if you find anything...

I was making blocks for my Mod-Mod Queen-size quilt, decided to use a striped fabric for some of the Flying Geese units .. and I decided I wanted the stripe to go the same way in all the blocks, which it wouldn’t if used the 4-at-once, no-waste technique in Method #1, or made them as half-square triangles as in Method #2.  At first I thought I’d paper-piece them (Method #3 in the block directions), but it just seemed a lot faster if...

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...