What I did this week

Our church has an annual Advent friends program where we get another family as our secret Advent friends and give them a gift each week of Advent and then a final gift at a wrap up party on Epiphany ( this year January 8).  As I was trying to decide what to do for that final gift my scrappy trips lotto winnings were calling to me from the design wall.  Our friends are a mother and her 5 year old daughter, so I thought decided mother daughter quilts would be good.  I sorted blocks and came up with arrangements I liked and then started prepping blocks for sewing together.  I discovered size discrepancies of as much as 1/2 inch and so I decided to just trim all the blocks down to the smallest size and add sashings so I wouldn't need to try to match seams.  The tops are now done and I will begin quilting tonight.  I still have a few blocks left which will be used in donation quilts.

October Block Quilt

Here is my top of wonderful blocks from October! I just love them all. Haven't decided on a border so if anyone has a suggestion, please say it! Thank you one and all!

I plan on gifting this to my cousins. We stayed in our RV at their farm for over a month this fall to prepare and recooperate our daughters wedding! We had such a wonderful time and they wouldn't accept anything to repay for electricity etc. I found out I won the Lotto and she was so excited to see the blocks and loved them so. This will be such a wonderful surprise for them all! And a special thank you to each and every one of you. It has inspired me to start a Dear Jane type quilt and stretching myself with learning new techniques on each block.

Janet H now in AZ

Susan's Magical Forest

I was a winner of these beautiful trees [and an equal number that were black with colored background].  These were made into a gift quilt [45" x 53"] for my quilting bee Secret Sister, and I'll give it to her tonight.

I look on it as a Magical Forest which you can tell stories about.  How do you get across the river?  What do you want to explore.  What adventures could each tree hold within it?  Is that your little house, or does someone, something else live there?

Hope my Secret Sister has a place to enjoy this!

Sara Homeyer

Disappearing Four Patch from Block Lotto winnings

Hi Ladies
Several months back I won blocks from the Lotto. Following that I did a red/white charm swap with some ladies. I decided to incorporate them into a quilt for my Mom's Christmas gift. It has been completed for a few months now but have had the worst time with my computer & camera lately. Anyway, here it is - it is queen size and all hand quilted. I think she will love it.

Thank you ladies for helping me create this for a wonderful gift. And thanks Sophie for this blog.

Curved Rails

So I've finished piecing the top of the curved rails that I won in September.  I was going to wait to share it until I'd finished it entirely, but I couldn't wait.  (I am going to wait to share the quilt I'm making from the disappearing 4 patch that I won earlier in the year.  I'm almost done with it!)  Anyway here is the top.  You can read more about how I hope to quilt it and my practice runs at doing so, on my blog: Quilt Evolution.  Let me know what you think!

Three Patch Rectangle Quilt Finished

I have just finished this throw made up from the blocks I won in June.  I have backed it with purple fleece and it is a lovely and cosy - so much so that my husband has bagged it!  I'm really pleased as it is the first quilt he has actually wanted.  Maybe the fact that we have snow and no central heating at the moment has something to do with it........

pineapple blossoms are a top...

The blocks I won are in a top and it will be going to the quilter real soon.

So there is time to think about.....

What color binding???

Julie P.

I'm a winner!

I see that I am a winner of Scrappy Trips Blocks!  Thank you all!  I look forward to using the blocks. I just completed a quilt top for my DS  for Christmas....Scrappy Trips with a single green fabric for the diagonal since he said his favorite color is green.  The same fabric will be used for backing and binding.  As I worked on this I had the thought I could work with this same block for a longtime and get different results depending on colors and contrasts.  I originally thought I would do a "Straight Furrows" layout but found that the green was not a dominant fabric and the whole thing looked chaotic.  Since the top is 5 blocks  x 6 blocks it felt lopsided  when I tried the blocks alternating directions to form a diagonal grid of green.  I also tried zig-zag rows but wasn't happy with that either.  I finally came up with this somewhat unconventional layout...

Last week I put together this top for a quillow for my DD, Mimi, using 24 Liberated Star blocks I won last year. In order to fit the backing fabric I chose (a super soft piece of 21 wale corduroy) I had to make the sashings different sizes horizontally and vertically, thus rectangular cornerstones.  Since she had originally said she'd like a "crumb" quilt I think she will like the liberated stars.

Curved rail blocks....

....are now a flimsy!  This will be a present for my sister once I get it quilted.

March 2011-Block Lotto Quilt

 I had to check back in the archives to see when these Blocks came to my house.  I found the answer HERE.
I thought it was April, but the posting was March and I was a newbie WINNER. Anyway.  It is all quilted and I wanted to post it with a picture of the backing.  I found the pretty red fabric that I used for the Border and Backing. I quilted it from the back and it took me a while to finish...there's a lot stitching in there.

It is now ready to have the binding attached.  Once again I have to thank all those who sent me Blocks to make this pretty quilt.  I never knew I needed one until the Red and White exhibit came out in New York.

rho's quilt made of wonky checkerboard blocks...

Well, here I go! Last night at the Quilting PJ party, I stitched up my Block Lotto winnings! I had a total of 48 blocks and they're all here!!(I just love a quilt that I can complete in one evening... don't you!?) Do you see your block? Thanks to all who participated in the lottery!

Oct. blocks and auditioning border fabric

Here's a start for the month






I'm auditioning border fabrics for the blocks I won.
This quilt will be for my future nephew due in March.
Here are 4 to start...not sure about any of them.

What do you think?
Any suggestions?


The far left is a molted batik
Under that is a blue on blue bubble print
Then on the right is blue stripes
And lastly the electric green.

These were some fabrics I had in the stash that I found quickly.

There will be appliqued words of "Oh the places you'll go" in white along part of the border (see the cut paper, something like that)

Tic-Tac-Toe quilts

It's taken a while, but I have finished 2 more quilts, which means that every tic-tac-toe block I won last year has now made its way into a quilt.

First, is my wacky setting, for the wacky blocks.  I added scrappy white sashing around/between each block to make a big square, and then cut it just like we did the small blocks originally, and added the blue sashing.  The back was pieced with the rest of the blue, and 6 more blocks.

Blocks came from Trudi, Linnea, Kate, Dianah, Laura, Kathie, Michelle, Carrie and Brooke.

The second quilt is a simple sashed setting.  I really liked the look of the six blocks on the back of the blue, so I made the final quilt in that style.  Not enough green for dark borders, so I went with white for the outer border in that case.  The backing of this one is polar fleece, and the quilt is soooo soft and light because of it.

Blocks in this quilt were made by Mary Jane, Dianah, Carrie, Michelle, Linnea, Sophie, Brooke, Kathie, Laura, and myself.

Block Lotto Baby Quilt

A gift for a colleague having a baby - her last day is tomorrow - the blocks are from a block lotto win back in May 2008. I knew they'd come in handy some day! Detail of the quilting can be seen over on my blog...

I thought I would work on the October sneak peek blocks, but on Sunday my husband mentioned a girl who works with my daughter Katy,  whom he had been visiting with a while back and discovered that she had no memories of birthday gifts growing up, except one time she was given a comb.  She has had a hard life.  Anyway he thought it would be nice to give her a gift for her birthday, which is tomorrow.  My thoughts immediately went to a quilt as a gift.  I remembered I still had some of the Sept. 2007 lotto blocks I had won...pink/ purple Ohio Stars.  Katy  said Kayla would like pink.  I also had border fabric in mind with pink flowers and birds on it and Katy said Kayla like animals, so I decided I would do it.  From the start this quilt has just been meant to be. I pulled out the blocks and the border fabric and decided a green sashing would be best.  Right on top of my greens was the perfect green with white dots...enough for sashings and binding.  Then I found a scrap of a pink that was great for the cornerstones.  By bedtime Sunday it was all cut and up on the design wall.  Monday was community quilting day for guild so I was gone most of the day, but I sewed after I came home in the evening and had it all sewn together but the top and bottom borders.  The border fabric is a standard 44" width.  Being a very directional print and fairly large at that, and the quilt being 62" wide I needed to piece the fabric for those borders. I wanted to match the designs in the fabric.  Amazingly it went together perfectly on the first try.....the seam runs right down the center in each of these pictures of the border.

Tuesday morning I attached the borders and found fabric and pieced the backing.  I mounted it on the longarm and started quilting.  I could have done a simple allover meander, but decided the the large simple blocks and sashings really needed a bock by block quilting.  I meandered the border, did a heart chain in the sashings, heart in the cornerstones, and hearts in the start parts with straight line quilting in the background.  It turned out quite nicely!

rho's Polka Dot Quilt - "Final Destination"

http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/album/575820421YrHGro

This is the final resting place for the "Polka Dot"Quilt. I won the blocks in the Block Lotto in Dec. 2009. I have posted pics before of this quilt................. but I have always wanted to show it..... in final - on my sister's bed. The URL is my webshots page which shows the entire progress while constructing. Take a look/see.

We LOVE the Block Lotto! Yes we do!

One More Basket Quilt Completed

I wish I knew whose blocks I've used.  I still have some blocks left, but now most of the blocks I received last year are used.  This is my latest quilt from them.

Thanks to all whose work went into my quilt!
Pattilou (Pat in UT)

3 Patch block lotto winnings

Hi, I just thought I would post a picture of the quilt top I have finished using the lovely 3 patch blocks I won.  I made a few more so I could increase the size a wee bit.  I have yet to get the backing and quilting sorted out but you can get the gist.  I think the colours go great with the grey tie-dye sashing and I have bought some purple cotton that I am thinking of using for the back.
Thanks again to all the lovely ladies who sent me blocks and good luck to everyone who takes part in the lotto draw.

Jo in Oman

let's play!

I finished up the second top from my tic-tac-toe winnings last year, and hope to get this quilted soon.  There were fun to play with -- thanks again to all who made the blocks!

Julie Wa

First a bit of old news.  Here are my clover blocks pieced and ready to back and bind.  I'm going to use a scrappy green binding.  I was thinking about doing a scrappy green border, but when I had it on the design wall, it seemed to detract from the clover too much.  I really love this quilt.  I'd never set anything on point before so it was a bit of a challenge for me.  I have a few clover left over that I plan to turn into a spring wallhanging.  Thank you everyone who helped make this beautiful quilt top.

And for a bit of new....here are some curved rail blocks for this month. I love batiks and have three more put aside that hopefully I will have time to sew...but for now...here are 6 blocks for me.

And also....my violets are packed and ready to go to the post office in the morning to start their trip way down south.

That's it for now....
Janet S