YES! YIPPEE! WOOHOO! Happy dance at my house. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Iam so excited. Thanks everyone. Ok, I'll settle down. :)

Archiving August 2009

I think we liked thi s one ;-)

• Barbara - 6
• Caroline - 9 WINNER #2 (48 blocks)
  
• Celine - 6
• Debbie - 4
• Dianah - 4 *** newbie ***
• Gail B - 6
• Gail G - 7
• Ginny - 4
• Jennifer - 7
• Joan - 9 ***newbie ***
• Julie - 6 (donate chances)
• Kate - 9
• Kathy - 4 (donate chances)
• Kelly - 5
• Kristin - 4 ***newbie ***
• Laura - 9
• Linnea - 4 *** newbie ***
• Lisa - 9 WINNER #3 (48 blocks)
• Louise - 1
• Mary Jane - 9 WINNER #1 (56 blocks)
• Rho - 9
• Shelley - 6
• Sylvia - 9
• Terri - 6

Congrats to the winners and thanks everyone for another great month.

And the winners are... Drumroll Please...

Ok, just got back from the random number puller thingie, sorry I was so late, I ended up having to go to "Open House" and it lasted a bit longer than I thought it would ANYWHO back to the main event....... and the BIG winner is MARY JANE!! Followed by... CAROLINE!! And last but not least LISA!! Congrats winners!!

Ladies, Cross Your Fingers . . .

I've sent the list for the drawing to Chris.

If you have a lucky charm, a rabbit's foot or other ritual for luck, now is the time.

If you are a newbie this month or someone who has been playing along for a long time, but not yet won–yes Mary Jane, I am looking in your direction, then thanks to Julie, you have an extra chance in the drawing.

If you are a brand new mother, then Kathy has thrown some chances your way . . .

We have a total of 152 blocks this month, which means:

Winner #1 will receive a set of 56 blocks
Winners #2 & 3 will receive a set of 48 blocks (each)

Wow, talk about a lot of blocks in the last week . . .

My 4 Blocks

Loved This Block

no more blocks from me...

I was hoping to sew one more block for the lotto but half way through I realised that I had sewn it the wrong way (starting with warm colours instead of cold ones) so there won't be any more blocks from me. 141 blocks is huge I think and I will keep my fingers cross for this month draw as the blocks really look nice on all the pictures which have been shared.
Celine

Another entry into the lotto...

Here are my 7 blocks. Funny, I got them done the first week of August but neglected to get a picture posted! I am really hoping to win this one- I just love all the beautiful blocks this month!

Timing and Deadlines for Tomorrow's Drawing

We were just advised of JUST HOW PROHIBITIVE the guidelines for surfing at work really are (and the plans for scanning our PCs for our email and surfing habits), so . . . until my work hours become more LOTTO-Friendly, the deadlines will have to look like this:

Deadline for submitting blocks: 5PM Central Time on the last day of the month

Which means for August, our deadline will be MONDAY, 5PM Central Daylight Time.

I will send the list of names to Chris (our July winner) to use for the random number picker to choose our THREE WINNERS as soon as I get home–probably no later than 6 PM (Dallas Time).

There have been some great bright little log cabin blocks this month . . . I know we're going to have three happy winners ;-)

(It's not too late to enter if you can sew fast ;-)

I wanted to make three more, but will have my grandson tomorrow, so no time to finish my set. Here are six to make it to three winners. Forgive my ironing job...the old girl just doesn't get as hot as she use to.

SHelley

August 09 block lotto

Here's 4 little log cabins from cool Colorado. Shaping up to be a great lotto, but I would like to donate mine to Lisa and her new little gal. Kathy in Colo

Ginny's August blocks

Here are four very bright blocks from me! As usual, they look better in life than they do in the photo!

Gail B's Log Cabin Blocks

Gail B emailed me last night with a photo of these 6 log cabin blocks.


Our new total-so-far this month is 127 log cabin blocks. I'm beginning to think that we MIGHT make it to enough for three winners in time for tomorrow night's drawing . . . at this point, we need five more blocks.

By the way, our July winner, Chris, will be doing the honors and (randomly) picking the winners this month . . . just in case you want to send some good vibes her way.

Joan' s 9 August Blocks!!

This was so much FUN! I was able to complete 9 blocks and had fun going thru my stash to finish these. Hope whomever wins enjoys them as much as I had making them!

Boomers...

Just got back from the mail box, recieved some boomers from Marie! I think thats everyone! Thank you all for such lovely blocks!

Christine

Welcome Back Kelly

Kelly–who you might remember as Mingtoy52 from the forum, if you've been around for a while–emailed me today with this photo of 5 beautiful log cabin blocks.

Welcome back, Kelly!

I've added them to the list making our total-so-far this month 112. Will we make it to three winners . . . I think we might, I think we might, I think we might . . .

rho's August Blocks

Here are my 9 blocks for August.

Sneak Peek Alert

The Sneak Peek for the September lotto block has been emailed. If you have made blocks for August, your name should appear in the list on the right AND you should have email from me with information about the September block. Please let me know ASAP if either of those isn't true for you (or if there is an error in the number of blocks credited to you in the list).

Thanks.

Ps. This is the 600th post on this blog. Wow!

5 more

I have now completed 5 more blocks which brings my current total to 6. I hope to make 3 more by next week but can't promise. Here is a picture of my last 5:This month seems to be highly popular. Great!
Celine

I Wanna Play, My 9 Blocks !!

Hi Sophie! I'm back and ready to play this month. I finally got my niece's wedding quilt done and have time to sew. Oh, I still have lots of projects, just none with deadlines. All these blocks look alike, but I'm sure there are no twins!

you know you are addicted to quilting when:

both girls are asleep but instead of taking a nap too, you SEW!

That's right, I made 9 blocks today while both girls slept (and are still down so I can share!)

The colors didn't turn out on the camera but that's what happens when you live in a basement with only a lamp to light the room. You can check out my personal blog later tonight to see more about my experience with the blocks and for a dose of sugar and spice and everything nice =)

one block so far, more on the go!

Hi all,

I didn't managed to play last month but I really couldn't give the log cabin a miss! So I have completed one block so far with more on the go (they don't have the right number of logs yet!) Here is the first picture and I will hopefully post more in the next couple of days!
Celine

Oh wow!! I've been out of town, visiting my sister for our birthdays (we're both August babies) I just went to pick up my mail at the post this afternoon..... WOW!! Its like getting lots of presents :D Thank you all so very very much! Such beautiful blocks! As of this afternoon I have received from Debbie, Gail, Ginny, Kate, Kathie, Kathy, Lisa, Mary Jane, Shelly, and Sylvia!! I cant wait to get started with these cute little guys!!! After a few hours with some graft paper I think I have figured out how I'm going to use them :)

Two Setting Ideas from Quilt Plano

I spent a couple hours yesterday at Quilt Plano 2009–Plano is a suburb a little North of Dallas. I really liked this patriotic Log cabin Quilt made by Robbie Johnson of Richardson Texas and thought the setting and those pieced borders might be interesting for our winner(s) this month to consider. (I think a black and white inner border could maybe be VERY interesting, don't you?)

I'll be blogging about the show later on my blog, but if you want to grab a tall glass of something cold and look through the photos on Flickr, you'll find them in my set Quilt Plano 2009. (or, if you prefer, the slide show link) I didn't take my usual hundreds and hundreds because they kept announcing at the show that there was a CD of professional photos of all the quilts for sale–unfortunately, it turned out that they didn't have CDs, but for $10 would put your name on a list and would send you one in the next week or so. They haven't done this before . . . we'll see how it goes.

There was another quilt that made me think of the Lotto and the winners (this year and last) of the SAMPLER lotto blocks.

This is Music in My Heart by Tracy Spruell of Allen, Texas, and is made from swap blocks. They weren't all designed to be put on point, but I think it works. I think it's also interesting that she turned mostly black & white blocks into a very colorful quilt. You can see a detail of a single block here. The way she put them on point allowed her to make a bigger quilt from smallish blocks and let her square them up to the same size. Of course, you don't have to start with sampler blocks–it might be a setting to think about if you have some lotto blocks at home that could work in a setting like this . . .

My August Blocks

Laura Randolph

Inspiration from January Bow Ties

For those of you who participated in the January 2009 block lotto with the bow tie block, you know it was very popular. I wasn't a winner that month, but was inspired by all the wonderful blocks everyone made to make a quilt for a grandson's graduation next year using that block. I think this block in plaids is perfect for that 'guy' in your life. This is still to be quilted, but I thought I'd share it as is.

I'm sorry to be missing out on participating in the lotto for the next few months because I will be out of the country and can't take my stash with me, but I'll be looking at all you do and being envious of the winners. See you all in December.

Kathie

7 log cabin blocks

Here are 7 log cabin blocks. What a pleasure to make and look at! I hope it's my lucky month :)
It's interesting that as you are making this block, you can't see the pattern at all, but the minute you put them even close together, they come to life.

Kristin's First Blocks

Hi all! I just joined the lotto and have completed 4 blocks for August.

I'm a stay at home mom of 3 kids (girl 7, boy 5, and girl 3.) Kind of a misnomer because I'm rarely home! They keep me pretty busy.

I'm pretty new to quilting but I love sewing of all kinds. This seems like a good way to expand and practice my quilting skills.

-Kristin

more logs

here are my six blocks for this month; I'm going to donate my chances to those who haven't won yet. Good luck!

finally mailed the blocks!

I made it to the post office today! I am sorry it's so late but this:

has been keeping me busy and at home the past week. She was born on the 5th, and yes I am bragging and boasting, but I have two beautiful little girls now!

I can't wait to see what you do with all the blocks!

Finally, still straggling in, Christine's blocks

Hi, We've returned from our 2 week trip, mailed your boomer blocks, read emails, caught up on real mail, now to go do laundry and catch up on sending emails, etc. Hope these cute little guys have fun at your house.

My hubby was very surprised, I never searched or shopped quilt-related items the whole 3800 mile trip. The weekend before we left I bought for a dollar each 4 large gallon baggies stuffed with quilt strips, etc. at a local craft sale and I paced my fabric fondling urge with sorting, folding, and oohing the baggie contents every so many days. The best part was the fabric was scraps from one of the area's best quilters.

Now to use some of these finds in little log cabin blocks. Kathy in Colo

Welcome Linnea

Linnea joins the Block Lotto this month from Connecticut with these four Log Cabin blocks.

Welcome Linnea!!

Her blocks bring our total-so-far this month to 48 blocks.

Mary Jane's August Blocks

Here are my 9 for this month of August 09. The heat is oppressive here - even with ac running full blast at all times.

Sylvia's Log Cabins

Here are my August Blocks I enjoyed making them foundation piercing as one of my pet hates in patchwork is paper foundation patterns

July blocks mailed

My two boomer blocks for Christine were mailed last Thursday, the 6th of August. Enjoy! Debbie

blocks

Christine's blocks were posted yesterday. Will be fun to see how you use them!
Shelley

Question for August Blocks

Hello:
After making two backwards before getting the update, I have begun on the proper squares now. My question is - Are we leaving paper on or off when mailing? If we are taking off, I find it easiest to tear away when finishing each block than sitting and doing it all at once.

Here are 6 blocks for this month's lotto. Brights were never my thing but I love these little blocks and finally found a use for some of my bright hand dyed fabrics.

Terri

Kate's blocks

What a great block - and a great colourway. I've always had a fondness for log cabin blocks and I really like the effect of these blocks, even if they are a little brighter than I'd normally choose myself - but as I've said before, that's part of the point of the lotto - pushes us beyond our usual choices! Would love to have some more of these!

From Barbara

Here are my 6 blocks.

Christine - blocks in the mail

They were mailed today!
Gail

Welcome Back Louise

Today, I received email from Louise, who was a regular in the block lotto last year. Louise is a hand piecer, who hand-pieces all her blocks for the lotto, as she did this log cabin block.

Life took her away from the lotto for a while . . . I was very happy to find a note from her in my email. You can catch up with her on her blog, LouiseSews.

Welcome back, Louise. Your block brings our total-so-far this month to 5 blocks.

congratulations Christine I have posted your winning blocks off to day so look out for the postman calling

Sylvia

Boomer in the Mail - Mary Jane

Congratulations to Christine. My blocks are being mailed today.

Debbie's August blocks

Here's my four August blocks. They are made with the colors in the opposite positions. I had the four of them almost done when Sophie corrected her original instructions that she had sent for the Sneak Peak. Sophie has allowed them to be entered anyway. Thanks, Sophie!

Good luck!

It's Time to Mail the Boomer Blocks

Everyone should have received email from me tonight with Christine's mailing address. (Directions this month are easy–everyone mails to Christine).

If you didn't receive the mail or if you have any questions, let me know.

August's Lotto Block is Log Cabin

The lotto block for August is now known everywhere as Log Cabin, but it was first published by the Ladies Art Company, in 1895, as The Log Patch.

It was later published as American Log Patchwork, again by the Ladies Art Company, then, in 1911, as the Colonial Block, by Joseph Doyle in The Patchworker's Companion.

Finally, in Ruth Finley's 1929 book, Old Patchwork Quilts and the Women Who Made Them, the author identifies the block as Log Cabin . . . and, it seems, it has been the Log Cabin block ever since.

If you have come from the Quilting Forum on about.com, you'll recognize the popular colorway I've chosen for us this month. It started with a baby block shower for one of the members, hosted by me, which was followed by a handful of swaps of this charming bright six inch block.

Pattern Notes

You may make your blocks using traditional piecing or paper foundation piecing technique.

The foundation pattern is found on Marcia Hohn's quilter's cache site here. Be sure you do not have any "shrink to fit page" options selected for printing and that you measure the reference square when printing Marcia's pattern.

I was sure I could go back far enough on the forum on about.com and find my OLD directions there, but search was broken when I tried to find mine or any old swap . . . the basic cutting measurements are:

RED center square is cut at 2 inches
Logs are cut at 1-1/4 inches wide

Whichever technique you use, be sure to begin by adding two COOL logs to the center and end by adding two WARM logs.

Note: I originally had this backwards (in the sneak peek email and in this blog post–if you have made blocks the wrong way 'round as a result, please contact me.

I still have a set of swap blocks from one of those swaps–I didn't manage to make as many as I wanted . . . and I confess that I'm hoping that I'll be inspired this month to add to my "collection" and maybe even end up with enough for a quilt top for me.

But many people DID make wonderful quilts from those swaps and you can find many examples of their quilts online. Here's one made by Stacy, that might inspire you.

Fabric Guidelines

This month, your log cabin blocks should have RED centers. If you make multiple blocks, you may use the same red fabric. You will add WARM colored logs to one side from the red-orange-yellow side of the color wheel and COOL colored logs to the other side from the green-blue-purple side of the color wheel.

The fabrics may be solids, tone-on-tones or multi-color prints that are predominately the color or color group specified. So for example, you might use a solid red for your centers or a red print that has a very small amount of another color that "reads" as red when you look at it from 5 feet away.

You may repeat the log fabrics in more than one block as long as none of your blocks turn out to be "twins."

This month, the BRIGHTER the BETTER . . . but, if you don't have a lot of brights, that OK, too.

Check out the original quilt, made from the blocks from the block shower for Daniel's mom and notice how it is a little different and definitely interesting, perhaps because it isn't completely made of BRIGHT fabrics, like those from the swap blocks.

And, because I can't resist sharing these great quilts, here's one more, with a different layout, made from more swap blocks with borders added by Chimene.

I found all of these quilt photos on Webshots in albums of quilters whose names I recognized. There are more on Webshots that you could find with a simple search for bright log cabin quilt and I'm sure a browse through Flickr would reveal many, many more beautiful bright log cabin quilts as well.

I know things slow down in summer when it's HOT HOT HOT . . . but I hope we can put together a nice set (or two) of these nice bright log cabin blocks for someone to win and enjoy this month.