Pinwheels in February

Unfortunately, the January avalanche overshadowed the pretty monochromatic pinwheel blocks everyone has been making for February. Colors are based on a theme fabric: the 2007 Hoffman's Challenge.

One of the things I learned this month is that these blocks are very hard to photograph well--the flash washes out the lighter fabric and in many of the photos it ends up looking white. Trust me, these are wonderful vibrant blocks.

From Allison:




From Colene:



From Debbie:




From Georgene



From Jen E:



From Kate:



From Lee Ann:



From Michelle:



From Pat K:





From Sandy:



From Terri:



I love these monochromatic blocks. Thanks to Kate for suggesting it ... and to AuntAnn for suggesting the focal fabric idea.

One last look at the January Blocks

Hmm ... I didn't realize until I made this map that ALL eight of the January winners live west of the Mississippi.

(click for larger map image)

I received blocks from all the colored states (both purple and yellow). The winners live in the yellow states, so that's where the blocks are (finally) going. It's impressive ... I received blocks from more than half the states in the US, as well as from Canada, France and the UK.

Who made them? Amy, Ann, Ann, Ardyth, Becky, Bonnie, Carolyn, Colene, Dawn, Debbie, Diana, Diannna, Donna, Elizabeth, Janet, Jeni, Julie, Julie, Kate, Kathi, Laura, Laurie, Lee Ann, Leslie, Maia, Mary, Pat, Pippa, Sandy, Sherry, Silvia, Sue, Susanna, Terri, Theresa, Tracy, Vanessa, Vicki, Vicky and me.

Thanks to everyone for an amazing start to the Beginner Block Lotto this year.

Belated Congratulations

... to our record-breaking 8 winners in January:

Ardyth in Nebraska
Sandy in Oklahoma
Pat in California
Julie in California
Mary in Oregon
Maia in California
Sherry in Alaska
Terri in Minnesota

Looks like it was a lucky month for the Californians ;-)

January Avalanche

I'm finally catching up with the avalanche of lotto blocks which arrived in January.

For a swap hostess used to swapping out hundreds of blocks, it may not seem that impressive, but January's 246 blocks were:

• More than 3 times the previous high of 80 blocks in a single month.
• 6 times the average number of blocks received monthly (41) during the last round of the lotto
• More than 1/3 the total number of 10" lotto blocks we made from August 2005 through November 2006.

But enough stats ... here are the photos. Credits for each group of 16 blocks are included in the titles and tags on Flickr.









... and after the photo shoot ...

Signs of Spring

After a few sunny days and high temperatures in the 30's, it's been feeling a little like spring ... despite a major winter storm which is on the way and the fact that the entire mitten is covered with winter storm warnings through Monday morning.

Still, today I picked up fresh asparagus (from Mexico) and made a simple pasta with it, red pepper and smoked salmon. With a nice glass of chardonnay, it seemed like a perfect Spring al fresco meal and I started looking forward to dinner on the patio overlooking the pond.

When I saw Becca's pieced top on the Quilting forum today, it also seemed to be a harbinger of spring. Quilts made from 30's repros always make me smile.

The blocks came from a swap Colene hosted last fall. I love the skinny sashing and scrappy cornerstones between the blocks. Becca was looking for suggestions for borders. I think whichever way she decides to go, it's going to be a beautiful quilt.


If you have a great border idea for Becca, surf over to about.com and join the discussion.

2007 Block Lotto Shopping List

Here's the list of fabrics/color themes we'll be using for lotto blocks for the rest of the year--just in case you happen to find yourself in a quilt shop, at a quilt show, or shopping online ... and need a reason to buy.

These are listed in no particular order.

This month we're making blocks for a classic blue and white two-color quilt. Later this year, we'll be going for a more contemporary feel with blocks that are PINK or ORANGE with white-on-white backgrounds.

We'll do SCRAPPY fabrics of your choice for twomonths and use CREAM tone-on-tone fabric for background. For one of the months, you'll need some shade of BROWN or TAN (darker than your cream background). A third month will be SCRAPPY BRIGHTS on white-on-white (WOW) backgrounds.

I-SPY fabrics with coordinating DARKS (very dark like navy, forest green, burgandy) will be the basis of the blocks for one month. You'll need a 6.5-inch square of the I-spy type fabric for each block. (bright, multi-color prints will also work.)

BATIKS on CREAM tone-on-tone backgrounds were very popular when we made Goshen Star blocks last Fall, so we'll be repeating that combination.

Another block with a cream tone-on-tone background, will be made from PURPLE and YELLOW/GOLD combinations.

We'll be combining RED or ORANGE or YELLOW with light or medium Blues.


One month we will start with ASIAN (Oriental) fabrics, with BLACK and a coordinating tone-on-tone.

We'll try going for a COUNTRY look this year, using muted colors on a MUSLIN (or other solid off-white) background.

Next month (February, we'll be working with MONOCHROMATIC LIGHTS and DARKS. For a twist, we'll be choosing light/dark pairs which coordinate with this year's Hoffman Challenge fabric.

(click for larger image)

The Hoffman fabric itself will NOT be used in our blocks. We'll use it as a basis to choose the light and dark monochromatic colors for our blocks--for example you might make blocks that were light and dark pink or light and dark orange or light and dark gold ... that would coordinate with this print ... and the February winner(s) may find some of our theme fabric enclosed with the blocks they win to use in their quilt.

Our brainstormed list was much longer than we could use for 12 months. I'm sorry if your favorite didn't make the list. I did my best to match fabrics to block patterns and to end up with a variety of colors and styles.

Mucho Lotto Blocks!

I have been slowed down by work and life (and a broken car), but I managed to pick up a lot of mail today including a lot-o-lotto blocks.

Photos soon, but in the meantime, just let me say that there are now 35 pairs of lotto blocks already at my house, from Amy, Ardyth, Becky, Colene, Carolyn, Debbie, Jeni, Julie, Kate, Vicky and me.

Yep, it's not even the middle of the month yet and we're already in 2-winner territory. What a great start for the lotto this year.