Friday, April 18, 2014

April Online Block Activity!

At long last, here it is!
This block didn't seem to have a name in Nicole's tutorial on the Spoonflower site, so I'm calling it the "tipsy stacks" block. :)

The color scheme: use black and white prints for the edges and a variety of prints/solids of any bright color (I chose turquoise) for the center.

A few additional tips from my block construction experience:
1. Nicole suggests making sure your pieced strips are at least 14" in length. This definitely works, but make it easier on yourself by making the strips even longer--that way you can shift the center color as much as you want without worrying about if you still have 12.5" of height.
2. Start with fairly wide (2.5" - 3") strips--that way after you have have pieced them and arranged them as you like, you can choose which strips to trim to be more narrow.
3. Don't trim your two outer strips until you've assembled the block. I did, and my block is barely 12.5"--I would have liked a little wiggle room for squaring up!
4. Don't think too hard! This is improv piecing and supposed to be relaxed and fun.


Find the tutorial for the block here.



Submission/Winning:



  • Submit a photo of the completed block by May 16.  We want this to be fun and easy, not stressful, so we have several options for submitting your photo.
    • If you have a Flickr account, please post the photo to Flickr, add it to the Great Lakes Modern Quilt Guild group pool, and tag it GLMQG-Apr14
    • If you have a Facebook account, you may post the picture to the Great Lakes Modern Quilt Guild Facebook page. 
    • You may email your photo to glmodernquilter@gmail.com 
    • If you do not have access to a digital camera, contact me (Lisa) and I will arrange to photograph your block.
  • How to win all the blocks:
    • We are going to draw for a winner of all the blocks at our next live meeting, which is May 17.  You do not need to be present to win.
    • You get your name in the drawing each time you enter a block.  So, if you submit two blocks, your name goes in the drawing twice!
    • Please bring your completed block to the May meeting so all the blocks can be delivered to the winner.  If the winner is not at the meeting, we will mail them to him/her.
    • We'll post the name of the winner here on the blog.  So, if we don't have your email address, check the blog so you can see if you won and can send us your contact information.  (If you are at the meeting, you'll get your blocks on the spot!)
    • If you will not be at the meeting, either
      • Give the block to a friend to bring it for you, or
      • Mail it in.  E-mail us at glmodernquilter@gmail.com, and we'll send you the mailing address where you can send your blocks.


  • That winner must assemble the blocks into a finished quilt before being eligible to win again. Fair enough?
Any questions? Leave a comment below. See you at our May meeting!


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