January Online Block Challenge

Happy 2016! Hope you all enjoyed the holidays and are slowly getting back into "real" life...I know it's been a struggle at my house! 

The block this month is a little different--it's done in quilt-as-you-go style, so the winner will have less work to do (beyond figuring out how they want to join pre-quilted blocks!). I was asked to make one of these blocks for my do.Good stitches circle and I enjoyed it so much, I'm sharing it with all of you. 

Find the tutorial on Cori's Hey Let's Make Stuff blog here.

The plan:

The block should be 12-1/2" square unfinished. 
Use a piece of muslin for the back and batting for the center. I started with a 15" square piece of each, knowing that I'd be trimming the block down at the end; you can begin with smaller pieces (I'd go at least 13" square for wiggle room) and not trim so much. 
Please make your block using one color plus low volume/whites and blacks/whites and grays. The idea is to start with the darkest pieces in the middle and work your way out to lighter shades and then the white/low volume. I basically did one "round" of each.
I quilted mine with a neutral thread and used the width of my walking foot as the spacing for the lines. 

I meant to take more process shots, but got carried away sewing and forgot. Here are a couple:

Starting the lighter colored round

Adding the low volume prints

  

Just for fun, I put together 9 of my block digitally to see what a quilt would look like:

Submission/Winning:

• Submit a photo of the completed block by January 23rd.  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 GLMQG012016. *Adding the tag is key, because it allows the photo to get into the slideshow on our blog.*
• 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 January 23rd.  You do not need to be present to win.
• IMPORTANT: If you want to be entered in the drawing but will not be at the meeting with your block, please make sure to let another attendee know. We try our best to make sure everyone who submits a photo of their block gets entered in the drawing, but making sure a friend puts your name in the hat will guarantee you have a chance 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 January 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?

As always, leave a comment if you have a question and I'll try to answer it!

Can't wait to see your blocks at the end of the month!

Thanks!

Lisa