NEW: Block of the Month Challenge for 2015-2016

Aargh!  Somehow I managed to delete this post by accident.  I am reposting  it below.

I am in charge of Block of the Month for my quilt guild this year (Amoskeag Quilters Guild, Manchester, NH, USA). .  I thought it would be fun (and interesting) to open this BOM to any of my Facebook quilting friends who might be interested.

The goal is to make charity quilts with these blocks, both traditional and contemporary. We will “kit” the blocks and will have one or more group “Sew-A-Thons” to complete the quilt tops, either at a regular guild meeting or on a Saturday. Stay tuned for more on that. Our guild has given away literally hundreds of quilts over the years, to worthy organizations and individuals in need of comfort.

I have a second purpose for these blocks. I have written a novel about a 19^th century quilter named Hannah, titled “After the Storm”. I am planning a companion book that will feature the quilts Hannah and the members of her quilting bee “might have made”. I want to include photos of sample blocks and completed quilt projects “of the period”, with written instructions for how to make them. I also want to take some of these traditional blocks and present them in contemporary or modern settings in bright colors to show how traditional quilting can be brought into the 21^st century.  If one or more off your blocks are featured in my book you will receive recognition and credit for your work.

If this interests you, there are the instructions for how to participate at the end of this post.

General Instructions:

1. There will be two blocks offered each month. You can choose to do one block or both. If you are feeling really ambitious, you could do both blocks in both color options (see below),
2. There will be a choice of two color “styles”:
1. Traditional/Reproduction fabrics. Think 19^th century or Civil War era. NO 1930’s era, please.
2. Contemporary/”Brights”. Think Modern, “kid pleasing”, "playful", "happy".
3. Please use one very light background fabric for each block you make.
1. For Traditional, use an off white or ecru print.
2. For Contemporary, use a white on white or very light print with a white background.
3. All other color choices are your own. 

4.      You are encouraged to make as many of these blocks as you wish to use in your own quilts. It might even be possible to get one of your quilts featured in my book!

5.       Each block must finish at 10” square (10.5" when you make it)

If you want to participate, please send me an e-mail to somethingsewfine at Comcast dot net. You can also message me through Facebook or contact me through my website www.somethingsewfine.com 

There is no minimum number of blocks to make. You can make either type of block at any time, and you can start or stop whenever you want. NO PRESSURE! 

Join the fun!..