Block of the Month – Different and Fun!

When you think of Block of the Month, there are actually many different pictures that can form in your mind.  This is because the concept has a variety of different applications.

In this edition, I wanted to provide a bit of perspective and maybe encourage you to try a different variation of the Block of the Month.

 Traditional Monthly Block of the Month

The most traditional version of this concept involves committing to an in person or mail group that sends out instructions (and many times the fabric) each month.  The instructions include a single block that is later incorporated into a finished quilt.

Guild Block of the Month

Another take on this type of quilting can be seen in local quilt guilds.  In the Johnson County Quilt Guild that I belong to, we have a Block of the Month person who ensures that each month a new block is presented.  At the following meeting, each participant will bring their block and then a winner is chosen from those participants.  The winner takes the pot!

Of course, the number of participants = blocks you get, which can make a difference on how big a quilt you can make.  Luckily, I won on two separate occasions and was able to put together this cute quilt.

Guild Blocks of the Month are contributed by different quilters so some differences in color and size can occur.  This is a challenging, yet rewarding variation.

If you are from the Joshua, Burleson, Cleburne, Texas area and would like to know more about the Johnson County Quilt Guild – just give me a holler!

Manufacturer’s Block of the Month

Many manufacturer’s of quilting products will provide pre-packaged and free Blocks of the Month for savvy internet patrons.

• Accuquilt has a free BOM for everyone that signs up for their monthly newsletter.  CLICK HERE  to check out their free program.
• Craftsy also provides for a Block of the Month and since theirs are archived – you can start at any time!  Check out their FREE 2016 BOM.

 

To find other paid and free programs, simply do a quick search and you will find a ton of links to seek out.

Facebook Group Block of the Month

There are many groups on facebook that will, from time to time, provide for BOM’s.  These groups share free patterns over the course of a year and then those who participated share their creations.

Gotta Love Quilting! is a closed group. The focus is being able to share projects in progress without fear of the recipient catching a glimpse.  A couple years ago, they held a BOM that featured paper-pieced blocks.  It was a lot of fun and a great introduction to paper piecing.

A new group has also formed – Quilts and Everything Quilting, that has a similar format to Gotta Love Quilting!  I hear they are thinking of starting a BOM soon too.

Block of the Month Examples

So, just what do block of the month quilts look like?  A variety of finished examples can be found below.

 

 

So, as you can see, there are many different types of Block of the Month.  If you are looking for a fun project, maybe it’s time to try something new!