Lucky Dip Quilt Challenge

Join in the fun

There’s still time to join in the fun of our Lucky Dip Quilt Challenge!

It’s a great way to stretch your creativity, try something new, and see where a little randomness takes you! No two quilts will be the same, and that’s all part of the charm — the results are always full of personality and surprise.

Whether you’re an experienced quilter or just looking for a lighthearted project to spark your imagination, this challenge is for you. It’s not too late to get involved — download the instructions, start stitching, and enjoy being part of the excitement as we see all the unique creations come together at our Quilt Show next year. Don’t miss out on the fun!

A big thank you to Peggy for organising the Lucky Dip Quilt Challenge! It’s been a wonderful way to spark new ideas and see such a variety of beautiful quilts come to life.

The ‘lucky dip’ quilt challenge will run for 6 months. The quilt is made up of 9 blocks (at least 10’ in size) with 12 various ‘random actions’ resulting in a small quilt. The 12 quilt actions (3 per month) will be published in the June, July, August and September newsletters. The first steps are to choose fabrics and make the initial blocks.

At the May, June, Winter Warmer and August meetings, the random actions will be drawn from the ‘lucky dip’ to determine the 3 random actions.

Look out for the June newsletter for the first set of 3 actions and instructions on how to carry out the actions.

Take a picture of the initial 9 blocks before you start and pictures of changes you make each month. Along the way blocks will not be ‘square’ and the method may be ‘messy’. Your interpretation of the random actions makes your quilt unique.

Each quilt will be different. Trust your quilting instincts. Have fun and enjoy the patchwork process.

The final part of the challenge will be to sew it all together, possibly with a border or two and quilt as desired.

Final part of the challenge

The final part of the challenge is to sew all the blocks together, quilt and bind.

This is entirely up to you – insert blocks, use left over cut pieces from the random actions, add a border or two, insert patchwork pieces, for example, flying geese. Trust your quilting instincts!

Please don’t forget to label and if large, sew a 4” quilting sleeve onto your quilt and enter the challenge quilts into the Waverley Patchworkers Quilt Show 2026.

Looking forward to seeing the challenge quilts on display!

Random actions - September

Add a spotty or striped fabric.
Make a random cut from one edge to another and add an insert.
Add a contrasting colourway.

Random actions - August

Add/applique a shape – circle, square, rectangle, hexagon, triangle, etc.
Fold a block diagonally to form a triangle, cut off one of the folder corners and replace the cut out.
Add a border.

Random actions - July

Add a half square triangle.
Turn blocks into a shape, i.e. circle, triangle, hexagon, etc.
Cut three blocks up and sew them back to the opposite block (half one/half the other, quarter one and three quarters the other, etc.).

Random actions - June

Add a curve.
Cut a piece off and replace with a fabric you haven’t used yet (add a fabric from your stash).
Make two random cuts and add inserts.

Gallery of progress

Take a look at our progress gallery to see how our members Lucky Dip Challenge quilts are going.

Send your photos to info@waverleypatchworkers.com.au and we will add them to the gallery.

Fabrics

Choose a limited number of patterned, two toned or plain fabrics to make the initial blocks. Choose extra fabrics for the random actions that follow. If you need help with colours consider one of the following colour schemes:

3 of the same colour in light, medium and dark values.
3 triadic colours (form a triangle on the colour wheel) with different values ie;- blue, green, orange/pink, orange, green.
3 analogous colours (next to each other on the colour wheel) with different value ie aqua, blue, purple/orange, yellow, light green.

Blocks

Make 9 pieced blocks:

3 nine patch blocks
3 square in a square blocks
3 log cabin blocks

OR any blocks you might like to make. You will need 9 blocks in total. Make the blocks at least 10” or larger, keeping in mind that there will be a series of actions to cut them up.