MYSTERY QUILT STEP #7

How is everyone doing? Did you get your blocks put together? This month we're going to put them together with some simple sashing and cornerstones. It may appear that we are at the end, but we have a little more finishing up to do. I know it is a busy time of year with summer winding down and families getting ready for school. This is a quick step!

BIG OOPS on my part. Do you know how I usually take photos as I go along? Well I did do that this time. However, I didn't notice until I took the very last photo that I didn't have an SD card in my camera! So you will notice that the first two photos are cropped from the final one, which leaves a "little extra" around the edges. I think it's still clear enough what to do....

Subcut the eight 2 1/2 inch LIGHT/MEDIUM strips into 2 1/2 X 12 1/2 inch rectangles. You will get three per strip. You need a total of 24 rectangles.

Subcut the 2 1/2 inch DARK strip into 2 1/2 inch squares. You will need 16 squares.

Using twelve of the LIGHT/MEDIUM rectangles, and all of the DARK squares, make four strips as shown below. Press away from the DARK squares.

Using the remaining LIGHT/MEDIUM rectangles and the blocks, make three rows as shown below. Press towards the LIGHT/MEDIUM sashing strips.

Lay out the strips as shown and sew together. Press towards the sashing strips.

ANJA DAHLIN'S MYSTERY QUILT

This is Anja Dahlin, with her beautiful version of our Mystery #2. Isn't it lovely? Those of you who worked on this mystery know that there was a lot of piecing in this quilt. Our next mystery will start soon. I promise there won't be as much piecing in this new one! Details will be coming soon. I am heading out of town to visit a special little man in Wisconsin, but I'll be back in a week and get working on separating the pattern I am using into steps for the mystery!

VARIATIONS OF MYSTERY QUILT

This variation has little contrast between the background and diamond fabrics. Looks more "snowflakey" to me....

A Patriotic version.....

This version uses only the star block.

Just another color variation.

This is an alternate layout. Blocks are on point. This requires pieced setting triangles.

Another version of the above quilt.

This version uses only the alternate block.

A brighter version...no pieced border or focus fabric border yet.

I just want to say how much I love EQ for designing quilts. No, it doesn't do everything. I am going to have to learn Adobe Illustrator because I just can't write my instructions the way I would like with EQ. But for initial design and general "playing around" with blocks and layouts, it is great. If you don't have it, you are really missing out! We're thinking of starting a monthly EQ workshop at BBCC. If you're local and would be interested, let me know....

MYSTERY QUILT UNVEILED!

The Mystery Quilt was unveiled last Saturday! It has been a long nine months since we all started. This was a "piecing intensive" quilt. At times it was hard to keep up. I have to admit that my second one won't be finished for a while. I have decided to make it a king size quilt, which means I have quite a few more blocks to make. Before I show you my finished quilt top, I thought you might like to see some of the fabric choices people are working on:

This is Sandi's star block. The focus fabric is so fun! And her stars are going to pop!

These are Bonita's blocks. The fabric is from the Moda collection "Portobello Market". I just love this group of fabrics. Her quilt is going to be breathtaking.

These are Jane's blocks. Notice that she used the same focus fabric as Sandi, yet the quilts look so different! It will be bright and fun!

Notice that in this one, Jane swapped her light and dark. I love the results!

Finished top! In this one I swapped the light/medium fabric and the dark....

Here's a close up that shows both blocks within the quilt.

I played around with some other colors in EQ. I'll post some of those soon.

PIECING TIPS FOR MYSTERY QUILTERS

This month's step of our ongoing mystery quilt involves piecing our first blocks together! Finally!! However, this piecing will need a little extra effort on your part to match up. Here are the steps I use to insure a good intersection....

First I "eyeball" my quarter inch on the back side of the piece with the triangle corners and drop a pin in.....
I check on the right side to make sure the pin is exiting right where the triangle corner meets the large square.....

Then I drop that pin right into the flying geese unit, exactly at the point where I want the seams to meet......

Snug that pin all the way down until the head is against the fabric, making sure it is straight....this will keep things from shifting......

Holding that pin straight and tight against the fabric, I drop two more pins in, one on either side of the first pin.
Now I withdraw the first pin, making a small dot where that pin went in....

When sewing, I will aim for the dot....my goal is to hit it exactly!

You can watch the dot as it nears the needle and make any adjustments you need....just hit it!

Voila!! Open it up and you will find you've matched things up perfectly!!

NOW, this is what works for me. But it is by no means the only way of doing this. PLEASE, share what works for you. Comment here or email me and let me know what works for you....I'll pass all your hints along. We all have our own styles, and we all can learn from each other!