I belong to an online quilt group which seems to always have some type of challenge going. My friend Kelli talked me into joining the fun of doing a mystery quilt. Never having done one I decided to give it a try.
Each Wednesday we were given a ‘clue’, which were directions on what to do with the material we’d selected. (I was thankful for the direction to use fall colored material.) What sizes to cut and how many until eventually how to assemble all the pieces.
This whole experience was way, WAY out of my comfort zone. I like to know what I’m working toward even if I seldom stick to a pattern without a little tweaking here and there just because I can.
After digging through my stash, pulling out anything I thought looked even a little fall-ish I decided I was ready… until I read the first clue. Cut 192 / 4 inch squares each of cream colored and fall colored material. YIKES!!!
I took a deep breath and dug deeper into the stash. I was determined not to buy new material for this project. And eventually, after pairing up the creams and prints and making them all into half-square triangles I was 384 pieces in… there was no turning back now.
This seemed to take FOREVER…
Then came the next clue… I needed to make 12 maple leaf blocks. I love these blocks. I’ve done them many times before and… only 12!!! This sounded like a walk in the park compared to that pile of half-square triangles.
I still use the previously made leaf as a model for the next block layout just to give the seam ripper the day off. It’s the simple mistakes that are the most frustrating.
Knee deep in HST’s and maple leaves left me nowhere to go but forward. Forward ended up being the process of putting 384 half-square triangles together in a certain order and in certain numbers. I kept thinking… If only I knew what this is supposed to look like I’d feel more confident.
All pieces ready and waiting for assembly…
Then came the last clue. (YAY!) …and it is finished! Being true to myself, I did tweak the border sizes to fit the material I had on hand… Just so I could say; the mystery was hidden in my fabric stash and not at the store.
Will I ever do another mystery quilt again? As of now, I’d say no.
When I make a quilt, the creative part of me wants a say in the final results. I think most artistic people feel this way. Our creations come not just from our hands but from our hearts. Our quilts are a piece of our lives made out of love to give comfort.
Until next time… Happy Stitching!
Needle. Thread. Fabric. 