paintmejudy

Welcome to our second Mystery Quilt journey. This time, our train ride will be making stops at six weekly destinations, starting on May 26[SUP]th[/SUP]. This trip is for everyone who loves a good mystery, not just our returning passengers. We all had a great time on the last mystery train ride, and hopefully this one will entertain you as well. So climb on board the train, make your way to the club car, and join the fun; one and all are welcome. Your returning traveling companions are a hoot. The quilt should be fun for all, from the confident beginner to the experienced quilter.

Today is the first posting, and is the only clue that will not be given on a Saturday. I want to give you time to sift through your stash and/or visit the fabric store. From now on, a new clue to our destination will be posted on this thread on Saturday mornings, the next clue on May 26[SUP]th [/SUP]and the last one on June 30th. The clue on June 23[SUP]rd[/SUP] is shorter than the others to give any one that needs it, a chance to catch up. If you are unable to do a clue a week, no problem: do the project at your own pace and scroll through the thread as you need a new set of directions. No rush: even when the trip is over, the thread will remain here. Clues are being posted weekly at the request of so many of my previous mystery quilt participants, and all clues will be posted on this thread, so bookmark it so you can easily find it every week.

And now, I notice that our engineer has been given the okay to leave the station. By now you’ve found your way to the club car, met your fellow travelers, and made yourself comfortable. Finally, here is the list of what you will need for the trip.

You will be making a 44” square, perfect size for a table topper, a baby quilt, or a wall hanging. Below are requirements for yardage using 5 colors, and suggestions if you are using scrappy. (Sorry about the size, I just couldn’t seem to get it to be 42” so you didn’t have to piece the backing.)

As you can see from the pictures, I have chosen light and medium-light for a baby quilt. Below that is the assortment for the scrappy wall hanging. In fact, these are leftovers from 2 charm packs. (No, you will NOT be just sewing squares together. LOL) . And the assortment of blue fabrics will be used later, after I get these two done. Pretty much any combinations will look good with this quilt, the only requirement is for you to like the way the colors look together. Small to medium prints will work best; I would shy away from huge prints. A scrappy batik would be glorious, maybe put with one of the mottled blenders that are so popular now.

For the Five-Color quilt:
FOR COLORS A and B: 1-¼ yd each of two colors you like, preferably with nice contrast between the two colors
FOR COLOR C: 1-¼ yd to set off your chosen A and B colors.
Color D: 1/3 yard that will go nicely with A B and C.
Color E - 1/3 yard to give some contrast. (Here is the only hint you will get on this trip: color E is sashing) You will need additional fabric if planning on adding another outer border to make this larger than the 44” stated above.

Combinations to keep in mind as you go through your stash:
Light and medium-light (as in what will be the baby quilt);
Combinations of light, medium and dark;
Monochromatic as I used in the blue fabrics; or
Complementary color combinations that are pleasing to you.

Now for the Scrappy:
You will need:
Color C - 1-1/4 yard in a medium cool color, possibly a solid or a blender
Color D - 1/3 yard to go with all your scrappy.
Color E -1/3 yard for the sashing,
(I am using designation of Colors C D and E as I used in the 5-color quilt so I don’t get mixed up when writing the directions. Your colors A and B will be the scraps.)
As for your scraps, gather together a wide variety of scraps in light to dark (The more different of fabrics the better; and a mix of cool and warm fabrics would work out just fine.) Scraps should be a minimum width of 5” in lights to darks, using cool and warm colors .....the wider the range of fabrics the better. They do not have to be long pieces - 5” squares would suffice. I used a bunch of leftovers from two charm packs.

So this is it for now. I am off to finish packing, but will take a look at the thread tomorrow to see what you have to say. I leave Friday morning and can’t wait to read the chat when I get back late on the 23[SUP]th[/SUP] . At least I hope there will be interest and chatter on this thread! I’ll pop in to see you on the 24[SUP]th[/SUP], and don’t forget to watch for the next post on the 26[SUP]th[/SUP].

Approved by Patrice, April 15, 2012