#9 Mystery Quilt Train Ride - Who's got scraps?
 

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to our ninth mystery quilt train ride! This is a scrappy top that will measure about 40” x 54” – you decide if you want to make more blocks to make it bigger, or add borders of your choice. You can make a queen or king sized quilts by making four or ix times the number of blocks. Clue one is today, Feb. 7th and clue 3, last clue, will be on Feb. 21ast. This is just a quickie to try and clean out some scraps.

If you are leery of scrappy quilts, I do hope you will try one. There are quite a few scrappy converts on these train rides. Or take a look at the next couple week’s clues and you will see how you can do a controlled scrappy, or a traditional quilt using some yardage of a few fabrics. All quilters are welcome, confident beginners and experienced quilters alike, and we love when we have new riders jump on the train. The club car is open, and coffee and tea are waiting for you to have a meet and greet. All riders from mystery #8 are finished with their quilts, right? No? Well, doesn’t matter, you can start another one today. So let’s get started.

As always, accurate ¼” seams are a must in order for everything to fit together correctly, and all seams in this quilt are ¼”.

This quilt will yell out begging you to choose an 18-20” piece of dark fabric (and another 8” if you also wish to use this as a sashing). This dark fabric should be something you will not use in creating the rest of the blocks, either a tone on tone, teeny tiny print or solid for this step. I chose a dark purple tone on tone for this step and will call it the “dark constant”. From your dark constant piece, cut at least five 2-1/2” strips WOF. It depends on how many tiny pieces you are patching onto your dark constant. Set aside the rest to use later.

Now, gather some light 2-1/2” wide pieces or strips. I know I had a lot of you use up your light stash of scraps, so go as light, medium light or pale as you can. From now on, all I will call these will be “lights” but you can use light, pale, medium light, tone on tone, tiny indistinct light prints. Don’t forget you can use the wrong side of a fabric you think may be too bright or dark. I have used an assortment of neutrals. I only had 9 lights so there are duplicates. Or if you have a big piece about 16” ” you can use the same -- light or medium light small print, nothing too dramatic or dark. Your light fabric needs to be a width of 2-1/2” and can be as small as 3 “ to use up the tiny pieces. See the picture where I showed how I used small pieces with minimum waste of your dark constant. Those small segments should be multiples of 2-1/2” long with a bit of extra for squaring up your block. Sew the dark constant and the lights right sides together, press – your strip must be 4-1/2” wide – then cut into 2-1/2” wide segments. Make 24 four-patch blocks that will measure 4-1/2” square. Quadruple the quantity and make 96 four-patch blocks if you want to end up with something that would be big enough for a queen bed. You can decide on what border you want to add when you are finished.

Next week you will need some more lights and I used brights. You will not need anymore light 2-1/2" srips -- bigger pieces will be needed.

Here we go, on another train ride, race to the train on the way.

Good morning, mama, hope others aren't too far behind you.

Woohoo! Clue one! Yah!

I'm ready to go! Thanks for another mystery, Judy.

Connie

I am onboard again. Have the outer borders to finish on #8 and will get #9 started. Love your Mystery Train Rdes, Judy.

Yummy..... I have a mottled dark brown that looks just like the chocolate fountain at
"Cotton and Chocolate" (<- LQS) now to find lights that look like the huge marshmallows and banana pieces they always have next to the fountain, during quilt hops/runs.

Thanks Judy! Looks like fun. I can't close the box of my blue scraps, so I guess mine will be a controlled scrappy!

Hi Judy, I am going for another train ride with you. My first ride was a lot of fun, and I learn a lot too.. I needed that being a new quilter. Off to my scraps.....

I'm on board on this train ride and I'm ready to go! Thanks for being our leader, Judy.

Judy thanks for another mystery!!! I had to run so I wouldn't miss the train---I was cleaning my sewing mess from the Biddy Blocks. Who is making the Bitty Blocks?? They are soooo cute, but now my attention is on this mystery. Off to find fabric--not contolled scrappy for me.....well maybe just sort of

Amazing how fast the conversation stopped on #8 once #9 was announced. Love it all.

Hey Judy!!! Your dates are off. You still have the dates from the last train ride!

AnngelAnne.....one train pulls into the station ... another pulls out ... we have our transfers ready ... and the welcome signs out !


gee, I thought the date thing was part of the mystery ... pulled out my magic decoder ring and everything.

came up with next three Saturdays, Arizona Standard Time
(except this is a Cpt. Midnight ring so not sure what time zone the ring is)

Redtop, do you have a link for the biddy blocks? I would like to see what those are. Thanks.

Sunliten you are right, everyone gets off the station at 8 and onto #9 train. As you see, it didn't take me long to get here either.

All aboard!!! I'm ready to ride the train again, thanks Judy!

really glad to see you AnngelAnne......worry about all of you that are having 'too, much' snow.

Hi Judy,
Will the design work if I make 12 blocks? Wall hanging or table topper? (45 x 27" ?)
I stink at machine quilting so 54" is too big for me. Thanks, Dotty

Yippee! My first mystery train ride! I'm just learning to piece and quilt and this is jjst what I need to learn and stay motivated.
Everyone is so friendly and helpful.
I brought hot monkey bread and apple cider. :)

OH GOOD GRIEF, ALL YOU GALS WITH YOUR DECODER RINGS ARE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT. THE DATES ARE TOTALLY WRONG. TODAY IS CLUE #1, FEB. 21, #2 WILL BE FEB. 28 AND #3 WILL BE MAR. 7. HAVE NO IDEA HOW I MESSED THAT UP. I READ THESE DIRECTIONS OVER AND OVER BEFORE POSTING!!! Look but don't see, I guess.

Dotty -- I sent you a PM.

Well, Sunliten, I've reached a point where I am exhausted with working full time, taking care of sick cat, and cleaning snow. Did I mention snow? Snow, white stuff, high, deep, cold, sickening. I am 62, yup, 62, tell the world, and I still do my own shoveling, cleaning, etc. I have now reached a new time high throwing record. I didn't know I could throw snow over my head. It takes longer because you get ready, throw up like the dickens and wait to see if any slides back down before you do the next shovel full. I also now have muscles on my arms from lifting the roof rake, balancing the end that weighs much more than the rest onto the roof and pulling the snow down. I have also learned not to stand to close as the rake doesn't reach well, and what gets pulled down lands on me. I am only 5 feet tall, and with the snow already around me more than 4 feet high, it doesn't take much to bury me. I have had to dig a path around the end of my home and down the length, which is 78 feet in order to get to the roof that I need to rake off. I also have decided by the measurements, and the number of times I have had to dig this path and the one along the length of the carport and path from door to carport, that I have now accomplished the new record of shoveling a mile. And if I wanted to, and trust me, in this constant below zero weather I don't see that happening, I can now run the whole length of the paths naked and no one would see me, if I should decide that I don't get enough exercise with the shoveling. So see, winter has its plus......somewhere. But thanks for the worries, there are some out there that are not as lucky as I am.

Thanks Judy,I'm on board again too. Gotta go check out what I can find.

Judy was wondering what amount of the constant dark is required? The rest is light scraps if I understand correctly?

Never mind.. I reread and see where you said a 18 X 20 piece of the dark fabric.. silly me for not reading more carefully. :o

Hi everybody! So ready for another mystery! Really excited about this one because I will be working on a bunch of floral scraps that have been hanging in my closet for years. Yay! Out they come!

Thanks so much, Judy! What fun! Left breakfast tacos in the club car and I'm heading that way for some monkey bread.

thanks Judy, just made this train. was wondering around on the last train picking up scraps from the clue that were on the floor. Mary yelled, "hey Lynnie", and I came running. didn't want to miss it. Mary, i'm over here. save me a seat. Dotty, great to see you are here. We can talk about how you're going to make this smaller. !8", to some of you are scraps, scraps to me are smaller. I may have to cut into the stash or go shopping for an 18" sq piece,. Oh great, another reason to shop!!

I'm curious about this design. I had a dream about this last night. what beautiful quilts I dreamt of. out of this world and the colors were so intense. whish you could have all seen them.

AnngleAnn.... you gave me a giggle with your workout your getting. I know it really isn't funny with the amount of cold & snow your getting, but your description of running naked made me chuckle. I remember well my last year living in Seward, Alaska & we had 10 ft of snow. Guess who had to get up on roof & rake that down? That's right, MEEEEEE!!! Never again. Going to pull fabric for this MT soon as my eye gets a little better, hopefully next day or so. So everyone else that has caught this train, save me a spot in the club car.

Well, home from running errands & haven't gotten too far behind the rest of ya'll! This is starting off in the right direction for a controlled scrappy for mr neighbor. Now to go out to the studio & start pulling fabric! We've got an ice storm coming in tomorrow, so going to move my small machine into the house so I can get this clue done. Thanks Judy! Here we go again!! Let the fun begin!

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And we're off! Ran out of white at 50 blocks. That should do it. :) now I've got to go stash diving for some more lights!

Bluebonnet, your quick!

Is there a seat for me ???Running a little behind but made it onto this MT ride. This is my 4th ride. What's to eat ? I brought beignets from New Orleans Mardi Gras.....

ok, see, I read that as 18 to 20 inches by WOF

OK, newbie here.... so a fat quarter would work? 18 x 20? Great!
Thanks for sharing that!

Wow Bluebonnet, you are off to a great start. Love your fabric selection, "especially" the pansy fabric!

Jan

I couldn't work on it again till Monday. Lol, and I couldn't wait.

I'm in love with this one already. Nice