Mystery Quilt Alongs
 

There is always so much interest in mystery quilts. Do you play along with them? Do you always like the final layout?

I've never done one though I've watched other quilters progress.

I do Bonnie Hunter's yearly Mystery www.quiltville.com ~ It starts the day after Thanksgiving (U.S.). They are fun to see what color ways folks decide to use.

I have played along w/ the Bonnie Hunter one. I watched one before I joined fortunately it was the crazy pink one, the only one of her mysteries I didn't like. I looked at a lot of her quilts before joining and liked most. I also have confidence that I can (and will) change things up to what I like if it heads in a way I don't like (I've even changed up BH's when I did like what she did, I just liked my idea better). There have been a few others I've looked at and either I didn't like their previous mysteries (or general quilts) or I couldn't find past ones so wouldn't "risk" fabric. Also I won't do one I have to pay to join.

Never done one, but it does pique my interest. However, I have so many projects and layout ideas of my own that I want to try, I just don't want to give my time and fabric to something that is unknown. one day, I will try....just not yet.

Yes, I love BH. It gives me a great excuse to sew during the Holidays when so much is going on. It helps to clear my head. Some I like the way they turn out, some I don't. Last year I made it out of blender fabrics and I loved it more than the rest. I will make this year's I just haven't decided on a color palette yet.

I have done some BH mysteries. Started with Orca Bay and ended with Grand Illusion. GI did it for me(didn't like at all). Haven't done another by her. I like the idea of playing along with the clues etc., but I don't like the surprise at the end. Especially if I don't like it, which I found was the case for BH's. There are too many quilts on my bucket list that I want to make to do mysteries that I don't like at the end. I have since discovered that I like a sew-along much better where I can see the finished quilt and decide if I want to play along.

Grand Illusion that is the pink one I didn't like, I couldn't remember the name.

I have participated in one mystery (Bonnie Hunter On Ringo Lake) two years ago when I just started quilting/sewing and I learned so very much as a newbie. I recommend all young and/or beginner sewists consider joining a mystery as it helps you develop skills and confidence. I may join again in the future but my bucket list of of quilts will take a priority this year.

To answer your question - No, I'm not always in love with the final layout/look of mystery quilts but that's the fun of it! You never know what you're going to end up with but you're sure to learn something and maybe push your skills :)

I've actually haven't done a mystery quilt, although I do download the instructions, because one of these days I'll have time to make it. LOL

Good question.
I was all set to do the newest BH mystery but a board member told me that hers have a million pieces and I'm not sure if that's something I want to do.
I need to go on her site and check them out. She's new to me.

I don't like the tiny pieces because I think all the seams waste fabric. For that reason I've never done her mysteries before. This time I'm participating mostly with fabrics I have had for a long time and don't know what I'd do with otherwise. The other thing I'm doing is only making half or less of what she requires. Her mysteries are apparently scalable.

You can Google Bonnie Hunter mystery and see many of her mystery quilts. You can also Google them by name. I don't remember all their names off-hand but maybe some can. "On Ringo Lake," "Allietaire," "Celtic Solstice," "Good Fortune," "Orca Bay" are some.

This upcoming BH will be my first. I’ve heard that it’s a good way to build quilting skills and I like the colors she chose. I’m a little bummed that she didn’t give accuquilt info as I’d like to use my machine to help with the cutting.

I love mysteries. Especially BH the only one I did not care for was Grand Illusion but it found another home to live in and they like it. I have done several others but I always do BH's. Just I guess all the others who join in keeps it fun and see what others do with different colors or change up the design after the reveal.

To get your feet wet with Mystery Quilting, try Merry Mayhem's New Years' Day Mystery Quilt.
It is a lot of fun and she does it all in one day with clues every hour to make a lap size quilt.
She gives out the requirements and suggested colour ways and cutting the week before so you can be all ready to start come New Years Day.

This is the one I did last year.

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Watson

We also have our own mystery train rides here on quilting board hosted by paintmejudy. I've made several and really like the finished result.

The mystery quilts might interest me if I didn't have so many others on my bucket list. Too, I like to know where a project is going before I begin. My mystery is which quilt pattern will I use from all of those that really take my eye. There's always one of those "I want to make that one!" discoveries.

The only one I do now are the Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt. It is always fun and I have liked all of them at the reveal except for one that is ok. The best part is not knowing what it is going to be, ( the mystery) I like that she wont give out even the dies to use as she feels it will give away too much of the pattern. She tries to keep it a real mystery till the end.

My favorite was Alletaire. But I changed the colors. Then I tried En Provence with different colors and it would not turn out well. She has a reason for choosing the values of those colors. BH is not associated with Accuquilt so she won't give die numbers. I tried to get her to tell me, since I already take Parkinson's meds and I've cut off a big slice off my left index finger with a rotary cutter. But she would not tell. I respect her for that. She said we would be able to figure it out when we get the clues.

Another member of this board and I will figure it out. Both of us have a lot of dies and since BH uses standard size pieces, we should be able to. BH mystery quilts are quite busy so if you don't like that, you can unbusy them by using the same fabrics. It's fun to participate but it's not for everyone. Some of mine are UFOs. I keep a running notebook with all the clues printed off so I could finish them if I wanted.

After you've done one, it is very interesting to watch one of her show and tell sessions at one of the retreats. She says that is why she doesn't sell kits, she wants us to choose our color pallet and maybe even put a different twist on some aspect of it. Change it a little and make your own.

Most everything can be found on Pinterest.

I have not done a BH because I am not a fan of tiny little pieces. But I have done our guild mystery quilts every year they are offered and have done several online. (Three were on the Quilting Board, Mystery Train.) Fun and yes, I have have loved them. So much is the selection of colors and I have a deep stash and can choose colors I enjoy.

I'm too much of a control freak to do them until they post the final clue and I see that I like the end result. Then I 'll do them, though I guess they don't count as. a mystery then.

The idea of not knowing what I am going to end up with doesn't appeal to my "anal" nature. Having said that though, I have a BH book and plan to make a quilt or two from it. She seems to make good use of scraps, so to me that's a good thing. I did see a Mystery Linus quilt recently that some people in my sewing bee participate in and it was adorable.

Being part of a mystery and working within the planned color way is a great opportunity to learn new techniques and colors you may not ordinarily use. It can certainly get you out of your color rut! The quilt once completely may be used as a donation quilt if you really don't like it once completed. I've done several. Some I liked and some I didn't but still am happy I joined in for the mystery.

Thanks, Teresa. I'm still on the fence. I gathered all my fabrics and may give it a go. I also have a lot of fabrics that I really don't have a use for so it won't bother me to at least start this. I like Ringo Lake a lot. Some I liked better than others.

I don't like a zillion seams either. Too hard to quilt. But if I love it I'll send it out to a longarmer.

I have done several over the years. Only one did I not like the final layout. I even designed one for the holidays many years ago. It was well received back in its day. It was fun to see how they grew into something so beautiful. It takes patience especially if they are over an extended period of time.

I usually collect BH clues, then do my own colors if I like the reveal. I can’t begin to wonder what people will say 50 years from now when they start finding a gazillion quilts that are exactly alike! Haha. And, I never have time to sew during the holidays...

I did the crazy pink one and still do not like it. With that being said, I still continued with remaining mysteries and have loved them. It's always fun if friends are also doing them - compare and encourage. I am going to sit this one out for the first time in years. I'm on a mission to finish my 'stuff'.

I did a mystery quilt for the first time this year. It was on Deb Heatherly's Facebook group, Grids Girls. I really like Deb's patterns and rulers, so I was pretty sure I would like the quilt. And I loved it. She will be starting another one shortly.

I wonder that too! Probably the same thing we say when we look at all the Double Wedding Rings, Grandmother's Flower Gardens and Sunbonnet Sues from the '30-'40s.

I agree. Following along BH's blog where most Mondays after the clue comes out on Friday she lets people link up their blogs or instagram to show their progress is fun. I learn a lot from this forum also as I see how others are tackling the color choices and piecing.

Bonnie's instructions are usually make 100 HSTs etc...at the end you see how it goes together. It is fun to see people guessing and looking at other ways the components can go together.

My preference when making quilts is to do a block at a time...but I make an exception for Bonnie. The quilts are usually spectacular and all the work shows. I tend to do just the mystery for my one intense piecing quilt per year and the rest of the year I focus on art quilts or more simple piecing.

This year I am only making half the components because I think I just want a smaller quilt.

http://moderndiary.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html

Good compilation of the BH mysteries. It started a lot earlier than I thought.

Is this something I can sign up for?

I have never done a mystery quilt and probably never will. Like others, I have way too many quilts on my bucket list and I don't want to invest the time and fabric into a quilt I may not like at all when done. Heck I do that pretty well enough on my own with patterns where I know what the resulting quilt will look like but by not selecting quite the right colors/fabrics. I have never made a quilt using the line of fabric the designer created the pattern for either. But I have made them in fabrics that are very close to the colorway the designer used.

Singing to the choir! We must be related LOL.

I've done two of the BH quilts - I like them because they challenge me. My color palette is different from hers as I only use scrap fabric and I lean more contemporary in my color choices. I may or may not participate this year, just depends on what else I have going. I am certain that if I collect all the clues first and see the reveal that I won't do it as it will seem overwhelming. Doing it "unit by unit" is manageable, and it is fun watching it all come together. As long as I like my colors, I will like the finished quilt no matter what it is.

I am doing the mystery this year (second time) and will be following Bonnie suggestion, of doing twelve of each unit (instead of the 240 or so of each unit). This gives you enough units to make a few blocks (with leftovers). Once the mystery layout is revealed, then create the missing units to make it the size you want either: a runner, table topper, a bed runner, use as a column in a quilt backing, lap quilt or make the entire quilt!

I have enjoyed the few mystery quilt alongs that I have participated in...a couple of BHs, here on the QB with Paintmejudy and a couple others. As Pamela posted, mystery quilts often challenge your skills and teach new tricks and techniques. I love expanding my quilting skills.

This November I am participating in a Mystery QAL hosted by Irene from the Netherlands, her blog is Sugaridoo and it is being sponsored by Bernina. I just picked up my colorful fabric yesterday.

Cindyb, sign up here and you’ll get an email reminder.

https://merrymayhem.com/index.html

New Year’s day is usually the reveal day for the BH mystery, but I have been known to do both. Yes, the BH mystery does have a large number of small units, but is a great way to use up scraps. The fabric I have put together for this year includes: 2” strips, 2 1/2” strips, 3 1/2” strips, and assorted leftover pieces that might (or might not) work. It did help that blue is my favorite color. The BH mysteries have greatly improved my piecing precision. And if I don’t like the final result, someone else will. But no one else get En Provence.

I'm doing the Frolic project this year. I don't do many mystery type projects but I had an opening in my schedule and fabrics to use. I'm going to be one of the "not like the other" end products, I'm using hand-dyed fabrics and changing neutral to school bus yellow... The worst thing that happens is I donate the top and it keeps someone warm, I have no plans on what I'm going to do with it other than I'm going to do it. When it works to my schedule, I do like participating in sew-alongs. I typically press open and avoid swaps because of that.

I was a happy solo quilter for years, and then I found it could be a social activity. I'm not currently in a guild but I do have a weekly small group I go to. I do the mysteries and sew-alongs just for the fun of doing them with others. Even though we aren't physically in the same room through the magic of the internet we can share pictures and comments in real or "convenient to us" time.

If you are a solo quilter for whatever reasons, mysteries and sew-alongs are a fun way to try it as a social opportunity but without the commute or any potential risks involved in getting in the wrong group. You can ask for help, see what other people are doing, or even just lurk and maybe do it next time, but I do recommend trying one some time.

I've never participated in one but I am going to do Bonnie Hunter's mystery Texas quilt. She gave paint chip names and numbers to collect to match your fabric to. She specified Sherwin Williams paint but said the chips were also available at Lowe's. I found a few chips at Lowe's but more at Sherwin Williams.

Now I'm pulling pieces from my stash to match her suggestions. I'm excited!

I've done the Merry Mayhem, PaintmeJudy mysteries and Bonnie Hunter mysteries. Merry Mayhem is usually a one day mystery, i.e. New Year's Day, Superbowl Sunday and I would say qualify as beginner friendly and usually have larger pieces. Loved all of Judy's mysteries (you can still find them on the board).

Love Bonnie Hunter's mysteries. Her quilts, while they do have lots of pieces, she tends to break down the blocks in manageable sections for each clue. I have trouble with scrappy myself, (but I am learning) so for the past mysteries I've used at least one constant color to give me the "control" to make myself comfortable. As other's have pointed out, you don't have to use her color scheme if it doesn't appeal and you can just do enough for a few blocks (think table runner/topper) until you are sure you like the design. Or rather than scrappy just use single colors...it's your quilt you can do what ever you want! It's a great way to reach out of your comfort zone and pick up some new skills.

There is already a thread set up under Quilting Board Challenges, and if you do a search you will find prior year postings as well. I am lucky that I have a LQS that has an open sew on Friday's some of us will be getting together to work on it together.