Ocean Wave Quilters Guild
Ponte Vedra Beach, Fl.
Mystery Quilt
Mystery Quilt Clues -Last Clue
Clue Number Three
Bonnie Talley, Quiltlady
MYSTERY QUILT CONTINUES! Part III (Last Pattern)
I just finished paper-piecing all of my blocks for the Mystery Quilt, and have them all placed in order on the floor in my living room! Wow, is it a pretty quilt, or what! You will be soooooo happy when you see your blocks placed in the correct order to form a beautiful geometric patterned quilt. At this time, I recommend that you take the stitch plate off of your machine and clean all of the lint out of there that has built up from paper-piecing. There is always a lot of residue from the paper left under the feed dogs, which will really mess up your machine if you aren't diligent in removing it. I also drop a drop of machine oil on the "trace" as my machine requires that from time to time. One MUST take good care of the sewing machine for best sewing results.
By now, you should have 16 blocks of pattern #1 finished, and they should all look EXACTLY ALIKE! And, you should have 16 blocks of pattern #2 finished, and THEY should look EXACTLY ALIKE! Pattern•#3 requires only two fabrics: one of which MUST be VERY DARK, and the other one a medium. DO NOT USE ANY OF THE FABRICS already used in the other blocks. (Now, you get to return to the quilt shop for more fabric. Such fun!) Fabric needed: for 6" blocks, at least 1 % yd of each two fabrics; for 8" blocks, 2 % yd of each of two fabrics; for 12" blocks, 5 % yd of each of two fabrics. I always add a little to cover my mistakes in cutting! No one is perfect!
For this block, the fabric should be folded putting one selvage edge together to make about four layers. Then, all strips are cut the same size, depending on the size blocks you are making. If you are making 6" blocks, the strips should be cut 3" wide along the straight of the fabric; for making 8" blocks, the strips should be cut 3 %" wide along the straight; for making the 12" blocks, the strips should be cut 5 %" wide along the straight of the fabric. I saved part of the darkest fabric to use for my binding of the quilt. That is why I cut the strips along the long selvage edge.
I made two plastic templates (one for 1 and 4, and one for 2 and 3) to aid in cutting the strips accurately. I layered two long strips and then cut the pieces using the plastic templates. This made the paper-piecing go much faster, and always assured me of having a good quarter inch seam allowance left on all sides of the block. No need to worry about the bias edges, as none of them are on the bias cut in this manner! Make THIRTY-TWO of these blocks, all JUST ALIKE. I. made 16 and then played gin rummy with George and then 16 more during the golf game on TV. I pin two pieces together before sewing, which may be done in front of the TV, and then run to the sewing machine during commercials. This works for me!
Pattern #3
(8" Square Finished)
Add 1/4" on all sides of Each Pattern Piece
Note: ***Pattern Below will Not Print To True Size***
Block size should be 8" Square When Finished (Not Including 1\4" seam allowance added)
