I'm calling it a "Quilt-along" this year, rather than a mystery quilt, because we'll actually be assembling the quilt top by the middle of the month and spending the last week before Christmas embellishing it with embroidery. We'll be using both traditional and paper piecing again this year, and the embroidery will be very simple—perfect for the confident beginner to intermediate quilter! I can't wait to get started!
Here's what you'll need for this year's quilt:
- 6 Fat Quarters - 3 green prints and 3 red prints (I'm actually substituting a pink FQ for one of the reds because I'm going for a Christmas candy kind of look)
- 1 6" x 6" square gray print (mine looks like a solid, but it's actually got a subtle print)
- 1 yard background fabric (mine is the white/pink micro dot. All of the embroidery we'll be doing is on the background fabric, so you'll want to choose a background fabric that the embroidery will show up against—nothing too busy, think subtle print—and if you can't find a print you like, a solid white will work just fine!!)
- 1 yard backing fabric
- ⅓ yard binding fabric
- 34" x 40" piece batting
- embroidery floss to match your fat quarters (mine are (from top to bottom) DMC's 817, 666, 3832, 937, 470 and 166).
It will also be helpful to have a washout marking pen, embroidery hoop and needles, and basting spray.
I mentioned above that I'm trying to use Christmas candy colors in my quilt. Earlier in the fall, I wrote a post about my Holiday Games quilt and included some ideas for different colorways. The red/pink/green version really caught my eye and it's the inspiration for this year's quilt.
The Quilt-along will start this Thursday, December 1st. I'll be posting every other day throughout December and we'll finish up on December 23rd, just in time for Christmas! So exciting!!
And now before I let you go, I'd like to share some amazing photos of last year's mystery quilt, all made by readers of this blog.
This one was made by Jill and I love how she kicked it up a notch by adding the yellow piping:
Here's a beauty made by Maureen from Canada. I had to include Maureen's home country because my husband is also Canadian! Yay Canada!
And finally, here's my mom's version! I love the quilted cross-hatch that she used in the inner border—it adds dimension and it's a great substitute for the big stitch quilting that I used in the original.
Thank you Jill, Maureen and Mom for sending me photos of your gorgeous quilts!
The free pattern/tutorial for last year's mystery quilt is still available on my blog, if you'd like to make your own little quilt.
In the meantime, I'll see you back here on Thursday!!