Happy New Year everyone, and welcome to anyone visiting for the first time from the Cotton Cuts Fall 2017 Charity Puzzle Mystery Quilt Blog Hop.
Cotton Cuts Fall 2017 Charity Puzzle Mystery Quilt Blog Hop
For well over a year now, I've been a very happy subscriber to the Cotton Cuts fabric subscription box, and when Kim @Cotton Cuts asked me to be a guest blogger in their Fall 2017 Charity Puzzle Mystery Quilt Blog Hop, I jumped at the chance.
You might be wondering "what exactly is a PMQ (Puzzle Mystery Quilt)"?
Cotton Cuts describe it best themselves, here's a screenshot direct from their website.
Cotton Cuts works with Sheila Christenson, The Mystery Quilter of Quilters Lane in New Zealand to design Puzzle Mystery Quilts and new quilt design subscriptions begin twice a year in February and July.
This Fall 2017, Cotton Cuts has also partnered with 9 incredible quilting bloggers to help raise money for Valley Industries, a non-profit sheltered workshop that provides dignified employment opportunities to the intellectually challenged and to those with other disabilities.
Valley is the fulfilment partner for Cotton Cuts and cuts and folds all of their fabric for delivery to members. To learn more about Cotton Cuts and their mission please click here and more info about Valley Industries and the services they provide is available here.
Each month, from July '17 through April '18, a different blogger will be sewing together the pieces of the clues for the Cotton Cuts Fall 2017 Puzzle Mystery Quilt called Through The Garden Gate using the #TeamAster fabrics/colourway from Carolyn Friedlander's Friedlander collection. Each will be blogging about their sewing and autographing one of their pieces.
At the end of the Charity Puzzle Mystery Quilt Blog Hop, Cotton Cuts will sew the sections together and create a beautifully finished 48" x 60" quilt, perfect for your home! You can join in too by purchasing raffle tickets for a chance to win the finished, autographed quilt AND help raise funds to support Valley Industries. Raffle details and entry are available by clicking the button below.
December 2017: Clue 6 - Sections L, M1 + M2Now that the December clues have been mailed out to participants, I can finally reveal my turn on the Blog Hop - Clue 6, Puzzle Mystery Quilt Sections L, M1 + M2.
At the beginning of December, Cotton Cuts sent me this parcel, it contains everything necessary to make Clue 6 of the Puzzle Mystery Quilt.
The clues are included to make the puzzle mystery sections - December is Clue 6 and, as you could sign up for any one of 6 colourways, there's also a print out of all fabrics for each colour so you know exactly what print to put where.
If you sign up for the Puzzle Mystery Quilt this is what you get - all the pieces needed for that month's sections, ready cut - all you have to do is sew - yep, you just get to enjoy the sewing and none of the pre-pressing, measuring and cutting!
Look - Cotton Cuts have even trimmed the points from the HSTs so you'll get perfectly matched points and seams.
If you haven't tried this trimming technique yourself, I use it and it's amazing. I recommend Fons & Porter Triangle Trimmers to help you cut your fabric accurately using this method.
If you haven't tried this trimming technique yourself, I use it and it's amazing. I recommend Fons & Porter Triangle Trimmers to help you cut your fabric accurately using this method.
Making the Clue 6 Sections
Here are all the pieces laid out in Fabric 1-6 order - NOTE, there is no Fabric 2 in this month's sections.
Section L - make one
Step 1
We're sewing 4 HSTs of Fabric 3 (in my case Red) to the 4 sides of the square of Fabric 4 (in my case Tangerine and White). We'll do this in two stages, sewing 2 opposite sides in each step.
TIP: Don't panic when your HSTs don't measure up to the sizes quoted on your Clue sheet - that's because those corners have already been trimmed away, so you have to imagine the corners are still there to know the pieces have been cut to the right size for you. In the instructions, Cotton Cuts supply the measurements for cutting future pieces if you want to make the pattern again.
Balance those trimmed corner points of the first pair of Fabric 3 HSTs (in my case Red) on either side of the square centring the pieces together ready for sewing.
Sew with a scant 1/4" seam.
TIP: Use a seam guide rather than trusting your machine's 1/4" foot and/or your machine's footplate - they're not always right and it's easier to sew a perfectly straight line when using a guide!
Press your seams - I've pressed towards the Fabric 3 pieces (in my case Red).
Step 2
Add a second pair of Fabric 3 HSTs (in my case Red).
Step 3
Add (2) Fabric 6 rectangles (in my case Blue) to the 2 opposite sides of the pieced square.
I've pressed the seams towards the Fabric 6 rectangles (in my case Blue).
Step 4
Chain piece 4 HST squares using (4) Fabric 3 HSTs (in my case Red) and (4) Fabric 5 HSTs (in my case Blue and Tangerine).
I've pressed the seam towards Fabric 3 (in my case Red).
Step 5
Sew 1 of each of the 4 HST squares from Step 4 to both ends of the 2 remaining Fabric 6 rectangles (in my case Blue).
TIP: Be sure to join Fabric 5 (in my case Blue and Tangerine) and NOT Fabric 3 (in my case Red) to Fabric 6 (in my case Blue).
TIP: Be sure to join Fabric 5 (in my case Blue and Tangerine) and NOT Fabric 3 (in my case Red) to Fabric 6 (in my case Blue).
I've pressed the seams towards the Fabric 6 rectangles (in my case Blue) which will allow me to nest my seams in Step 6.
I've written several how to and why posts about seams covering nesting, pressing and joining. You may find them useful and can click through to them below. 😀
Step 6
Sew the two sections completed in Step 5 to the section completed in Step 3.
TIP: Make sure to place Step 5's Fabric 5 (in my case Blue and Tangerine) against the large Fabric 6 rectangles (in my case Blue) included in Step 3. This will place Fabric 3 (in my case Red) at the outside corners of the finished section.
TIP: Make sure to place Step 5's Fabric 5 (in my case Blue and Tangerine) against the large Fabric 6 rectangles (in my case Blue) included in Step 3. This will place Fabric 3 (in my case Red) at the outside corners of the finished section.
I've pressed the seams away from the centre section of the section.
Label this section L.
Sections M1 + M2 - make 2
Above are the remaining fabrics as needed for these two sections. The two larger QSTs and the two same colour smaller HST triangles are Fabric 4 (in my case Tangerine and White) and the other two small HSTs are Fabric 1 (in my case White).
TIP: don't panic that you only have (2) Fabric 4 QSTs (in my case Tangerine and White), you might imagine there'd be 4 as the Quarter Square Triangle (QST) name implies but you only need 2 to make this month's sections.
Step 1
For section M1, join Fabric 1 HST (in my case White) to the right-hand side of the Fabric 4 large QST (in my case Tangerine and White).
Repeat for M2.
Repeat for M2.
Step 2
Join the final Fabric 4 HSTs (in my case Tangerine and White) to the left-hand side of the large QST for both sections M1 and M2.
I've pressed all my seams away from the large QST.
Label these 2 sections M1 and M2
I've signed a white section of one of the sections for the raffle prize quilt.
Job completed!!!
In under an hour, the sections are complete, parcelled up and in my mailbox on their way back to Cotton Cuts!
Below are links to some of the fabrics and tools I've used
Note: I'm an Amazon affiliate and will receive a small commission, at no additional cost to you, on any purchase made by following an Amazon link.
Cotton Cuts Fall 2017 Charity Puzzle Mystery Quilt Blog Hop Schedule
The raffle is running now through to 15 May 2018. Tickets are $5.00 each, click the button below for more info and to enter.
The Fall 2017 Charity Puzzle Mystery Quilt Blog Hop bloggers are:
Clue 1: July - Sheila Christensen @Mystery Quilter
Clue 2: August - Yvonne Fuchs @Quilting Jetgirl
Clue 3: September - Teri Lucas @Terificreations
Clue 4: October - Wendy Welsh @Wendys Quilts and More
Clue 5: November - Nicole Young @LillyElla
Clue 6: December - Chris Dodsley @made by ChrissieD
Clue 7: January - Amy Smart @Diary Of A Quilter
Clue 8: February - Sam Hunter - Hunters Design Studio
Clue 9: March - Cheryl Sleboda @Muppin
Starting February - Spring 2018 Puzzle Mystery Quilt
Interested in taking part in a Cotton Cuts Puzzle Mystery Quilt? The Spring 2018 Puzzle Mystery Quilt starts in February and sign-ups are now open and for the first time international shipping is FREE. Some colourways (details here) are already waitlisted so be quick to check it out and if you've more questions, here's a link to the FAQ page.
Interested in taking part in a Cotton Cuts Puzzle Mystery Quilt? The Spring 2018 Puzzle Mystery Quilt starts in February and sign-ups are now open and for the first time international shipping is FREE. Some colourways (details here) are already waitlisted so be quick to check it out and if you've more questions, here's a link to the FAQ page.
As a thank you, in my Blog Hop Clue 6 parcel for December, the girls included an archival ink Micron pen for me to sign my finished sections and also a Lagniappe (a little something extra) - some pencils with fun sewing quotes on the wood. Girls, thank you, I love them 💖
Cotton Cuts Fall 2017 Charity Puzzle Mystery Quilt Blog Hop
Clicking on an image will take you to a new page of crafty goodness :)
Disclosure:
Cotton Cuts supplied Chris Dodsley with the pieces necessary to make the Clue 6 sections, which were then returned to Cotton Cuts. The Micron archival pen and pencils were gifted to Chris Dodsley as a thank you for creating the sections and publishing this post. This post contains Amazon and Craftsy affiliate links for which I am paid commission on click-through purchases (at no additional cost to you). Otherwise, the post is for informational purposes only and all opinions are my own.
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Your posts always make me smile Chris!
ReplyDeleteThat's wonderful because your fabric subscription boxes make me smile too, lol :D
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