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Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Mystery Has A Name!


After spending the weekend in SE Virginia where the cotton harvesting is in full swing....after passing acres and acres of glorious cotton in the field, after following trucks loaded with cotton bales to the gills...and watching fluffs of cotton bolls flying off the backs of the trucks on their way to the cotton gin, lining the edges of the roads in tufts of white...this quilt has a name!

Are you ready for:

Roll, Roll, Cotton Boll?? :cD

Where would we be without our COTTON!?



Yardages and prerequisites and other info will be posted on or around Nov 1....That will give everyone almost 3 weeks to get their fabrics together.

There are many scrappy avenues to take on this journey...I've got only ONE common fabric tying it together and I'll show you what that one is...

My colors are brown, red, raspberry (or double) pink, green, and neutrals. As with any other mystery, the laws of substitution apply. If you don't like any of the other colors, pick a scheme that you like, substituting one or more of my colors for yours. But think about value, and keep the same number of colors (4) plus background (1)...mine are the neutrals. So, if you are doing something patriotic, you can't just do red/white/blue. It's not enough. You'd have to do red/neutrals/lightblue/navy/gold if you want something like that to work.

Remember....that mysteries are not a race, and if there is a step you don't understand you can wait it out a step or two to see where that direction leads and then make some decisions as to your own fabric choices, etc.

The fun of a mystery is not knowing where the project is going to end up. Just go with it! Don't stay focused on the FINISH, but enjoy every bit along the way.

I do quilts with lots of small pieces. This one is no different. That said, I know there are those who have done "mystery in a day" kind of things, with big clunky 12" 9 patches at the end of the day that ended up as a table topper and weren't happy about it! You will have a quilt you can be proud of when you are done.

I make big quilts. This one is about Queen sized, so smaller than last year's mystery! I am the shortest one in my family at 5'9". My hubby and my sons are 6' 3" and over! I don't have a lot of use or space for wall hangings and lap quilts, so if you want a smaller project, just wait it out until all is revealed and then you can decide what to do. If you want, you can make HALF the number of each unit required, and then decide how you are going to put them together, and see if you need to make any more of anything if you need to.

I will be posting the links here on my blog with the links to the website. Links will also be sent to the Quiltville friend page on facebook, and the quiltville@yahoogroups notification-only list, as well as the very busy very chatty quiltvillechat@yahoogroups.com email list.

How many steps? Not sure. I'm still writing/finishing, and it depends on how long I think each step is going to take you to do. I'm thinking a couple of clues a week which should take us all the way through the holiday season. This is not a one day mystery, nor a week long mystery. You are meant to take the steps as you complete them. If it takes you longer than someone else, that's fine..

And just like in mysteries past...there WILL be some people who have the time to complete each step in record time! They will be posting their progress on their blogs, and I will be posting the links to the next steps on my blog, with photos, so don't go looking if you don't want to know what the next step is. This is going to require discipline on *your* part, not on the part of those doing the posting.....got it? :c)

I'll do what I can to answer personal questions, but it is very difficult to have people send me their fabric choices and ask if I think they will work or not and for me to explain why without revealing the mystery....If you keep your fabric choices close to what I put up, you won't need to!

This mystery will be for the *next* book down the road (book #4 in 2012) and the pattern will be pulled from the website before publishing as with Carolina Christmas.

I've had fun digging into my scraps and FQs with this one.....I just know you are going to love it...The first clue will be posted November 19th!

22 comments:

  1. Bonnie - another v v generous contribution to the quilting community. So looking forward to this one.. :-)

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  2. How exciting, I have never done one of your mysteries before,as I am a newcomer to your site.I will look forward to hearing more, I'm assuming this mystery will be open for any of your followers to join in on?

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  3. Hurray - absolutely nothing like one of your mysteries to chase away the winter blues ! Thanks so much xxx

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  4. Well, I am thrilled!
    This one's for me!
    Hope I will get along in the middle of humdrum concerning selling the house and so on.
    Irene aka the tooth fairy ;^}

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  5. Oh Bonnie, thank you!!! I LOVE doing a mystery quilt with you. I have done three (maybe more. . I'm thinking. . ) and have love love loved every single one. It is so much fun. Thank you for taking the time to do this again. I'm so excited. The finished quilts are among my favorites too.

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  6. OOoo...LOVE the 4 colors! I am TICKLED raspberry pink to get to do this...you've made my holidays and I need no other gift.
    THANK YOU.

    Lucy (in IN)

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  7. I enjoy your mysteries. Brown and pink have been a good combination for many years. Thank you for your time on this.
    Carolyn

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  8. I love driving down the road and seeing the bits of cotton blowing around! I may just give this one a go....I'll have to think about those colors....

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  9. I look forward to it! And hopefully this pushes me to finish Carolina Crossroads which I have been working on the past few months...yikes I am on clue 5 :) but it will wait if it needs to!

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  10. I have done your other mysteries and can't wait for this one to start. Love the colors that you have suggested.

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  11. Looking forward to it....though I usually start late. Save all the clues as they come out, then do the quilt later when I have the urge. So far have finished Double Delight and am currently making Orange Crush. Thank you so much for making your patterns available to us.

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  12. I am ready for a good mystery. Thanks Bonnie, I'll be watching for it....!

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  13. Oh Bonnie!
    All the former participants in your mysteries KNOW the value of tiny pieces and big chunks of time invested in their own quilts to be a worthy investment!
    These mysteries offer a quilter a finished value that cannot be evaluated. Hours and hours of sewing bliss are welcomed here in Indiana at the home of your biggest fan!
    XOXOXO Subee
    P.s. verification word is:premium!

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  14. Bonnie- this will be my 1st too- I love all your patterns etc. But I am only 5'2" so usually I make the lap quilt size or twin at the most- I will try your idea of doing half or so... What fun!!!

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  15. Oh I think I will be ready! My first mystery with you and I'm excited to see where you go with this :)

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  16. Can't wait! I just know the process will be fun and the outcome will be fabulous! Thanks again Bonnie for giving us something to look forward to!

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  17. I'm ready to go. I skipped Carolina Christmas (only because I couldn't decide on a fabric choice), but I do plan to make it one day. Absolutely loved the orange crush and received many compliments when I had it as my blog header. Can't wait to sit down and decide on fabric colors and get going.

    Funny, I just thought last night, "I wonder when Bonnie is doing another mystery".

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  18. Absolutely love the suggestion to make 1/2 the number suggested (I have the opposite situation from you - I need smaller, not larger, quilts).

    Will be watching (and probably posting).

    Woo Hoo - Thanks for doing this!

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  19. Oh I was worried this one would have the word "Carolina" in it and I'd never be able to keep all my mystery quilts straight in my head by name!

    I've done all the mysteries..some quickly, some slowly but every one of them has been a joy. I find your direction easy to follow and the results so very pleasing.

    Thank you so much for generously giving us these great challenges and quilting fellowship on the chat group.

    I add another challenge......I can only use stash in your mysteries....front and back!

    I'm looking forward to it Bonnie :0)

    Happy sewing and safe travels.

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  20. Hi Bonnie,

    Thanks again for sharing your gift! I do love your quilts and have completed two so far. This mystery sounds like more fun!

    hugz
    Pam

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  21. i too am looking forward to this mystery. i love your patterns and your clearly written directions. thank you so much for doing this once again! starting to pick my fabrics already!

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  22. Woo! I may have to give this one a go! :D

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