Welcome to our yearly Quiltville Winter Mystery!
Pack your bags and prepare your fabrics.
We are embarking on a creative journey to a land where ancient artistry meets the midnight sky - Morocco!
The Maghrib is a region in Northwest Africa comprised of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Mauritania, and the territory of Western Sahara.
In this year's mystery we will stitch a beautiful quilt inspired by Marrakesh, Morocco - Al-Maghrib—meaning: "The place where the sun sets."
We pronounce it MAG-rib.
Your fabric palette will hold the keys to the destination:
Inspired by the breathtaking, geometric tilework of Marrakesh, our quilt captures the soul of Morocco as day turns to night. The vibrant ruby red and emerald green of the Moroccan flag are pieced together in structured harmony, a brilliant constellation against a sapphire midnight blue sky dotted with stars.
You won't know our final layout until the very last block is set, but by the end, you will hold a masterpiece worthy of a palace floor.
If you are one of the many, many new ones who are joining in from the land of Instagram, Facebook and beyond, I want to welcome you.
This year our quilt finishes at 80'' X 80''. If you want a smaller quilt, make half of the units. You may have some units left over, or you may need to make some more once you see the reveal, but it's a good place to start.
My fabulous Craftours group in Morocco!
(Check out my Craftours page HERE!)
You won't know our final layout until the very last block is set, but by the end, you will hold a masterpiece worthy of a palace floor.
Trust the process, embrace the unknown, and let's begin stitching this year's Quiltville Winter Mystery - The Star of Maghrib!
First things first:
This post contains the back story, colors, yardage requirements, and recommended tools.
Our yearly Quiltville Winter Mystery begins in earnest with Part One going live on - Black Friday - NOVEMBER 27, 2026!
I leave for our Switzerland, Germany, France Christmas Market Tour with Craftours on the 28th. Part Two will be written ahead and posted on Friday, December 4th from wherever I am.
All of our clues will be posted on consecutive Fridays until the reveal except for Part 5.
Christmas happens on a Friday this year, so as my Christmas gift to you, Part 5 will post on Christmas Eve, December 24th.
All of the posts for our Star of Maghrib mystery will be linked under the Star of Maghrib tab at the top of the blog for easy reference.
I am keeping the reveal date a surprise! No one knows how many clues there are but me.
I have had a website change this year and the printable PDFs will now be hosted on my Google Docs.
If you’ve followed along with our many past Quiltville Mysteries, you’ll already have a good handle of what happens. I’m glad to have you back sewing with me again!
The most important thing I can mention is to PRINT YOUR PDF COPIES (or save them to your device, cloud, whatever) as they are released. I can't recommend a site like Dropbox or Google Docs highly enough.
When the mystery retires, likely some time in February - all of these mystery posts will go away and I will not be providing missing parts to anyone for any reason. You'll be directed to the Quiltville Store to purchase the pattern. SAVE YOUR CLUES.
Why do we do a mystery quilt during the holidays? It's simple.
No matter how busy you may be during the holidays, there are people who are not. They could be alone, or caring for aging parents, their children may be across country or on the other side of the world.
We have folks dealing with devastating illnesses - newly widowed or divorced. Maybe there was a loss of a job, or a move across country and away from family and friends.
The holidays are NOT joyful for everyone - so we do this during this time to bring a little joy into their lives. Sewing in community can heal. It's a gift I can give.
If you are too busy to participate because your holidays are bustling and joyful - that's wonderful. Just save the clues so you can jump in later as your own schedule allows.
Okay! Now that all of that is out of the way - let's get on with it!
I have included full-page scans of the paint chips front and back in the intro PDF HERE.
PDF of just Paint Chips HERE.
I honestly don't think you are going to need to run out to Lowes to get paint chips this year - but in case you do, these are from the Valspar display.
7001-17 Cinema Screen
7002-13 Courtyard Tan (It's very cream/beige)
*note* My neutrals go every shade from white to cream in this quilt - you should know me by now!
8002-42G Back of Beyond (blue)
8002-30G Shepherd's Green
1009-4 Cut Ruby
I took this photo in January 2026 - I didn't know what the Moroccan flag looked like until I traveled there. They have a five pointed star like we in the US do!
Something to know about Morocco: They were the first country to recognize the USA as a sovereign nation after our independence.
The relationship was further solidified when the Moroccan-American Treaty of Peace and Friendship was signed in 1786 (negotiated by Thomas Jefferson and John Adams), which stands as the longest unbroken treaty relationship in U.S. history.
I loved learning this!
I headed to my stash to pull some of the many reds, blues and greens that have been hiding for too long. This was going to be a stashbuster project if there ever was one. Just look at these shelves!
My stash is burgeoning with different reds and greens - And I've always been a blue girl!
These are just SOME of the fat-quarters.
This year our quilt finishes at 80'' X 80''. If you want a smaller quilt, make half of the units. You may have some units left over, or you may need to make some more once you see the reveal, but it's a good place to start.
Yardage Requirements:
Sapphire Blue: 2 yards
Emerald Green: 2 3/4 yards
Ruby Red: 3 yards
Neutral: 4 yards (We can calla this Pearl to keep with the jewel theme!)
Please note that if you choose any construction method that has you going bigger to sliver-trim down that more fabric will be required.
And yes! Cotton to Quilts has color rolls in our selected Star of Maghrib mystery colors: Ruby, Emerald and Sapphire! Rolls contain 20 different pieces 8'' X 22'' each and are great for enhancing your stash.
But hurry on ordering these - they are sure to go quickly!
Specialty Rulers:
If you have been with us in the past and have a Tri-Recs ruler or a Peaky & Spike ruler or anything of the like they will work. If you use these, pay attention to the unit size given and use the instructions that came with your own ruler for cutting.
The Tri Recs and Peaky & Spike are also all discontinued from the manufacturers! So this time I splurged for myself and bought the 2 Peaks in 1 Triangle by Creative Grids.
It's one piece - no looking for the second triangle hiding under your fabric.
And those non-slip dots and clear lines can't be beat for accurate cutting. I will be giving directions using this ruler for these units.
While I will also provide paper-piecing templates for any weird-angle units as in the past, I love this ruler for quick piecing, easy trimming of half-rectangle units. Highly recommend!
Simple Folded Corners Rulers, either large or mini.
I will, of course, provide traditional rotary cutting measurements and/or paper piecing templates for those who wish to work that way. Unit sizes both unfinished and finished are also given with every unit so you can choose which way works best for you.
I will NOT be giving ANY Accuquilt die information as this is a mystery quilt and that reveals too much too soon. As each clue comes out with each given finished unit size, you can easily find the corresponding die you need.
So there you have it. You have roughly 4 weeks to pull your fabrics together.
We start with PART ONE on Friday, November 27th - the day after Thanksgiving here in the USA.
Let's Do This!
Oh, and one last thing:
As always - no whining!
Quiltville Quote of the Day -
Happy Halloween!
May your day be filled with more treats than tricks -
Oh, this is going to be fun!
This mystery pattern is given for personal use only.
No part may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical including printing or photocopying for sharing, scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the author.
Please no uploading and saving of this file with intent to share, email or distribute, either digitally or in hard copy.
This is a reader appreciation mystery, something I give back to my readers for their support over the years.
Please help me continue to design and show your support by sending your friends to my blog to print their own copy.
Please check out my other designs found in the Quiltville Store where my books (paperback) notions, tools, and other goodies along with my digital patterns are found right at your fingertips.
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