A mystery created by Diane Lapacek for the 2011 Quilts by Barb Quilt Retreat Getaway Weekend held in Belmont, WI. Just days before I planned on heading out to the Quilt Retreat I decided that I would do the Mystery Quilt. Diane was over and she helped me pick out my fabrics!. Lucky for you – you now get to follow along in the fun!
Step 1: Fabric Selection
Fabric A and B: This mystery is designed as a scrap quilt. Choose 2 different colors for A and B. Complimentary colors will created lots of zing. 
I chose some muted to lime green for my Fabric A.
- CUTTING for A: 44 strips: 2 1/2” x 10 1/2”
This piece of Bryant Park Orange Faded Floral from Anthology fabric from FabricFascination was actually my inspiration to even do this quilt. I’m sure you all know that I just finished up with a crazy busy apple season and I really need to get inventory created for my two big sales coming up (the 5th Annual Handcrafted Hoedown for the Holidays and the 7th Annual Holiday Craftacular). I had just planned on going to the retreat for a weekend away but once I even thought about doing the mystery project, I glanced through my stash and saw this piece. It was just ‘calling’ to me to be made into a quilt.
- CUTTING FABRIC B: 28 strips – 2 1/2” x 10 1/2”, 43 squares – 4 1/2” x 4 1/2”, 8 squares – 6” x 6”, 2 squares – 4” x 4”
Fabric C. Should be more neutral in tone and medium light in value. Don’t get too wild here. Pick one fabric (1 3/4 yards) or several that are closely related in tone and value and not too busy. 
I chose some hand-dyed fabric for my fabric C. The main portion of the fabric is actually my piece of from Barbs ‘Yard that Keeps on Giving’. For the life of me I could NOT find the piece she had given me. Of course, I had put somewhere special so I wouldn’t get it confused with my other hand-dyes..and of course, I couldn’t find it. So, as I was packing for the retreat and searching for a pattern (that I still can’t find) I FOUND MY YARD THAT KEEPS ON GIVING! Woo Hoo! There’s no way I would get it made into something before Saturday night’s show and tell but it happened to be perfect for my Mystery Quilt!
- CUTTING Fabric C: 14 strips: 4 1/2” x 42” (or shorter strips to equal this)
Fabric D. Lights. Mix lots of different ones. Variety is a big plus here. 
My Fabric D are some yellow/oranges. I think it will be a fun addition!
- CUTTING Fabric D: 16 strips: 2 1/2” x 10 1/2”, 20 squares: 4 1/2” x 4 1/2”
Fabric E. Darks. A darker version of either A or B or pick another color. Use lots of fabrics or just one (1/2 yard) 
I chose a fun orange/brown/gold fabric for this.
- CUTTING Fabric E: 6 Strips: 1 1/2” x 42” (Or shorter strips to equal this)
Step 1 is complete! All my fabrics are cut and ready to be made into a beautiful MYSTERY Quilt.
sounds mysterious! (^_^) can't wait to see how it turns out =) i really have to give quilt making a go, i have some gorgeous vintage project books begging to be read! thankyou for sharing =) x
I would love to quilt along, but alas two other projects are in progress right now that have to be finished. Can't wait to see what your mystery quilt looks like. I'm excited that the Anthology fabric was your inspiration.