Thursday, November 10, 2011

Baffled In Belmont – Step 1 – Fabric!

A mystery created by Diane Lapacek for the 2011 Quilts by Barb Quilt Retreat Getaway Weekend held in Belmont, WI.

Kim here!  It’s almost time for the retreat so you get to hear from me today!

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. 

002 I chose some muted to lime green for my Fabric A.

  • CUTTING for A: 40 strips: 2 1/2” x 10 1/2”

003This 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: 24 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.

007I 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.

 

010My 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”, 28 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)

012I 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)

014Step 1 is complete!  All my fabrics are cut and ready to be made into a beautiful MYSTERY Quilt.  

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Celebrate Christmas




If this is your first time visiting me, Welcome to Quilts by Barb. I am located in Bloomington, Wisconsin, and am a long arm quilter. I also teach quilting (check out my classes and lectures) and love to hand dye fabric. I sell my fabric at venues around the area and when I am teaching and lecturing.

I host a Quilt Retreat Getaway Weekend each fall. The 2011 Retreat is scheduled for November 11, 12 and 13 at the Baymont Inn and Suites Convention Center in Belmont, Wisconsin. Please check it out if you are in our area. We would love to have you join us!


September 22 - Road to Retreat

I have decided to use a block, Road to Retreat, from our 2011 Quilt Retreat Getaway Weekend for the Celebrate Christmas quilt-along.





Celebrate Christmas is a Quilt-Along sponsored by Quilting Gallery. Check out their super deals for quilters here. Join in the fun!!

Monday, April 11, 2011

Mystery Monday – Finally Finished!

082In 2009, I attended the QuiltsByBarb Quilt Retreat in Belmont Wisconsin and started the Mystery Quilt.  It is 2011 and I have finally FINISHED the quilt!  It was just one of those quilts that took me awhile to get into – but once I started again it didn’t take long to make some real progress. 

071My color scheme was grey, pink and turquoise.  I am really happy with the final result! 078 Of course, I sent it to Barb to do the final quilting and of course, she did a fabulous job as always!

 

If you’ve missed the earlier steps it’s easy to catch up! Just click on the links below:

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Step 6

Step 7

Judy Hopkin's’ Mystery Quilt Singles patterns for individual quilters are available through Feathered Star Productions at www.MarshaMcCloskey.com

***If you participated in the 2009 Quilt Retreat or just decided to follow along with the mystery on this blog please send me your completed quilt pictures! I would LOVE to see them! Just email me at: {lapaceksorchard at gmail dot com} and I will post them to this blog!***