I’ve been thinking about doing a Mystery Quilt for a couple of years now – but the time just wasn’t right. The stars have aligned, and I’ve decided that 2025 is the year of the Quiltblox Mystery Quilt!
I love working on a Mystery Quilt! Why? It forces me to give up control – not an easy thing for me, as you might imagine. I’ve spent my entire life planning the details of every quilt I make – giving up that control is quite the challenge.
Having done a couple of scrappy projects organized by friends – I realized I could do scrappy. If … there was something to bring some order to the pile of scraps and if the resulting quilt design gave my eye somewhere to “rest”.
Controlled Scrappy
I define controlled scrappy as using scraps and fabrics that contrast each other within the blocks or featured design elements and they are placed on a common background.
With that in mind – I thought it would be fun for you too!
The Quiltblox 2025 Mystery Quilt
Here’s how it’s going to work:
Each month (February – October), you will receive the instructions for 1 (or 2) blocks to work on that month. The instructions will be sent out in the Email Newsletter (there’s a sign-up link at the bottom of this page if you aren’t on the list).
[1] Blocks: There are 12 blocks in total. Some months you will receive 1 block to work on, and some months you will receive 2 blocks. Each block will include step-by-step instructions and diagrams.
[2] Block Size: Two different block sizes are incorporated into this Mystery Quilt.
[3] Quilt Size: The final quilt size will be approximately 84 inches square.
[4] Technique: 11 of the 12 blocks are traditional piecing, and 1 is Foundation Paper Pieced. No Applique is included in this project.
[5] Setting Instructions: The setting instructions will be shared in November.
[6] Fabrics: The concept of this mystery quilt is “Controlled Scrappy”. This is the perfect opportunity to dive deep into your scrap pile and pull out some fun fabrics.
- Background Fabric: 6-1/2 yards. I would suggest going very light or very dark with your background fabric. A medium fabric is fine too – as long as it contrasts well with your pile of scraps. I would also suggest that you choose a low-volume background with minimal print or design. That will help the print fabrics in your blocks to pop off of the background.
- Block Fabrics: A pile of scraps – the variety is completely up to you.
- I will be using a huge pile of Kaffe Fassett fabric scraps on a white-on-white background. These fabrics were passed on to me when a dear friend passed away several years ago, and I’ve been looking for a way to use them.
[7] Cost: This Mystery Quilt is free to newsletter subscribers.
[8] Time Limit: This project will be taken down on December 31, 2025.
Progress Pictures: I will be posting progress pictures of the blocks each month on the Quiltblox Facebook page. I’d love it if you posted your pictures there too!
Are You Ready?
Let’s have some fun with this! I’d love to see you make this mystery quilt right along with me. Let’s use up some of those scraps in a “Controlled Scrappy” Quiltblox Mystery Quilt!
The first block is going out on February 11th. Click on the button below to make sure you are on the list.