Working on a Mystery Quilt

Years ago, I found a pattern for a 'Mystery Quilt' online and it sounded fun, so I made it. When you make a mystery quilt, you have instruction for making each block, a step at a time, but you don't know what the whole quilt will look like until you finish. I made that first mystery quilt when I was just learning how to quilt still, and it was a lot of fun. I don't have a photo of it - I gave it to my mom - but I'll try to get one. I really liked how it turned out.

Our local quilt shop closed awhile back, but only their physical store. They have managed to keep an online shop going and they also design and sell patterns. They put out a fun weekly newsletter, and once in awhile they have free patterns or mystery quilts there. So I decided I'd like to do one again while I was recovering from my first surgery.

I was slow, and got way behind, so I had only finished a few weeks worth of blocks when the finial reveal came along in the newsletter. It wasn't what I had hoped for. Thimble Creek Quilts usually just blow me away, but this one was just - okay in my personal quilting tastes. So I didn't really work on it anymore. But now I have a bunch of blocks that I like from that project, so I might as well do something with them. So, while I'm not going to make the whole quilt, I will probably still go ahead and make the tree blocks to add to what I have done, then put them all together in a smaller version of my own.

The pattern isn't available for free anymore, but can be purchased here. Although if you are a quilter, it would be worth your time to get on their email list for future free patters and such.

Here are a few of my favorite blocks from the mystery project that I've finished so far:

photos by Kara Hartz