Sweet Freedom Mystery

 First - which fabrics/fabric panel will we be using? This is the Patriotic panel we will be using in our February Sweet Freedom Mystery quilt - isn't it gorgeous?! MODA America The Beautiful by Deb Strain My personal fabric choice for this mystery: Fabric choices I started out w/3 yards of the Red Stars & solid white Kona, 2 yards each of the Patriotic Blue and the Moda off-white w/white random stripes.  I have almost a yard left of the Kona white, 1 1/2 yards of the other fabrics.   Once again - as we discussed in our January 2022 Sweet Freedom Mystery, Clue #2 , depending on 'which' patriotic panel you use, the finished quilt size measurements you choose, How you cut/sew/finish will determine just How Much fabric you will need for your February 2022 Sweet Freedom Mystery. My first February Sweet Freedom Mystery finished at:  56" x 67" My second February Sweet Freedom Mystery w/optional 3" perimeter border finished at:  59" x  70" AccuQuilt...

And now we get to add our beautiful Stars we created in Clue #1 , but first - a couple more RED /White 1" borders... IF you Please?   Or did YOU decide to go with 2" FINISHED borders to increase the size of your quilt?   NO matter - you may add them now, IF you wish OR , you may choose to leave them off... Quilter's Choice! Here's our January 2022 Sweet Freedom Mystery Big Reveal: January 2022 Sweet Freedom Mystery! Do you see our Beautiful Patriotic Stars?  Notice - there are thirteen (13) in the upper Top/Left corner AND thirteen (13) in the Lower/Right corner - representing our original Thirteen (13) Colonies! You will need to decide 'how' you want your patriotic stars to appear in your quilt.  I spent a little time arranging/rearranging mine until I got the look I was going for.  Then, I sewed them together - starting, once again w/Stars on each side, adding enough of my 6 1/2" in-the-raw neutral fabric to create a side border that fit my left si...

But first - time to make some decisions...like, what size do YOU want your FINISHED Sweet Freedom Mystery quilt to be?  What are YOUR Standards Of Excellence ?   We are so fortunate to have SEVERAL groups participating in our Sweet Freedom Mystery, and each group represented has their own Standards Of Excellence and their FINISHED quilt requirements. January 2022 Sweet Freedom Mystery  'partial reveal' w/first borders - We Still Have Stars to Add Plus ...a few more Surprises! My January 2022 Sweet Freedom Mystery quilt top FINISHES at 55" x 70" AFTER I modified the original quilt panel to 23" x 40".  Without mods, 'my' quilt top would FINISH in-the-raw - PRIOR TO being quilted/bound/labeled, at 56" x  74 1/2".   There is also an 'optional' final perimeter border AFTER our Stars have been added - Quilter's Choice .  Those pics will be released in the Final Reveal on Friday, January 28, 2022 . As mentioned previously, ...

Are YOU ready? Ready to get started cutting/sewing on some Stunning Stars? Our January 2022 Sweet Freedom Mystery includes Stars - LOTS of 6" ( FINISHED in the quilt 'after' ALL the seam allowances have been sewn), which makes them 6 1/2" prior to being sewn into our quilt = I refer to this measurement as 'in-the-raw' .   Our 'We The People' panel quilt includes twenty-six (26) TOTAL of these 6" Sawtooth Stars. These are 6 1/2" in-the-raw Sawtooth Stars.  AccuQuilt GO! dies will be used throughout our Mystery Adventures whenever possible for cutting blocks.  The speed/accuracy provided by these cutting dies, IMHO, is second to none.  This is very much a personal preference - to each her/his own.  We will also include a direct web link to another alternative method for creating our Sawtooth Stars later in this blog post. AccuQuilt GO! Dies used to create the 6" FINISHED /6 1/2" in-the-raw quilt block pattern: GO! Square -...

 Happy New Year! After sitting out for 2021, Sweet Freedom Mysteries resumes in 2022 with a few changes to keep things Fresh & FUN!    Rather than offer one (1) mystery for the ENTIRE year, we will be offering one (1) Sweet Freedom Mystery each month of 2022 for a Total of twelve (12) mystery quilts!  (As a longarmer myself, I will not only be creating at least one of these quilts alongside each of you, I will also be quilting each one every month AND three (3) of our volunteer toppers' quilts - should stay plenty busy!) This will be more of a virtual 'sew/quilt along' , rather than a Mystery however, the final reveal each month will not be until 'sometime' during the last week of the month.  The patterns may or may NOT be shared, depending on the design chosen and/or created, respecting copyright laws, etc., but we will be providing direct links to the pattern(s) chosen, when available and appropriate.  The quilts we create will NOT always be 'panel'...