Quilters from coast to coast love a mystery!

Coast to coast, quilters from 13 different states have already entered our Beyond the Block Mystery Quilt contest, detailed on page 66 of the September 2010 issue of American Quilter magazine. The deadline for entering is August 31, so you still have 26 days to pick your focus blocks and sew the first “clues” in Part 1. (If you haven’t yet started, please note the pattern corrections at the bottom of this posting).

Jill Pesti of Memphis, Tennessee, is using all batiks for her mystery quilt (photo above). Jill says, “I was so pleased to see this mystery challenge in the magazine—I mean who doesn't love a good mystery? I am also a big fan of The Crafty Ol’ Broads Linda Johnson and Jane Wells. I purchased their book awhile ago and have made a couple quilts from it. I just completed Part 1 of the mystery and am thrilled and excited to see what’s next. Knowing their patterns, I’m sure I will NOT be disappointed with the outcome. Thanks for such a great magazine and great inspirations.”

Beth Schillig of Columbus, Ohio, writes, “I was excited to read about your mystery quilt challenge! It gave me the perfect reason to get out my Kaleidoscope Kreator™ 3 program and play with it, manipulating a picture of sunrise I took over Lake Erie in the program (photo above). Many thanks for this great challenge!”

And Susan Holman of Laytonsville, Maryland, says, “This is so much fun! The fish in my blocks (photo above) were designed by Heidi Pridemore from the quilt Under the Sea in the May/June 2005 issue of Quiltmaker magazine. Thanks for the heads up about directional blocks because mine are.”
Please note the following correction to the printed instructions in the September 2010 issue of AQ. (Corrections have been made to our online version of the pattern.)
Two small errors in the Rotary Cutting box illustrations on page 62 were caught just after we went to press. These are the correct diagrams for patches E and H.

We apologize for the error, but it does not affect the yardage requirements or any other aspect of the construction in Part 1.


If you are using a directional focus fabric, follow the figure 9 below rather than the one pictured on page 65 (both are correct, depending on your focus fabric).