From Fabric to Finish: On Ringo Lake Mystery

I'm going to link up to the Final Link Up for the Quiltville Mystery, and decided a blog post was fitting.

This year I participated in the Bonnie Hunter annual Quiltville Mystery quilt, "On Ringo Lake." I have made a few Bonnie Hunter quilts in the past, including Allietare and Celtic Solstice. As soon as Bonnie announced the colors for this year's quilt, it was irresistible for me. I adore coral and teal and chocolate brown. So, since this year was our year to stay put instead of traveling to see family over the holidays, I decided I was all in. I got to hit a couple of quilt shops on our trip to Texas as we traveled, and added a few new pieces to my stash. Then I did a real stash pull to add to it after I got home in November.

I bought several new fabrics (mostly corals and teals) but pulled all the possibilities that I had in my stash to use alongside them. Those browns and beiges have been aging a while.

 The first clue always comes out on Black Friday, and it's a great diversion for those of us who don't shop. Then clues follow each Friday, and we have the opportunity to link up photos of what we've finished thus far to Bonnie's blog each week. I didn't link every week, and mostly use Instagram for my daily quilting photos. I am not the most consistent blogger (LOL), so Instagram is a lot easier for me to journal my progress.

Week by week, the pieces began to pile up!

Clue 1: a stack of tiny nine-patches

Clue 2: Gaggles of Coral Geese

Clue 3: So many diamonds!

Clue 4: Piecing Teal/Brown triangles

Clue 5: Brown Geese join the flock

The pieces were already adding up.

Clue 6: Coral triangles added to Clue 4

Clue 7: Joining the Coral and Brown Geese

 Finally, Bonnie revealed the block design, so we could begin assembling units into blocks. I had fun leisurely piecing blocks while we were snowbound with a nice beautiful snow after the first of the year.

Clue 8: Blocks! I have made double units, but decided to piece just enough blocks for my lap-sized quilt first. 

 I decided to make a 60x72" version for Maggie first, and then use the rest of my units at our annual Ft. Caswell quilting retreat next weekend. When I started this mystery, I had planned from the beginning that it would be the perfect project to take with me to retreat.

Clue 9: The reveal! 

 I got the quilt assembled late on Sunday evening, and then I had a chance to quilt it first thing on Monday. I decided to do a hand-guided meander because SO MANY SEAMS. Plus, every once in a while, I love to hand guide a stipple. Seems like old times.

Quilted and bound!

I couldn't resist a photo On Millsap Pond. (I cannot in good conscience call it "Millsap Lake.")

I had a fantastic time from the beginning to end of this project. And it's not even finished yet! I'm going to piece and quilt a queen-sized version for me. If you ever have a holiday season where you want to add a little sewing, I highly recommend the Quiltville mystery.