I’m hard at work on my third Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt – Frolic. And, drum roll . . . I’ve decided to make the quilt in two different colorways. I still don’t know if I’ll be able to keep up this pace and finish two quilts especially considering everything else I’d like to sew. But for now, here I go . . .
Technically, this is my fourth year. I started En Provence in 2016. But that was my first attempt and introduction to a Bonnie Hunter’s mystery quilt. I was sewing lots of quilts back then, but I just wasn’t used to the volume of a Bonnie Hunter mystery.
Her clues can often say something like, “Here’s a nice half-square triangle. Now make 150+.” I chain piece, but a lot of my projects don’t involve the amount of sewing for one HST.
I still have the first clue or two of Provence hiding somewhere in my sewing room. At some point, I may pull it out and make it.
This is my version of her 2017 mystery – On Ringo Lake. I used Christmas fabrics.
And this is my version of her 2018 mystery – Good Fortune. I used her color palette. I’ve finished the blocks, but haven’t sewn the top together yet.
But, for now, I’m still working on two different versions of this year’s mystery – Frolic!
With one version, I decided to go with prints, and I switched out her suggested raspberry fabric with cheddar. I haven’t yet decided if I’ll make any other fabric color changes.
With the other Frolic quilt I’m sewing, I decided to go with solids in her suggested color palette.
Bonnie requests that quilters not go into specifics about the sizes of each clue, or the number of pieces sewn for each clue. I’m, of course, honoring Bonnie’s request. It’s the least I can do given the amount of work she puts in each year on her annual Mystery Quilt, and she offers it for free.
For the third clue, we’re making a ton of half-square triangles. I’ve tried a lot of different HST sewing techniques. I decided to try and make some with HST paper.
If you’re not familiar with Bonnie Hunter’s annual mystery. Here’s a quick explanation. It’s a mystery. So you don’t know what the final quilt will look like. She does offer you a suggested color palette and yardage, but lots of quilters substitute and change the colors.
On Black Friday every year, she releases the first clue. Then, each Friday, until the quilt is finished, she releases a new clue. It’s super fun as the mystery progresses, to guess and ponder about the final layout of the blocks. I often guess and play around with different block configurations, but I’m rarely correct.
If you haven’t tried a Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt before, I highly recommend it. It will give you a chance to work on accurate piecing, chain piecing, and color if you’re feeling adventurous.
Another really fun part of a Bonnie Hunter mystery is watching the progress of literally thousands of quilters around the world. Many quilters are now super active on Instagram. If you’re interested in following along, search for the Instagram hashtags #quiltvillemystery or #frolicquilt