Cotton Cuts Puzzle Mystery Quilt Along

Meet Katy.

Katy is a long-time fan, detective and Cotton Cuts enthusiast. She has been participating in our Puzzle Mystery Quilts since 2019. Katy is a familiar member of our FB group Cotton Cuts Fabric. You will find her posting her clues, her blocks and her own special projects, as well as encouraging others and offering advice and enthusiasm to all who join us in the group. You will also find Katy's smiling face as a regular in our monthly zoom sew-a-longs. If there is someone outside of our company who knows all about Cotton Cuts, it's Katy. 

Read right here what Katy has to say about our current Puzzle Mystery Quilt Village Green.

It's been a minute since I've posted any blog writing on my blog page. I'm going to rectify that by writing about a cool Quilt Along that I have been fortunate enough to participate in since 2019. I decided that I wanted to share what it's about and how much I have enjoyed creating a quilt from mystery clues as well as building my skill set as a newbie quilt builder.

So what is a PMQ? PMQ stands for Puzzle Mystery Quilt. Every month I receive clue instructions for developing the parts of a quilt for that month. There are ten months of clues produced using pre-cut triangles, squares, and rectangles along with strips. Cotton Cuts does all the cutting of these pieces. All I have to do is follow the instructions on building the clue each month.

During month ten we receive the final instructions to take all the clues and begin to sew them together to make a quilt top. It's a lot of fun watching the clues transform into something beautiful! Cotton Cuts offers two different sizes for the PMQs.

Small Size 48" X 60"

Large Size 72" X 72"

Cotton Cuts offers a spring PMQ and a fall PMQ. Both will overlap each other for a couple of months.

I will be writing a blog once a month for the newest PMQ so that I can share the process of creating a clue. It will be fun to share with you the final results. I will post all links at the end of the blog for how to become involved in becoming a detective for the PMQ.

I chose the Begonia colorway for the Spring PMQ. The fabric used for this colorway will be all batiks. (Seaside by Artisan Batiks for Robert Kaufman Fabrics) I love batiks. I love how vibrant the colors can be not to mention it's fun to sew as well. I will share with you the steps taken to create clue one of the PMQ along with pictures of each step.

This is everything that came in Clue one of the kit 

When Cotton Cuts opens signups for the PMQ Subscription, several different colorways will be available for a person to choose from. Cotton Cuts also makes available the choice to purchase an oops kit (used for replacement of mistakes made during the sewing process) as well as a thread kit and if a person wants to make their quilt even larger, extra borders are also available for purchase at the initial signing up.

 I chose to purchase two oops kits along with the thread kit. Below is a photo of what came for clue one.

Thread with Begonia Kit

Now I will describe what I do to make the monthly clue as well as write about the different things a potential detective might want to know about.

Clue 1 - Village Green (Begonia) 

When I open clue 1 of my kit I pull out the brochure that comes with the kit. Each detective should keep this brochure for the entire ten months because it has the colorway on the back with the labels of letters marking each color. This is very important. The clue cannot be followed if the color card is lost.

On the front of the brochure is the colorway sample along with the name of Spring PMQ (Village Green) and the name of the colorway (Begonia). I chose the Begonia colorway. Cotton Cuts has offered several different colorways for someone to choose from. There will be a hashtag that when clue one is finished, can be shared online and the hashtag will add it to others who are doing the same clue. 

 On the second page, there are Puzzle Mystery Quilt Tips and Tricks along with a "Mark Your Calendar" for Fall 2023. The Fall PMQ opens for signups on May 28th with the first clue shipping out on July 2023. This will have an all-new choice of colorways as well as the beginning of a new mystery. 

On page 3 there is information about missing pieces or something wrong with the clue itself, and where to go for help. Cotton Cuts Puzzle Mystery Support Cotton Cuts' customer service is exceptional and they will do whatever they need to do to resolve the issues that could happen. On page 3 there are PMQ shipping dates along with providing information on where to go to become a member of the FB group. 

The FB group is exclusive to the PMQ detectives. Mystery Quilters There is also an email to contact a team member at Cotton Cuts. (help@cottoncuts.com) I take the clue out of the shipping bag along with the instructions. I lay out each precut based on the color they are and then I take Alphabitties to label each block. I put them in order this way so that not only am I making sure there are no pieces missing but I'm also organizing them so that when I start to sew each piece together I don't make a mistake while sewing them. Labeling them makes it so much easier for me.

On the back of the brochure, there is a colorway with each color labeled. The other thing that is on the back is how to become a detective for the Puzzle Mystery QAL. Cotton Cuts PMQ - How to Get Started

A gift that is sent with the first PMQ 

Inside the first clue also comes with a gift. Throughout the ten months, there might be one or two mystery gifts that are placed inside the clue.

Cotton Cuts Color Challenge Card Inside the Puzzle Mystery Quilt 

Along there will be a Cotton Cuts Block of the Month that is used for the CC Color Challenge. On one side there is a block with measurement directions and a good graphic of the block that will be made.

On the back of the same card is a coloring page. Color and page and then upload it to Cotton Cuts and tag it with #CCColorChallenge. Coloring the card and uploading it with the tag, gives a person a chance to win a prize from Cotton Cuts. If the card is colored and a block is made out of the fabric of the same block as the card, it can also be entered into the drawing. So that means two chances of winning a prize.