#WallahMaterialGirlfriends

Material Girlfriends’ Annual Mystery Class is back, Zoom style! Last two years this class was sold out the first day it was available for sign-ups. But with Zoom, we can increase the class size, yet everyone gets a front-row seat! Our Zoom classes have no less than three cameras with one of them being an overhead view so you can see everything cut, arranged, and sewn. Sign up early! We did limit the Zoom workshop to a manageable size.

In Between Stitches in Livermore, CA, hosts our Annual Mystery Class. Zoom class will be Saturday, February 20, 2021, from 10 am – 4 pm PST. The class fee is $35 and includes the pattern. Sign up by clicking the button.

Fabric Requirements:

• 24 Color 10″ squares (Multiple colors, repeats are fine, or you can choose just one color.)
• 24 Light 10″ squares (Multiple colors, repeats are fine, or one color. Lora chose black. Lisa chose white.)
• Optional 4″ border, 1 yard (Neither of us added a border to ours but I get asked all the time from the border patrol quilters.)
• Binding, 1/2 yard (It is still enough if you added the border.)
• Backing, 3 yards of 44″ wide or 1 2/3 yards of 104″ wide. If you added the border, you’ll want 3 3/4 yards of 44″ or 2 yards of 104″.

The quilt will be 48″ x 64″ (without the border) and the pattern will have a formula on how to make it bigger if you want.

If not using a pre-cut 10″ square set: For your Color blocks, select 12 fat quarters of different colors. You can get two 10″ blocks from a fat quarter. Fabric will be leftover from each fat quarter. OR Select six 1/3 yard cuts of different colors. Each 1/3 yard will yield four 10″ squares. A seventh 1/3 yard is recommended for design choices. PLUS 2 yards of Light fabric for your Light squares, yields twenty-eight 10″ squares – four extra for design choices or miscuts.

Really Recommend Tools: 8 1/2″ Quilting Square, a Quilter’s Ruler at least 18″ long and narrow, like 2″ wide is optimal. I used an 18″ x 2 1/2″ and my 8 1/2″ square for the entire project. I had no miscuts. 🙂

A spinning cutting mat is so convenient. But a small mat (like 12″ square) that you can turn on your bigger mat works great too. If you’re ambidextrous like Lora and Melissa, nevermind.

Yep, that is the same fabric recipe we have used for all the past Mystery Classes. Some tips, avoid using medium value fabrics mixed in with your lights or your darks. The mediums muddle the design. Keep a good contrast between your lights and darks.

Scratching your head on what to pick? Let us share the first “clue” to our Mystery quilts. Below are the yummy fabrics Lora chose. She used solid black for her background (her Light 10″ squares are Black) and her Color 10″ squares are from a layer cake called Kona Blueberry Thicket, from our online store. And wow, is her Wallah! Mystery Quilt stunning! She really is a genius with color. I say don’t use medium tones but she always blows my rules out of the water. Her layer cake was blues and purples with lights to darks. Her black fabric had plenty of contrast so the design showed up well. Who listens to me anyway?

This is what I used. Yep, I used charm packs. However, it will save you frustration and you’ll have fewer leftovers if you start with a layer cake. I just found a deal and it worked for this project. The fabric line is Lori Holt’s new one called Prim. Then I was going to use a bunch of tone-on-tone whites from my stash but Lora was so sweet and cut up 24 white 10″ squares for me so I pitched my scrappy whites back into their bin and went with one fabric for my Light 10″ squares.

Since I had extra squares and I know a little baby boy being born in the spring (Nope, not from one of mine, darn it), I’m going to make a baby size quilt. This is probably the one I’ll work and demo on during the zoom class.

I hope that helps with your fabric selection. Lora and I really have enjoyed making our Wallah! quilts and are so eager to show them to you, but not until the reveal! Worried about it being too hard? Nah, it is easier than Confetti Star but a little more complicated than Open Options. I’d say a beginner with some quilting experience can manage this just fine. Really.

If you need a little help with fabric selection, we gave Leslie and Melissa at In Between Stitches in Livermore CA, a sneak peek at Wallah! so they’re able to assist you with your choices. They’ve been sworn to secrecy so there is no use trying to twist their arms.

After the Zoom class, share your quilts with each other by posting on your social media and add the hashtag #WallahMaterialGirlfriends. By using the hashtag, it will create a gallery of Wallah! quilts to see and share just by clicking on the hashtag. Thanks!

We’re looking forward to seeing you via Zoom, Saturday, February 20, 2021, from 10 am – 4 pm PST. The class fee is $35 and includes the pattern. Sign up by clicking the button.

Free Gift for 100 Day Challenge

Setting aside the horrible political unrest, one thing I hope we can agree on is an aggressive stance in fighting Covid-19. We are participating in the “Wear a Mask for 100 Days” challenge. Read about it here.

Often I have a hard time hearing people. Reading lips was a wonderful way to fill in the audio gaps. With masks mufflers, hearing and speaking are indeed a challenge. I hope the irony isn’t lost on you. “Read My Lips” is a humorous reminder to bare the difficulty in communicating (and breathing!) rather than bare a face. We can do this! But we all need to do it together. Download this free 12″ appliqué block pattern to make and display at work or home as a gentle reminder to wear a mask. This free download is for a limited time only – 100 days! Download expires 4/28/21.

New to Material Girlfriends! We now have a laser-cut appliqué source. The Read My Lips kit comes with laser-cut appliqué pieces. Check out our online shop for the Read My Lips kit. The $17.99 Kit includes the pattern, the same fabrics shown in the example, fusible appliqué, and binding. It does not include backing and batting.

Mmfpsewm mfplongh! What? That was mask-speak for, Sew Long!

Lisa Norton and Lora Zmak