Castle Secrets Block of the Week Quilt Mystery Clue Two

This is a Quilt-Block-of-the-Month Mystery series. It starts today! Clues will be presented every Sunday from now until Labor Day. It is a two color (plus background) quilt that finishes about 90″ x 90″. Look for a list of clues at the bottom of this page. To print this clue, use the green Print Friendly button below those clues. If that doesn’t work, try pressing down the CNTRL button and the P button at the same time. Or the COMMAND button and the P button if you are on a Mac. That should bring up the printer dialog.

Just a reminder: Anyone who sends me a picture of their quilt in progress or finished, gets a free copy of the professional pattern after the mystery is over. Offer expires 10/1/23. Send your pictures to phoebemoondesigns@gmail.com.

Clue Two: The Moats

Here’s a clue to give you time to finish the Flying Geese and sew ahead a little bit.

Assemble:

• (9) 3-1/2″ wide Pink strips for the first border moat
• (9) 6-1/2″ wide Chocolate Brown strips for the second border moat
• (10) 2-1/2″ wide Fudge (Espresso) strips for the binding path around the moat

Create (3) groups of LONG strips by sewing each set of strips end to end. Miter the joins if you prefer by sewing the two strips right sides together at an angle as shown below. Trim the seams to 1/4″ and press open.

Creating LONG strips ahead of time saves you time when adding borders and binding. If you miter the join of a long quilt strip, the seam is less likely to show. Here is a tutorial on how to miter the joins of borders and binding in advance.

Note: this tutorial is from the Dragonfly Dance mystery. It does not reflect the fabric I am using in the Castle Secrets mystery.

	Step One: Cross two strips at a 90-degree angle, right sides together.  Draw a line on the diagonal. This will be your seam line. Sew the seam.
Step Two: Cut off the excess, 1/4″ from the seam. In the picture above, I have placed the 1/4″ seam of the ruler on the actual seam so I can make an exact cut.	Step Three: Press the seam open and the spot where you joined your strips should be almost invisible.

Just as an FYI, that’s a Sewline Stayer Permanent Marking Pen in the picture above.  It’s great for signing quilts, but a permanent marker is not necessary when drawing seam lines.  Also, you can see my little mini-Oliso in the final picture.  I like it for the small jobs – it gets very hot, and has a long cord – but I would prefer a full-size iron for the blocks and the top.