Sherrie Jaqua

Class  Description:
Come  be a part of the first ever Murder Mystery/Mystery Quilt Workshop at Thunder Bay Resort! A heinous crime has been committed at the resort during a  beautiful fall weekend Quilt Retreat. Karen, one of the retreat coordinators, has been brutally murdered. Who could have done such a thing to dear sweet quiet little Karen? Was it one of her co-workers at the retreat, one of the retreaters, one of the owners - Jack or Jan, a caddy or kitchen staff?

Solve the murder as you make a wonderful mystery quilt. Clues will be given out for the quilt and the murder throughout the weekend. When you leave you will have  a great start on a fun and exciting quilt and maybe you will be one of the  lucky winners who solve the murder and receive a prize.

Sherrie Jaqua has been quilting, teaching people to quilt, writing about quilting and designing quilts for over 30 years. She is the owner of Sunshine Quilt Shop in Oscoda, MI and her pattern company, Time to Shine Patterns. Sherrie is known throughout Michigan as the editor of the Michigan Quilt Network magazine, Michigan Quilters Link - a quarterly publication for our statewide quilting organization. For many years Sherrie wrote a regular column called Bits and Pieces for Quilting Today Magazine and has published articles and designs in many other quilting magazines as well.

The mother of 6 children and soon to be 8 grandchildren, she says quilting has been "my passion and gotten me through many difficult times in life".
 
"There is nothing more rewarding than teaching others the joy of quilting," states Sherrie. "Quilting with others in a retreat setting can be so much fun and getting into solving a murder mystery at the same time adds to the entertainment!"

Kit Information and Supply List

Kit Information:
Attached you will find fabric swatches for three different kits. Availability of colors is on a first come first served basis. These kits are PRE-CUT. This makes for very little cutting for the participants saving them time and frustration during the retreat. Kits do not include borders or binding for finishing the quilt. I will hand out several border options to the participants. 

• Kit Option One: Traditional
• Kit Option Two: Batiks in Purples and Green
• Kit Option Three: Thimbleberries Lakeside Fabrics

Supplies Everyone will need to bring:

1. Sewing Machine in good working order with several size 75/11 quilting needles. You will also need your 1/4 inch piecing foot or whatever you use to get am accurate 1/4 inch seam. Bring your regular foot as well as some 1/4 inch feet do not allow you to easily sew down the middle of fabric.

2. Cutting Mat and Rotary Cutter with fresh blade - I prefer the Omnigrid folding cutting and pressing mat because it allows you to cut and press right beside your sewing machine.

3. Pressing surface and small iron for pressing seams.

4. Ruler at least 6" x 12".

5. Square up ruler at least 9 _ “ square.

6. Neutral color thread - beige, light to medium gray - large spool. I prefer Mettler 100% cotton 50 weight, but any good quality cotton thread will do.

7. Good quality silk pins like Iris silk pins - these are longer and sharper than ordinary pins and most machines sew over them easily.

8. Fork pins are optional but will make matching seams easier. I like Clover Fork Pins.

9. Thread snips for cutting thread or small scissors.

10. Chaco-liner or other easily removed fabric marker for drawing diagonal lines.

11. Small ruler for drawing diagonal lines.

12. Your imagination and good humor because Quilt Murder Mysteries are only as fun as YOU make them! Get ready for lots of laughs - some of a bit macabre nature - and lots of excitement as you work to solve “WHO DONE IT” while you put together a mystery quilt that will truly be a mystery to the very end. 
Supplies for those not purchasing a PRE-CUT Kit:

 In addition to the supplies above you will need two rulers to accurately cut your pieces for your quilt. I HIGHLY recommend you cut your fabric BEFORE you come to the retreat or you will fall behind the others and it will be a less than satisfying experience for you.

Rulers - The RECS part of EZQuilting’s TRI-RECS Tool and Omnigrid’s 96L Triangle Ruler.

Yardages and Cutting Instructions for those NOT purchasing a PRE-CUT Kit:

You will need 3 shades of one color of fabric(light, medium and dark) - think flowers - and a green that you like with your 3 shaded colors. If you have a border fabric in mind - you might use it as inspiration for your other colors. Border yardages and ideas will be passed out on Friday of the Retreat.

Fabric A - Light - 1 5/8 yards
    Cut 16 - 3 _" strips WOF
    LEAVE THESE FOLDED JUST LIKE THEY COME OFF THE BOLT!!!
From each of these folded strips you will be cutting 4 pairs of trapezoids using the Omnigrid 96L ruler. To do this hold the ruler so the right angle is to your lower left. Use it to square up the left end of the 3 _" strip and remove the selvages. Align 6" line on the ruler at the bottom of the strip and the 2 _” line on the ruler at the top of the strip and cut along the 45 degree side of the ruler. Flip the ruler over and align the 6" line at the top and the 2 _ “ line at the bottom and cut again. Repeat these two cuts once more. You should have 4 PAIRS of trapezoids from each strip or 64 pairs in all.

Fabric B - Medium - 2 yards
    Cut 12 - 1 _” strips WOF (Set these aside)
    Also Cut 7 - 6 _" stripsWOF
    LEAVE THESE FOLDED JUST LIKE THEY COME OFF THE BOLT!!!
    From each of these folded strips you will be cutting 10 pairs of triangles using the RECS
Tool from the EZQuilting Tri-Recs Set. To do this hold the ruler so the right angle is to your lower left. Use it to square up the left end of the 6 _" strip and remove the selveges. Now cut the angled side of the RECS Tool. Flip the ruler over and align the angled side with the cut you just made and cut on the right angle side. Continue to cut and flip the ruler and cut again until you have 10 pairs of RECS Triangles. Repeat for the remaining 6 strips. You can stop when you have cut 64 pairs of RECS Triangles.

Fabric C - Dark - 1 1/4 yards
    Cut 15 - 1 _" strips WOF (Set these aside)
    Also Cut 4 - 3 7/8" strips WOF
    Cut these into 32 - 3 7/8" squares

Fabric D - Green - 2 yards
    Cut 4 - 3 7/8" strips WOF
    Cut these into 32 - 3 7/8" squares
    Also Cut 7 - 6 _" strips WOF
    LEAVE THESE FOLDED JUST LIKE THEY COME OFF THE BOLT!!!
    From each of these folded strips you will be cutting 10 pairs of triangles using the RECS
    Tool from the EZQuilting Tri-Recs Set. To do this hold the ruler so the right angle is to
    your lower left. Use it to square up the left end of the 6 _" strip and remove the selveges.
    Now cut the angled side of the RECS Tool. Flip the ruler over and align the angled side
    with the cut you just made and cut on the right angle side. Continue to cut and flip the
    ruler and cut again until you have 10 pairs of RECS Triangles. Repeat for the remaining
    6 strips. You can stop when you have 64 pairs of RECS Triangles.

I would suggest you bag these pieces together in zipper plastic bags for easy storage and transport and for better organization when you come to the retreat:

Bag One - 1" strips of Fabric B - Medium and Fabric C - Dark
Bag Two - 3 7/8" squares of Fabric C - Dark and Fabric D - Green
Bag Three - RECS Triangles of Fabric B - Medium and Fabric D - Green
Bag Four - Trapezoids of Fabric A

In your mystery instructions steps we will be working with the Bagged Pieces in this order. Quilt size before borders - 72 Inches Square.

Sunshine Quilt Shoppe