English Manor – Mystery Quilt Along (PDF)

The 2015 Mystery is Over, but You Can Buy the Pattern Book!

If you want to participate in the online version of the class you can register now!

Are You Looking for Some Quilty Fun to Chase Away the Winter Blues?

Have You Always Wanted to Make a Mystery Quilt, but Didn’t Know Where to Begin?

Do You Want to Join a Community of Quilters Who Are Also Fans of ‘Downton Abbey’?

Hi, I’m Ebony Love, and I’m excited to tell you about a wonderful quilting event, the English Manor Mystery Quilt Along, that’s set to being on January 4th, 2015. It’s themed around the show ‘Downton Abbey,” but you certainly don’t have to watch the show in order to have a great time and play along.

Last year’s mystery quilt along attracted nearly 3,300 participants from 50 US states, 9 Canadian provinces, and 24 other countries around the world. We expect the excitement to continue with the next quilt along, and we hope you’ll join us for this one too!

I know what you’re thinking. “Mystery quilts scare me!” Maybe you’ve had a bad experience before, or you feel hesitant to start something without knowing where it will end up.  Trust me, I know how you feel, and I’ve worked hard to design a program that’s easy to follow and is sure to result in a beautiful quilt that you’ll be proud to own.

Each week during the mystery, I release a new set of blocks for you to work on, complete with a PDF pattern, full-color photo tutorials, and even videos and live webinars to help you as you go. We also have a very active and supportive Facebook group with nearly 2,000 members. Add to that the 30+ participating quilt shops and our customer service line, and you’ll see that there’s a great network of support that’s committed to your quilting success.

Here’s what a few people had to say about last year’s program:

“I enjoyed the pace of the quilt along. The weekly block assignments were manageable. It was easy to keep up. The most satisfying part of this project was seeing the beautiful blends of the fabrics come together to make wonderful squares. At first I was reluctant to start the quilt along because I was not so sure I liked the fabric. But I am so glad that I did, because when put together, the fabrics are awesome…The directions for this pattern were the best I have ever worked with. The pictures provided complemented the directions.”

“I really enjoyed this quilt along. It’s the first one I’ve ever done and my favorite part was probably the mystery. I’m a beginner and I don’t think I would have attempted this quilt if I had seen the blocks ahead of time. Now I know I can make a quilt like this and I learned so much.”

“I had an absolute blast working on this mystery quilt. My mom and I both decided to do this together to keep each other going and to have someone to bounce questions off of. I can’t tell you how much I look forward to your email every week as Sunday approaches.”

The quilt itself has been meticulously designed and tested, and is available in three stunning colorways.

The Fun Begins January 4th!

Note: The live event is over, but you can still register to view the archived event, or purchase the printed pattern here.

The mystery quilt along runs over a 12-week period, with a new block pattern released each week. Here’s the full schedule you can expect when we launch in January. Blocks are released on Sunday mornings, and are available in a secure, private classroom on our website.

* The full schedule of Season 5 has not yet been posted, but we’ll just keep going anyway!

So How Does this Work?

Note: The live event is over, but you can still register to view the archived event, or purchase the printed pattern here.

1. You visit our website, and sign up for the quilt along. You’ll need to pick a “Team” that represents your chosen colorway. Don’t worry if you’re not sure or if you change your mind later; everyone receives all patterns for all colorways.
2. Checkout through our shopping cart. You’ll create an account during the payment process.
3. At the bottom of your order confirmation, there’s a link to a Class Registration Packet that tells you how to navigate the private Classroom area.
4. Each week, a new pattern and tutorials will be posted to the private classroom, and you’ll log into your account to access them.
5. You can even sign up for email updates to be reminded when new blocks are released.
6. Fabric and other supplies can be purchased from a participating shop.
7. Best of all, the patterns and tutorials are available to you 24/7, for as long as you need them, and you can log in at any time and work at your own pace.

As with any “surprise” that you don’t want spoiled, if you’re working a little bit behind, or you’ve joined the quilt along after it’s started, you’ll want to resist the urge to peek in the places where you might come across finished blocks that have already been revealed. You can keep the quilt a mystery for yourself for as long as you need to; the blocks are segregated in the classroom and you won’t see them revealed unless you visit the page they are stored on.

Ready to Register?

We wanted to make it such a no-brainer to participate that we’re offering the quilt along for a one-time fee of $65.95. This gets you access to the private classroom, weekly PDF patterns, and unlimited access to the videos and tutorials. Plus, you get access to our Classroom Help, which is a direct line to me, Ebony Love, if you need more help or have questions.

Note: The live event is over, but you can still register to view the archived event, or purchase the printed pattern here.

Choose Your Team from Three Different Colorways

The quilt has been designed to take advantage of the luscious line of Downton Abbey fabrics produced by Andover Fabrics in collaboration with the costume designer from the show.  When you pick your Team, you’re choosing one of three colorways: Team Cora, Team Rose, and Team Carson. The finished quilt is 72″ x 92″. There’s not really a border on this quilt, but you’re welcome to add one or more to make your quilt larger. You’ll need to pick your colorway when you sign up, but we don’t care which one you make. You’ll get all three colorways in your pattern, and you can make as many quilts as your heart desires.

Here’s a look at the three colorways side by side.

And if you want to use your own fabric? Go ahead! We just recommend that you pick a colorway that’s close to the values/hues that you want to use, so you can follow the instructions based on that colorway.

Do You Die-Cut Your Quilts?

If not, no problem! Our patterns are written for rotary cutting, but they also include an easy-to-learn die-cutting notation system for those who are interested in cutting their quilt that way. If you do plan to die cut, you’ll find ample assistance to make sure you’re successful and minimize waste when cutting.

If you’re not familiar, EDeN stands for Equivalent Die Notation System, and it’s a way of standardizing common quilt shapes across all cutting systems to make it easier for people to know what tools they need to cut their quilts.

If you are going to die cut, you need to familiarize yourself with EDeN. You can download a complete EDeN Chart over at the EDeN website, but a specific chart for the quilt along is available when you purchase the quilt along.

In terms of dies, if you participated in last year’s quilt along, you probably have most of what you need.  Here are the list of dies used through the project (refer to the EDeN Chart in the Classroom for specific dies):

Low Pattern Fees

We’re only charging the one-time fee for the pattern, but there may be other fees to keep in mind:

1. The one-time pattern fee. The cost is $65.95.
2. Your fabric. I won’t be providing quilt top kits this year, so you’ll need to shop your local quilt shop or favorite online dealer for a kit. I have a list for you so you know what shops are participating.
3. Shop fees. Some shops charge an additional program fee to participate in their events.
4. Supplies.  If you need dies, rulers, thread, etc. those must be purchased separately.

Note: The live event is over, but you can still register to view the archived event, or purchase the printed pattern here.

Don’t Take My Word For It

Listen to what these other participants had to say about their experience:

“My neighbor got me into quilting during a very stressful time in my life. It was fun to have someone to shop with and to work on projects with, pass ideas around, etc. Unfortunately, my neighbor has returned to Tampa and now it is just me. This quilt along as help me to find some other “kindred spirits” who not only love quilting, but are happy to share ideas and patterns and anything else that is quilting. Also nice to know that we share a love of great television and tea!!!”

“When I stumbled here, I had never heard of Downton Abbey and wondered what all the hooplah was about. I found the series on Amazon Prime and was hooked from the first episode!

In addition to the lovely fabrics and colorways from Andover and detailed instructions from Ebony, what I love most about this QAL is learning about the EDeN system. After seeing it, I want to use it for every quilt I piece! A big THANK YOU Ebony and your focus group for devising a standard system that works!”

“I have loved this QAL! You have found you to be thorough, organized and consistent. I have been involved in other QAL and left because they were not “mysterious” enough or the directions were inadequate. Yours has called to me each Sunday afternoon. But, it has also prompted me to watch DA. Yes, I was a hold out, but am no more! I am obsessed with the show.”

“This is my second mystery quilt with you, Ebony, and I must say…this one has been such a joy! First, being able to collaborate with my sweet daughter-in-law…Thanksgiving with their visit to our home, then when we traveled to Denver to be with the family at Christmas. Coordinating this with the wonderful DA program was genius! The enormous response from all the participants is amazing.”

“This was my first mystery quilt along and I am in LOVE. You are amazing, Ebony. I have followed your blog and YouTube videos for a while (for the dies and long arming). It is obvious that you take pride in what you do and you do it so well.”
We’re coming back with another mystery quilt especially for fans of Downton Abbey! And even if you’re not a fan, you can still play along.