En Provence - Clue 3 - Bonnie Hunter - Mystery Quilt

It's Friday, it's Friday, it's Friday.  We all know what that means.  It means get out of bed around 6, check the clue, make scones, set up for sew day, prep lunch, and greet Allison at the door.  Woohoo!!!  It means it is a FUN day.  I so look forward to Fridays, not just for the clue release, but for the friendship that it entails.  (Oh, I NEVER remember to do this and I always mean to --- If you want the recipe for these wonderful scones, please click HERE)

I am ready and ironing fabrics by the time she arrives.  Mister makes a joke that I just can't wait for her, but I am.  Ironing doesn't count.  Right?



As soon as she arrives and Mister helps her get everything in the house, we start in cutting our strips.  Once again, we are sharing so two strips of each fabric get cut.  One for me, one for you.

Straightening fabric.  It is only after I have accumulated quite the stack of trimmings that I remember I am supposed to add an inch onto my trimming so that I build my strings.  I have A LOT of string projects coming up this year.  Silly me.

As we are cutting, Bill Young stops by for a visit and to pick up his quilt from Allison.  I LOVE IT.  He did such a great job with a friends shirts and by adding in a few fabrics of his own choosing.  He arrives carrying donuts and is able to stay a visit for a couple of hours with us.  Be careful Bill, if you get us talking about quilting, it is hard to get us to stop.

Somehow, we never get to the donuts while Bill is here as he wants a scone as well.  However, I peek in on them a little while later and it appears a mouse has attacked them.  Is the mouse named Allison?  Or Mister?

A few steps around the house will show you that En Provence is EVERYWHERE.  Allison is making TWO of them and these are the backs she is working on.  I'm sure you'll get to see them later on, just know that they are going to be magnificent.

Where is this day going?  We really need to sew.  While I finish prepping lunch, Allison sets us up to sew.  It's time to sew those lavender/purple strips together.  Lots and lots of them are needed before we can move onto the next step of making four patches.  Oh did I neglect to tell you that.  Yes, we are making four patches once again.  This mystery is starting to remind me of Double Delight.  Not in the same units, but in the same units repeating themselves.  However, let it be said that I would rather do a bazillion four-patches than all those square in a squares.  Oh my.

At one point we discover that Allison just can't use only her own space.  She now has her strips and mine co-mingling down the same exit slot.  Hmmm.  It's lunch time.

Our wonderful soup and hot bread are ready to go and we've worked oh so hard today.  We definitely need a break.  Yes, high sarcasm there.  I neglected to get a picture of the soup, but it was a Pumpkin/Butternut Squash and oh so yummy.  Yes, I'll share that recipe too.  Please click HERE.  After a delightful visit, it's time to get serious and get some work done.  It's after 2 already.  Crazy.  It's time to line up those strips and cut twosies.  Lots and lots of twosies.  Are you sensing a theme here --- lots and lots and lots and . . . .

Around 3, we discover that we have not even started sewing these little buggers together yet, so Allison makes arrangements to stay longer and that means we can have eggnog while we sew away.  Oh yum.  Now we are all nice and toasty inside.  Sew on.

Off we go and before long our stacks are slowly but surely sliding down into the unknown floor area.  What they do down there is their own business, but I'll let you know that they are darn creative.  Peek.

Guess what?  The sun is setting and we are finally getting to sewing four patches together.  This has definitely been a wonderful day filled with a mixture of conversation, show and tell, food, and sewing.  This clue is starting to come together.

Allison is way ahead of me but I am plodding along.  Finally --- I have reached the end of my stacks of twosies.  Now I have to clip these all apart so they can be spun and pressed.  For some unknown reason, the Gizmo is out in the studio and that just seems to far to walk right now.  Snip, snip (I'm being careful cos while Allison was snipping, she nipped her finger.  Ouch.)  Soon they are all apart and covering my sweet Featherweight.  Barbara (the 221) looks lovely in pink, doesn't she?

Now for  the final press.  By the time I am done, my dear friend is packed up and ready to depart.  Oh dang -- now for the sad part.  It's what I love most about retreats.  You get to do it all over again the next day.  Oh wait --- we DO.  Tomorrow is Mugstateers day at Fabric Fanatics.  Okay, go home and get some sleep my friend.  We'll play again tomorrow in Plano.

And this one is complete.  Woohoo.  Onto clue four next week and I think Bonnie said we are now half done.  YES!!!  Now, if you came here via the Mystery Monday Linkup -- here is your link back:  http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2016/12/mystery-monday-link-up-part-3.html  Thanks for stopping by.