On Ringo Lake - Clue 3 - Bonnie Hunter - Mystery Quilt

12/8 - Friday means that another clue has been released in the Bonnie Hunter, On Ringo Lake, mystery.  It also means that I want to work on it NOW! A quick dash to the studio to turn the heat on and then back into the house.  It is dang cold out and, in fact, the coldest day of the year thus far.  Brrr.

I give it about an hour to warm the studio up and sneak back out to cut, cut, cut.  Making it through the coral strips for our Diamond in a Rectangle Units.  I think I'm one of the few who really love sewing these.  Seriously.  To me, they are just easy peasy -- apparently my brain just "gets" them.

About the time I'm ready to start subcutting, my sweetie calls from in the house.  He thinks it's too cold for me out here.  Ugh.  He just doesn't get it, but to avoid an argument, back into the house I go.  These will wait for another day.



12/20  WHAT????  Between decorating for Christmas, a Red Hat event, a Girlfriend's Party, baking, car shopping, more decorating, more baking, shopping, mailing, hosting a cookie exchange party, rain, flooding, no water, and actually purchasing a car --- TWELVE days have passed.  Oh my goodness.  This is the absolute first time I've been this far behind on a BH mystery.  Clue 4 is already out and in 2 more days, clue 5 will release.  However, here's the saving grace:  I have given myself permission to be behind.  To take my time.  To enjoy the process.  It's not been easy to accept that permission, but I am truly working on it.  I feel it's needed in my life.

At any rate -- I have time to go out to the studio today AND it's not too cold out.  A double woohoo.  One benefit of waiting so long to finish cutting this clue is that my brain has thought and thought of a way to reduce the waste even more.  After cutting one using the Bonnie Method, I then made a template from that cut piece and attached it to my Easy Angle Ruler.  TA-DA -- with strips placed right sides together, I get the diamonds going both directions as needed.  Yep, patting myself on the back here.

I focus on just cutting today (yes, the next clue is cut as well but you'll have to go to that particular post to read about it) and when my time is up, I am ready to sew tomorrow.  For now, there are other projects calling.

12/21 - I did it!  I have made it to the studio two days in a row.  I only have one free hour right now, but that may be enough to at least sew one side onto the diamonds.  Step one though is to separate my diamonds and have them all ready to work with.  It takes a bit of time and I've discovered that it really wasn't necessary to cut the outer triangles with right sides together - no, we weren't instructed to, I just did it.  That'll teach me.  Now, on your mark, get set, go --- sew, sew, sew.

Making it through the first half in my hour, I'm golden.  Tomorrow is another day in here.

12/22 -- THREE days in a row.  Will wonders never cease?  Again, I only have about a couple of hours to play but I'm pretty sure that means I can finish at least the first half with their second triangle.  (I'm also cutting for clue 5 so time is sailing by.)  The cutting is finished and I get to focus on my units once again.  They go quick and I'm moving on again toward other parts of my life with the hope that I'll be able to press these and remove their dog ears tonight.

Ooooh, Mister has wine and A Christmas Carol ready.  (What a crazy wire mess we see.  He just installed a new monitor and is not sure it will stay so hasn't put everything away right - ick.)

I quickly press my units and settle in to snip the dog ears off while watching.  I hope you're enjoying the season too.  Onto the second half of this clue tomorrow???  Time will tell.

12/24 - Ah, my short-lived record of studio attendance is now a thing of the past.  The good news is that I have taken a quick hour and a half in the hopes of completing this clue today.  I don't have any cutting to do, it's just attach, attach, attach triangles.

YAY!  Mission accomplished.  I have finally made it to the last couple of steps.  I just need to press and remove dog ears once again.

Mister is finishing up the yard in preparation for company tomorrow so I snip, snip, snip away.  White Christmas is on Netflix and I seriously could not be more content right now.

Clue 3 is in the books.  I am ready to start clue 4 as I'm all cut so my hope is to be totally caught up before clue 6 hits the internet waves.  However, I'm not altering my plan of keeping the joy in place.  Life is all around me and I want to experience all of it -- not just what takes place at my sewing machines.  This Christmas wish to all of you is that you also find those things that bring you joy and let the stress go.  Life is just way too short.  If you arrived at this blog via Bonnie's link-up --- here's your ticket back:  Link UP LINK.