Bravo, Iceblossom, for managing to explain so well without using numbers. It verges on the comical how much more difficult it is for us to help each other when we can't mention numbers, LOL!
I went to lie down for 'a few minutes' to rest my back and read the clue. Now it is hours later! I want to point out something that seems quite significant to me. The business about the trimmed dog ear being in a certain position applies only to the triangles that end up remaining unsewn. For the triangles that end up being sewn into HSTs, those dog ears are all removed as usual! So unless I am totally missing something, there is no reason to do the HSTs by the method shown. They can be done by any method. Only the triangles that remain unsewn need to be cut as shown. I have verified that if you are using the Easy Angle ruler in place of Bonnie's Essential Triangle Tool, the blue needs to be on top for a right hander. With the blue on top and working left to right, you get the dog ear orientation that is shown.