peaceandjoy

Last year, I saw a picture of a quilt that was made with pieces cut 2x Bonnie's instructions. To achieve this, subtract 1/2" from cut size, double the remainder, then add 1/2" back in. So, if she says to cut 40 2" squares, cut 20 3-1/2" squares (2-1/2 = 1.5, 1.5 x 2 = 3, 3 + 1/5 = 3.5".

While I normally love small pieces, I actually liked how "clean" the outcome was - and it was a LOT less cutting as well as easier sewing.

Of course, I now cannot find the picture.

Doing this would mean not using my scraps, which are cut into strips of 1.5", 2" and 2.5" - but would be a lot easier to keep up and less likely to become a UFO.

My colors will definitely not be those Bonnie chose this year. Way too pastel for me. Currently leaning toward medium blue, salmon and green. I will not have as much variety as if I were using my scraps; maybe 4 or 5 of each color?

Later today, I am leaving for a retreat where I will be working on finishing blocks from LAST year's mystery, Old Town. Making 200 of anything gets boring - so gets put into a project box until I'm ready to face more of the same. Units are all done, as well as about half of the blocks. "Just" have to finish the rest of the blocks. When I get home, i'll put it up on the design wall and get the top put together (my least favorite part of making a quilt - wrangling that HUGE piece!).

WMUTeach

I stopped by Lowe's yesterday for something else and pulled the color chips. I am still in the considering stage. I have never done a BH Mystery because I am just not interested in tiny piecing, but I am leaning toward the challenge. Several of my quilt group have mentioned that the piecing is less fiddly for the past few years and the pieces are not quite as tiny. This year I like the color way. My only hesitations are.... pulling enough colors from my stash and making the quilt rectangular not square. Both factors that can be dealt with. For now, call me a serious lurker. I have a few weeks to make my final decision.

As to working fast, not me. On the other hand a friend started last year's BH Mystery last weekend and had the first two clues finished on Monday night! She is a quick one for sure and guesses she will have the top finished by our meeting so she can start this year's mystery Yikes! She is a speedy one and I am sure she will git'r done as planned.

Iceblossom

@peaceandjoy I like the idea of that double sized project. "Tiny Pieces" is a common refrain about Bonnie's work. When I first started doing these, Quilt Lady Janice rightly observed "but you don't like thousands of little triangles". Still don't -- but once a year I can do a bunch of them, and then be glad when I'm not doing any.

Last year when someone said they were doing a "half sized" project, my first thought was a miniature Bonnie project! It made my head swim. Half the blocks rather than blocks half the size is the usual meaning

@WMUTeach oh, it would be so fun to have you join us, lurker or not. I'm glad you like the color way this year but I often use Bonnie projects as a way to get fabric out of my stash... So for those with lots of colors that go well together but just aren't speaking to you right now, this can be a fun way to use them up. Last year I was able to use up a very nice fabric that just wasn't a color I wanted to work with.

I prefer rectangular quilts as well. Pretty sure I added an extra row on the Rhody one and have on maybe half the projects?? We have also upgraded to a king sized bed, so maybe I want to stay square but go a full extra row both ways. Again, is a mystery... we don't know in advance what is being used where and if maybe you can add/double a border or something. I've decided I'm going to make 12 extra whatever units -- not a huge amount if they don't get used, a good start if I do want to add them in.

joe'smom

Lovely fabrics, Iceblossom! I can see why the print wants to play. Maybe there will be a large piece in this quilt, as with Chilhowie, where it will be perfect.

I took another look at values, and I realized how extremely light Bonnie's blues are in her intro photos; I thought at first glance they were her neutrals because some are actually blue prints on a white background. I got out my fabrics and pulled my darker blues. So now I have a few blues that are genuinely pale, and the mediums. I did the same with my very pale pinks, leaving the lights and mediums, mostly cool shades. I'm at this point stubbornly sticking with the idea of using my gray fabrics for neutral, because it would please me to put them to use. However, that could lead to contrast issues. My neutral stash runs decidedly to the cream/beige side, so if I abandoned my grays, I'd probably have to shop for white neutrals or else use some very busy, colorful prints (this didn't work all that well in Old Town, and I ended up eliminating five blocks in which the neutrals caused confusion).

I really liked the look of that very blue purple; I used to think that color was indigo, until learning better during Indigo Way. I have only one bluer purple on hand, leftover from Chilhowie.

I plan to lay out my fabrics today and take photos to see where I really stand with contrast.

joe'smom

WMUTeach, so nice to see you here! I hope you do decide to join in. Since you have the color chips, could you comment on how they differ from the versions in the intro?

joe'smom

My medium blues are the same value as my pinks and darker gray (I removed those three lightest pinks). My light blues contrast adequately with the darker gray. The pinks and medium blues contrast adequuately with my lighter gray. So I might be able to successfully juggle things around, or I could ditch the medium blues and darker gray, look for 31/2 yds. of a very light gray to go with the 1 yd. I have, and assume that Bonnie will not be pairing her blues with her neutrals..Or, I could look for 4 1/2 yd. of a gray that's between the darker and the lighter gray in value, LOL. Or, I could do back to not worrying about value (I'm favoring the last option.)

Sync

I have started to pull the pinks, purples and blues from my stash. Last year's mystery was a bust for me. Had bronchitis that turned into pneumonia shortly after the start of "Old Town". So I'm ready for this mystery. Still have to go through stash for more blues and purples. I should be okay with my pinks and neutrals.

WMUTeach

I was a bit surprised at how deep and dark the two purples are. To me they represent a range of color from royal purple to deep purple that falls to the blue side of purple. If you have a deep stash, it would be easy to choose 6 - 10 pieces that represent that color range. Of course you would have to divide them up and designate which are the "royal" purple and which are the bluish purples. The pinks are easy medium pink and the second is lighter but slightly peachy. I would call the blue medium but very clear. It is not muddied by other tones. It would be easy to go lighter and still maintain the color and contrast needed. The white is just slightly off a pure white and slightly leaning toward cream. If you lay the white paint chip on a piece of white copy paper it looks just slightly off-white. My guess is that any white or WoW would do just fine.

On the whole, I think Bonnie did a good job keeping the color and choice descriptions open and free enough for your own interpretation of her color palette. All of the colors seem to be "pure" colors, not faded or grayed in any way.

I can see how choosing colors could drive you batty. I looked at my stash and I have white, one deep royal purple and one pink. No bluish purple, no light blue and no raspberry. But that is only a cursory look.

LI_diva

Oh @Iceblossom , I’m concerned.

I do love the fabric you chose for the ‘ice blue’, and in many quilts it’ would be totally appropriate. I’m not sure the scale of the print would work in a Bonnie quilt though.
With so many of the tiny pieces Bonnie is famous for, you might find yourself with, say, triangles that are more purple, green or pink. You might find yourself having to fussy cut those small pieces to read ice blue.

Of course, that’s just my opinion, and I’m not the quilt police. Maybe you enjoy fussy cutting, or maybe you’re happy to gamble on creating something totally delightfully different. I’m generally of the opinion that if you don’t have something nice to say, say nothing, so I apologise. It’s just since you haven’t started cutting or sewing yet, I’d just put it out there as food for thought.

Iceblossom

@LI_diva thanks for the concern and I offer my images for construction critique!

I remained unconvinced and am concerned about the scale of the print too, especially the large heather purple blobs... I can see where I can do something great with it, but we might have to pass this time, while using some of the same fabrics or the ones that didn't quite make this cut -- so the blue-er purples and the peachier toned soft pinks. I don't mind so much that it goes off from Bonnie's color choice or range, I rather like that it pulls all the colors together (including the white).

While I have a lot of small bits in my stash, I have fewer larger pieces and I try to use them as yardage and not bits. I know I don't want to cut off a piece of this and fussy cut it. I don't mind so much semi-fussy cutting if I'm going to use the entire piece, that is stopping and starting around the large print figures.

And I am not absolutely guaranteed to go the Bonnie colors! They were just a relatively easy pull. Still playing with black and brights.

Still working on my current project! Just one week to go before a quickie quilt guild retreat where I intend to set the top together. I'm almost there...