Hi Deb,
I hope that others will weigh in on this as this is just my second mystery quilt from Bonnie, but my only advice is:
Decide now if you will make the original design and size or change it a bit like some of us did - to make circles instead of the more diamonded shape that Bonnie has. Several of us did not include the yellow QST's from clue # 7 and used purple tri-recs instead. I have all of my yellow blocks left over as well as many others because I made enough for the full size before deciding to make it just 12 blocks.
I am more comfortable with a "controlled" look so if I did another one, my neutrals would be just creams or white tones. It is a wonderful learning experience and I'm sure you will come up with something special in the end. It is so nice to see how others have changed up the colors and design and you are right about this group - they are wonderful mentors! Keep us posted on your progress.