It's time! The Bonnie Hunter Mystery for 2024/25 is beginning. Welcome to all, the returning, the first timers, lurkers and what I call the "non-sewing participants". All are welcome, for me a big part of my enjoyment is seeing what the rest of you are doing.
The pre-clue is out -- the name of the mystery is Old Town and the suggested colors and yardage required are posted. This year is slightly different -- we are starting one week early on November 22 instead of on Black Friday!
https://quiltville.com/pdf/OldTown_Intro_Full.pdf
About the Mystery: Bonnie is a nationally recognized quilter and offers a mystery every year as a gift back to the quilting community. It is completely free, we do not swap blocks so there are no participation requirements or mailing deadlines.. You can sign up to receive emails on Bonnie's site if you wish, or follow the links that will be posted here. I will post the PDF links, so if we refer to "page 3 of the instructions" that is the PDF. I really recommend printing the clues. There will be a fresh clue usually every Friday until probably some time in January. There is also typically a light day or or two for catching up. Everything is free until usually about Valentine's Day, then you can buy a non-mystery set of instructions. To keep up with the sewing can be grueling depending on what else you have going on. Remember, this is not a race but a support group.
Rules: Bonnie asks very little of us, but we are guests in her project so we try to observe her requests. As she is the ultimate person responsible we are asked NOT to share numbers, measurements, or "spoilers" for people who really enjoy the mystery aspect. She will post any corrections needed on the website. It can be frustrating to be looking for something simple and easy like what Accuquilt die is/can be used -- but if Bonnie isn't telling we shouldn't either! We are able and willing to point each other to key points in the directions. Counts should be avoided because they can be used as spoilers or might have an error (that is, it is better to say something like "I got about half my units done today" as opposed to "16 out of 34 done"). While we love seeing each other's fabric selections and work in progress, we should avoid showing what we we think is the final layout before that is released. Besides, she usually puts in some things to preserve the mystery for as long as possible. She also asks that we don't take all the paint chips from our local stores. I think we can handle that.
As "host" I see my biggest participation as being a cheerleader and in reminding everyone that this is their own project. They will all be wonderful and amazingly both the same yet different and we can get through the long slogs and we all make mistakes at some point. There are a lot of Bonnie Hunter UFOs (mystery or otherwise) out there and that's ok. Again, your project and your time schedule -- we are doing this for fun. I will try to be quick on posting each clue link or if there is a correction, but if any of you come on before me -- feel free to post! You never know when my power might be out or real life has come to take me away from the computer or the sewing machine but I promise to keep up until the end. If you are more of a lurker, I can guarantee if you have questions someone else does to so go ahead and post but if you'd rather send a private message that works too.
I've been dealing with vision issues this year -- they are getting better but I am unlikely to be doing the project as the clues come out. My hope is that I will at least be able to cut my strips for each clue as they come out. I might be able to do some sewing before the end of the year but can't really count on that but I have some hope. I still have two mystery tops to quilt down, Rhododendron Garden and last year's Indigo Way. Again, this is not a race and there is no pressure other than what we give ourselves!