Hello Carol!
Other commitments and previous projects are huge. I am able to clear my schedule (which usually isn't too full anyway) to accommodate the Mystery requirements. I also give myself until Valentine's Day to actually get the top done. And then, well, we are still not getting things quilted but that's not just Bonnie's projects. I do have two completely quilted Mysteries, Frolic and Grassy Creek. That leaves Rhododendron Trail, Indigo Way, and Old Town ready to quilt. Chilhowie was during my moving year and I didn't do the mystery but I did print out the clues. I am unlikely to go back to it, but that's ok. It is the community aspect of these threads that I really enjoy
My guild mini-retreat is this weekend. I will be finishing up my current project which has been a bit more time intensive than I thought at first. There is no pattern, just a concept but it is coming out well. I have a joke about how my favorite project is always my "next one" and I am so ready to start something else. I really like this top and am happy I made it and in the fabrics I used. I think this is a Virtual Quilting Weekend while I'll be off at my RLQW, but I hope to post a picture on Sunday in that thread...
Anyway! Back on topic. For all on the fence or too heavily committed but still like the mystery part, some recommendations
Join in on the fun (and frustrations) expressed in the thread and put off starting (maybe forever?).
Likewise, many people dislike the Mystery aspect and always wait until later in the process when they can get some ideas of how it is all going to be before they even pick colors. LOL, I was talking to someone about this the other day. Just did not get the idea of mystery at all. She asked, so what's it going to be? I said "A quilt". But what's it going to look like? "I don't know." So why? what?? look of confusion.
The first clue or two often features a kazillion units most of which often end up in the border. She has us front load the effort because she knows must of us would admit an audible groan at building the border as well as put the project down at that point! If you want to simplify your life and remove the borders from your project, you can clear up a bit of space/time that way. No guarantees or spoilers, but I will try and figure out a best guess based on the size of the quilt and the number of units if I think some are being used in the blocks as well. That would be by private message!
Do what you can. Last year I was in the depths of my year of being legally blind and I was seriously doubting my abilities to participate. My goal pre-project was to cut the strips needed for each stage of the Mystery, and then sew later. I was able to sew (and finish) the top, and it gave me something to do while I couldn't do much and my MiL was passing... sometimes the project comes at what is actually a very good time.
Bonnie's projects work best with a lot of organization and/or room that many of us don't have. I always get better but I always create quite the mess during the mystery! It does help to store the pieces/clues in some way and yes, I label mine and put them into neat counts with all those little fabric clips I've gotten. This year I have a lot of large aluminum type roaster pans (in two sizes), we get the stacks from Costco. I might be using those to corral each clue week to week. While plastic bags can be great, they are also slippery and need to be contained.
I write all over my clue pages, which I keep in a 3-ring binder. Both in those notes, and in my fabric piles I keep notes on where I am in the process . It can be really hard to be interrupted and then remember where am I/what was I doing? If there is a problem or reason on why I'm not working on them -- I put that in there too!