I'm cutting Clue 7 as I somehow skipped it entirely.
From what I've read in the instructions you can use any blues and raspberries. They don't have to be what we used in previous clues.

SusieQ, that's correct.

Correct Susie, they can be brand new fabrics if needed but they need to be kept in sets.

A lot of my pieces were still great colors and usable randomly but just were an inch or so short to make a set.

Edit: Oh, I wanted to say something about my approach to scrappy versus one set of fabric or whatever, my real line is "the quilt we make depends on the fabric we have". I had a big bag of randomly sized pieces of hand dyed! I didn't really expect the issues with the dye not being set, or that I'd have to go to a much broader value range rather than have enough to keep true-er to the paint chips, or that in an entire strip of fabric I'd have an all yellow piece that should be red. That wouldn't be so bad except that yellow is my neutral.

I've certainly made scrappy quilts with far more identical repeats as well, and there is nothing wrong with that. Sometimes it works better to have "just" six blues, six greens, etc. And there is nothing wrong at all with a planned quilt of just one blue, one green, etc.

Before I developed my stacking/sorting techniques for dealing with fabrics, I'd start out by randomly putting fabric I liked together. That would go well for about half the combinations, and then the fabrics I rejected before were now "double ugly" and couldn't be put in combinations I was happy with but yet, no matter how hard I tried, the two fabrics I didn't want touching always ended up right next to each other in the final layout. Or if there are only 4 pieces of orange in the entire top, they end up within a square foot of each other.

I'm finding Clue 7 daunting- yikes!!!
I only have about a dozen done. I'm going to have to search my stash I think.

Finally made it to clue 4, and love using the essential ruler. I feel like the baby on the back of the Indian maiden, "I don't know where I am going, but I can tell you where I have been." That is an old, old saying from my childhood, because I cannot imagination where the pieces will go, but hope I am accurate in cutting pieces as Bonnie Hunter directs me to cut them. Loved my Bloc loc HST and have one for the flying geese as well. Have downloaded clue 8, and wondering when we will know how to set it all together. Love it that the electrical power is back on and its warm in our house again, and we can see! Blessings feel good after not having it for a number of hours.

The good news is the end is near, yay! But I totally agree, a daunting task indeed! I break them down to manageable sets by doing some stopping and getting up to go do something else then coming back. Today I’m cleaning, doing laundry and sewing in between. I’m really looking forward to the seeing the end!

Lisa, I'm doing the same thing! And I'm about half done with those triangles. I have an easy angle I bought a long time ago that I'm using.
I also did a bunch of strips and then brought them downstairs to cut. Change of scenery lol

Oops!!! Glad you caught that, QuiltnNan. I forgot!

Well, I am happy to announce that I've got all but 7 sets of the triangles cut for clue 7!! I've been doing them 10 at a time then taking a break, but my back gave out before the last 7 so I'm hugging the heating pad for a while. I am cutting for a 3/4 size throw, so I only have to make 31 sets. Because of the odd size, I may end up having to cut a few more of different clues to make it come out even on the wall.
The good news is I did end up being able to use only one red in each set and won't have to mix them. I end up with a few more duplicates than I wanted but that's ok. Duplicates of the red, not full sets. I make sure that each set has a different blue/red combo.
Just 7 more to cut then I can start sewing up FGs and HSTs.... oh and pinwheels. OH MY!!!

SusieQ, if you are using the Easy Angle ruler, are you cutting clue 7 with your blue strip on top? The Easy Angle is configured differently from Bonnie's ruler so you have to switch the position of the blue and red. Bonnie didn't specifically say this in her clue but she did say that if people were using a different ruler, they needed to check how to arrange their strips so the dog ear is positioned correctly.

I am about 1/2 done with the clue 8 geese. I'm thinking back to the beginning, and Bonnie saying the 4-patch was the foundation of the quilt. She had said this about the 9-patch from ORL and that turned out to be the center of the block. I think she also said it last year about the 4-patch from Good Fortune, which turned out to be a big part of the orange block.

Because of my extremely dark reds and blues, I think my quilt might have a rather somber look.

I'm half way through 6, all of 8 done. At this point I'm tired of doing flying geese. I think I'll finish 6 later and do 7.

I'm putting the raspberry on top but I didn't realize it would make a difference. Now I'm confused!
I trim them down with my Bloc Loc. Hmmm................. what do you think?

I had to recut some of mine as the long slant did not go in the right direction to sew to right or left of piece. Guess I wasn’t careful in following the placement of the fabrics. Some days I’m like a bull in a china shop. I charge ahead before I get my mind in gear or before i thoroughly read the directions. Sigh....

It is good to know we are not alone in our little foibles and follies!! I had to redo some too... the mistakes will go into a scrappy happy quilt top!! So tho frustrating, not a waste!

If you are putting the raspberry strip on top and cutting with Easy Angle, then your blue wings will want to go on the left of the clue 8 geese, whereas they must go on the right. You will still be able to use them, but it won't be as convenient to position them.

I pushed through and finished clue 8, so I am ready for whatever will come next. I am having a contrast problem when I pair my aquas with my lighter med. blues. I had trouble finding that Scanda shade and most of my med. blues are lighter than the paint chip. I'm hoping this will not be too consequential.

joe's mom- I see what you mean.
I've never done one of her mysteries until now. Since most of mine are cut I'll see how it turns out.
Hopefully it'll be okay, but thanks for your info.
Your blocks look great!

I finally finished my clue 6 geese, set Bs from clues 7 and 8, and I'm probably better than halfway through the set As. I love all the colors coming together in this latest clue! I cannot wait to see how all the alternate color quilts come out!

I’m going to try to get the rest of Clue 8 done today; correcting as I go. A friend of mine is making the mystery quilt too (her first mystery) and she will be coming over sometime this week to cut out some more clues. She is behind due to holiday company and sickness. I’m glad she is not caught up or she would have made my mistake too since I am helping her with the clues. Some of my contrast is not the best so I might remake a few pinwheels.

One of the reasons we got the clues spread out over more time this year is because she didn't go right back to work after the 1st of the year. Next week she is back on the road, so I expect Friday will be the reveal with the answer to what to do with the remaining neutrals and how those specific cutting instructions and placements will turn out.

And now that the Inn is open and producing income she will better be able to see how she can shift her gone all the time focus. She and I have the same eye disease and I know from conversations with her this is one of the 'behind' reasons for trying to not travel so much. So maybe maybe the 2020 mystery will be spread out more again.

I do think this slower paced mystery is what we can expect in the future. It's nice to think of Bonnie not having quite as frantic a traveling schedule.

It's hard to imagine that the pinwheel isn't going to be the center of a block. I'm hoping for a supplemental clue tomorrow (maybe the neutrals?) before the reveal on Friday. Is anyone else thinking that we're done with the green and aqua?

I don't have any more aqua...just a single 2.5 strip, about 15 inches long. I did order an extra bit of it when I ordered the raspberry I needed to finish step 7, just in case. I am thinking we are done with it. I do still have enough green to be useful still, but I don't see us using much of it. I am excited for friday's clue!

Well, if someone were to ask me if I wanted to make this quilt and I knew how many flying geese were in it I would say no thank you. However, I needed to make 12 more because I miscounted and I did them the 4 at a time method and it was a breeze, so there you go. I have 80% done on clue 8, just need to do some squaring up. So good to see some familiar names that are doing this, and also some new people who are adding so much to the conversation. I really have been admiring everyone and the pictures. We are going to have some awesome quilts! I loved doing the Allietare quilt by Bonnie, how it looked and the colors, it was my first mystery quilt with her so the next time I decided I would do two of each clue and when I finished I would have two quilts. Well it was the En Provence, and when the reveal happened I really didnt care for it. I did finish one quilt and left all the other units for the other one undone. Yes, they are still in sets in a bin waiting for me to sew them together. I just cant seem to get myself to do it. I have this saying anymore of "if I dont love it I am not doing it" when it comes to my quilting, knitting and embroidery. So, the lesson for me that I learned is not to do anything like that again.

This is my 7th BH MQ and is by far the most fussy and confusing in instructions. It may very well be my last. If I love the pattern, I'll probably change my mind :-). But I'm nervous it's going to be like Grand Illusion which was so busy.

If I haven't sewn things together the way I was supposed to, then I'll make up my own pattern but I am not unsewing, resewing, making more, etc.

Sandra-P how did you do the 4 at a time on step 8? I tried that and my blue ended up on the wrong side of the flying geese. The 4 at a time works great for step 6.

Queenbarbie, I didnt do the 4 at a time for step 8. I did it her way. I had to redo the green and blue flying geese from a few steps ago and that is when I did the 4 at a time. I looked at step 8 and realized I had to do it her way with her ruler. Love your quilt under your name!

Thanks, its a scrappy Irish chain sew along that was on this board last year. I didn't want plain blocks between the chains.

I wonder if Bonnie gets nervous about how people will react? One thing I noticed is that a lot of Quiltvillians did not follow her values very closely this time, particularly the aqua. If that turns out to be important, I fear a Grand Illusion-type reaction.

I think she's done enough of these at this point and has a large enough following that she knows not everyone is going to be happy. It's just a part of the process. She says that this is reader appreciation and all that... but at the end of the day this particular quilt make her money. It drives people to her blog that wouldn't normally follow her. It gets people to buy her special ruler. And after it's done gets people to buy the pattern. This is her job. Yes she is a person that has feelings.... but she is also a business woman who knows what she is doing.

If people end up not liking the final product, that's the risk you take with doing a mystery. I am also a little worried that it is going to be way to busy for my tastes. Ultimately we can take the parts we like and rearrange to make something more restful if needed.

Loved that sew-along. I have made two since. Now one of my favorite scrappy patterns. I was always so afraid of the double Irish Chain but not any more!

From your picture and the parts shown, it looks to me like your contrast is fine. This is my first Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt and although I've fallen a little behind, I am really having fun with it.

So much for getting caught up yesterday! I just could not get myself in the sewing room to work on them. Burned out temporarily I guess. But today is the day. My friend might come over today to work on cutting out more of the clues for her to work on. We will see....

A few thoughts on my first BH mystery:

So much cutting, right? Well I figured out a way to do it that isn't quite so daunting.
I've done a lot of cutting of the strips in my sewing room. Then I do the triangles in
my family room watching something good on TV. Tonight it will be the Jeopardy
championship. If Ken wins tonight it's all over. James has one win so I'm hoping
it continues.
Also trim down my geese this way. I find that if I work straight in my sewing room
it's just too much for me. Last night I trimmed all of clue 8 watching The Crown
and it was quite painless.
I shopped my stash for the entire quilt. I used fabrics I love so that if I don't exactly
love the reveal I will still probably like it because of my fabrics.
Just my 2 cents!

I've done two of the mystery quilts, but have never had the trouble that I'm having with the complicated clues on this one. I will persevere, but this might be my last for a while. I know that if I waited until the reveal that I would never make it, but all of these flying geese with no "wiggle room" are about to make me abandon the whole project - but I will not be defeated! I don't have Bonnie's ruler, but am using the Companion Angle, and the parts just don't come out quite right, so lots of fudging, trial and error.

maminstl, do you have the Easy Angle ruler to go along with the Companion Angle ruler, or are you trying to use Companion for both parts of the geese? Heaven knows the geese are hard enough to do when you have the right ruler!

Any chance you can post the link to the sew along? I can't see your photo very well and would love to get a look at the quilt, plus the pattern.. I love me some scrappy!!

Well, I am finally ready to start sewing my windmills. I got all the HSTs finished and pressed yesterday. Yay, I'm getting there!!!

This was the scrappy sew-along.
https://www.quiltingboard.com/quilti...g-t304703.html

I have my pinwheels from 7 finished this morning, except for trimming. I still have four pinwheel sets to cut and sew, and four non pinwheel sets,but waiting on more raspberry. My flying geese ruler arrived, I went with the creative grids ultimate one because it can do multiple sizes of geese, and has the instructions for use printed on the ruler.

I have been so scared to trim down blocks this entire quilt and lose my little bit of wiggle room, but I am going to have to give up and just do it once we move into finished blocks instead of units. In my experience, trimming down units to exact size makes the final blocks a smidge too small. I am still trying to figure out how obsessively checking seam allowances to match unit size still gives me a block that is a sliver too big once I start joining them....but my piecing skills have improved so much this quilt.

I'm facing the same discomfort, Origamagoldfish. When I was putting together my pinwheels I kept chanting to myself "Scant Seams Scant Seams", when I was done they were pretty much perfect but I had expected slivers to trim off. On my other machine I tend towards the scant size, apparently on this one I tend towards the fat seam.

Well thank goodness that I am not alone in having to really watch my seams and make them skinnier than I ever have in any other quilt. I put my stitch length down too because with a skinny seam I am concerned with them coming out. Maminstl, I am with you on the complicated instructions. At first I thought it was because I am having some health problems and I am not thinking clearly but then after reading some other comments I am so glad I am not alone. I just have a few hst's to do and I am caught up.