Clue 3, Not Finished Yet!

 Indigo Way mystery is chugging along. I kept up with clues 1 and 2, but I won't be finished with clue 3 when clue 4 comes out tomorrow. That's OK, I figured I'd fall behind at some point. I've got hopes of catching up the week of Christmas.

Where most people will be really busy Christmas week, I won't be. Our family is celebrating Christmas on the 17th, so in just a couple days. Things will calm down for us after that for a little bit anyway. When I decided to do Indigo Way in two colorways, and Bonnie said she'd save the easiest clue for Christmas week, I knew I had a built in catch up week. My main focus has been on getting all the pieces cut for each clue in both colorways, before the next clue comes out. If I can get them sewn up, that's great, if not, that's OK too. 

I did get all the sewing done in Bonnie's colorway that I'm making with men's shirts. These are just a sampling of my units. I am going for a smaller quilt in this colorway. The first two clues, I made 2/3 the units of the full sized quilt, this clue had me scratching my head a bit, but I have a couple of ideas of where Bonnie could go with this. I thought of two ways it could go with her numbers, so I made a few more than I thought I'd need, in case I'm way off. She's pretty sneaky with her mysteries, and although I've guessed correctly a few times, I've also guessed incorrectly several times as well. 

 

These are all of my colorway that are pressed. I actually have about half of the units sewn, which isn't too bad. I should get the ones I sewed up today pressed this evening. 

So what else have I done this week? Well, the reveal for my Viking Murder Mystery quilt came out this week. The designer actually gave three options for the final layout, which was very nice of her. I like parts of each layout, but I also had an idea of what I thought the final layout might end up being, and I might add my own spin to the final quilt. I need some time to think about it. I need to try to get the quilt top assembled this month if at all possible. 

I've had two baby quilts I've been needing to make, and although I had chosen patterns I really liked for both, I just couldn't get myself to start them. I know when I have a mental block like that, I'm better off going in a completely different direction than try to force it. Giving myself permission to go in a new direction was just what I needed! Once I gave up my original ideas, I started cutting both quilts, and one of them I sewed up all the blocks and it's ready to assemble! The other is partially cut out, but I'm ready to finish cutting that one, and I'll have fun sewing the blocks for that one too. I had some fussy cutting to do for my revised plan, and I'm finished that, so all the remaining cutting is easy. 

Am I the only one who gets stuck because when the time comes, you just aren't feeling your original plan? I genuinely like my original plan, and I think sooner or later I likely will make both quilts I planned. I'm just not making them for this baby. The last time I was really stuck on a baby quilt, I went completely off book, and improv pieced the whole thing. I loved it! I'm not always in the state of mind to improv piece a quilt, so for one of the quilts this time, I decided to piece a bunch of different 4" blocks, using specific colors to give the quilt the overall feel I'm going for. A lot of the pieces will be interchangeable with other units, so how the blocks go together with which colors I'll decide as I sew them up. I should have more blocks than I need, so when it's time to lay out the blocks, that's where the real decision making comes in. I'm now excited about the project instead of stuck! 

Tomorrow clue four comes out for Indigo Way, and I'm really hoping for some strip piecing! I'm thinking four patches would work well with what we've already got! You never know though, it is a mystery after all.