NYE with a Different Mystery!

Every year for the past ten years (except last year) Kathy and I reserve the day for sewing a mystery.  Last year there was no new one on EVE day and I usually work on New Year's Day so I don't usually do that one.  So Kathy worked on Allietare all day--she is over half way through the longest clue--4.  I started by sewing some boy bag gifts that I did not have time to do before Christmas.  I am now ahead of birthdays or whatever.  Shark bag for Koi and the other three are randomly are for Ollie, Colton and Leon.  

 I wanted to make a homemade gift for a few of my sewing friends that gave me cool gifts this year.  So made a few sets of these selvage potholders (Ros has made me several and I love them so I copied hers!).  I have been saving selvages for awhile but have never really used them. I discovered that some were WAY TOO small to use and I had to toss them and I found my missing bag of elastic shoved in there too. I knew I had more of that stuff.

 Kathy made us some Weight Watchers Cherry Cocktails.  Pretty tasty and since I rarely drink and have lost weight I should have backed away from the rotary cutter.  Instead I switched to coffee and kept on sewing!

 

 Every year we make Burgundy Beef in the crockpot.  I always add carrots and we smash them into the gravy before we eat.  Like my new crockpot courteousy of mom and dad?  Me too!

 Right about the time I was mid potholder sewing, I saw that Miss Bonnie had released the final clue of Allietare!  So a mystery was worked on after all.  Seems like last year we worked on the mystery too when Bonnie surprised us with the clue.  So I put the first block of each together and could not figure out why mine looked so different.  I thought my color choices must have ruined the effect or something.  I continued working on the yellow center blocks awhile and then...

 I realized that I had used the wrong unit (and turned it the wrong way to boot) so I redid the second block and was MUCH HAPPIER with the look of it!

I also had suspected the Bonnie would have us make string blocks for the centers of the blocks since her next book is strings again.  I decided not to make them since it would take me much longer and then I saw Briony on Quiltville Open Studio had added strings and posted a picture.  Well that did it, I had to try it!

 I think I will add some string blocks to it but just a few.  I made a few corner triangles and added them so here is what it is shaping up to look like so far!

I had to see what Kathy's will look like too:

We had a great day!  We binge watched "Making of a Murderer" on Netflix and caught up on "Alone" and watched an "Orange is the New Black".  Ball is dropping so this will be it for this year!