FNSI Update & Mystery Kick-off

The holiday weekend has come to a close and we are off and running with On Ringo Lake!  I was so excited to get started that I didn't really think about how many strip sets I would need for the first step. I was just cutting away when it occurred to me that I might have too many.  I am really hoping we need 1.5" strips elsewhere in this quilt or I have a bunch to add to my stash!

I finished the first step easily over the weekend.  Apologies for the blurry photo - it looked okay on the little phone screen.  I am very happy with my colors so far.

I had plenty of extra sewing time this weekend, so I not only was able to catch up on the three Triangle Gatherings blocks Lisa posted recently but also was able to sew and mostly prep the rest of the HSTs for the last five blocks. 

I  can't wait to see what Lisa comes up with for setting these. I still haven't let go of the star idea, but am waiting to see the "official" setting. This project will definitely be on the UFO list for 2018, along with my Starlite Skies SBOW.  I was able to finish another week's blocks over the long weekend. I now have seven weeks completed, so just five more to go.

I ended every evening over the holiday working on the binding to En Provence.  I had hoped to have it finished by now but the sewing is going slowly due to a bum shoulder (who would think that shoulder pain would interfere with hand sewing?) and some obnoxious corners. I tried to be so perfect when working the corners on the longarm but the first two sure have been uncooperative!  Not that I ever get them perfect on the regular machine, but they have been a real pain on this one, likely because I cut the binding narrow.  Anyway I am hoping to finish this week so I can get back to rug hooking in the evenings.

I am looking forward to checking out the Monday Mystery Link-up on Bonnie's blog for a first peek at all of the different color options for this year's mystery. It is always so much fun to see what others are doing!