Link-up #1 - Allietare Mystery Quilt!

It has been a long year, with very little quilting done since January, and knowing that something is missing but not quite having the energy to tackle the task of organizing the sewing room. Thank you to Bonnie Hunter, who has once again come through with a fun mystery quilt to enliven the holiday season and make the internet seem like a smaller and cozier place. The name is Allietare! ... which means Rejoice! in Italian. And the inspiration is the colors and textures of the Italian Renaissance. I think this is just what I needed to break through the fog. The first link-up party is going on at the Quiltville blog, where you can see what other quilters the world over are doing.

I've been working since Friday, mostly on clue #1. I really like my constant gray, but I decided after much dithering (see previous posts) that I would have to be restrained in my use of neutrals; nothing that would fight with this paler gray. So some of the conversational neutral prints I used in previous mysteries will stay out of play in this one, and I'll be planning a super-scrappy quilt at some time in the near future to make up for it.

 I'm over half done, pinning the little triangle units into groups of 10. In fact, I'm sewing 10 at a time and then using something else to mark the break, like a little string-piecing, so my attention span doesn't get too challenged. It goes fast, though. I just need to make working on it a priority, a little every day.  Today didn't work out, because after school I ended up scheduling an appointment and then driving a kid to it, and then making turkey tetrazzini with our leftover turkey, and then knit night... maybe tomorrow.

I've also returned to Grand Illusion, which was abandoned for most of the year, and am almost halfway done with piecing the units into the main blocks.  I hope to finish the top before Christmas, as well as keeping up with this year's clues. Maybe? You'll notice that I went a lot bolder with my choice of neutrals in this one. Those polka dots and music prints, and the sheep! I'm looking forward to seeing it come together also.