Making Progress on Orca Bay Mystery Quilt (Revealed)

For some reason my brain is committed to only cutting/sewing half of everything this week, including various parts of our Orca Bay Mystery Quilt (now revealed and NO longer a Mystery ;-)  So for now I have enough 'parts' to show off one of my blocks.  Drum roll Please and Thank YOU!:

The pattern is much more visible in the photo than it was on my pressing mat.  Makes me want to get back to it even more.  I now have everything ALL cut out and ready for the sewing machine.

Here's the rest of the 350 HSTs w/wings cut out and ready to sew:

I've even decided to use Bonnie's famous phone book paper piecing method to finish up the rest of my red string blocks (I had strip pieced and cut the strips into blocks and then triangles for the first half, thinking I would be saving time ;-).

Alright, I'll admit it.  Just did my very first paper piecing string block and I must say I actually enjoyed it - even liked it.  Just goes to show about preconceived notions and all that.  I really did not believe I would ever like paper piecing but life has a way of changing one's perspective every now and then doesn't it?  I just got a bushel basket full of old phone books after cleaning out for the New Year, that prior to this Orca Bay Mystery quilt challenge, I would've just tossed them.  But knowing what I know now, I couldn't bring myself to do it and really thought I would be using them on 'another' quilt in my future - that was before I realized last night I didn't have enough of the red string blocks after cutting the strips apart and counting - who knew?!  So once again, change is good and it's a New Year...all I can say is...Bring It On ;-)

Anyway, got to get back to it if I'm ever to finish this year!

Later,

~Deb