Ninety-Nine Nine-Patches

Yes, indeed, 99 were required, and yes, indeed, I miscounted.  I was nine short so had to pull out the scrap bins again and find enough for nine more sets to make those last 9-patches.  They are now done, and what I need to do next is select the background white or other neutral.  Here are the 90 stacked all neatly and tidy:

The pattern called for light shirtings, but I don't have such things, and I want to reserve as much variety of my white/cream scraps as I can for Bonnie Hunter's 2013 Mystery Quilt and depending on the size I go for on that, I will need anywhere from 2 to 4.25 yards. 

I calculated I need approximately 1.3 yards of neutral background for Gathered Over Time.  That sounds low, but let's do the math:  80 5" squares (25 sq. in. each) = 2000 sq. inches, which, based on 1512 sq. inches in a yard of fabric (36 x 42) divided into 2000 = 1.327 yds.  Of course, that also needs to take into consideration that I'm cutting from scraps and may not be able to cut the scraps into 5" sq. pieces, so I need to allow for more yardage.  Additionally, I need about a half-yard of white/cream neutral for the setting triangles and corners.  I was thinking I'd keep the background more in the white range, and the setting triangles more towards cream causing them to create a faux border.

I could go ahead and cut the 5" squares (80 of them), but before I could begin sewing, I would have to lay the 9-Ps out on the design wall for placement, and then I'd either have to sew all the blocks into rows, or be very careful making notes and/or stacks as to which block goes where, and I know how I am about that! By the time I'd get back to it, I'd have forgotten what my notes meant!  So now, I'm trying to decide if I want to at least cut the squares, or just stop at this point and begin sewing on the November NewFO, especially since the first instructions for the mystery quilt will come out on 11/29.

I had a foot-warmer last night while I was sitting here playing on the computer after finishing all the sewing I felt up to doing.  

Raven is very good at warming feet, and this new sewing cabinet has a little ledge at the back of the leg well where I can prop my feet and Raven thought it was a good idea to snuggle up :)