Uncharted Territory (Solution)

by Sarah and Mary Fletcher

You open the puzzle and see the following flavor text:

We have pinned the information you need to our board. By the way, we've noticed that Frank Catton makes his large bids first. Good Luck! - APHacker

This sends you to Pinterest where you look up APHacker and find a board with 4 pins. Each pin is a link to a craft minipuzzle:

Crochet

Copying part of the text and googling it should lead you to the conclusion that this a crochet pattern. It is in fact a crochet pattern for a modified granny square. Completing the project produces the image below. In the light contrast color you see the letter 'e'. In the correct orientation for the 'e', the square becomes a diamond (which is further clued by the specific instruction to do the border in red). It is less standard than in knitting, but it is also possible to draw out a chart from the pattern and find the solution that way.

Cross Stitch

You are given a list of DMC numbers, each of which is associated with a list of coordinates. DMC is the standard brand of embroidery floss. Googling something along the lines of "DMC Numbers" will get you a chart that helps you convert the DMC numbers to colors (there are several out there). The minipuzzle tells you that 1A is the upper left corner. Indexing rows by number and columns by letter, you produce the image below. Note that you have clubs and that the letter 'a' can be found in the center club.

Knitting

If this is not immediated recognized as a knitting pattern, copying part of it into google should make that clear. One option is to just knit it up. Alternately, you can draw out the chart. Knitting charts start in the lower right corner. On even rows, you are working on the wrong side of the fabric. Note that knit stitches on the back appear as purls on the front and purl stitches on the back appear as knit stitches on the front. If you draw up the chart, you get the image below. Note that you have a spade with the letter 'I'.

Quilting

The only instructions requiring any actual quilting knowledge are the abbreviation RST, the term flying geese, and the note about seam allowances. Flying geese and seam allowance are both directly Googleable. The term RST can by found by Googling with sewing, quilting, or something similar. Carefully following the instructions produces the image below. Note that you have the letter 'k' and a heart.

Final Solution

You have the letters 'e','a', 'I', 'k'. The only reasonable answer from these letters is IKEA.

In addition to a letter, each craft produces one of the standard suits from a deck of cards. The flavor text By the way, we've noticed that Frank Catton makes his large bids first. clues that you should order the puzzles by suit, from highest to lowest in bridge order (so Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs). This provides confirmation of the solution and also limits the possible solution space if a team gets stuck on one of the crafts.