Monday, April 21, 2014

Hope of America

Wednesday night, we spent at the 'Hope of America" program put on by 5th graders from all over the valley. The kids have spent this school year learning patriotic songs and hand moves to go along with it. Then, the parents were treated to an amazing performance. The program was filmed and will be broadcasted on the 4th of July.

The kids wore shirts to make up the American Flag. C was a yellow shirt in the border.
BabcoUnlimited.blogspot.com - Hope of America

 The patriotic theme got me thinking of my red, white, and blue quilts. 

This is my very first quilt--Stars of Glory--I made it for C.
BabcoUnlimited.blogspot.com - Stars of Glory Quilt, Red White & Blue Quilt, Patriotic Quilt
Stars of Glory Quilt

This is my second quilt--Barbed Stars--I made for S.
BabcoUnlimited.blogspot.com - Barbed Stars Quilt, Red White & Blue Quilt, Patriotic Quilt
Barbed Stars Quilt

Hidden Stars--I made for my hubby.
BabcoUnlimited.blogspot.com - Hidden Stars Quilt, Red White & Blue Quilt, Patriotic Quilt
Hidden Stars Quilt

I have been wanting to make a true patriotic quilt for a while--a flag type quilt. A while ago, I had a spectacular idea. Well, it was spectacular to me. =) 

I have been cutting off 2-1/2" strips off my red, white, and blue fabric forever now. I have quite a pile. It was so fun to look through them today, it was like looking at old friends. 
BabcoUnlimited.blogspot.com -  Red White & Blue Quilt, Patriotic Quilt
Red, White & Blue Quilt

I have to restrain myself from starting this new project straight away. I REALLY need to finish up my Wheel of Fortune quilt and quilt my Honey Honey quilt before I work on anything else. 

Linked up with Anything Goes Mondays here.

Friday, April 18, 2014

The Messy Side of Paper Piecing

A few days ago I posted this picture of my Wheel of Fortune quilt. 
Wheel of Fortune Quilt Top

I have since sewn the rows all together and am on the messy task of removing all the paper. I print out my paper piecing patterns onto Crayola's Doodle Pad paper. It is thinner than standard paper and cheaper than vellum or other quilt shop papers. (The paper is larger than standard paper, but I take it to a local copy shop and ask them to cut it to size. Then, I can easily print from my printer at home.)

One of the downsides of paper piecing is removing all the paper. I was sitting on the floor doing just this when my boys returned home from school. C thought it looked like good fun and asked if he could help. Um, YEAH!

C pulling paper off the back of the quilt.
BabcoUnlimited.blogspot.com - Paper Piecing Quit Tops
Messy Side of Paper Piecing

S came upon us and saw C working with me and immediately said, "Oh! Can I do some, too?" Sure, I could spare you a corner to work on. 

S concentrating on tearing only the paper off. 
BabcoUnlimited.blogspot.com - Paper Piecing Quit Tops
Messy Side of  Paper Piecing

We sat and tore paper for about 45 minutes while we listened to the audiobook of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." We only made a small dent, but had other things to do that night like soccer games and a work meeting.

I might be here for a while pulling off paper. Good thing the book is long.

Linked up to Paper Piecing Party here.

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

WIP Wednesday #31 - Wheel of Fortune

I'm excited to show off where I am at on my Wheel of Fortune Quilt.
BabcoUnlimited.blogspot.com - Wheel of Fortune Quilt Top
Wheel of Fortune Quilt

As you can see, I only have two more rows to sew and the top will be DONE. D-O-N-E. Done. 

I am most excited about the border I added. Instead of ending the quilt with a full wheel, I made modified blocks with just the outer wheel so the secondary design of the star really stands out. I love it!

MK holding up pieces of my quilt. I think she thinks because this is pink it will be for her. 
BabcoUnlimited.blogspot.com - Wheel of Fortune Quilt Top
Wheel of Fortune Quilt Top

Linking up with WIP Wednesday here.
Linking up with Let's Bee Social here.

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Revisiting a Binding Skirmish

In my quilt blog meandering, I found a fun blog hosting a linky party challenging us to look through our blog archives. This week's theme is Bindings & Birds. Instantly, my mind went back to the massive battle I waged on the binding for a mini quilt.

You can read my original post here.

BabcoUnlimited.blogspot.com - Modern Lonestar Quilt, Binding
A Binding Skirmish

I can laugh now. Not so much at at time.

Have you had moments like that? Moments where, at the time, all you wanted to do was cry or scream, but looking back you can see just how funny it truly was?

Visit the linky party here.

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Where Have I been?

I feel like I've been a bit MIA this past month. I have been busy with so many different things lately that I've neglected my little blog.

These past weeks, I have only been able to do a little quilting. I spent some time prepping a quilt for quilting. This stage always scares me--I'm always afraid I'm going to ruin a quilt by quilting it. So silly, I know. But, I'm determined to overcome my fear and just go for it. 

Honey Honey all basted and waiting.
BabcoUnlimited.blogspot.com - Honey Honey Quilt
Honey Honey Quilt

Before I take the plunge, I took time to do some practice squares to test my design, thread, and everything. I'm so glad I did! I found I need a different thread. 

Right: I like the thread, but not the color
BabcoUnlimited.blogspot.com - Honey Honey Quilt
Honey Honey Quilt
Left: I like the color, but not the thread

A quilt guild buddy is letting me use her wholesale account to order the thread I want.  Now, I wait.


Linked up with Freshly Pieced here.
Linked up with Sew Fresh Quilts here.
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