Mystery Quilt - Day 4

Mystery Solved!

Babco Unlimited - Mystery Quilt Completed Top

And I have a completed top--YAY!

I've never worked exclusively with solids before. I know I'm late to this trend, but I think I really like it. In fact, I just did a large fabric order of solid fabrics for my next project.

And just like that, I completed my September Goal.

Linked up with Lovely Year of Finishes here.

Mystery Quilt - Day 3

I made a lot of 8-pointed Stars for Day 3 of my Mystery Quilt.

Babco Unlimited - Mystery Quilt in Progress

I've always called these stars "Martha Washington Stars," but when I googled the name I found out the Martha Washington Star usually has a pinwheel center instead of a solid one. So maybe I'm wrong.

Image found at Quilt Around the World

I'm only doing a table topper sized project, so I am almost done. I have all my major blocks done, just have to wait for day 4 to see the layout.

Overall, I'm happy with the color choices. I was a little nervous at the start that the 2 lighter blues were too similar without enough contrast. Still true--not a lot of contrast--but I'm ok with it and rather like it.

Mystery Quilt - Day 2

Lots and lots of flying geese make up the majority of my sewing for Day 2 of the Mystery Quilt. 

Babco Unlimited - Mystery Quilt in Progress

Have you ever tried the Quilt in a Day Flying Geese Ruler? It is awesome! I've never been a fan of flying geese because they are so tiring to make. However, this ruler makes sewing flying geese so easy and simple. They come out perfect every time.

Flying Geese Ruler

This ruler comes in several sizes with clear and easy instructions to follow. I used this ruler to make a ton of 1-1/2" x 3" flying geese and a few 3" x 6" flying geese for this Mystery Quilt. Now, I'm even thinking of making a flying geese quilt after this--that's a huge step toward loving flying geese for me.

Mystery Quilt - Day 1

As I mentioned before, I'm testing out a pattern for my aunt. She's doing a Mystery Quilt at this year's Utah Quilt Fest and wanted a guinea pig to help catch any errors and make sure instructions are clear.

The Mystery Quilt is set up to be revealed over 4 days. Here is my Mystery Quilt Day 1 sewing.

Babco Unlimited - Mystery Quilt in Progress

I'm a little concerned about my 2 lighter fabrics not having enough contrast between them. Oh well. This is just a tester.

I'm really glad she's had me test this pattern out. First, I found several typos--one of them a little profane (which made me giggle.) Second, I found missing steps. When she transposed everything from her word document to her publisher document with pictures, a few steps got left out. Oops!

My Goal this month is to finish the top of this project.

Linked up with A Lovely Year of Finishes here.

Mystery Quilt Update

All my pieces are cut for the Mystery Quilt.

Babco Unlimited - Mystery Quilt in Progress

All this blue fabric is making me happy. I find myself very curious as to what this will turn out to be.

Mystery Quilt

I'm not usually a fan of mystery quilts. I like to SEE the pattern I am making so I can make color choices as well as decide if I want to make it or not. However, I'm testing out a mystery pattern for my aunt.

 

At Quilt Fest this year, my aunt is in charge of the mystery quilt project. She wanted to have a tester for the pattern before the big event to catch any mistakes. Apparently, at last years event the mystery quilt was a complete disaster--the pattern was riddled with mistakes. There were incorrect instructions; the fabric requirement was inadequate; the wording was confusing; and the ladies running it weren't very helpful in explaining their pattern. Many quilters just threw the whole project away. 

 

I finally picked up fabric for my project. At first, I was going to just use fabric from my stash. However, the pattern called for 1 yard of fabric for each color. I normally buy 1/2 yard cuts for my stash. I couldn't find anything over 1 yard that isn't already earmarked for a different project. 

I made sure to keep track of the fabric name. (See Tip on Organizing Solid Fabrics.) No more trying to color match months from now if I need more fabric! 

While I was having this fabric cut, a lady came in with a small swatch of solid green fabric she was trying to match. She couldn't find the correct color and wanted to know if they by chance had a bolt behind the cutting table that matched. Unfortunately, they didn't. If she had written down the make and color, she could have easily ordered it online or phoned ahead to see if they carried it. Poor quilter!