All twelve Kaleidoscope blocks............

Since I'm out of room on the main floor design wall, I put these up on the double wall in the basement.  After seeing this I can see I don't want to stop at an uneven number of blocks so 5 x 7 = 35 is out and I'll probably make it 6 x 8 = 48 blocks.

Here is my Sunday progress, 5 more Kaleidoscope blocks and the second section of the quilt above them is filled in.  I can see some that I want to move.

From the pile of tall triangles on the sewing cabinet I counted out the number of pieces I need to design the bottom section (like the top section).  Then I counted leftovers that will be used in the rest of the Kaleidoscope blocks.  I will need to cut more.  I have the rest of the strip I cut the first ones from and I think I can get 4 more from most of the fabrics.

On my way to fill the bird feeders, I pass the Lenten Rose flower bed.  The plants will get much larger by the time summer is over.  All three have blooms on them.

Since the flowers hang down, all you can see is the outside of the blooms.  I love it that there are two colors of blooms on each plant.

Over by the bird feeders, the Scilla is blooming.

I broke off dried flower stalks from one Sedum plant and trimmed my Zinfin Doll Hydrangea in the front garden.  It sounds like rain starting Tuesday and lasting a few days so I need to get out today and break off more of those flower stalks.

 

Leftovers.............

I made another attempt to clean off my cutting table and found a few wedges leftover from a Kaleidoscope quilt top I made many years ago.  I knew where my other Kaleidoscope leftovers were in the basement so I headed down there.  I found some more of the same batch plus this piece of leftover strata.  I have enough pieces to make 4 blocks before cutting the strata.

In the basement spot I also found all of the leftovers from the floral Kaleidoscope quilt I made.  I haven't figured out how many blocks I can make from all of this strata.  I'm sure there will be enough for a good size table topper.

I also worked on the black, gray and white TAW and got another 15 long strips sewn together.  I unpicked the last 15 loops and I just have 12 long strips to sew together as well as sewing the 3 sections together.
 

My favorite quilts 2010 - 2014

I will pick 3 favorites from each year and starting with 2010 this is my strip pieced Kaleidoscope with all floral small prints.  I need to take a new photo with my better camera some day since the photos in 2010 are from 2 cameras ago.  I used to make a lot of strip pieced Kaleidoscope quilts because I needed to start a new one each time I taught the class.  This one was my favorite.

My next favorite from 2010 is a wallhanging, all plaids and stripes inspired by the cover quilt on "Radiant New York Beauties" by Valori Wells.  I printed the paper piecing templates in the book and made a bunch of arcs.  Then I played with the arrangement until I liked it and finished it.  A close friend owns this one.

The third favorite from 2010 is the Kaffe Fassett fabric Trip Around the World quilt that is in my yellow guest bedroom.  This photo was taken before I put the binding on.  It is the same fabric as the narrow border.

In 2011 I designed my H quilt inspired by the S quilt in a Kaffe Fassett book.  It is almost all Kaffe Fassett fabrics with just a couple batiks thrown into the mix.  I needed a few more blocks and decided to add stars.  I call it "H: I give it 5 stars".  There is a tutorial on my blog for making the H blocks.

My crosses quilt is inspired by another quilt in a Kaffe Fassett book.  I have a tutorial for this quilt on my blog too.  I used all scraps for this one and a friend owns this one.  The quilts with the most fabric choices in them are always favorites.

This was the second Crooked Cobblestone quilt that I designed and the first one to be finished.  As much as I loved it, I can't keep them all and I sold this one in one of my pop-up shops.  This was one of a series of about 12 wallhangings.  I still have a bag with about 150 blocks in it so there may be another one in the future.

2012 was a memorable year for lots of good things including my solo quilt show at a gallery in NC.  I finished 26 quilts that year so it was hard to choose just 3.  This colorwash has always been my favorite.  This was early in my series of batik colorwashes. I sold it so I only have a photo to go back and revisit it.  

Sparkling Stars....oh how I struggled to come up with a working order of the blocks.  This is about 2/3 of the blocks I made and when I finally removed the ones that weren't working, I ended up with this.  I love the vibrancy and of course I LOVE triangles and stars.  Lynne Tyler of The Patchery Menagerie blog bought this one from my solo show 2012.

This wallhanging was also in the solo show in NC and I'm so happy it didn't sell because it was so underpriced for the amount of work in it.  Click on this for a larger view for the amount of quilting in it.  I matched thread to each strip and there are several rows of stitching in each strip.  Most strips are in the 1/4" to 1" width range.  I probably have 40 hours of quilting in it.

2013 is the year I made my second large bright colorwash with regular printed quilting cottons.  This one has so many wonderful fabrics in it

My next 2013 favorite was made with the Strips 'n Curve templates by Louisa L. Smith.  I had made many quilts with template sets A and B but never with Kaffe Fassett fabric before this one.  I think I need to do another larger one with his fabric.

2013 was the year I started a series of 16 patch quilts during the time of my 99 year old dad's failing health.  They were easy to sew, not a lot of thinking, but I put a lot of thought into the colors in each.  This one is called "Peony Garden" and I absolutely love this one.

In 2014 two of my favorites are flannel quilts.  This one is a paper pieced pattern by Karen K. Stone called Rattlesnake.  I named mine Bear Trap because that is what I think it looks like.  I had to add 3 crazy pieced blocks in there because the trimmings were stacking up and calling my name.

This is the other favorite flannel quilt.  It is a pattern called Windy City in an old Sally Schneider book, "Scrap Happy".  I have made this pattern at least twice before and one of those 2 was flannel too.  I love scrappy flannel quilts with lots of bright colors scattered through.

The last 2014 favorite is a "Fractured" quilt, inspiration by Kathy Doughty.  It doesn't follow her layout since I left out the center rows in this one.  This was my second quilt of this quilt block.  If you want to see more about the Fractured quilts, that is a label in my Label List on the right sidebar of my blog.

Occasionally someone will comment on the quilt of the day on my blog and say "This quilt doesn't look like your style".  Really?  I'm not sure what my "style" is.  I think I work in all types of fabric and lots of different styles.  The 2 consistent things are that they are all pieced (as opposed to applique) and that I use LOTS of different fabrics in every quilt.  Comments welcome.

More favorites from a decade tomorrow.........

Getting ready...................

The last seam was sewn in the backing and then it was time to load it on the longarm.  This top was finished in April 2018 so it is time.........

Yesterday I was going through a box that hadn't been opened for a couple years and I found 7 of these wedges.  About a year ago I finally put all of the Kaleidoscope wedges left over from several projects in a project box and every time I found more of them I would add them to the box.  These are leftover from my all floral Kaleidoscope quilt and there are 26 with long dark strip and 25 with long white strip.  I need 4 of each for a block so there are enough pieces for 6 blocks.  They will probably go back in the box for now but I think I have finally found all of the stray wedges.

I also found enough of these pieces to add 2 rows to the top that I made in October last year.  They were in 2 different piles and every time I came across them I thought there was only enough for one row.  Finally one day both piles ended up on the same table and I realized there was enough for 2 rows.

The bloom was fully open on the back side of the orange cactus.  It is so graceful and beautiful.

 

I had a busy day...........
having my van serviced, running errands, taking Dad to the attorney and the bank, more errands for him and then preparing for the class I will teach tomorrow. I like to make what I call demo boards with instructions and sewn pieces to illustrate what the words are explaining. I am teaching strip pieced Kaleidoscope as a 2 part class. We had people who wanted a week day and some wanting a weekend day so I will be teaching it twice, Tues. and Sat. for 2 weeks. If you want to see my quilts, go to the Labels list on the right side column and click on Kaleidoscope quilts and it will bring up all of the posts where I showed them.
I have given the other project (shown the last few days) a rest for a day. I really liked hearing all of your opinions and reasons behind them in the comments. I have at least 2 more things to try yet.

Back to Kaleidoscope..........
Today I teach the second group of ladies how to make Strip Pieced Kaleidoscope. I usually make up some strip sets when I am teaching so I have something to demo the cutting on. This one will be a scrappy looking yellow to red wallhanging.
We missed out on the big storms yesterday morning. Up north of us they had lots of trees down, heavy rain and hail. We had nothing until last evening and even then it was only wind and moderate rain. We were lucky. My garden is still safe. I need to get out and take pictures and document which plants I have where and which ones need dividing because they are getting too big.

My neighbor across the street always has a big garage sale the last weekend in June. Her kids come down from Wisconsin and set up all of the tables and handle the sale. This year I need to open my doors the same days and see how much of my parents things I can sell along with some of my own. I have to teach a class at 1 on Friday so I'll only be able to be open from 8-12:30. The mornings are the best anyway.

Playing with a new idea..........

This is a pile of leftover Kaleidoscope wedges from a demo I did with the last class.  I dug them out because I wondered if they would work on a project I wanted to start.  One of the blogs I read is nifty quilts.  Click here and go see what she has on her design wall and then I'll explain where these wedges come into the picture.

I have the same book as she has so I could go to it to see the inspiration quilt.  I emailed her and asked if she was strip piecing and cutting wedges. I knew most people doing this pattern are piecing it one strip at a time on paper like she said she is doing.  I figured if you need 8 wedges alike why not strip piece it, cut it with a Kaleidoscope ruler and add it on all in one chunk.  She encouraged me to write a blog post about my idea.

I photocopied it in black and white so I could draw the seam lines with a red pen to see how the pattern evolves.  Then since my wedges were already made I had to work backwards for the measurement of the center piece between 2 wedges.  I cut a square I thought would be a finished size and and cut it corner to corner both directions (for 4 triangles) and then drew the center piece in and added the seam allowances and then cut it out.

I have it almost right.  I went to the basement and got my black and white leftover scraps from a Strips n Curves quilt and pieced onto them and then cut out the shape.  I need a tiny bit more seam allowance so that means it's a little too small.  I will probably just make a small quilt from the wedges I have and use a totally different group of fabrics if I make the real quilt.  The planning and figuring out is the fun (and sometimes frustrating) part.

Strip Pieced Kaleidoscope

This morning I will teach the second half of the strip pieced Kaleidoscope class. I always emphasize to my students that it is the fabric choice that makes the quilt. With this particular pattern you need a smooth blend of values from light to dark no matter what your color choice is.

There are two different layouts for this pattern. The brown/rust quilt shows the alternate layout with all blocks in the X position. The other two quilts have the position alternated between the X and + positions (looking at the dark fabric wedges).

The bottom picture is a quilt made with all multicolor floral prints.

Binding.............

I found the perfect green fabric for the binding on the floral Kaleidoscope quilt.  I decided this one need to have a hand sewn finish.  This has always been a favorite quilt top, and now it will be a favorite finished quilt.

I got it sewn on the front and have 2 sides hand sewn on the back.  I was watching a movie while I worked on it so the time passed quickly.  This quilt ended up 51" wide and 71" long after quilting so its a good couch throw.

When I went out to get my mail I noticed icicles hanging from the gutters.  It was warm enough to melt a little on Sunday and then we were down to 0 again Sun. night and only up to 18 yesterday.  Now it is supposed to get warmer, even rain later this week.  I can't imagine that all of the snow will melt though.

July 2025 monthly recap..................

 I managed to get two quilts finished in July.  The one on the left was quilted by Robin Diaz so I just had to trim the quilt and add the binding on it.  The top was made in May so it was a fast turnaround.  It is 62.5" x 79".  The fabrics are Kaffe collective with most of the large prints designed by Philip Jacobs.  Most of the light fabrics are Kaffe and Brandon designs.

I quilted the flannel baby quilt on the right.  The squares were sewn together last year, so on this one I added the border, did the quilting and the binding.  It is 39" square.

I have several started projects, one just needing a border, one is blocks waiting for a sashing and border decision.  Right now I have 15 finishes and 11 new quilt tops for the year.  That is progress in the right direction for more finishes than starts.  I have 2 more quilts back from Robin that I need to trim and choose binding for so I'm hoping that is 2 finishes for August.

My friend was back yesterday using my design wall and I played with some pieces on the other wall.  Across the center of this layout is 3 Kaleidoscope blocks without corners (so you can see the break down of the design).  I saw this layout somewhere and wanted to try it out.  The triangles will be a second light fabric.

I showed this photo a couple weeks ago and it is using the same pieces as the photo above.  I have taken these pieces off this design wall and will bring them up to my  main floor studio to continue designing.  Are you counting?  That's 2 more new projects.

Testing for accuracy..........

This is a block in a quilt in Kaffe Fassett's Kaleidoscope of Quilts.
I decided to test the accuracy of the cutting directions before I dive into it. Everything was exactly right so now I just have to decide what fabrics I will use in the quilt.
As you can see this quilt was made by Liza Prior-Lucy and she used fabrics from another designer from the Rowan/Westminster company. I think this one has the feel of a tapestry because the background in most of the blocks is a medium to dark fabric. I think maybe I will use some batiks in it.

Yesterday was one of those days where I really can't say what I did all day. I guess that means I was relaxing. After I got home from Dad's apartment last night I trimmed the mossy quilt and I think I was successful. I will cut the next straight border today and then it is time to piece the last strata for the final triangles.

How much should I buy? part 2

I can see this being a 3 or 4 part subject if you can all bear with me. Thank you for all of the comments which I will address today. I am posting this picture of the blue strip pieced Kaleidoscope again to make a point about the number of fabrics in a quilt. I know a lot of people are more comfortable if they know they just have to buy 5 blue fabrics in a range from light to dark. I try to encourage people to get several fabrics in each of the value ranges to make the quilt more interesting. This quilt has 5 different sets of strips that lean all the way from periwinkle to aqua and I think that is what gives it such liveliness. Becky said she used to buy 7 yard pieces on the advice of a mentor and Joyce asked how much do I buy for backings. I buy most of my backing fabric when it is 40%-60% off and I buy 4 yards for lap quilts and twins less than 87" long with the seam going crosswise. For longer twins (up to 96") I buy 5.5 yards and seam lengthwise. For double bed size 80" wide or narrower I buy 7 yards and divide into thirds and seam crosswise. For queen size I buy 8 yards, again 3 pieces seamed crosswise, and for a square king (not CA king) 9-10 yards depending on its size. So Becky you have some good backings there or borders and fabric to put in the blocks. Longarm quilters will want a little more than I need so check with them for how many extra inches they like on all edges.

I have always found that if I have ingredients on hand I will cook/bake more often. I think it is the same for fabric. If I have a good selection on hand I will make more things. I like to store my fabric on open shelves so I can see it. Out of sight, out of mind. I have a lot of students who tell me they will just buy more fabric because they don't have their fabric all in one place or organized in any manner. That is kind of like telling me you keep the sugar in the bathroom, the flour in the bedroom and the chocolate chips in the family room. Only by organizing what you already have, will you know what you need.

Candy said she keeps large amounts of the fabrics she likes best on hand. I do too. I have been collecting (and using!) batiks since 1990. Sometimes the collection is overwhelming if I look at it all at once, but when I am looking for just a certain kind of green, I'm glad I have what I do.

Mrs. Goodneedle said she had been on a fabric diet because she has a lot of fabric. I think I am in the same category but I will still buy at a good sale. I also think half yard fill ins for the gaps is a good policy and is also good for our mental health. Vicki W mentions seeing too much good stuff in the past few years. I agree there have been some wonderful prints out there, some "have to have" things.

I will post one more time this afternoon with one more quilt top made last year, so til then.........

Two more hours of garage sale.......
There definitely weren't very many shoppers out yesterday for the garage sales. We heard later that a couple subdivisions had big neighborhood sales. I did get rid of a lot of stuff but not for big bucks. I did sell Dad's chair and ottoman and a little bookcase of his as well as almost all of Mother's kitchen stuff. In the picture yesterday what looked like fabric was record albums. I had a little fabric in the sale but not much.

At 1 I had to be at the store for the second class of the Double 4 patch. I didn't realize until I was ready to post this picture that the student is dressed to match her quilt.
Debbie used a lot of older fabrics for a wonderful colorful version.

I helped on the shopping for the fabric on this next one and the colors worked beautifully.

There are soft muted greens in this one to give a little lift to the brown and beiges. I gave Lisa an assortment of fabrics to mix in with the ones she already had and it is turning out great. There is a lot of texture to some of the prints.

I have the second half of the Strip Pieced Kaleidoscope class for the second bunch of ladies today. I will have the garage sale open from 8-10 and then teach from 10:30-2. There are only 2 ladies left in this class because one switched to the Tues. class for class 2. They should be able to get a lot done today.

One front came through and dropped the humidity yesterday and last night cooled down enough to open the windows overnight. Today is supposed to be hot and more humid again and then they promise a nice week next week in the low 80's. This past week has been way too hot for me.

April 2026 Monthly recap................

There were 2 finishes in April.  The batik Double 4 Patch was nice mindless sewing with strips cut many years ago.  I had to cut a few new strips to get the number of blocks I wanted.  I had a favorite purple batik waiting to be a backing for the right quilt.  It is 55" x 78.5".  The Diamond quilt, made with Wishwell Weather Report fabric was just needing to have a few more rows added to create a 47" x 71" quilt and then it was off to my longarm quilter, Robin Diaz.

I made 3 quilt tops.  I usually resize them to be the right proportion related to each other but the 2 little tops just wanted to be larger in this collage.  The top on the left is Kaleidoscope blocks made with Marcia Derse fabric and it is 51.5" x 72".  The 2 colorwash tops are just 12.25" square.  I had one more top made with Marcia Derse fabric close to the finish line so it will be a finish for next month.

I finished knitting 4 dishcloths.

I made a table runner top but it will wait for a finish to be show in the recap.