Kaleidoscope Quilts - A Recap and "The Bat"

Kaleidoscope Quilts & More ... Part 3

Time to show the third Kaleidoscope quilt I know how to make - but first a brief recap of the earlier two.  Remember, all these quilts have the same number of cut pieces and are sewn the same way.   The ONLY difference is how much focus fabric and background fabric is used - and where those fabrics are positioned.  

I have given them made up names:  The Star, The Batik and The Bat - just to help distinguish one from another.  

Let's begin with the easiest, "THE STAR".
 HERE is the post with lots of pictures and diagrams on how to make this style and sew the units.  

It's a great one for beginners.  Fabric placement is the same for every block and the layout is great for scrap quilts.  This is a picture of the ONE block you need to make to create a STAR design.

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 Second is this more complex kaleidoscope quilt which I call "THE BATIK".  This design requires some thinking and layout.  But the final product is impressive. 

Best starting tip for all your quilts is to make sure the colors are evenly spread out in your blocks. No matter what quilt I work on - I always make piles!  Here are the corner triangles for a scrap kaleidoscope.   

And here are the larger Isosceles triangles.  Take one of each color and put it into a pile.  This gives you a whole spectrum of what you are using with no duplicates.   Do this until you run out of fabric.  If you have duplicates - put them in the first pile you will sew from, then the third and maybe the last pile you will work on.  Just spread out the colors or patterns. 

Back to the batik quilt ... start sewing one stack at a time. The post HERE has lots of step-by-step pictures of the sewing technique that applies to all Kaleidoscope quilts as well as step-by-step layout tips for this design.

When you have finished that first completed color stack, set them aside and clip them together.   Start sewing on your next separated color pile - and when finished, set those aside and clip them together. 

When the sewing of the main portions are done - its time to grab a stack and begin the layout ... left to right, until you run out.  Then grab another finished stack and put those on the design wall where you left off.  Now is NOT the time to start moving things around - wait until you have all your pieces laid out - then tweak it by rotating or switching.  

With this particular design it's better to add the corner triangles after the main units are sewn and laid out.  It will take more time popping up and down from design wall to sewing machine.  Take pictures on your phone and work only on one row at a time.  The benefit is color flexibility for the corner triangles and a great looking quilt.
Again - the post HERE goes into more detail with pictures. 

This is a picture of the TWO blocks needed to make this design which I call The Batik.


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And lastly - the third design which I call "THE BAT" (please advise if there is a proper name). It is really fun, uses up the most focus fabric and creates a different mood depending on your fabric choice. Here is Tim Holtz's Materialize which is all Gothic and very Halloween.  The post about this quilt is HERE. 

Let's de-construct this last design - here are the two blocks you need to make.  Notice that one of the blocks is ALL focus fabric in the larger Isosceles triangles (left image).  The right unit has only 4 focus fabrics. 

The background fabric didn't match but it is all black.  When all sewn together, the black background looks like 'bat wings' and is very dominant.  Pretty simple to remember for this design - all corners are the same as the background fabric.  No hopping up and down from design wall to sewing machine to fiddle with what color goes on the corner triangles!

Here are the same two blocks but in Retro-30's fabric.  When assembled, the large 'pointy' stars in this quilt are more noticeable and the 'bat wing' motif of the Tim Holtz quilt disappears.

And here is a full picture of this quilt - using softer colors and a lighter background makes such a difference!

This series on the three different designs I have made is a lot to absorb.  I am also aware that the blog posts do focus on various aspects of each quilt and not necessarily in order from simplest design to most complex.  All these quilts were made over a period of years.  They look complicated, but with a little confidence - very do-able.

While I have used the AccuQuilt dies for all these quilts, I have the Marti Michell template to try and look forward to that soon. Whether you use a cutter with a die or rotary cut  using a plastic ruler - the triangle geometry is the same. 

 Going to the 'sidebar' and clicking on Kaleidoscope will send you to all articles on them.  Please continue to send me emails, pictures and questions - I will do my best to help :)  

A Kaleidoscope Quilt Design - The Star

Kaleidoscope Quilts & More  Part 2 ... the Star design

The geometry of a kaleidoscope quilt is simple.  8 large isosceles triangles and 4 smaller half square triangles.  Every block has this same structure. 

So, if every block has the same structure - why do kaleidoscope quilts look so different?    The first answer is pretty simple ...  size.   If you cut your triangles smaller - you get a smaller block.  If you cut your triangles larger - voila - a larger block.  

The second answer is COLOR placement, and that's what these next few posts are all about.  On the internet you can find kaleidoscope coloring pages that will allow you to create as simple or complicated a design as you like.  I can't help you with complicated designs but sign me up to explain the simple ones.  Here is the first of three designs that are very doable - and look great.

If there is an official name for this please share - I just call it the Star. This is the easiest pattern since it really does not require any layout and is a good one to begin with.

Specs:

4 large colored triangles (shown here in blue)

4 large background triangles (shown here in white)

4  smaller colored corner triangles (shown here in orange)

The only word of advice I have for this particular style of kaleidoscope quilt is this: pick  either the background fabric or the color fabric and sew with that facing you every time. Why is this important?  See below.  All units have a background on one side - and a colored fabric on the other.  

This way everything alternates correctly when you are joining your units  - color then background, color then background ... etc.  

Time to sew the corners.  Ignore the background fabric triangles - in this case the white, and sew color to color.  That's it - every block will look this way.  Here are examples of quilts made in this style. 

This was made with all novelty fabrics and white.  Many colors and designs that all work together no matter how different the fabric is.              

Here is a quilt made with Little Ruby by Bonnie and Camille - with a close up of a block below.  

Even a smaller baby size quilt is effective with this 'star' motif. 

How to assemble and sew the kaleidoscope pieces together is in Post No. One HERE  with lots of pictures.

May 2020

Kaleidoscope Quilt and More - The Batik

Thanks for all the emails and questions about Kaleidoscope quilts. This post explains how to sew and position your fabric to make this beautiful Kate Spain.  We will refer to this design as "The Batik".

My quilts have been so far made only using an AccuQuilt Go and their dies. 
The good news is ... whether you cut your fabric with a die or by hand - the basic geometry and assembly of these quilts remains the same.  

Let's begin:  the fabric is Kate Spain's Latitude Batiks.  Here is a link about batiks and needle and thread sizes if you are curious.  I had success with just my usual #12 needles and Aurifil 50wt. thread.  

Kaleidoscope quilts have two shapes - a larger Isosceles triangle and a smaller half square triangle.  

The Isosceles triangle (the larger piece) is sewn to another isosceles triangle on a long side. 

Press seams open and trim the dog ears at the tips. 

With this style of Kaleidoscope quilt, now is a good time to make groups of 4 and balance the colors for each block.  

Take your group of 4 units and lay them out as shown.  Flip the pieces from the right side onto the left - right sides together.  The arrows show where to pin and sew.   

Line up the top and the side of your pieces accurately as shown above.   Sew from that top right angle.  This is the inside point of the Kaleidoscope block. When everything lines up nicely here - your points will match in the center of your finished product.  

Press seams open.  Take the two 'halves' and put them right sides together, pin and sew. Matching up that middle seam is the priority.
   

Press seams open.  Make 42 blocks just like this with 4 focus fabric (batik)- and 4 background fabric (Kona white).  

These are your basic units. Now it's time to do the layout.  

This picture really shows you how to place your 8-sided 'wheels'.  You can see that a batik triangle is always next to a white triangle.  The flat portions of the 'wheel' are at the top and bottom.  Those gaps between 'wheels' are where the little half triangles will go. 

When a 'wheel' has a white center triangle  --- it has white half square triangles in the corners.  When a 'wheel' has a batik triangle in the center  --- it has batik triangles in the corners.   This is where taking a few pictures can really help to keep you on track.  

Using the photos as a guide and only doing two rows at a time - I pinned all the white half square triangles where they needed to go before sewing.  It was too easy to lose track, especially if you have interruptions or Netflix on :)

Put everything back on the design board and arrange the batik triangles.  This is where you have a good deal of "Latitude" to balance color (couldn't resist the pun).

The last stage is trimming.  I know that AccuQuilt prides itself on making accurate cuts with their dies so there is no need to trim.  Even with starch and careful sewing I end up with wonky blocks as you can see from the picture above.  

I sacrifice perfect points between blocks as I trim off the sides to 10.5" x 10.5".  
In this finished picture of the quilt, the center points are really good - the ones on the sides not so much.  I opt for consistent sized blocks versus design perfection!

So that's about it - the two blocks needed for this design of kaleidoscope quilt is shown above.  

This layout pictures gives a bigger view of this design. I hope this takes the mystery out of what comprises a kaleidoscope quilt. 

Lastly - my son works at a market and one of his co-workers had her wedding cancelled due to the virus. This quilt is for her.  Kudos to the workers who help feed America everyday and those who keep us safe and healthy as well.

Latitude Batiks by Kate Spain / Moda
Kona white
Warm & White batting
Dimple dot minky in Azurite from Hawthorne Supply Co. 
Aurifil Thread 50wt. #2600  (Dove for the front) and #2720 (Light Delft Blue) for the back
AccuQuilt dies: Triangle-Isosceles 5"x 6" / HST 3" Finished
Size: 60" x 70"
Date: May 2020

Low Volume Pineapple Quilt Finished (Part 2)

It's all done and here are some fun specs about this low volume pineapple quilt.  Part One on how it was made is HERE.

Using the Creative Grids Pineapple tool - each block is a finished 6".  There are 9 blocks across and 9 rows down - making a nice lap quilt 53" x 53"  after squaring up.  All the corner pieces are in beige to make little 'beige' diamonds. 

Doing some math: this lap quilt has 81 blocks.  Each block has 21 pieces of fabric.  That totals 1,701 pieces of fabric! 

Using low volume for all the 'rounds' in this block kept things simple.  Any and all fabric was cut to the sizes needed without regard to color. If you have a pile of low volume fabric this is one fun quilt to make.

A word of caution however, since there is so much trimming it is easy to get a little lazy with the rotary cutter and go faster than you should.  As soon as I thought "I got this trimming down" - I sliced my finger. 

Cream dimple dot minky backs the quilt and I used Aurifil 50wt. #2000 throughout. Quilting is a wavy line stitch that goes on the horizontal and vertical seams - as well as through the middles and corners (see pink lines).  Since the blocks are so small you don't need to chalk or mark anything - just do it by eye.

So that's it - a traditional Pineapple quilt made a modern way. With origins in Spain, called 'pina' after the pinecone - the pineapple became the universal symbol of warmth and hospitality when it reached America during colonial times.  Again, for links, pixs and directions how to make this quilt - Part One here can be your guide.

Materials:

Low volume fabric

Warm & White batting

Cream dimple dot minky from Hawthorne Supply Co.

Aurifil 50 wt. thread #2000

Creative Grids Standard Pineapple Trim Tool

Size: 53" x 53"

February 2020

Bee Joyful Quilt All Finished (Part Two)

It's all finished and it's Bee-U-tiful!   Part One of how this quilt was made HERE.

 A 3" diagonal grid in wavy line stitching was super effective.  Matching perfectly with some Marigold minky is Aurifil 50wt. #2314. 

The quilting lines were chalked in yellow in a 3" diagonal grid.  I am always cautious when using chalk since it takes a few washes to get it all out - and the picture above is before any washing.  

I like using a Hera marker (a sharp edged tool that leaves a crease in the fabric) but with a busy quilt like this, the scored lines would be hard to follow. I do use a lot of spray starch before I sew and never iron over any chalk lines, but there is a sigh of relief when all the chalk washes out.

I stick to one color thread for the top, and one that matches the bottom when quilting.  This quilt showed me that a lighter thread in the dark black border looks really nice - and shows even this simple wavy grid to advantage.

I have made so many quilts using Deb Strain fabrics but the bee motif is the most popular with 6 blankets to date. 

 I had enough little left overs and spare Bee Hive Damask in gold from the binding to make a little scrappy quilt on point - that will be No. 7!  

So, that's a wrap for this Bee Joyful quilt - I hope it inspires you to take a stab at making a panel quilt.

Materials:

Bee Joyful by Deb Strain for Moda

Cream Numbers from Lucy's Crab Shack / Sweetwater

Cotton Couture black by Michael Miller

Warm and White batting 

Dimple Dot minky Marigold / Hawthorne Supply Co.

Aurifil 50wt. #2314

Size: 54" x 56.5"

February 2020