Five Rows Done

I am making good progress on the Kaleidoscope Quilt!  I have 5 rows done now (but the rows are not yet sewed together.  Only the top row has its blocks sewed together, the rest of the blocks are just "placed."  but you can see how the rings encircle each kaleidoscopic star, and how the border will look.  I need a bigger design wall, the bottom of this is all discombobulated, and the blocks fall off on the right, but it's still PROGRESS!  This is looking better and better!  See for yourself!

I like that the border is actually finishing up with the rest of the quilt.  I won't have to add another border to it. There are a lot of points to match up, all these triangles coming together.  Lots of clipped points in the border triangles, even though I tried hard to sew that (damn) quarter inch carefully. Cutting has to be accurate and so does squaring up the block.  Some blocks turned out smaller, and I think that affects the overall outcome.  I might be able to camouflage some of that with the quilting!  We'll see.  I like crisp sharp points and I like my blocks to match up perfectly. I may have to settle for less.  Overall, though, I like this quilt a lot!   

Busy Days

I have that picture of the Indigo and Lace Quilt that I promised:  Here it is:

Indigo and Lace, 98" x 98"

It will be fun quilting this one, once I get the sandwich made!!  There are big open spaces that will be fun to fill.  I can try some feathers maybe, which I haven't done yet.  Also, those curved triangles in the Medallion sections will be fun too.  I'll need a steady hand to sew just at the edges so they'll looked pieced.  Can't wait to get started on this!

I have been busy filling these cold frigid winter days with this project shown below.  It is a kaleidoscope quilt.  All 32 kaleidoscopes are built now, and I am starting to fill in middle sections with a light aqua color fabric.  The border will be a darker turquoise, and you can see how "rings" are formed around each of the kaleidoscopes.  There are triangles added on 4 sides of the octagons, forming a kind of star.  The triangles points are all the same per star, and I have to admit, finding parts of the fabric that didn't match the octagon, but still "blended" was a mite tricky.  So there are a couple sets of stars that have similar points.  I doubt too many people will notice.  It's kind of fun to try and find them, actually.  Can you?

Pineapple Kaleidoscopes

I have finished the quilt top of the Indigo and Lace quilt and I will be posting a pic of it very soon.  It's a monster quilt, finishing off at 98 inches.  I'm gonna search out some help to pin it.  (Dianne, when can you come for a visit!?)

In the meantime, I just HAD to start another quilt!  I debated between the pineapple quilt and doing another Harry Potter quilt.  But I don't have enough fabric for the background of the Harry Potter blocks, so Pineapple quilt it is!  I call it "Pineapple" not because of the pattern, but because the fabric is very tropical looking with pineapples. Perfect for a kaleidoscope quilt!  Here's a picture of the original fabric, one repeat:



I found a YouTube video about a kaleidoscope quilt and decided to make one like in the video.  Check it out!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vusz5Rx5tkQ

The kaleidoscopes are made from octagons, not hexagons like the Kaylyn's quilt.  I have 4 kaleidoscopes done already:

 

I love kaleidoscope quilts! They are such fun to make!  All the kaleidoscopes turn out so different.  Hard to believe it all comes from the same piece of fabric!  I want to make a bunch of them before I decide what the "background fabric" will be.  I'm thinking brown or orange.  But there's a lot of aqua in the fabric too.  I'll have to see how much of what color shows up!  Such mystery is exciting!  Stay tuned!

Indigo and Lace Progress

I have been working on the Indigo and Lace quilt.  It is going together so easily.  All the measurements are almost all perfect!  My quarter-inch seams are getting more and more exact.  Thanks to my painter's tape!  I just have the borders to do now.  Here's how it looks so far:

Panels, cut and arranged

Sashings, Corners and Center added

This quilt will be my largest yet, the finishing measurements will be 104 x 104, unless I shorten up the last border with  I think is 8 inches.  I might make it 6", then it would be 100 x 100.  Not sure.  I don't have a floor space big enough for it.  I had this problem with the MoonGlow.  I'll have to think about this one!

I also thought I would share with you my 4 favorite sewing tools.  In no particular order, the first is my 4 inch ruler/needle guide for quarter inch seams.

I use this ruler every day, multiple times.  It's a short ruler, and lots of times that's all you need.  It also has a tiny hole that you drop your sewing machine needle down into, drop the pressure foot on top of it, and the edge shows a scant quarter inch.  I mark that edge on my sewing machine with my second favorite tool!  The painters' tape.

A roll of painters tape is cheap, and it doesn't leave sticky residue on your sewing machine.  I cut a little strip across the width of the tape and mark my quarter inch seam line.  I guide the fabric along this line and this has improved my accuracy 100%.  I HIGHLY recommend this method.  Used with the little ruler above, it's foolproof!

My third favorite tool is my CORDLESS iron.

I LOVE this iron!  There is no cord to get in the way or tangle up in the fabrics.  It stays hot, steams well, and it's pretty besides!  It does have an auto off time of only 10 minutes, which is probably the only thing I don't like about it.  I'd like it to be longer, maybe @ half hour.  But it only take 30 seconds or more to heat up, so I can't complain too much.  Panasonic makes it, and it cost about $65.  Well worth it to me!

My fourth and last favorite too is not one I use often, but when I do, I'm always thrilled I have it.  It's a strip cutter. 

The strip cutter is a 12 x 12 inch cutting guide that has slits every half inch.  You lay it over your fabric, insert your rotary cutter in a slot at the bottom, and zip!  You cut upward in one stroke.  Then move your cutter to the next slot, and zip off your next strip.  It cuts strips so accurately and quickly.  My indigo and lace needed 65 or so one-inch strips, WOF.  This strip cutter was a jewel and the job was done in a flash.   I can cut 4 layers of fabric at a time, so one WOF in a single stroke.  No measuring, no slipping,  I love this tool!

So, there you go, a few of my favorite things!