Two bad ideas in three days

In the last three days I worked so hard, I made a lot of blocks but I don't know if I will ever piece them in a quilt...

This is the first UFO.
I wanted to make a lap quilt for a special little girl. I searched my stash and saw that I have only a few small pieces of cute fabrics, suitable for baby quilts.

In a big hurry, I started to cut and piece the blocks...
The blocks measure 12" but the final quilt would be too small...I give up on this idea.

The floral fabric is not the best for making kaleidoscope blocks, but I wanted by all means to make kaleidoscopes...

I wanted also blocks with mitered corners, I will show you how I cut them.
Working on this quilt I realize that I can piece more accurate blocks using other method, when I will have time (and proper fabrics) I will make other blocks and I will show you how to do.

I started cutting 4 strips with identical prints.

and other 4 strips (a little bit longer)

I pieced them together

For two sets I ironed the seam allowances on the floral fabric and for the other
two sets I ironed them on the other fabric (it's important - for easy piecing)

The first cut on a set

Repeat for the other sets - cut in the same place,
we must have the same print in corners

stack the strips (this step requires a little attention- use pins if necessary)

Cut triangles (you can use only the rectangle ruler if you don't have a triangle ruler, in the next post I will show you how to do this)

The best thing at this technique is that we have Kaleidoscope not only in the center (the block on right) but in the borders too (the block on left).
This thing can't bee seen so well (due to my bad choice of fabric) but I can't wait to try it again with proper fabrics.

In the next post I will show you the other UFO, other bad idea...

Quick and easy quilt - Tutorial

I made this quilt for my mother's birthday. It took me just 4 days to piece it and quilt it.
This is an easy project for a beginner quilter and a very quick quilt for a skilled one.

I made the sketch using Electric Quilt. I love Electric Quilt. You can scan your fabric, import them in the program and see how your quilt will look like even before you cut a single piece of fabric.

Quilt size: 83.5" x 95.5"
Number of blocks = 6 x 7 = 42
Finished block size: 12" x 12"
Borders 1 and 3 (finished width) : 2"
Border 2 (finished width): 1.75"
I didn't have enough fabrics for borders
so I made mine without borders.
_______________________________
This is the block:

The placement of blocks (row #1 and row #2 then repeat them) :

A variation in the placement of fabrics,

will produce a different quilt.

Choose the design you like more:

Block piecing
You can use a plain square in the center of the block or a Kaleidoscope square.

For a better look, variate the size of the center square (well, I did that because I didn't have enough fabric but it was a clever option !).

There are so many posibillities:

Have fun !

The latest Kaleidoscope quilts

Ultimele kaleidoscopuri de anul asta:

I finished these blocks very quickly (every block is a little quilt), because my husband gave me a helping hand: he wanted to do the unskilled work !

Le-am finisat destul de repede, pentru ca am avut ajutor: sotul meu a vrut sa faca el "munca necalificata" !
The piece of fabric was gorgeous, I wouldn't have cut it for anything else than Kaleidoscope blocks.

Materialul a fost superb, nu l-as fi taiat pentru altceva decat Kaleidoscope .

These are the blocks ( with a yellow tint! ); every block is unique and each one is more beautiful than the other ones.

Nu stiu de ce pozele mi-au iesit asa "ingalbenite".
Fiecare bloc e unic si e unul mai frumos decat altul :
The square blocks are beautiful too and so easy to make.

Si cele patrate sunt superbe si atat de usor de facut:

I told you that there is no wasted fabric; even if you end up with some unusual shapes (you can make some appliques from them):

V-am zis ca nu se pierde nici un pic de material; chiar daca ies forme mai ciudate (care se pot aplica si asa cum sunt):
you can cut regular shapes from them !

din ele se pot taia forme regulate !

Kaleidoscope again

I had another piece of Christmas fabric with stripes and I made kaleidoscope blocks.

I made these Kaleidoscope blocks using the "Stack-n-Whack" method of Bethany Reynolds (I have one of her books).
The most important thing before you cut the shapes is to not wash the fabric (because this process will distort it). Also iron the piece of fabric ( NO STEAM) with care to not distort it.

Prints like this are wonderful for kaleidoscope quilts. The blocks are unique and gorgeous.

Kaleidoscope from stripes fabric

Whenever I see a beautiful print, I remember about "stack and whack" Kaleidoscope. But just recently I have used stripes fabrics. It's so easy to make Kaleidoscope from stripes !

Ori de cate ori vad un imprimeu frumos, gandul imi zboara la kaleidoscope, prima mea dragoste. Dar acum e prima oara cand am folosit materiale imprimate cu benzi. Cat de usor se lucreaza cu acest tip de imprimeu !

I cut different shapes in different sizes
Am taiat o multime de forme in diverse marimi si iata ce a iesit !

I made hexagons
Am facut hexagoane

Octagons
octogoane

even squares
chiar si patrate

I didn't waste any piece of fabric
N-am irosit nici un pic de material

so the smallest Kaleidoscope is 4 x 4 inch
asa ca am cel mai mic Kaleidoscope are 10 x 10 cm

and the larger is 16 x 20 inch
si cel mai mare 40 x 50 cm