#37 Autumn Kaleidoscope

#37: Autumn Kaleidoscope
Finished: 9/14/12
Techniques: Stack 'n Whack, Kaleidoscope, Stitch in the Ditch Quilting, Machine Stitches
Size: 17" x 17"

Description:

backing fabric

This is the first time I've tried this kaleidoscope technique, and I really enjoyed it. The key is finding the right fabric and having enough of it to have eight repeats that you can cut out. The fabric I used for this mini-quilt is also what I used for the backing, shown here.  I like it because of the variety of fall colors.

The Stack 'n Whack method means that I had to line up eight strips of repeating print design one on top of each other as precisely as I  could. This took time, but wasn't too difficult.  I made a triangle template with 45 degrees at the apex and cut into the strips. Then I inverted the template and continued cutting out triangles. Then I sewed the triangles together to form the kaleidoscope. I even sewed a fifth kaleidoscope that I didn't include in the mini-quilt. Adding the black background was simple, and I used various machine stitches and stitched in the ditch for the quilting.

unused kaleidoscope

If you look very closely, you can see that not all the triangle wedges are identical. Even being careful trying to line up the fabrics, things get a little off. But the nice thing about the design is that you really don't notice the little errors.

I was delighted by the variety of kaleidoscopes that were formed from one fabric. But my first attempt at a fabric was not at all successful. I started out with a beer bottle fabric. I thought that the variety of colors would make an interesting kaleidoscope. I now believe that the fact that the beer bottles are isolated (or in other words, surrounded by black background), made for a poor kaleidoscope. You can start to see a slight kaleidoscope emerge, but it doesn't coalesce. I'll just have to find another use for the beer bottle fabric.

beer bottle fabric

beer bottle kaleidoscope

Having a small amount of background does seem to add to the design of the kaleidoscopes. This combined with a multi-colored print in which the images overlap would make for good kaleidoscope designs. I would very much like to make a larger quilt using this technique.