Wentworth County Quiltworks

Finished Kaleidoscope quilt

close-up of quilting

After losing a day ripping out the binding and redoing it, I can happily say that I finished my Kaleidoscope quilt yesterday! 

I do not like machine quilting on my domestic machine and I'm glad I didn't go with any larger a quilt than the 12-block baby size!  I'm sure it gets easier with time and practice, but I just don't see how people can wrestle with huge quilt sandwiches and not pull their hair out.

I do, however, like attaching the binding by machine.  I enjoy hand stitching it, but when you want to get it done, it goes faster by machine and doesn't look too bad if you stay in the ditch.  (This quilt was the first time I've attached binding completely by  machine.)

I'm quite impressed with myself and the job I did on this quilt because I set myself a goal to have it done by the end of  Elizabeth's QAL, which was originally set for August 4.  I met my goal!

It meant I didn't get any blocks done on my Farmer's Wife sampler or my Summer Series Sampler, but that's okay.  The Farmer's Wife will be easy to catch up on and my goal for the Summer Series Sampler is to have it done and ready to go to the LQS for quilting by the middle of September.  This should allow me to get back to other priority projects that have taken a backseat for the past month.

back of Kaleidoscope quilt

All that's left to do with this quilt is label it, print a couple photographs of it and put its specs in my hard-copy portfolio.

Thanks to Elizabeth D at "Don't Call Me Betsy" for a thoroughly enjoyable quilt along - the first I've participated in!  

Stop on over at Freshly Pieced and Esther's blog to see who's doing what on the creative side this week!  Not just quilting, but crochet too!

It's Wednesday and time for a work-in-progress update!  It's been a couple of weeks since I've done one.  I'm linking up today at Esther's Blog and at Freshly Pieced.  Check 'em out and see what everyone else is doing!

I actually accomplished a fair bit this past week.  I made my blocks for the Farmer's Wife Sampler and got ahead of the game in the Kaleidoscope quilt along at Don't Call Me Betsy's.  Not only did I piece my twelve kaleidoscope blocks, I also put them together into the quilt top and just finished sewing the border on today.

The border I used is the rest of the border I'd originally cut for Elizabeth's Sampler.  Just as the grey and pink made that quilt look extremely washed out,  it had the effect of toning down the bright colours in the kaleido blocks.  On the former quilt it had an undesirable effect; on the latter quilt it has a desirable balancing effect.

Now - what to do for backing?  That'll be the next decision since I've already decided how I'm going to quilt it.  I have enough fabric in my stash to use - it's just a question of seeing what exactly is there.

A few photos:

The triangles randomly laid out on the floor before sewing began.

A block sewn together:  multiply by twelve.  I'm glad I chose to do the baby quilt! completed top with border sewn on

A few weeks ago, I happened upon the invitation issued by Elizabeth at Don't Call Me Betsy to join the Kaleidoscope quilt along that she's hosting.  After thinking about it for about thirty seconds, I decided I wanted to play.

At the start of June, she gave us the fabric requirements and today, we are underway with the cutting instructions, yayy!

I was able to print off the template with no problem and in checking through my sewing room I found that I already have the 6.5" ruler and I just cut the 4.5" triangle from some template plastic so I am in business!

48 prints and 48 solids and 48 corner triangles for the baby quilt, you say?  I'm on it - see, I haven't changed my mind and I'm still going to use this fabric:

If the baby size impresses me, I may just have to make the big quilt too, but 120 prints and 120 solids is a little more ambitious than I'm up for at the moment.  Between cutting triangles and playing catch-up with the FWQAL, I'd say my Thursday is planned! There's still time to join in the fun!

With a week to go until Elizabeth posts cutting instructions, I've finally found my fabric!  Not that it was too far lost, but it wasn't where I first thought it was!

I came across the Kaleidoscope block in my online travels quite a number of months ago and instantly fell in love with it.  I bought a few yards of fabric when Walmart was selling off all of theirs and I earmarked it specifically for a future kaleidoscope project, not knowing when that might be.

A couple of weeks ago, Lee at Freshly Pieced asked Elizabeth at Don't Call Me Betsy to host  WIP Wednesday and when I went to post my linky over there, my eyes lit up!  A kaleidoscope quilt along!  Starting at the end of June!  Yayy!  Now what did I do with that fabric...?

Here it is!

I'll mix and match from it and see what I come up with!  I've decided I'll do a baby quilt and that'll bump my yellow and purple Baby Nine Patch back to the end of the project line for now.  Here are my fabric requirements:

• 12 fat quarters of printed fabric
• 1 yd coordinating solid plus additional yardage for borders if desired
• 3/8 yd for binding
• 3 yds for backing

The green, yellow and purple in the bottom left corner of the above photo are the choices I'll use for my coordinating solid.  I'll see which one matches best when I start cutting my prints.  I'll likely not bother with borders for a change.  Or so I say now!  I'll do the binding out of the same fabric as my backing and therein lies the mystery.  Do I have three yards in my stash that will work for backing?  Or do I have an excuse to visit Fabricland?  Time will tell.....

The idea is to be done this quilt by the beginning of August, so it'll provide an opportunity for me to practice my machine quilting.  I'm hoping it'll go fairly smoothly because of all the straight lines.

A week to go and I'm ready to start my first ever online quilt along and I've finally posted about it, after some, uh, slight procrastination.  How about that?

Now, about this Farmer's Wife Sampler quilt along......(my resistance is wearing down!)