While waiting not-so-patiently for special fabric to arrive from Japan, I decided to begin another One Block Wonder. This is my go-to pattern. It's fun - with every block coming out differently - yet very calming and extremely easy to do. I love the kaleidoscope designs and find myself evaluating every fabric I see for it's kaleidoscopic potential. This happy fabric is one I got in Florida.
The colors are my favorite, the design is happy and my sister Beth told me the postcard outlines would make interesting designs. I purchased 7 repeats. A repeat is the distance from the starting point to where the fabric's pattern starts all over again. A One Block Wonder takes 6 repeats - but I always get at least one extra repeat to show what the fabric looked like before I cut it up. I usually put this piece on the back - or in the border. Some kaleidoscope patterns use up to 8 repeats.
The first thing I do is cut apart the 7 repeats. I set aside the 7th and stack the other 6 on top of each other so the design is exactly the same on all six pieces. To make sure they are exactly lined up, I stick pins through all 6 layers at exactly the same point in the design. This one was easy as I picked corners on the postcard images. I put pins about six inches apart all over the panels. The book then calls for 3 3/4 inch strips to be cut through all six layers - but the strips can be any width from 3 to 4 inches (what ever works for the width of the repeat.) Pictured are 3 sets of 3 3/4-inch by LOF strips - each with six layers of fabric. Now I cut 60-degree triangles out of each strip and pin each triangle set together with the pin going with the grain of the fabric. Each triangle in the set looks exactly the same as the other 5.
Three of the triangles are sewn together - then the other three are sewn together the same way. The two halves of the hexagon are pinned together - not sewn yet - and put up on the design wall.
Here is what I have so far. Every hexagon is different but soon color and texture groups begin to emerge.
Finally, my wait paid off and my fabric arrived. It's "Super Mario" fabric direct from the supplier in Japan. It's the most I've ever spent for fabric - but it's for a quilt for one of my newest grandsons and my son assures me I will be grandmother-of-the-year with a Super Mario quilt.
1 comment:
That is going to be one spoiled little boy, for sure! It's going to be a wonderful quilt.
Post a Comment