Surprising blocks

While putting away some of the mess in my sewing room I came across a
box I hadn't opened since inheriting my friend's stash and quilting
supplies. Inside was a little ziplock filled with the most gorgeous
triangles ever -- my fav colors. And they were obviously for one of
those "one block" quilts. Six to make a hexagon, with the pattern
formed like looking in a wedge mirror. She had finished one and half
finished two more so I could see how to do it. I was not feeling great
and didn't want to work on anything I had to think about so I started
stitching the triangles figuring that I would just play. Well, 18
blocks later I have all these gorgeous hexagons. Yes, I am making the
points in the middle. Mostly.

So the question now ... what do I do with these blocks? I don't want
to go buy the book just to get an idea for layout. And while I find
them gorgeous, I don't see just putting them all together and calling
it a day. They cry out for more. But I haven't a clue what.

Can anybody make suggestions, direct me to websites with ideas I can
"appropriate" and layouts I can think about?


When I finish there will be 32 blocks. They will NOT be perfect. And
the sizes may vary by as much as 1/4 inch. I'm doing my best and
making things line up, but it's an impossible task to make these
physically identical. If I start cutting them down to an identical
size, I'm afraid I'll lose too much. Besides, how on earth would I
line up a hexagon and make it straight? I'm actually considering it a
major victory that so far you can count six points on each one in the
middle and that the middles are no more than 1/16 off from dead
center. So there! ROFLMAO!!!

This is not my strength and I need help. Inspiration. And no.... I
will not mail the finished blocks to anybody better suited. ;-)

Thanks in advance -- will post photos of blocks if I can wrest the
camera away from DH

Sunny

they sound wonderful, Sunny.
lucky you.
have you google'd 'kaleidoscope quilts' check the images,
there ought to be heaps of pix to stroll thru to give you
ideas to play with.
i'm only assuming what you describe is what i know as a
kaleidoscope tho.
fwiw,
j.

"Sunny" wrote...
While putting away some of the mess in my sewing room I
came across a
box I hadn't opened since inheriting my friend's stash and
quilting
supplies. Inside was a little ziplock filled with the most
gorgeous
triangles ever -- my fav colors. And they were obviously
for one of
those "one block" quilts. Six to make a hexagon, with the
pattern
formed like looking in a wedge mirror. She had finished
one and half
finished two more so I could see how to do it. I was not
feeling great
and didn't want to work on anything I had to think about
so I started
stitching the triangles figuring that I would just play.
Well, 18
blocks later I have all these gorgeous hexagons. Yes, I am
making the
points in the middle. Mostly.

So the question now ... what do I do with these blocks? I
don't want
to go buy the book just to get an idea for layout. And
while I find
them gorgeous, I don't see just putting them all together
and calling
it a day. They cry out for more. But I haven't a clue
what.

Can anybody make suggestions, direct me to websites with
ideas I can
"appropriate" and layouts I can think about?


When I finish there will be 32 blocks. They will NOT be
perfect. And
the sizes may vary by as much as 1/4 inch. I'm doing my
best and
making things line up, but it's an impossible task to make
these
physically identical. If I start cutting them down to an
identical
size, I'm afraid I'll lose too much. Besides, how on earth
would I
line up a hexagon and make it straight? I'm actually
considering it a
major victory that so far you can count six points on each
one in the
middle and that the middles are no more than 1/16 off from
dead
center. So there! ROFLMAO!!!

This is not my strength and I need help. Inspiration. And
no.... I
will not mail the finished blocks to anybody better
suited. ;-)

Thanks in advance -- will post photos of blocks if I can
wrest the
camera away from DH

Sunny

reread your post, Sunny, and thot of another thing to add to
this.
nb. i've not made a kaleidoscope quilt so might be talking
thru my beret.

can you push a pin thru the exact middle of several blocks,
align them and them trim them?
a few at a time so the seams dont have too much of an effect
on the flatness you must cut thru.
with perhaps, one from the first set used as a size marker
for each following sets you trim, so they'd all end up the
same.

i'm rather fond of the watercolour layout.
google for 'kaleidoscope quilts'
http://images.google.com/images?hl=e...-8&sa=N&tab=wi

and this one i like a lot.
http://www.islandfabrics.com/classes.html
on this page see the 'one block wonder' with Beth class
sample.
its a watercolour layout of the original blocks with the 2
colour blocks as the background.
some more great students quilts done from that workshop at
the bottom of the page, shows various layouts with the
blocks. might help with more ideas.
i'm on dial up so this page is taking ages to load.
off to check how the students quilts look.
so many ways to go with these type blocks.
nayy, fwiw,
j.

Jeanne, those student quilts on the second link have blocks that look
just like mine. The color range is, I think, more subtle than some,
but then I'm not done with all 34 blocks yet. I can't imagine how much
fabric it takes .... and so many little triangles, all the same size
and shape.

I love your idea for a way to size the blocks. A pin through the
middle is just the ticket. I'll have to make a hex template that works
to keep everything uniform.

Thank you for running down that link for me. I sort of panicked when I
saw those triangles, but putting them together this way is not too
horrible and so far I haven't ruined any fabric. Don't tell, but if
this works out, I might someday again be tempted to try one of those
gorgeous Iowa star blocks that I love so much and ruined so horridly a
few years ago.

Sunny

I think the one block wonder quilt is easiest to put together if you
have sewn half hexagons. You arrange them on a design wall with the
matching halves lined up together, then sew the halves in rows. It's
assembled something like the half hexagons in the Bubbles pattern at
http://www.sewandquilt.com/design/project/bubbles.html. Doing it this
way eliminates Y-seams.

You might consider adding a contrasting triangle to opposite sides of
the hexagons something like this version of an I-spy quilt:
http://www.geocities.com/quiltfrenzy_archives/hexagonstar.html. Then
you get diamond shapes that you can sew together in rows. This gives you
a star effect. I did a stack'n'whack this way recently. I'll try to get
a picture up soon. Mine is similar to this one:
http://www.bethanyreynolds.com/hexstar.html The contrast triangles are
the same size as the triangles that make up the hexagons.

Julia in MN

Sunny wrote:
Jeanne, those student quilts on the second link have blocks that look
just like mine. The color range is, I think, more subtle than some,
but then I'm not done with all 34 blocks yet. I can't imagine how much
fabric it takes .... and so many little triangles, all the same size
and shape.

I love your idea for a way to size the blocks. A pin through the
middle is just the ticket. I'll have to make a hex template that works
to keep everything uniform.

Thank you for running down that link for me. I sort of panicked when I
saw those triangles, but putting them together this way is not too
horrible and so far I haven't ruined any fabric. Don't tell, but if
this works out, I might someday again be tempted to try one of those
gorgeous Iowa star blocks that I love so much and ruined so horridly a
few years ago.

Sunny

--
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This message has been scanned for viruses by Norton Anti-Virus
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ACK! You're totally right -- I should never have put those hexes
together! Now I'm never going to be able to sew these babies together.
I will leave the rest in half and maybe figure out a way to deal with
the Y seams. Arghhhhhhhh. I was really congratulating myself for doing
this and I was just shooting myself in the foot -- blockwise, that is.

Hmmmm, gotta figure this out.

Sunny

Sunny: You may be jumping to the wrong conclusion here! Go back and read
Julia's note about adding triangles to make a star shape. Check the helpful
links she provided and you will see that you CAN finish this quilt! Just in
case you did not receive Julia's post, I am pasting a portion he

"You might consider adding a contrasting triangle to opposite sides of
the hexagons something like this version of an I-spy quilt:
http://www.geocities.com/quiltfrenzy_archives/hexagonstar.html. Then
you get diamond shapes that you can sew together in rows. This gives you
a star effect. I did a stack'n'whack this way recently. I'll try to get
a picture up soon. Mine is similar to this one:
http://www.bethanyreynolds.com/hexstar.html The contrast triangles are
the same size as the triangles that make up the hexagons.

Julia in MN"

--
Have fun! Pat in Virginia

"Sunny" wrote in message
...
ACK! You're totally right -- I should never have put those hexes
together! Now I'm never going to be able to sew these babies together.
I will leave the rest in half and maybe figure out a way to deal with
the Y seams. Arghhhhhhhh. I was really congratulating myself for doing
this and I was just shooting myself in the foot -- blockwise, that is.

Hmmmm, gotta figure this out.

Sunny

When Pat (who had come down from her hill for the occasion) and I went
to Malvern last weekend we didn't realise this was a kaleidoscope quilt
until we took a second look Although it looks obvious in the photo, when
you saw it 'in the flesh' it was more subtle and not so obvious.

Its in my Webshots under Seen at Malvern. Its the only quilt I've put in
and I'll be good and remove it in a couple of days. There is also
another picture in there.

Sally at the Seaside ~~~~~~~~~~ (uk)
http://community.webshots.com/user/sallyswin


nzlstar* wrote:
they sound wonderful, Sunny.
lucky you.
have you google'd 'kaleidoscope quilts' check the images,
there ought to be heaps of pix to stroll thru to give you
ideas to play with.
i'm only assuming what you describe is what i know as a
kaleidoscope tho.
fwiw,
j.

"Sunny" wrote...
While putting away some of the mess in my sewing room I
came across a
box I hadn't opened since inheriting my friend's stash and
quilting
supplies. Inside was a little ziplock filled with the most
gorgeous
triangles ever -- my fav colors. And they were obviously
for one of
those "one block" quilts. Six to make a hexagon, with the
pattern
formed like looking in a wedge mirror. She had finished
one and half
finished two more so I could see how to do it. I was not
feeling great
and didn't want to work on anything I had to think about
so I started
stitching the triangles figuring that I would just play.
Well, 18
blocks later I have all these gorgeous hexagons. Yes, I am
making the
points in the middle. Mostly.

So the question now ... what do I do with these blocks? I
don't want
to go buy the book just to get an idea for layout. And
while I find
them gorgeous, I don't see just putting them all together
and calling
it a day. They cry out for more. But I haven't a clue
what.

Can anybody make suggestions, direct me to websites with
ideas I can
"appropriate" and layouts I can think about?


When I finish there will be 32 blocks. They will NOT be
perfect. And
the sizes may vary by as much as 1/4 inch. I'm doing my
best and
making things line up, but it's an impossible task to make
these
physically identical. If I start cutting them down to an
identical
size, I'm afraid I'll lose too much. Besides, how on earth
would I
line up a hexagon and make it straight? I'm actually
considering it a
major victory that so far you can count six points on each
one in the
middle and that the middles are no more than 1/16 off from
dead
center. So there! ROFLMAO!!!

This is not my strength and I need help. Inspiration. And
no.... I
will not mail the finished blocks to anybody better
suited. ;-)

Thanks in advance -- will post photos of blocks if I can
wrest the
camera away from DH

Sunny

Great photo Sally! That has made even the black ones visible - I barely
saw them, even once you had spotted the basic construction. It honestly
was amazing everyone, it really looked like a single piece of fabric
with an unusual design. I don't know how she pressed those seams,
because hardly any of them were visible from 1 foot away. Wonderful
piece of work; but a bit sad, because the intricate work was probably
missed by 90% of the people there.

Thanks for the other one, too!
..
In message , Sally Swindells
writes
When Pat (who had come down from her hill for the occasion) and I went
to Malvern last weekend we didn't realise this was a kaleidoscope quilt
until we took a second look Although it looks obvious in the photo,
when you saw it 'in the flesh' it was more subtle and not so obvious.

Its in my Webshots under Seen at Malvern. Its the only quilt I've put
in and I'll be good and remove it in a couple of days. There is also
another picture in there.

Sally at the Seaside ~~~~~~~~~~ (uk)
http://community.webshots.com/user/sallyswin
--
Best Regards
pat on the hill

ok, have wiped up the drool and can type again.
that is one gorgeous quilt for sure. would love to see the
starting fabric intact.
if i'm seeing it correctly, those are equalateral (sp?)
triangles, 6 of them in each unit, duh, jeanne, they are
hexagons, what other number could there be.

anyhow, i've been pondering the idea if when using all
equ....tri's you could start with one set in the middle,
adding on in matching places so the design grows but is
still symmetrical.
not sure if that makes sense. it does in my head but not
everything i think makes sense to most other people.

seems it might be somewhat like Ricky Tims latest books
show. i forget the name at the moment and havent had
breakfast yet so cant be bothered looking it up.
anyhow does that work or not? am i just way lost in
outerspace yet again?
sorry, brain is sad at the best of times so could be taking
thru my beret with a hole in it.
j.

"Patti" wrote in message
...
Great photo Sally! That has made even the black ones
visible - I barely saw them, even once you had spotted the
basic construction. It honestly was amazing everyone, it
really looked like a single piece of fabric with an
unusual design. I don't know how she pressed those seams,
because hardly any of them were visible from 1 foot away.
Wonderful piece of work; but a bit sad, because the
intricate work was probably missed by 90% of the people
there.

Thanks for the other one, too!
.
In message ,
Sally Swindells writes
When Pat (who had come down from her hill for the
occasion) and I went to Malvern last weekend we didn't
realise this was a kaleidoscope quilt until we took a
second look Although it looks obvious in the photo, when
you saw it 'in the flesh' it was more subtle and not so
obvious.

Its in my Webshots under Seen at Malvern. Its the only
quilt I've put in and I'll be good and remove it in a
couple of days. There is also another picture in there.

Sally at the Seaside ~~~~~~~~~~ (uk)
http://community.webshots.com/user/sallyswin
--
Best Regards
pat on the hill