Friday 17 May 2013

Kaleidoscope Recovery!

I can't believe I have a finished kaleidoscope flimsy quilt top to show!


Have you ever started a project and something went wrong and you couldn't fix it?  That's what happened to me when I joined the Kaleidoscope QAL back in May 2011.

The blocks didn't come together as expected, they weren't square and I had baggy bits in the middle.  I was really disappointed, it was my first experience of an online QAL, I didn't have the knowledge or experience to put it right and I also didn't have an 'in the flesh' quilter to come and look at it and offer advice, so it all got packed up, put in a drawer and pushed to the back of my mind.

Then I decided that after 2 years perhaps I should include it as one of my Finish-along goals for the quarter and at least try to resurrect a block or two.  Having looked back over everything there seems to be a catalogue of issues;
  • my templates printed slightly to the wrong size
  • my then very novice cutting skills compounded the problem
  • my then very novice piecing skills meant that my 1/4 inch seams we're off.
So I reprinted the templates, tried to salvage as much as I could from the already incorrectly cut pieces and made sure I was sewing more accurately this time!  And voila, kaleidoscope blocks started to appear!



Don't look too closely, it's still not perfect and some of the points are off but I'm so relieved to have conquered this one and saved the coveted Denyse Schmidt Picnic Fairgrounds fabrics from the back of the drawer!  I was only able to salvage enough for 20 blocks which doesn't make for a very big quilt so now I'm thinking that maybe I could sash it in white and then add a further border of scrappiness from all the bits I have left...  I went online but couldn't find this line available anywhere so buying more is out of the question.


 
With hubby's Jack Attack quilt to finish I'm not sure I'll be able to afford to buy any wadding and backing for this quilt just yet, so I have time to ponder on it some more.
 
Linking up to Can I Get A Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Anything Goes at Stitch by Stitch.
 
And for the Lets Get Acquainted Link Up this week we have to answer where our favourite holiday destination is; well 10 years ago I was honeymooning in The Maldives and it is the most beautiful, idyllic, peaceful place I've ever been.  We had an amazing bunglaow on stilts in the water and would open the doors to the sea every morning.  We snorkelled with baby sharks, turtles and lion fish and I ate lobster for the first time!  One day I hope to return there, hopefully the sea level won't rise too much as it promises to claim those beautiful islands forever...

20 comments:

Nicole said...

Kudos to you for not giving up, Karen! It looks great!

Rachel said...

Karen,
I don't know if this helps, but I found the following etsy shop that has a few of the Picnic and Fairground prints and will ship internationally. I also found a seller that has a whole fat quarter bundle, but it looks like they only ship to the US. At any rate, it's still a nice looking quilt and I'm glad you went back to it!
Be well.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/amishas?ref=seller_info

Cynthia Brunz Designs said...

Way to keep with it! The quilt is lovely and definitely needs to be finished!

Beth said...

Good for you for not giving up. Amazing how ours skills grow. Love the quilt

Anonymous said...

It was worth not surrendering, you have a great quilt top to show for your perseverance.

Anonymous said...

It was worth not surrendering, you have a great quilt top to show for your perseverance.

Mrs Flying Blind... said...

So glad you had a re-visit xxx

Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation said...

I love kaleidoscope quilts and this one is gorgeous!

-Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation

Janine @ Rainbow Hare said...

Well done for going back to this and sorting it out. It looks wonderful now :)

Christine said...

I am so impressed you went back to it. They look great!

fenna said...

I know what you mean--sometimes you just want to shove something where you can't see it because you're so unhappy with the results, but yours turned out nice now!

Paula@TheSassyQuilter said...

Love the kaleidoscope! Never tried this one yet, but it is on my list. It looks great. Don't be too hard on yourself;)

jan said...

I think your quilt looks great. I haven't tried this pattern yet. It is very intimidating, but your quilt makes me want to give it a try. Great job!

Tessa @ TheSewingChick said...

Hi Karen! Thanks so much for linking up with Let's Get Acquainted today. I love that you wrote about your favorite vacation spot in your blog post. You are the only one that did that, so extra points for you!! It is great that you retrieved your kaleidoscope quilt and re-did it. It looks super and I hope you are able to get it finished up soon!

nicole said...

Looks gorgeous! Congrats on pulling it out and fixing! I think your plan to border in white then in scraps would look lovely!

ipatchandquilt said...

Great job correcting it! You did a great job. Love the fabric you chose to work with!
Esther
ipatchandquilt dot wordpress dot com

Anonymous said...

Whoa! I love this block. Awesome job on the piecing and I love the fabric selection! Thanks for sharing :)

Anonymous said...

Whoa! I love this block. Awesome job on the piecing and I love the fabric selection! Thanks for sharing :)

SIMPLESEW said...

Gotta love it...Anything goes

Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation said...

Way to stick with it! I'm about to start a kaleidoscope quilt with mens shirts and I'm so worried it won't turn out right. Yours looks great!

- Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation

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