Four Sided Kaleidoscope Needs List

Four Sided Kaleidoscope quilt

In this one day class students will be shown how to create kaleidoscope blocks using one fabric using a four pattern repeat.  No block is alike.  Think of this quilt as a mystery quilt.  You have no idea how it will look until you have sewn all your blocks and laid them out.  Watch your blocks spin.  Every block has three different individual looks that you can choose from before it is sewn.

Original Fabric

Transformed into this

Benedictus Tiles

City Scapes

Needs List

Sewing machine:     ¼” sewing foot  
                                    New needle + Spares
                                    Bobbins
Quilt tools:                15” long clear ruler (usually 6 or 6.5” wide)
                                    Square ruler (any size between 6”& 10”)
                                    Rotary cutter and cutting board                             
Other items:             Quilting pins
                                    Quick n pick - unpicker
                                    Scissors
Optional - Large sheet to lay out & pin your blocks (if there is time)

Thread:                     Thread to blend with purchased fabrics for piecing.

                                   (I usually use a standard mid grey or mid beige thread)

Fabric:                         Make sure the fabric you purchase is in one continuous piece.  Fat quarters and                              off cuts will not work.

In my experience the smaller the print designs the more likely that each repeat may not be precise.  Look for a medium to large print with a variety of colour or depth of colour with interesting shapes.  Make sure you love it.

Avoid: lots of straight lines, lots of circles and blank spaces.  Check that there is the correct number of pattern repeats when buying your fabric.

You will require 4 repeats of a pattern of your chosen fabric.  When shopping for your fabric,

take your measuring tape.  Most patterns are repeated approximately 24” or 12”.

If 24” you will need approximately 2.5 metres.  I recommend purchasing 3 metres.  This gives you a little extra fabric to accent borders or for binding
If 12” you will require approx 1.3 meters (I recommend 1.5m). Double this quantity for a larger size quilts i.e. approx 3 metres. 
I’ve started to purchase an additional metre for each kaleidoscope quilt I make and sew it into my backing fabric of the quilt as a reminder of what the original fabric looked like.

  

Shirls

Quilt As You Go - Needs List

QUILT AS YOU GO

Tutor Shirley Mooney

Do you have difficulty manipulating a large quilt on your sewing machine or are you concerned you may damage applique, embroidery or embellishments on your quilt when quilting? 

Quilt as you go is a technique which allows you to sew and quilt a block then join them together with what appears to be thin sashing strips both on the front and back of your quilt.

In this one day class you will create three or four blocks and join them together using this technique.  From here you can then build your quilt to whatever size you wish.

The quilt sampler for this class is made using scraps and can be built up to whatever size you wish.  We will discuss the various ways blocks can be assembled using this technique. 

The Needs List below covers the requirements for the class, not necessarily the whole quilt.

Fabric requirements
Please pre-cut fabrics before class to save time

Background colour and Front joining sashes.

These will be the same colour.  I used a variety of white 2 ½ “full length strips. Whatever colour you use for your background, it should make your feature colours stand out (pop).  You will need to bring to class 6 x 2 ½” full length strips of background fabric.  I recommend full width as opposed to fat quarter lengths which will create a lot of waste.
Suggested quantity for larger quilt 1.5 to 2 meters. This will vary depending on the size of your quilt.  If in doubt – buy more.

Block colours 
Please bring four different block colourways for the class.
For each block colour you will need four shades from dark to light.
For each block cut one dark fabric into a 8"x 4 1/2" rectangle.  This will be cut into smaller diamond using class templates.

Cut the other three shades for each colour into 2 ½” strips full fabric width (112cm) or cut 2 of each if using fat quarters.  These will be sub cut using class templates.

Backing Fabric

Back of quilt

This technique uses more backing fabric than the standard quilt.  If you intend to make a large quilt, then I suggest you purchase at least 4 metres.  You can also use different fabrics on the back for each block.  This is another way of using scraps from your stash.

Cut two 12” full width strips (across the bolt 112cm) if using one backing fabric or

Cut four 20” x 12” pieces for each block if using different fabrics.  You may wish to match these fabrics with those of your colour blocks.

 

Back Sashes

You can use either the same fabric as your chosen backing fabric or a contrasting fabric.

Cut two  1 3/4” full length strips or four if using a fat quarter. 

Batting

Cut 2  12” full width strips or cut 20” x 12” pieces if using scrap batting. Any batting will do however I have noticed that students using Dacron find it very slippery and have had to heavily pin their strips before sewing.

Sewing requirements

Sewing machine with walking foot attached.

Two pre-wound bobbins with thread matching that will work with your backing and background fabrics.

Rotary cutter (fresh blade please) and cutting board (Medium size.  Small board will not fit large template)

60deg triangle ruler (optional – only bring if you have one)

Long ruler (24")

Quilting pins

Scissors

A marker that can draw and be seen on your batting.  If using white or a light coloured background fabric, please bring a marker that will not be seen through your fabric or irons out i.e. frixion pen.

Quilting gloves (optional)
1" x 6" ruler that has 1/4" lines marked (Optional - only bring if you have one)

 

I will provide you with a templates for your main block.  There is a charge $4 which covers the cost of the template materials.

 

 Shirls

 

 

 

6 sided Kaleidoscope needs list

Six sided Kaleidoscope quilt Needs list 

Sewing machine:         ¼” sewing foot , New needle + Spares and bobbins

Quilt tools:    

15” long clear ruler

Tri-Acu-Angle – 60deg triangle ruler (must NOT have the corners cut off and include measurement lines)

Rotary cutter and cutting board

                                   

Other items:    
hand sewing needle
Quilting pins (longer than standard pins)
Normal sewing pins
Quick n pick - unpicker
Scissors
Thread to blend with purchased fabrics for piecing.
                                  
Fabric: 

You will require 6 repeats of a pattern of your chosen fabric.  When shopping for your fabric,

take your measuring tape.  Most patterns are repeated approximately  either 24” or 12”.

If 12” repeat, you will require approx 1.8 meters for single quilt.  I recommend that you purchase two metres (or Double the quantity for queen size i.e. 4 metres). 

If 24” repeat, you will need approximately 3.6 metres (makes queen / double bed size). 

I recommend purchasing 4 metres.  This gives you fabric to accent borders or for binding. 

You can also include left over fabric into your backing fabric. 

For 24” repeat you should get approx 96 blocks.

Make sure the fabric you purchase is in one continuous piece.  Fat quarters and off cuts will not work.

Fabric pattern.  In my experience the smaller the print designs the more likely each repeat may not be precise.  Look for a medium to large print with a variety of colour.  Make sure you love it.

Any questions - or if you need help with your fabric selection, please contact me.

Shirls

Stacking Bow Ties - Class description and Needs List

Hundreds and Thousands.  Can you see the flower shaped formation?
Each petal is a different colour.

Hundreds and Thousands was my entry into the Alive with colour - Professional section at the recent New Zealand Quilt Symposium held in Palmerston North. 
I have used the traditional origami bow tie block but have inserted the bow tie center (3d) into each corner rather than every second row.  It's very tactile to touch and technically fiddly.
Each row took me two hours to sew and each piece of fabric was 2" square.

Here's a side angle shot.  Gives a 3d woven effect

For the symposium Gala dinner I made a bag to match my dress using this technique but with 2 1/2" squares.

One side of my bag - background in black foreground feature fabric.

Other side of my bag - background in feature fabric foreground black

I sewed buttons onto the bottom which held the bag stiffening
in place and prevents the bag fabric from sitting on any surface.

Class Samples - cushions

To learn this technique we will be making a panel using 3" squares.  Your final piece/panel can be made into a cushion, bag or wall hanging - whatever you like.

 

For this you will need two groups of fabric.  Background and foreground (3d)

 

The background is your base.  You can use one fabric (i.e. pink cushion) or various fabrics in the same colourway (i.e. green cushion).   Please pre-cut 36 x 3" squares.

 

The foreground is your accent.  It should complement your background fabric but stand out / pop (i.e. light vs. dark or a strong contrast).  Please pre-cut 25 x 3" squares.

 

1 x 20" piece of batting.  This initially will be your design board for laying out and pinning your design.  Once your panel has been sewn it is then quilted onto this piece of batting.

 

Pins - you will need plenty.  Dress making pins are fine.  If you use long thin quilting pins for normal piecing - these will bend.

 

Quick n pick.  We use this to assist us in interlinking our rows together by removing stay stitches (usually 1 or 2 per block).  Don't' forget it - it is a requirement.

A camera, ipad or mobile phone for taking photographs of different placements.

Machine thread for piecing and for quilting - must match or blend with your fabrics.

Scissors or snips for cutting thread.

Cutting board, rotary cutter and ruler.

Sewing machine with 1/4" foot.

Walking foot (for sewing the panel onto batting).  This may or may not happen in class depending on time.

A lot of time maybe used in laying out, so to save valuable time please come with your fabric pre-cut.  Pre-wind your bobbins and please make sure you have a new size 80/12 needle in your machine.

Cushion I made this week as a gift for a friend.  Background is black calico
and the foreground is made of scraps of Kaffe Fasset fabric.

This is a fun technique but some quilting experience is required for this class. 

Happy stitching.

Spinning Stripes (Triangles) Class and Needs List

I probably could be more creative about the name of my new class for next year.  I have been playing around with 60 degree triangles and kaleidoscopes for three years now.  This quilt is different to my other kaleidoscope type quilts because of the way the fabric is cut - lengthways as oppose to width wise.

When looking for stripe fabric for this class - try and find something that has a variant in colour and stripe shape/width.  Look at these examples:


The fabric for my Broadwalk Quilt



Broadwalk - Class Sample



Fabric for Tunnel Vision

Tunnel Vision

Fabric for Siren Song

Siren Song

Close up of Siren Song.  Notice the quilting.

another idea

another idea

In this two day class we cut, then layout the whole quilt before we sew. The cutting and layout will take most of the day.  The quantity of fabric you buy is up to you and your budget.  Any length from 1.5 metres upto 3 metres.  The triangle size will depend on your stripe width repeat e.g. the finer the stripe, the smaller your triangle size.  When cutting my fabric for the three quilts above I didn't use a ruler - I freeform cut.  I used the ruler for trimming my fabric edge before cutting.

Needs List:
Part one of this class:
Striped fabric (quantities as above)
Large bed sheet (flannel if possible) to layout your triangles
Pins to pin your triangles into groups and into place on your sheet (dress making pins great for this)
Rotary cutter (preferably with new blade) and cutting board
Full length ruler (optional)
60degree Triangle ruler

Part two of this class:
Sewing machine with 1/4" foot attached.
Matching sewing thread with bobbin wound ready to go
New size 80/12 sewing machine needle
Quilting pins

At the beginning of this class while we wait for everyone to get set up - take the opportunity to iron your fabric. 

Have a Happy New Year.  Happy stitching.

Shirls