Quiltmaker 100 Blocks Volume 7 Blog Tour

Thank you for visiting Quilt Moments’  blog. I am thrilled that my block appears in the new Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks Volume 7 hitting newsstands May 7th and it’s fun to be part of the blog tour.  Today I’ll share some ideas on how to use my block and give you a chance to win several goodies.   Keep reading to the end to see what you could win!

My block, Kaleidoscope Star #664, is shown on page 53 of the magazine.  I love using large print fabrics in my quilts and often put what I call “4-patch kaleidoscopes” in my block centers.

I made the block using  the Love Flows collection designed by Jan Douglas for Maywood Studio.  Here are some images of what 5 blocks set on point look like for a 40″ x 40″ tabletopper / wallhanging.

First, here’s what the quilt looks like using the same fabrics shown in the block above.

Next, here is the same setting using brown instead of cream for the background, and changing some of the fabric positions.

Now let’s see the block in a different fabric collection, Garden of Enchantment by Maywood Studio.

The large print shown on the border is what is used for all the 4-patch block centers.
I have many patterns and a book featuring this easy technique which you can see on my website, but
here are the construction highlights:
1) Cut or rip a piece of large print fabric containing at least 4 fabric repeats lengthwise down the middle and save one of these pieces for the wide borders
2) Cut out and layer four identical pieces of the fabric following the design repeat and pin around the perimeter with flathead pins carefully capturing the same motif through all fabric layers
3) Rotary cut strip sets 3-1/2” wide and then sub-cut them into 3-1/2” square sets.
4) Take a square set, and rotate the four identical squares to create a 4-patch kaleidoscope. There are four different rotation options so have fun choosing your favorite look!

Have fun choosing a large print to make your own block.  Florals work great, but you can also have fun using novelty prints and kids’ prints.

I was so inspired by the Love Flows fabric collection while working on my block submission that I made a twin size version of my Trellis Garden (QM116) pattern with the fabric and updated my pattern cover to feature the fabric as shown below.

Here is an image of a queen size quilt using my Kaleidoscope Symphony design and the Maywood Studio’s Garden of Enchantment fabric line that I showed you above.  Adding easy  “4-patch kaleidoscopes” to the center of blocks is a fun way to spice up your blocks so give it a try!

Now for the goodies.  Leave a comment on this post by midnight Friday, May 3rd, for a chance to win a copy of the new Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks Volume 7 magazine, a Quilt Moments’ pattern, or my Kaleidoscope Symphony book.  Tell me what pattern you would like to win (you can see all of them on my website).

Then remember to visit Quiltmaker and all the other blogs for more entertainment and chances to win prizes.

Enjoy all your quilt moments!

Marilyn