Real Scrap Quilts‘Kaleidoscope Stars (It’s Only Patchwork but I like It)’

by Celia Eddy
published: 19/02/2001
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Machine-pieced blocks using upholstery cottons, plus off-cuts of cotton and satin dress scraps from wedding and bridesmaid’s dresses. Machine-quilted. The satin is used in the ‘stars’ to give them a twinkle. This is an example of an easy block which, repeated, gives a convincingly complex graphic effect. The only trick is to sort out the fabrics into light, dark and medium tones, then the interlocking circles effect will magically appear.

Incorporating a variety of weights and textures of fabrics certainly enlivens the quilt surface and gives you a wider range of fabrics to choose from in your stash, but it also makes the finished item quite heavy. In this case, that’s not a problem because the quilt is destined to hang on a wall. However, I wouldn’t fancy sleeping under it, even in the minimally-heated barn I live in!

There are several other versions of Kaleidoscope blocks in the QuiltPro library, all of which will enable you to achieve the ‘eye’fooler’ effect, provided you’re canny with your fabric-sorting. This one is called Compass Kaleidoscope.

‘Kaleidoscope Stars (It’s Only Patchwork but I like It)’ 70ins X 90ins (178cm X 228cm) Celia Eddy, 2000

© Celia Eddy