Cosmic Kaleidoscopes
Cosmic Kaleidoscopes, #5 in my series of kaleidoscope quilts. To me this quilt represents a juxtaposition of traditional and modern sensibilities. I used a traditional Jacobean floral fabric in the kaleidoscope blocks and then floated those blocks on a borderless background. Nancy Stovall of Just Quilting quilted wavy lines that simply flow off the edges.
- Back of Cosmic Kaleidoscopes
Click on the picture at right to get a better look at the focus fabric. I inserted a strip of it on the back and added some half-kaleido blocks made from the leftover fabric. Nancy used a lighter thread for the kaleidoscope blocks, creating an almost lacelike effect on the back.
- 60″ x 76″
- Designed and pieced by Dawn White
- Quilted by Nancy Stovall of Just Quilting
- 2013
To read more about the making of Cosmic Kaleidoscopes, please see my post here.
Sunrise Bow-tique
Sunrise Bow-tique started as an exercise in making bowtie blocks using raw-edge applique fused with Steam-a-Seam-2. It ended as an exercise in using a gradated ombre fabric in the alternating blocks — simply because that was the only fabric I could find that I really liked with the bowtie blocks. Serendipity!
- 33.5″ x 42″
- Designed and pieced by Dawn White
- Quilted by Nancy Stovall of Just Quilting
- 2013
To read more about the making of Sunrise Bow-tique, please see my post here. To read more about Nancy Stovall’s quilting on it, please see this post.
Framboise
Another version of my 4-Patch Wonder pattern. This one was made from Lakehouse Dry Goods fabric (Hydrangeas and Raspberries by Holly Holderman). The border fabric, Sweet Dreams by Robyn Pandolph for SSI, is so soft it feels almost like flannel. It features scrolls and vines and leaves, which led me to the quilting motif.
Click on the photo at right to see a close-up of the original focus fabric.
- 72″ x 84″
- Designed and pieced by Dawn White
- Quilted by Melissa Hoffman
- 2012
To read more about the making of Framboise, please see my post here.
Pattern available: 4-Patch Wonder. Two sizes included: 52″ x 66″ and 66″ x 80″
Ode to Spode
Ode to Spode, #4 in my series of kaleidoscope quilts. My inspiration for this quilt was Judy Johnson’s “Cascading Kaleidoscopes” design, but in addition to the 6” and 12” blocks of Judy’s design, I added some 9” blocks to the mix. There are close to 1,000 pieces in this quilt. I had made only a few blocks when their similarity to the dozens of blue and white china patterns made by Spode jumped out at me, hence the name.
You can see the original focus fabric on the back of the quilt.
- 67” x 72”
- Designed and pieced by Dawn White
- Quilted by Melissa Hoffman
- 2012
Tiffany’s Garden
Saw the fabric (Deco Delight by Fabric Freedom). Had to have it. But – what to do with it? A friend suggested I make a quilt using my own 4-Patch Wonder pattern. The overblown poppies were way too big to be contained in a 6” block, the measurement in the 4-Patch Wonder pattern, so I made a new pattern with a 9″ block and named it (and the quilt) Tiffany’s Garden because the blocks and setting triangles reminded me of the stained glass work of artist and designer Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933).
- 72” x 90 ½”
- Designed and pieced by Dawn White
- Quilted by Melissa Hoffman
- 2012
Pattern available: Tiffany’s Garden. Two sizes included: full (72″ x 90 ½”) and queen (90 ½” x 109″).
A version of this pattern using 6” center blocks is available under the name 4-Patch Wonder. See Framboise, Marrakesh Express and Midnight in the Garden in this gallery.
Tiffany’s Garden has undergone some revisions. If you purchased a pattern before March 15, 2012, click here to email me so that I can provide you with an updated pattern at no charge.
I Love Paris
The heart-shaped design, the Eiffel tower, Paris map and French poodle fabrics . . . what else could I call this quilt but I Love Paris? Even the white background fabric has hearts on it, and there are different heart motifs in the quilting.
Like many of my quilts, I Love Paris started out as an experiment. I wanted to make tessellating pinwheels that finished at 6”, so I transferred the markings from the small Lil’ Twister tool by CS Designs to a 6½” square ruler and made my own template. I decided to float the heart with no border treatment, but after the heart was done I could see that it needed something extra. How about a shelf for the heart to sit on? The small Lil’ Twister tool gave me a row of 3” finished pinwheels, the perfect proportion for the larger blocks and the perfect resting place for the heart.
Directions for making this quilt are available as a tutorial.
- 58” x 64”
- Designed and pieced by Dawn White
- Quilted by Melissa Hoffman
- 2011
It’s All in the Twist
Everything old is new again. It’s All in the Twist is a happy union of the traditional twist block dating back to 1870 and the contemporary kaleidoscope block. I came across a picture of the twist block with a solid octagonal center and thought, “Wouldn’t a kaleidoscope block look great there?” I couldn’t wait to try it out. So much so that I tried it out first with my favorite faux-kaleido block – the 4-Patch Wonder, of course. Paired with red and green ribbons against a solid black background, the gorgeous Jacobean floral fabric (Bellagio Road by RJR Fabrics) translated into wonderfully varied faux-kaleido blocks. Click on the the photo of the back to see a larger image of the focus fabric.
As an Audrey Hepburn fan, I am especially fond of one of her earlier movies, Sabrina (1954).Do you remember the scene in Paris where Sabrina is in cooking school learning how to crack an egg properly (i.e. one-handed) under the unnervingly stern glare of the French chef? “It’s all in the wrist,” he says. That’s where the title of this quilt came from.
- 57” x 65”
- Designed and pieced by Dawn White
- Quilted by Melissa Hoffman
- 2011
Pattern available: It’s All in the Twist.
Midnight in the Garden
There is just something about Jacobean florals; almost without exception they make the most beautiful faux-kaleido 4-Patch Wonder blocks. I teamed this gorgeous fabric, Carmen by Timeless Treasures, with a metallic celadon green and flat black, and was thrilled with the result. Click on the image at right to get a better look at the focus fabric.
Carmen, as the quilt was originally named, was exhibited at the 2011 Stitches in Bloom quilt show in Silverton, Oregon, where it won the viewers’ choice award for best traditional quilt. I’m sure Melissa Hoffman’s outstanding quilting had something to do with that award. Later I renamed the quilt Midnight in the Garden.
- 66” x 80”
- Designed and pieced by Dawn White
- Quilted by Melissa Hoffman
- 2011
Pattern available: 4-Patch Wonder. Two sizes included: 52″ x 66″ and 66″ x 80″
Marrakesh Express
The rich colors of paprika, pepper and ginger in this fabric (Marakesh by Maywood Studio) bring to mind exotic spices traded centuries ago along the Silk Road. I knew the print would yield simple but striking 4-Patch Wonder blocks. Click on the photo of the back to see a larger image of the focus fabric.
- 52” x 66”
- Designed and pieced by Dawn White
- Quilted by Carol Parks
- 2010
Pattern available: 4-Patch Wonder. Two sizes included: 52″ x 66″ and 66″ x 80″
V8
V8, #3 in my series of kaleidoscope quilts. Inspiration for the name came from the focus fabric (Variegated Garden by Martha Negley for Rowan Fabrics), which reminded me of red ripe tomatoes and leafy green vegetables, ingredients of a certain tomato juice beverage. Then it occurred to me that each kaleidoscope block contains eight V-shaped wedges.
In this quilt I turned the octagons into circles and floated them on green backgrounds, then added tomato red diamonds at the corner of the blocks for an extra pop of color.
I got a little carried away using leftover blocks on the back. Click on the photo at right to see a larger image of the focus fabric.
- 55” x 64”
- Designed and pieced by Dawn White
- Quilted by Janis Whitman
- 2010
Wonderful Town
I couldn’t bear to use too much of this charming retro New York fabric from In the Beginning Fabrics, so I made a small 4-Patch Wonder quilt. I wasn’t crazy about some of the blocks as 4-Patch Wonders so they became “sliders,” i.e. four-patch blocks with the images right side up. The cornerstones are New York Beauty blocks, a nod to Lady Liberty’s crown. I am sure I spent more time making those corners than I spent on the rest of the quilt.
I think I like the back of the quilt almost as much as the front.
Wonderful Town gets its name from lyrics from the 1949 movie On The Town with Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra: “New York, New York, it’s a wonderful town . . . ”
- 36” x 36”
- Designed and pieced by Dawn White
- Quilted by Pat Roche
- 2010
Ramblin’ Rose
Based on Judy Johnson’s “Cascading Kaleidoscopes” design, Ramblin’ Rose is #2 in my series of kaleidoscope quilts. The fabric is from the line Barefoot Roses by Tonya Whelan for Free Spirit Fabrics. That fabric can be seen on the back of the quilt, along with my original flowerpot design using halves of leftover kaleidoscope blocks.
- 53” x 59”
- Designed and pieced by Dawn White
- Quilted by Lee Fowler
- 2009
Sandy’s Rose Garden
Have you ever found a fabric so beautiful you almost couldn’t bear to cut into it? Such was the case with this fabric in Tonya Whelan’s Barefoot Roses line for Free Spirit. Fortunately, I bought a lot of it. I used it first in Sandy’s Rose Garden, shown here. It has since made its way into another quilt (see Ramblin’ Rose), a bathrobe, and a pair of pillowcases. Who knows where it will show up next?
Sandy’s Rose Garden is based on the pattern “Four-Patch Stacked Posies” by HD Designs. I departed from the design by adding a narrow strip in the sashing, a flange around the outside, and corner blocks in the outer border. The cornerstones in the interior of the quilt were fussy cut from a piece of vintage checked fabric.
Leftover blocks went on the back. Click on the photo at right to see a larger image of the focus fabric.
- 50” x 60”
- Designed and pieced by Dawn White
- Hand quilted by Julie Riggs, with some machine quilting by Dawn White
- 2009
Fiesta
This is Fiesta, the quilt that got me hooked on the kaleidoscope block and inspired a series of kaleidoscope quilts. Based on Maxine Rosenthal’s book, One Block Wonder, and Judy Johnson’s “Cascading Kaleidoscopes” design, it’s made up of 6” blocks with a scattering of 12” blocks thrown in the mix. I picked a wild floral print – in this case Kirman by Kaffe Fassett for Rowan Fabrics – because I figured it would produce blocks with great variety in color and form. I could hardly wait for each block to reveal its own unique design. The profusion of warm and hot colors, the original motifs in the focus fabric, and the finished kaleido blocks all contribute to a distinctly southwestern feel, which led to the name Fiesta.
Unused blocks went on the back, along with a piece of the original focus fabric. Click on the photo at right to see a larger image of the focus fabric.
- 54” x 54”
- Designed and pieced by Dawn White
- Quilted by Lee Fowler
- 2009
