Monday, October 17, 2011

Autumn Kaleidoscope

Kaleidoscope is DONE!!

Can you feel the excitement?



I started this quilt in August and had to put it aside a few times to finish other projects, but I am so glad to say it is finished!
A lot of times when I'm making a quilt I get to a point where I just kind of want to be done with it and start cutting corners and just quit being excited about it. Not so with this baby. I love it!


We had to run some errands Sunday before soccer so I threw a couple quilts in the car and told my husband we were going to stop at a park and take some pictures. But we ran out of time before the soccer game and afterward my husband really needed to be getting back to the field, so I convinced him to help take a couple pictures as I was dropping him off. Thus, you get these wonderful harvest-y shots!  Unfortunately, I left my camera's memory card in my computer at home so I had to use his phone to take the pictures. 


I was a little stumped about what I wanted to do when it was time to make the back of the quilt. I had lots of smaller pieces of fabric left, so when I saw these scrappy stars that Cinzia of Deux Petites Souris had made, I was inspired to try them.

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As always, I was indecisive about my quilting, until Katie suggested that I simply sew along the side of the seams as she and some others had done on their Kaleidoscopes. Easy enough and it made a neat design on the back as well. This was the first time that I used Aurifil thread in my quilting and I was quite impressed. I was always skeptical when others raved about what a difference it made for them, but it went through my machine so smoothly, never broke, and my sewing machine even seemed to sound happier.


Overall, I am very happy with this quilt. Sure, several of my points don't quite match up like they should and the binding fabric seemed to noticeably fade after the first wash, but I really don't mind. I love the autumnal colors, the fabrics, and the design of both front and back.


 Thank you to Elizabeth of Don't Call Me Betsy for designing and sharing such an awesome quilt. I joined the QAL the day after it ended, but I still had fun going back through the Flickr group and seeing how others had interpreted the design.
ETA: I just figured out how to get pictures from the internal memory on my camera to the card, so I added a few more "picnic" shots.

 I'm submitting my "Autumn Kaleidoscope" to Celebrate Color.




So happy to be linking up with Canoe Ridge Creation's {Sew} Modern Monday, Sew Happy Geek's Manic Monday, and Quilt Story's Fabric Tuesday. Thanks Ladies!

42 comments:

  1. This is beautiful, the colors are fantastic. And I think the corn field in the background would suit the quilt better than a soccer field! Well done.

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  2. Toni, it turned out fabulously!! Great job! I'm so glad that you're so excited about it, I think it's gorgeous :)

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  3. Beautiful! I'm still so far from getting mine done. My points aren't matching up. The the back of your quilt as well!

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  4. Oh, I can see why you're so excited about this quilt! I love the front and back! Great job!

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  5. It's totally fabulous! You have every right to be excited! And the back is genius too. One day I will make a kaleidoscope quilt, and then I'll be referencing yours as my inspiration - so thanks!!

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  6. This is gorgeous!! I love your color choices and the backing was the perfect way to go with the stars!! congrats!

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  7. Absolutely gorgeous!
    I love what you did with the stars on the back, it makes it extra special!
    And the colors you chose are wonderful.

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  8. Yay! It is just beautiful, Toni!! The palette is so lovely - and amazing in your 'field' photoshoot location! And the back - good for you! I understand the 'I just want to be done' feeling, but it's great that you just took one purposeful step at a time to make a fantastic finish!

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  9. Just love this, it's absolutely fab!! The back is amazing too :-)

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  10. YES, YES, YES! :) Love it! Perfect fall colors, too! Thanks for linking up to {Sew} Modern Monday and have a great week!

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  11. Gorgeous!!! Well done on all of it - it's perfect!

    And congrats on your win xxx

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  12. it came out so fantastic! and i love the back too :) great work!!

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  13. Soooo beautiful! Such a yummmmmmy fall quilt to snuggle and picnic with! Great job with it! Just pinned it for inspiration :)

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  14. Yay! Its done. I have been waiting to see how it turns out. I love it. The colors are just so cool!!!!

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  15. wowzers, so incredibly gorgeous! love the colors and the wonky stars on the back. great quilt!

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  16. That is beautiful! I love the front as much as the back! Great job!

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  17. That is gorgeous, Toni! I love the back as much as the front. Wow! I've fallen in love with those colours too and think they are perfect for Fall. Beautiful!

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  18. oh my goodness! how beautiful!!! both front and back are gorgeous!

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  19. Oh my gosh!! This literally made me catch my breath! It is so gorgeous, and I can't decide if I like the front or the back better! I'm loving stars lately so I was so happy to see what you've done with the back. :)

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  20. It's so beautiful! I especially love the back!

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  21. what a beautiful quilt and I love the colours

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  22. Congrats! Your quilt has been on my Pinterest board for a while, love the colors you chose. And that back.... GORGEOUS! I may have to pin that separately for another quilt. :)

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  23. Looks fantastic. It's such a great feeling when you have finished a quilt. It is a real work of art. You must be very proud of it.

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  24. Love it!! The binding was a great choice and those scrappy stars look brilliant! Fantastic x

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  25. Looks absolutely lovely. I love love love the back (would probably be my front ;-)

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  26. I can feel the excitement and quite rightly so - it`s fabulous and love your scrappy wonkies!

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  27. Such a beautiful quilt, Toni! I just love the color palette--it really does look like autumn! I love those scrappy stars on the back too!

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  28. Gorgeous quilt Toni and I love the wonky stars on the back too!!

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  29. I love it! The colors are stunning and I don't know how I could ever decide what side to display! They are both beautiful!

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  30. Girl this came out awesome! Love the colors and the backing is just as fun. I've had those moments with a quilt. I usually just set it aside and work on another. It really helps. Thanks for sharing!

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  31. Absolutely beautiful and nice to see this pattern in a completely different colour combination.

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  32. Oh my gosh that is so wonderful. I really like the colors you choose.

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  33. I love it! These beauties seem to be popping up all over. I think I may have to make one.

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  34. I love this quilt! The pattern and the colors and the back. AMAZING. Great job!

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  35. Toni you did such a lovely job! I really love it!

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  36. Absolutely gorgeous! My goodness! Will you please just put that in the mail for me ;-)

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  37. I [heart] this quilt! They are so different from colours I would normally chose, but they are simply stunning together. Fantastic job.

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  38. It's lovely Toni - I'm so glad you pressed on with it and got it done.

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  39. Oh my Toni this is gorgeous! I really need to try one of these some time. Just love the overall effect. Fab work. x

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