Hey hey it is (finally!) Kaleidoscope quilt pattern release day!
The Kaleidoscope quilt pattern was one of my first ever quilt patterns released. I remember being so proud of it at the time and loved the photos that were taken. Turns out it was only 2 short years ago and when I think of how far I have come in that moment I am immensely proud of myself and what I have learnt – the curve has at times been very steep and I am nowhere near the top of it yet.
Over the past 6 months I have been working on the idea of updating those initial patterns to offer more size options and add more detailed diagrams. Kaleidoscope was first on my list because I wanted to play with the idea of a low volume background rather than just a solid (although lets be honest it looks just as great this way too!). When Gingham Farm by Riley Blake arrived I knew immediately this was the range I wanted to work with to update the pattern. I redrafted it to send to testers, made the quilt top, blogged and sent everything off to testers. It was supposed to be a quick turnaround to release. It wasn’t.
Somewhere along the way I, in my infinite wisdom decided I wanted to get fancy. I knew in my heart scallop borders would look amazing with this fabric collection so I set about to add sashing and get them made. You guys there are so hard! SO HARD! I made every rookie mistake possible too – made the scallops too small, didn’t cut the binding on the bias, assumed I could just wing it. Turns out if you are going to attempt this then you need to pay attention to those things, they are a big deal to the finish lol.
Long story made very short because I’m dying to get to the good stuff but I made them, I hated them, I cried, I hid the quilt, I pulled it out and forced myself to push through the photos anyway. It was a true creative process which I documented on Instagram over the past few weeks. It was my fabulous followers that pulled me out of the creative hole I was in and got me to see the whole picture for what it was. Now to be really honest these scallops are terrible, I jumped in without thought and it shows. If you want to try these for yourself then this is the tutorial I used – I am sure you can learn from my mistakes and do a WAY better job. It wasn’t her, it was very definitely me.
But here is the great news – from a distance YOU CAN”T TELL. And also I was right, scallops were the perfect way to finish her off and add to the gorgeous charm.A huge thank you to Goodness Coffee Co too for letting me take over the front of their beautiful coffee shop for a minute, I love this place!
In fact I have to admit it is a lovely quilt filled with lesson, good intentions and inevitable flaws.
Now lets talk about the pattern itself. The (new) Piccolo Kaleidoscope quilt has instructions to make 5 sizes. It is 13 pages packed full of diagrams and instructions to help even the newest beginner to quilting make a successful end product and includes options for 2 centre blocks. It looks equally as beautiful with solids as it does with patterns, is a quick weekend sew AND is fat quarter friendly to boot.
The pattern only talks about the top as shown above however I do include finishing information for those who want to add borders and even scallops.
My lovely testers – Cleo, Kathleen, Jaime, Kersten and Lee did a brilliant job with their makes and certainly highlighted how different fabric styles all still work so beautifully. The hashtag #piccolokaleidoscope shows other makes with the pattern too – all beautiful.
Here is our pattern front cover. Behind the scenes I am working on my format for paper patterns and the process is long. I know exactly what I want in my head (and it is awesome) but an affordable reality is not so easy as it turns out. I will keep you all posted though.
The Piccolo Kaleidoscope is in store now and you can purchase here. For the next 48 hours it will be reduced to $9 as my gift – you do not need to do anything, the price will automatically adjust. You can find her the Piccolo Pattern Studio Section of my shop. If you have purchased the original version in the past 3 months I will be sending the new updated pattern via email so keep an eye out for that and please email me at hello@piccolostudio.com.au if yours doesn’t arrive.
So yay! Now I can breathe out and get back to the job of my next pattern Fussy Gussy. I just couldn’t keep working on that while this was still floating in my brain. Onward, upwards and all that!
Before I forget too I have to share my amazing gift from the Quilters for Koalas swap. Angie (Gnome Angel) outdid herself with this beauty and fit my wish list perfectly. I am a very lucky girl. The pattern she used was Geo Bird by Kristy at Quiet Play. I am so desperate to try paper piecing but just cant find the time right now. At least I have this beauty to love in the meantime though.
Have a wonderful day and I hope you are all keeping safe out there.
Sarah x
1 Comment
Marie H Misgen
04/10/2020 at 1:35 pmGorgeous!! They are so refreshing and great color sense. And love your photos. Keep it up!