Rosenthal - One-Block Wonders: One Fabric, One Shape, One-of-a-Kind Quilts

Purple and Green Cubes, 55 69, machine pieced and quilted by the author. This early quilt features cubes: some are hollow, and some are solid but open on one side. It is interesting to come up with different ways to show dimension on a flat surface.

I would like to thank many people who have helped me along the way.

Penny Simison, who never lost faith in me and who kept me writing and rewriting and rewriting.

My good friends Meg Devine and Joy Pelzmann, who have used my ideas, often showing me what else could be done, and who have enjoyed looking at new fabric with the notion of possibilities.

My daughter, Petra, who has accepted so many quilts even though she lives in Southern California and has probably never needed any blankets on her bed.

To Stan

Petras Chickens, 65 64, machine pieced and quilted by the author. This quilt was made for my daughter, Petra, and features another favorite chicken fabric.

Zebras, 64 71, machine pieced and quilted by the author.

Fabric for Zebras

Y ou will love this unusual method of designing and creating quilts. Instead of starting with a particular pattern or design and then trying to find fabric that will fit that pattern, this approach begins with the fabric: the fabric is the key element. Kaleidoscope blockseach one uniqueare produced by aligning the printed design on several layers of fabric and then cutting and sewing triangles together. Just as the mirrors in a kaleidoscope reflect and repeat an image, each triangle repeats color and pattern to create a new design for each block. Once all the blocks are made, you begin to design your quilt.

Fabric for octagonal blocks

Fabric for hexagonal blocks

Hexagonal kaleidoscope blocks

Octagonal kaleidoscope blocks

This is a serendipitous and adventurous approach to design. One piece of fabric does all the work, because the fabric contains all the colors and all the design elements. You cut and sew one shapewith triangles forming hexagons or octagonsand then design with these kaleidoscopic blocks. Because the quilts feature one repeated block, design merely involves playing with colors and shapes within the kaleidoscopes. The quilt you produce has more energy and movement than the original fabric.

This is a very forgiving processthere is so much motion and pattern in the quilt that mistakes are rarely seen. The idea is to relax and enjoy each kaleidoscope block as it comes to life and the quilt design unfolds.

The following chapters help you find suitable fabric, layer it, and create your unique quilt top using hexagons or octagons. Purchasing and layering the fabricsteps that are common to both hexagon and octagon blocksare presented first. The elements of design for hexagons and octagons are similar, but because the shapes are so different, the sewing process for each is covered in separate chapters.

There are not very many rules. It is hard to say exactly what size the quilt will turn out to be. The size depends on the size of the borders; the number of hexagons or octagons in the quilt; and whether the quilt is long and thin, almost square, or divided into two or more panels with borders around each.

I have made many baby quilts using this process. In my imagination, I can see a child recovering from the flu, sitting in bed, bored and weary. The quilt captures her attention. She searches for the exact place in the fabric that produced each kaleidoscope. Boredom has been changed to a game that whiles away the afternoon.