I was able to get back to the Kaleidoscope block this past week. Here’s where I left off after doing the paper piecing. I put it aside for quite a while, as I thought about what to do with it. All I knew is that one of these blocks was enough, and I wasn’t going to make any more of them for a quilt. Should it be a pillow? How about a wall hanging with some additional borders? The more I looked at it, the more the hexagonal shape jumped out. It needed to become a table topper.
So, I removed the black triangles on the corners.
I pulled additional fabrics of the same prints I used in the block, plus a coordinating print of daisies on black.
I sewed a strip to one side. Then, I sewed a strip to the next side, going to the edge of the first strip.
Trim and keep going around the piece.
Next strip trimming.
The first border is done. This one is two inches wide.
I added two more borders. The blue is one inch wide, and the yellow is three inches wide.
Next, I loaded it on the longarm, and did ‘stand and stare’ for a week. I thought I would just put a pantograph on it, but it really wanted to have more. I am really glad I decided to do a custom quilting.
I began with doing stitch in the ditch around the borders.
When I got to the seams going to the center, I ran into a problem. The longarm foot would not go over the center section, due to the fabric bulk in the center. I decided to do the rest of the quilting and leave the center stitching to last.
I went around the other seams outside the center.
The blue border got a ribbon candy design.
Then, feathers are done freehand in the outer yellow border. This time I did remember to mark a quarter inch in from the edge so the feathers will not be covered by the binding.
The black daisy border got swirls. Then I marked some dots on the inner yellow piecing for some ruler work.
Here is a close look at all four custom quilting designs.
I took the topper to my domestic machine, and did stitch in the ditch on the center piecing. It is frankly easier to do this on a domestic as the control of where the needle hits is much more accurate.
It went over the center bulk pretty easily. I did all 16 seams.
Next was to put on the binding. I chose the same black background daisy print for contrast on the edge. Since I had removed the black triangles, this made the most sense. I sewed it on the front side, then turned it to the back to finish by hand.
I soaked it in water to remove the marks on the ruler work. Then, it was left to dry and pressed. All done, and on the table.
I’ll need to be careful with what I place in the center as there is a tiny lump of fabrics there due to all the seams, in spite of using a clapper, pressing the seams open and judicious trimming. Whatever I choose will need to be small, so the radiating pattern can be seen. I like the fabrics a lot and I am happy with the way it turned out.
From My Carolina Home 
The table topper is really eye-catching! You do such beautiful things!
Beautiful quilting! You don’t need a centerpiece with this on the table.
It looks beautiful. Great quilting. If it was on my longarm I would still be staring at it trying to decide what to quilt. It is so pretty you don’t need to put anything on top of it. Perfect on its own
Carole, the quilted table topper is beautiful! I love it.
It turned out beautifully and makes such a nice table topper, especially for spring.
It made a beautiful table topper! Sometimes a domestic machine is definitely the right choice for quilting, and I really like how this one turned out. Beautifully done, Carole. 🙂
It turned out beautiful, makes me itch to get back to my longarm!
Great choices for this piece. The fabrics complement each other so well. Love your quilting patterns. The table topper was a great idea. Sure to get many complements.
It’s gorgeous! I got a kick out of the stand and stare bit. I do that a lot.
So striking with the new choice of shape and combo of fabrics. Maybe turn a wine goblet upside down to make a pedestal to put something small on leaving the design to show through the glass?
Long armer years ago. Took a board and hammer and
Hammered down my centers of the blocks. I about croaked .But she quilted my quilt .
I really like how you resolved this design. It will make a nice centerpiece table topper.
Live the way this turned out!!! That custom quilting is beautiful
Kudos to you for finishing one block. One would have been enough for me too! It looks very striking and will make a lovely centrepiece- maybe not with a vase of flowers in the middle! 😀
Mary :))
This is so pretty, Carole! The fabrics are gorgeous and I love the combination of colors, too. That was such a great idea to emphasize the hexagon shape of the block!
Great save of those beautiful fabrics. I have several “blocks in boxes” from classes, that I know will never be made into the size of the quilt they were intended for. For me, the ONE & DONE rule make me store the boxes until I can come up with something else. I love how you turned it into a table topper. Those borders really showcase the wonderful prints. I love the big daisy backing fabric.
You’re smart not to cover up that beautiful center too much. It’s really lovely — very fond of the colors and the pattern. Well done!
Very nice!
That turned out beautifully Carole!
that turned out so beautiful. From the choice of the fabrics to the custom quilting, very well done. One of these days I’m gonna be brave enough to try some custom quilting.
I LOVE this! And I’m the first to claim it if you sell it, lol. Gorgeous work, Carole. Happy Easter.
It has turned our really well. Lovely borders. This has worked well to increase the size. Looks great.
Thank you (as always) for sharing your thought process! I’ve come to realize that many of my UFOs are because I got stuck not knowing to do with something I didn’t like so much. Carole, you are inspiring and give me hope!