I Dreamt it was Finished!

My goal was to get the borders on my Kaleidoscope Dreams quilt today, and here it is. I am so pleased with the pieced border and the illusion of curves. Now the trick will be to see if any of the longarmers I know can get it done in time for our guild's show in September.

My other challenge is that the pattern calls for 6 1/4 yards of fabric for the back, but I cannot for my life figure out how to piece it so it is big enough for a quilt that is 84" by 104". Especially since longarmers tend to be picky about having extra fabric around all of the edges!

What I have learned from piecing this is the absolute critical need for a design wall. I could not have kept the pieces straight any other way. That was the best advice I learned during my class. Also, I truly believe I would have gone completely insane trying to do this pattern without Marti's Kaleido-Ruler. You cut every single piece with it, and they are PERFECT.

As I have mentioned, Bonnie's leaders and enders technique was the perfect companion for this quilt. I would take two pieces off the design wall, sew them, put a leader/ender piece through the machine, snip off the kaleidoscope piece, press it, and put it back on the wall before taking any other pieces down. That was the only way to keep track of where everything went.

The odds of one quilt having Marti Michell and Bonnie Hunter in common must be astronomical, but there you have it. Quilting: the great unifier. Hey, maybe we need a quilter for president!