Confession: lately I have been feeling stumped with my kaleidoscope blocks. I know that I want to set them in an irregular grid, but I also want to make a rainbow blend. One concept requires order while the other suggests freedom. Sometimes it is hard to know what to do next in order to move in the right direction.

Here are my blocks as of the beginning of the week. I am sashing the kaleidoscope blocks with pale solids, with the sashing arranged in a rainbow blend like the blocks. The cornerstone squares are a dark serpent green, though they look black from a distance. I am intentionally allowing blue to interrupt the rainbow blend order. I think I’ll carry that concept forward.

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Yesterday I realized that I should design the quilt layout digitally in order to work out my layout ideas freely. Come see what I created!

Ta da! This quilt is called Kaleidoscope Groove and it will be one of the spin-off quilt patterns included with my 2024 Block of the Month program. Floris said that the design looks like a Greek mural that is worn off in places. What a nice idea.

Now that I have designed the quilt layout, I can confidently create blocks to suit. For example, here are a pair of irregular kaleidoscope blocks, each with just one black point. Together with the adjacent regular blocks, they create a pretty blue circle around the 4-point black star.

I am building the quilt from the bottom up, starting with a base of blues that blends through teal and into green. I have chosen pale solid sashing colors because I want the black stars to be prominent with the serpent green cornerstones anchoring each star. However, I am not sure how the rainbow sashing is working. Perhaps a simpler sashing concept would be better.

At any rate, I am certain that this is heading in an exciting direction! This quilt has momentum now, and I am feeling the groove, you could say. Onwards!