Wonderfully Kaleidoscoped

Like my Fractured quilts, it could be said of my Kaleidoscope quilts, “The fabric made me do it!” Read more here.
Each of these “One Block Wonder” quilts began with one fabric that, having first met a variety of specific criteria, so moved my fascination that I just “had to” kaleidoscope them. I hope you enjoy the results as much as I do.

Koi at Play in Escher’s Pond

40.5″ x 50.5″
Kaleidoscoped, designed, pieced, appliqued, and custom free-motion quilted by Sue Hickman Berryville, VA 4/2021
I’d long been on the look out for just the right koi in water print fabric to kaleidoscope, when in 2018 I found not one, but two that would do. There was only a little bit of the fabric that was predominantly teal, so I started on this one first.
Like my other kaleidoscope quilts, the hexagon blocks in this quilt contain 6 identical triangle pieces, all cut from just one fabric. As I played with the arrangement of the koi hexagons, I added in Escher like cube features to create a happy place for these koi to swim and play.
Once the center was together (3-2019), I hit a roadblock, so to speak. I knew the overall design I wished to achieve, but wasn’t pleased with the fabric options I auditioned for the borders.
I set this aside and made the other, predominately blue, quilt (4/2019). I called that quilt Koi Uncorked. You can read about it below.
Then, for over two years, these koi in teal stared at me from my design wall until finally its time had come.
I dove into my stash and to my delight discovered fabrics that beautifully complemented the center hexagon blocks. [Sometimes good things come to those who wait.]
In keeping with my original design, borders were added in a unique fashion to create the image of a raised concrete rectangular pond.
Finally, custom free-motion and ruler-work quilting completed the quilt and added depth to the design.
As I stand back and look at my two koi pond quilts there are similarities, even though they are each unique and distinct. Both have koi swimming into or out of the ponds, which are also home to dragonflies.

Heavenly Rush

34″ Sq.
Kaleidoscoped, designed, pieced, appliqued, and free-motion quilted by Sue Hickman Berryville, VA 2/18/2021
Full name – When a Plan Comes Together, It’s A Heavenly Rush!
From the time I first saw the center’s fabric, I knew I wanted to kaleidoscope it! The fabric’s repeat was small and there was just barely enough to create these hexagons, with two to spare. Once I had a pleasing layout, I set it aside until I discovered the perfect background fabric. I appliqued it centered on this background fabric and again set it aside. I wasn’t sure whether to add borders to make it bigger or to trim it down smaller. Finally, I discovered a fat quarter of the perfect binding fabric. With that in mind, I trimmed down the top to be small enough that I would have enough fabric to bind it. The day I put it on my longarm and began to free motion quilt it, I heard Rush Limbaugh had passed away that morning. The next day, I listened to remembrances of Rush all day on TV and the radio as I finished quilting and bound it.
As with all my quilts, I’d long been pondering what to name this quilt. The ethereal green center kaleidoscope brought Heaven to mind, being delicate and light in a way that seems too perfect for this world, and I loved how it had all come together perfectly in due time, and so its name evolved.
God bless you, Rush Limbaugh! Thank you for sharing your talents and wisdom on loan from God! You are missed already, but will never be forgotten! (Rush Hudson Limbaugh III, 1/12/1951-2/17/2021)

Border Beauty

42″ x 36″
Pieced and free motion quilted by Sue Hickman Berryville, VA 6/2020
Using scraps of the Baltimore Home border fabric left ofer from my previous quilt, I stacked six layers of matching designs and kaleidoscoped them. I added two small simple borders to complete this quilt. I think it is a thing of beauty!

Koi Uncorked

(52.5″ x 60″)
Pieced, appliqued, and quilted by Sue Hickman     Berryville, VA     4/2019
Koi means love in Japanese? How about that!
I also learned that in Japan, koi symbolizes many good qualities. Known to swim against the current and overcome great obstacles, koi symbolize strength, courage, patience, and success through perseverance. As koi can grow very large and live a long life, they have become a symbol of prosperity and good luck. Their slow, graceful movements also symbolize peace and tranquility.
That is what I’ve always found when beside a koi pond… peace and tranquility.
When I saw this fabric, I knew in an instant I wanted to kaleidoscope it and the result is just what I hoped.

Whimsically Bohemian

(65.5″ x 63.5″)
Designed, pieced, and quilted by Sue Hickman Berryville, VA 6/2019
Usually when creating a kaleidoscope quilt I’m working with only one main fabric, but these two were, simply put, meant to go together and this border hugs them perfectly. This quilt’s name says it all… Whimsically Bohemian.

Kaleidoscoped Tree of Life

(55″ x 40″)
Designed, pieced, embellished, and quilted by Sue Hickman    
Berryville, VA     5/2017
This piece began as a demonstration quilt for Quilting with Sue Kaleidoscope classes. Kaleidoscoped hexagon blocks made from a Chong-A Hwang fabric remained on my design board longer than I care to recall. When its time had come to be completed, I combined some of those hexagon blocks with the complementary  Tree of Life panel expanding the tree’s design. Fussy cut unused hexagon blocks were appliqued to fill out the design and softened the edges of the panel. In my heart, this quilt’s journey had its ups and downs. I loved the hexagon blocks! I didn’t like how they alone came together. When I added them to the tree panel, it just felt right. Curving the lower corners and using two fabrics in the binding were the perfect way to finish this quilt. Now it ranks among my favorites.

True Blue at Heart

(53″ x 61″)
Pieced, appliqued, and quilted by Sue Hickman     Berryville, Va     2/2014
I was inspired to create this quilt by the Quilter’s Unlimited 2014 quilt show theme, “True Blue”.
By definition, True Blue is: conservative, staunchly loyal, reliable, genuine, constant, and authentic.
No fabric is more “true blue” than South Africa’s Da Gama Textile Company’s “3 Leopards” indigo fabric. It has long been the reliable standard for True Blue textiles and it was the “one fabric” that was the starting point for this quilt.
True Colors International says of “True Blue” that it can soothe the central nervous system and foster psychological contentment and physical tranquility. “True Blue” as a figure of speech takes on the meaning of friendship, helpers, “there when you need them” individuals who will go the extra mile for others.
I found the making of this quilt to be challenging. because authentic indigo fabric comes stiffly starched, it has to be washed before cutting to make it workable. Since sizing in fabric is generally helpful when cutting the 6 exact triangle shapes that make up each hexagon block, ‘kaleidoscoping’ the washed, soft indigo fabric was more difficult than ‘kaleidoscoping’ the white/blue background fabric that was not pre-washed.
A ribbon was added as a design element and red was chosen as its color to bring forth a sense of True Blue patriotism showcasing our Nation’s colors: red, white, and blue.
This quilt appropriately represents this quilt maker and reflects my own big, true blue heart.

Pops of Paradise

(56.5″ x 51.25″)
This quilt features tropical Bird of Paradise and Plumeria Blooms.
Pieced and Quilted by Sue Hickman       Berryville, Va       11/2011

Born to Fish II – Bug Slinger

A New England Keepsake
Pieced by Sue Hickman       Berryville, Va   7/2010

Kootenay Gold

Pieced by Sue Hickman, January 2010 – Queen-sized
Kootenay Gold began as a fabric Sue found while on vacation near the Kootenay National Park in the Canadian Rockies. This was Sue’s fourth “One Block Wonder” kaleidoscope technique quilt. Each 60° triangle cut and hexagon block pieced found its way into this finished piece perfectly sized to grace the top of her queen-sized bed. Borders on three sides create the drop for the sides and foot of the bed, but do not take focus away from the blocks pieced from this beautiful fabric.
This quilt was displayed at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival XXI in Hampton, VA in February 2010. This is both a juried and judged show.

Born to Fish! 

Pieced by Sue Hickman       Berryville, Va

Hiding in Plain Sight 

(59″ x 34.25″)
Pieced by Sue Hickman       Berryville, Va       10/2009
Pieces of Sue’s “Hiding in Plain Sight” quilt began as a “hand’s on” way to teach the ‘One Block Wonder’ kaleidoscope techniques in the spring of 2009 to the Shenandoah Piecemakers club. In the class, participants worked with stacks of 60° triangles that went into the hexagon portion of this quilt. After the class, Sue bought two more ‘repeats’ of the fabric to see what it would look like when isosceles triangles of this fabric were made into octagon blocks. The name, “Hiding in Plain Sight” refers to the many zebras in the original fabric that, like zebras in the wild, use their stripes as camouflage.

This quilt was displayed at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival XXI in Hampton, VA in February 2010. This is both a juried and judged show.
This quilt also showed at the 2011 Northern Shenandoah Valley Quilt Show, held in Berryville, Va.

This quilt was one of the quilts showcased in my Solo-Artist “Art in the Halls” show at The Museum of the Shenandoah Valley in Winchester, VA from October 18th, 2016 through January 22nd, 2017.

Kaleidoscope Wave

(44″ x 61″)
Pieced by Sue Hickman       Berryville, Va       Spring 2009
I am fascinated by the unlimited design options when using matching equilateral triangles of printed fabric. This quilt owes its origin to a blue and purple lilac covered fabric. The occasional light green leaf also adds interest. Each set of 6 matching triangles make up the hexagon blocks, but it is the layout of these blocks that created this Kaleidoscope Wave.  Whimsy added the partial lime green border and the blocks falling out of the design.

This quilt showed at the 2011 Northern Shenandoah Valley Quilt Show, held in Berryville, Va.