I tried to search for Kaleidoscope quilts, but kept coming up with OBW patterns? I know they are related, but can you tell me how? Thanks,
Nancy

A OBW is a specialized version of a Kaleidoscope.

Sort of like a cat is a mammal, but a mammal is not always a cat sort of thing.

Ah, thank you!! I appreciate it!
Nancy

A OBW uses just one fabric. A kaleidoscope is generally set into a background fabric so the kaleidoscopes are individual and don't blend one into another. OBWs blend across the quilt.

Kaleidoscope has the 4 tabs which makes it more square obw does not . if you do a search you can see photos of both. hope it helps
sandra

Bearisgray, I love your analogy!

Thanks, fellow quilters!!

So thats why I like Kaleidoscopes better. Thanks for the explaination.

OBW means One Block Wonder so you use 1 block for the entire quilt. Some OBW's aren't kaleidoscopes--apple core, thousand pyramids, tumbling blocks, Grandmothers Flower Garden, etc. On this board, when someone says OBW they usually mean the kaleidoscopic type though where you cut equilateral triangles and assembly into hexagons or half hexagons.

To further confuse matters, there are a bunch of different quilt block patterns called Kaleidoscope that aren't like the Stack 'n' Whack or OBW's.

Kind of like that piece of furniture in your living room that several people can sit on at once. Is it a couch, sofa, davenport, divan, settee, or as my mother calls it, a davinette? A rose by any other name...LOL!

I just asked the same question on one of the picture threads.