Hello everyone!

I just finished this One Block Wonder from the technique in the Maxine Rosenthal books of the same name. The original fabric is shown first and I also pieced some of it into the border. My FMQ technique is still in its infancy (!) but on this I'd tried to make it vaguely leaflike - I show a close up so judge for yourself if it worked or not - I think it's OK, better in some places than others! :-D Thanks for looking.

Trying to do a bigger pic of the main quilt...

Very nice

Hey, K3n, that is breathtaking quilt!!! It is so Booooooooootiful! Impressive!

Looks good to me!

Thanks everyone!

But WHY oh WHY is it only now that I see a block top middle which I SHOULD have put over on the right! Aaaaarggghhh! :shock:

I think that no matter how many times you'll look at your own OBW you'll see changes you think would look better, but that's the magic of them! I looked and looked and I can't see anything I would change... it is stunningly beautiful!!

Thanks MG! I would tinker with the layout forever! Eventually I get DH to come and look and he say's 'leave it, it's fine!' so I'll blame him! :mrgreen: :lol:

Just stunning k3n.

Great fabric choice! Great job!

Thanks Deecee - I have to credit Gai with the fabric choice though - she sent it to me! Bless her heart! :-D

I don't know anything about one block wonder so this may seem like a ridiculous question. Does this block type help you determine piece placement in your blocks? The way the fabric comes together in the individual blocks makes this project mesmerizing, I could look at it for hours. Wonderful quilt, thanks for sharing

I agree - you can spend hours (days even!) shifting the arrangement around but they lend themselves to lots of alternative layouts. It could become a hobby all by itself.

And I think the arrangement is superb anyway - it's beautiful fabric, and I love the addition of it in the 2 borders. I've seen this quilt and it is even better "in the flesh"! Well done K!

you did a great job, love the work

Love the combination of the 3-D blocks and the kaliedascope blocks. It keeps the eye moving. And I love the way you chose the colors.

I think that looks great. I don't see your "mistake" so I wouldn't worry about it.

Basically, you make a stack of 6 layers of six identical pattern repeats which you then cut into strips (these were 3 3/4" wide). You then cut 60° triangles (I use a triangle ruler). This gives you 6 identical fabric triangles, which you then use to create hexagon blocks. You make them in two halves and pin the blocks together, then when you come to piece them, you have only straight seams to sew. When you have your stack of hexagon blocks, you can play away to your hearts content til you find a layout you're happy with. The cutting and piecing is pretty straightforward - the fun (and headache sometimes!) is in the layout.

This technique, from a cutting and sewing point of view, is really easy, I promise! If you'd like to try it, I'd recommend getting the book One Block Wonders and/or One Block Wonders Encore by Maxine Rosenthal. There are detailed instructions with pics in both and the second one also explains how to make the hollow blocks. She also gives tips on how to chose a good fabric - IMO this is one of the hardest parts of the process - with this quilt it was done for me! :D

Wow, you did it!!!!! You got the blocks in and everything. That fabric is perfect for OBW's and looks great transformed. I love it. What size is it? A keeper? Let me know if it needs a home...:)

Yes, it's a keeper. It's 60" x 48" and it's going to hang in my living room. And that's about the last of my wall space gone! :lol:

Its wonderful :thumbup: :thumbup:

Wow!!!!

Actually, the section of the print you make your triangles from isn't very predictable. If you tried, it'd drive you nuts. Just cut strips and then triangles from the stacked strip set. The resulting blocks will surprise you as you sew them together. Most will work in your overall design but some might not.

I think you did a magnificent job

What a spectacular quilt. It seems to sparkle and move. I could watch it for hours.

Once you've made a OBW, you'll be able to pick out appropriate fabrics in no time. If not, buy a quilt block mirror and bring it with you to the fabric shop. Hold it up on the bolt to check out what kind of hexagons you'll get. Just hold it crosswise on the bolt and slide it along from selvage to selvage. You'll quickly be able to see if that fabric's print will work.
I also agree that figuring out the placement of the hexagons is the hardest part of making one of these quilts. There are so many ways they can be arranged.

Yes, I'm getting better at it - this is my third full size plus I have a 4th top waiting to be quilted. The first one had way too much plain background and the motifs were too small but it's OK in it's own way. The mirror tip I had from Jenell (billswife on here!) I've yet to try it - I order almost exclusively online (no LQS here, and those that are an hour or so drive are very expensive!) so it IS something of a 'lottery'! Fun though! :-D

I'd agree with this entirely! Sometimes the most unassuming looking stacks become the most beautiful hexs and vice versa! Plus, you need some of the less striking ones to give you transitions in your quilt - sometimes it's the ones you find the most beautiful when you're piecing that just won't fit anywhere! These could be used as corner blocks or pieced into the border in some way, or just in other projects on they're own.

I'd also like to say that apart from a couple of leftover blocks (although in this quilt I used them ALL!) and a few very small scraps, there is NO waste with this technique! I know that is an objection that gets thrown up from time to time. :-D

I am still trying to get up the courage to do one of these. I am loving the ones I look at.

very pretty

fabulous :thumbup:

Well now lets see !!! It's just so Beautiful and pretty. :D

Do it! It's not that hard, I mean it! And your first won't be your last, I'll guarantee it. :-D

You can alternate quilts with the seasons or your mood!! Then you've got an art gallery instead of "wall space"!!!

Wow! You done gooooooood, girlfriend! It looks wonderful! But it looks smaller than it probably is. My first thought was, "Oh no! I didn't send her enough of the fabric!" I don't remember how much I did send, but I probably should have doubled it so you could have a bed-sized quilt. Sorry. :cry:

Anyhow, you did an amazing job! And your FMQ looks just fine!!

:shock: It's beautiful, K! I love the fabric that Gai sent. You do such wonderful work.

Oh, you! I can't remember how much you sent either but I WANT it hanging on my wall where I can see it and it's 4' x 5' so it's perfect! So there! :mrgreen:

Thanks everyone for your kind words. :-D

I love it! I just love looking at it!

Thank you so much! :-D

Oh now that one turned out great! I really like the colors! I am going to have to suck it up and try the cubes now. Can you use the original fabric for them or do you think it needs to be different? I will have to do some checking to find something for Dad's Fall OBW. He would love trying to figure out that extra puzzle in the middle. LOL

In this one, I used different fabrics and I think that works best. Something that 'reads' as a solid in light, medium and dark of the same colourway. I guess tonals, blends or batiks would be good - these are scraps from my stash.

In the 'Woofers' one I did, I used the main fabric and the cubes nearly disappeared. (Also I didn't have the second book then so the cubes in that one aren't very 3D) I tried to cut from within the fabric in light, medium and dark places. Depends on the effect you're looking for I guess. Here's a link to it but I think you saw it before. http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-23403-1.htm

In this Leaf one, I tried to place them so the light side of a cube was against light hexagons and dark against dark because I wanted them to blend. A more striking effect would be to reverse this. Sorry, favourite subject, rambling! :oops: :lol:

You right! I will have to find something else, but you know any excuse to go fabric shopping will do in a pinch! :mrgreen:

I'm going to have to add that solid block too. Thank you, thank you for getting my creative juices going again. I have really been slouching since the holidays.