Kaleidoscope Collection for EQ8

 Over the past few weeks I've had the chance to play with a new add-on to the Electric Quilt software (EQ8), called the Kaleidoscope Collection Two. 

It includes over 500 kaleidoscope-style quilt blocks that you can edit, recolor, and customize to your heart's content. 

Here's the first block I made using the block pattern called "K2 Compass 11 Star Corners". 

I made this 14" quilt block and I'm planning on adding a border, quilting it and then hanging it on my wall as a mini quilt. My sewing room walls are SO bare right now!

It took me just a few minutes to install the software and rather quickly I was browsing the extensive block catalog. There are over 500! Once you find a block you like, you can add it to the Block Worktable and then start customizing it.

Most of the blocks have two different corner options - which as a single block it doesn't look like much of a change, but when you put those blocks into a quilt layout you can see the difference.

Here are two sample quilts - both using the same block but the block on the left has the "Square Corners" option and the one on the right has the "Star Corners" option. 

Once you get the block customized the way you want it with colors and sizes, you can then print the foundation papers right from the software - all colored and numbered and ready to stitch.

The foundation pieces are lightly colored to show which fabric will go where, although on mine the light and dark blue were tricky to tell apart so I wrote "lb" and "db" on some of the sections so I wouldn't mix up my fabrics.

Once I got rolling it went pretty fast! I had my sewing station all set up with my iron (on dry setting) nearby, as well as my rotary cutter, foundation pieces, and my Cutterpillar Glow Mini with a rotary mat.

I put on a good audiobook and enjoyed working on something a little different (for me). 

The Cutterpillar Glow Mini and Mat that I mentioned were super helpful!

It's a small (10" x 13") LED light board with four different light settings. It allows me to see through the papers to make sure my fabric will be large enough to cover the section and to check my seam allowances when I'm trimming. 

It comes with a rotary cutting mat that lays right on top of it which was so handy! You absolutely CAN do foundation piecing without the Glow, but it really is easier with it. In the past I've just held my paper up to the window for some light - which works great in the daytime, but not so great at night ;)

You can get more info about the Cutterpillar Glow Mini here. Use the code: ANDYKNOWLTON when checking out to get 15% off

Just for fun, I spent a few minutes recoloring the Compass 11 Star Corners block in some different colors. I love seeing how the block changes depending on color placement.

These are all the same block, just recolored in different ways! Someone told me that they think this looks like a Christmas gift bow and now I can't unsee it! 

And then I chose two of those variations above and dropped them into a quilt layout:

You can find the Kaleidoscope Collection Two add-on through the Electric Quilt shop here. You DO need to also have the EQ8 software purchased and installed in order to use the Kaleidoscope Collection Two. 

Don't have EQ8 yet? Find out more about what it can do for you here