KFC Dazzling Diamond Quilt

It seems I sew through a Kaffe Fassett (KF) phase (not a rut) which I then have to force myself to make quilts with the other fabric lines in my stash. I call this a hiatus and much to my surprise the last quilt I made using KF prints was almost seven years ago, although there were some smaller quilts made using only shot cottons and stripes. My love for KF  fabrics was reignited by Kate/The Last Homely House whom I discovered last October and have now finished six KF quilts since then and have two more in the waiting wing. Since January I had two epic KFC (Kaffe Fassett Collective) finishes, Tumbling Block Quilt and Terry Rowland Scrap Challenge Quilt (just finished less than a month ago) and I now have a third one with the KFC Dazzling Diamond Quilt. One of the things I’ve learned since starting this new KFC phase is, if you live in the States like me, KFC has nothing to do with Fried Chicken but is the acronym for Kaffe Fassett Collective which includes Brandon Marley and Philip Jacob’s fabrics. My stash of fabrics includes KF fabrics purchased well over twenty years ago and now I have been having a buying spree of purchasing KFC fabrics to stash/catch up.

I wasn’t planning on making another diamond quilt with the leftover diamonds and strips from previous projects and thought a One Thousand Pyramid quilt would be different and fun to make. But, I didn’t want to sew long rows of triangles and thought the layout would be more interesting with 4”x8” blocks (approx.) instead; I just needed to make 422 which were easy to sew since I used my Sizzix Isosceles Triangle die. Of course, I needed to cut more fabric from my stash and it’s nice I have new scraps for the KFC scrap stash now.

I have to mention that being the angle-challenged quilter and having never taken a Geometry class, I learned the Isosceles Triangle is different than the Equilateral Triangle (which I thought my die was) because the two sides are equal but the base is not. I’ve lost count of how many times I sewed the wrong sides together which resulted in the blocks looking like this. Even once I was aware of this, I still made mistakes.

While sewing these blocks and not looking forward to laying out 242 4”x8” blocks, I came up with the idea of sewing two blocks together which then diamonds would be created and it would also give the quilt some resting spots. It was much easier to layout 121 bocks and I wasn’t so concerned with the same fabrics being close together. There are three different types of diamonds, one made with the same fabrics, two different fabrics and ones created by four HRT blocks which really gave Dazzling Diamond its name.

I machine quilted straight and meandering lines using #3817 Auril #50 variegated thread for the top and #2610 Blue Gray for the bottom.

I was really tempted to purchase yardage of a KFC print for the backing but decided to use yardage of two Philip Jacob’s prints, Shaggy Poppy and Morning Glory along with KF Vintage Bead Stripe Bead I had for way too long in my stash. Common sense prevailed since I realized I could purchased more KFC fat quarters and yardage with the $75+ saved. I just recently learned that a quilt shop only 15 mins away from the GP House has a fabulous KFC inventory so I am so looking forward to making a visit. Am I the only one when going fabric shopping and the hubby sits by the register, secretly asks the  staff to announce the cost as only being $10? I may have fooled him a few times.

Once again, I used a variety of different shades of the caterpillar stripe for the binding and were alternated between, blue, red and orange/green. I just love the way it looks against the many KFC prints and I will be on the hunt for more.

The KFC Dazzling Diamond Quilt measures 84” square and is now hanging over the bannister along with the Terry Rowland quilt.

Good news on the Master Quilt Holder who has been missing in action for awhile. On this beautiful day, He was feeling better to help me hang up the Dazzling Diamond Quilt outside over the screened room. I am jokingly saying a Two Pole System was deployed; one being a garment hanging pole you may have seen at stores and one with two legs who is not above sticking out his middle finger, but only to be funny and, to me, way cuter. The MQH is still in recovery mode and visits to the GP House are still up in the air. I am keeping my fingers crossed that we can visit my darling Granddaughter this weekend.

With the finish of these three KFC quilts since January, I am saying Happy Epic Ending because I do NOT want to make another big quilt nor handquilt nor hand piece. My plans for this year was to make smaller quilts and maybe there still time I can do this for the remainder of 2025. Is it me, but the year is going by fast, right?

My big apologies for being very late in responding to comments with all that is happening  and the latest being I really need a new IPad. Demando has been given the assignment of deciding which one to buy or if I am going to inherit his IPad Air. Either way, I’ll have an attached keyboard which will be way more convenient than using the keyboard I have now and may help me sending responses out quicker.

Linking up with:My Quilt Infatuation/NTT

Luminous Layers QAL

I was late, almost two weeks late for a very important Date!

On April 3rd, Sandra, mmmquilts announced the Luminous Layer QAL and as usual I am participating. BUT, I dropped the ball big time this year due to some mmmissunderstanding on my part. I have pattern tested several of Sandra's patterns as well as been given a heads-up on QALs in the past (something to do with being a QAL Rebel or not QALing well with others). Sandra sent me the Luminous Layer pattern in late February asking me, as well as two others, if we would pattern test. I assumed the other two were being asked to pattern test and I was just being given a heads up which I spent time choosing fabrics, prepared my usual QAL graphics for my Celebrating a Famous Canadian’s Birthday post and planned to follow the Luminous Layer QAL schedule for once. I also was busy working on some other projects like  Villa Rosa Fast and More Fun Blog Hop, March Country Threads UFO Challenge and most importantly the taxes, needed to be finished so I wouldn’t have been able to start Luminous Layers. Imagine my surprise when I read in Sandra’s post that I had pattern tested Luminous Layer and will be have a flimsy to show. I had NADA and was feeling really bad that I wasn’t prepared as I usually have been with Sandra’s QAL.

Last week after coming home from the GP House and recovering a few days from a Cold, I finally started working on my Luminous Layers flimsy. I thought I was happy with my first fabric selection made in February but decided I didn’t like how I was going to make the large star points so that changed the color way. My plan was to use Carrie Bloomston fabrics so I finalized my fabric selection from three of her collections: Found, Color Theory and Colorwash. I was hoping when I purchased Found back in January that I would be able to use it for this year’s QAL. I’ve always said that it takes me forever when I have to choose only ten fabrics and I spent days going back and forth with at least five different groupings/colorways in shades of black, blues, purples and pinks which I found too calm and finally decided on the above grouping since it had a little more punch. I should mentioned that I ended up changing one of the teal fabrics after this pic was taken.

True to my usual QAL Rebel behavior, I was planning on using larger patches like 16”x32” flying geese instead of the smaller HST but after I saw Joyfully Tracie’s version of Luminous Layers on IG with the smaller HST blocks I decided I would do the same. After all, I did have all the dies needed so I was able to die-cut all of the patches, with the exception of the 16-1/2” square on the upper left, using both my Accuquilt and Sizzix systems. I will admit that sometimes being a QAL Rebel is not the way to sew. 

I wasn’t looking forward to sewing Luminous Layers with all of the patches, both large and small, since accuracy sometimes eludes me but I am way happy with the flimsy finish. I think die cutting the patches helped, and the sewing just clicked. I just love this pattern of multiple stars and the fabrics giving the illusion of the center stars mmmagicically merging to create one large star. I thought this would  be considered a Super Nova, but no, there is an explosion with no stars remaining so I naming this quilt MMMagical Stars.

Here’s a close up of the center Star blocks which measures 32” square and could stand alone as a smaller wallhanging. The inner star block with the multiple stars measures 16-1/2” square and this is where I used flying geese blocks and square in the square blocks instead of HST. Otherwise, I pretty much behaved myself. I’m pretty sure when Sandra asks me to pattern test, it’s not to proof her instructions since there are other more trusted testers than me, but it’s to see how I might interpret her pattern in other fabric/colors. I tend to choose prints which will offset my lackluster machine quilting but will have some negative spaces this time with MMMagical Stars.

I wrote in my Rainbow Neighborhood QAL post year that I was looking forward to this years QAL and that I was sure it was going to be “mmmagically” fun and I was right. I am really proud of how this 16-1/2” star turned out and just so very happy the small patches sewed together so well, mmmagical I say. I actually know how I will be machine quilting MMMagical Stars and the binding has already been chosen. It’s nice that I will have two months to finally finish it to celebrate the Famous Canadian’s Birthday.

BTW, just a reminder that the Luminous Layer pattern is free this year and instructions will be given out weekly along with options on such as making flying geese blocks and using dies. BUT, if you can’t wait like a QAL Rebel, this pattern can be in purchased from Sandra’s Etsy Shop. Be sure to check out her post to see all the wonderful prizes to be given this year, unfortunately, her very beautiful cat Bella is not one of them.