Challenges

Ricky Tims 4-Part “Kool Kaleidocope Mystery” Wall Hanging

PAQA members and guests – Join us for this free sew-along. We are doing Ricky Tim’s free “Kool Kaleidoscope” 4-Part Mystery. This mystery is a wall hanging and does not require a lot of fabric. Many of us will be able to dig into our stash of strips!

August 20 – Update

• There has been a lot of progress made on our mystery.  People are in a variety of stages from having strata finished to having their top ready for quilting.
• It is recommended that you do starch when pressing (NO IRONING as there is so much bias).
• We had a round robin discussion about what we think we might have done differently.  The most common answer was adjusting angles and maybe swapping a couple of fabrics.
• A takeaway from Ricky’s video 4 is that a plain outer border is not the recommended way to go.  He suggests a google image search for Kool Kaleidoscope for inspriration on your borders.
• We decided not to share our finished projects at a PAQA meeting.  We will hold them for display at the quilt show.  We think it will be a hit!
• Everyone will work on their own now and we will meet in person at the Sunday Sew Day November  16th at 1pm to share progress.  If you don’t want to attend Sunday Sew Day, you can just drop in at 1pm.
• Please continue to post progress and questions in the chat on Facebook.

July 22 – Update

• Everyone is at different stages and that is fine.  Work at your own pace, but feel free to continue on!  It just needs to be finished completely with a hanging sleeve by March 1st.
• You can post all pictures in the chat now.  We want to see everyone’s!
• If you have an Add-A-Quarter ruler it is extremely helpful when cutting around your templates to add your 1/4″ seam allowance
• Remember to vary the sizes in your strip sets.  Also remember 1 very dark and 1 very light need to be small (like 1″ or 1.25″) and be set in the middle of the strata.
• Remember to press and not iron due to all the bias edges.
• Many of us did not use the full width of our strata, but Ricky said that could happen.  It all depends on how you draft your templates.
• Remember to sew 12 individual wedges and do not assemble those until after watching video 3!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuCm1JIfsRw&list=LL&pp=gAQBiAQB.  DO NOT CHAIN PIECE!   Sew one wedge at a time, press seams open.
• Next meeting will be August 20th, 6pm on Zoom.  Link is on the calendar.
• I reached out to Ricky and let him know we were doing this and he responded that he can’t wait to see all of them!

July 9th – Part 1 is under way!  Next meeting 7/22 6pm on Zoom (link on the calendar)

Here are some takeaways from our 1st Zoom meeting!

• A chat room has been set up in our Facebook group to post questions and progress.  Please don’t post anything beyond the step the group is on.
• Some of us will be at Sunday Sew Day, July 20th at 35th to work on strata and templates.  The more the merrier!
• Step #1 recap:
  – Make 5 identical WOF strata sets (they will be twins!)  Ricky does not recommend using FQs.
  – Strata should be 7-9″ tall.  Each twin set can be different – one twin set could be 7 and another twin set 8 1/2, etc.
  – Strips can be cut from 1″ to 3″ max.  Vary the size of your strips.  Try to find one “zinger” fabric!
  – It is ok to repeat a fabric in another twin set
  – Light strips should be skinny
  – You main dark strip should be 1 – 1.5″
  – Press the pairs of identical strata in opposite directions and make sure they are fully pressed, please don’t press open.
  – When constructing your strata your wider strips should be at the top and bottom of the strata with smaller strips inbetween.  (Hint – Zinger fabric might work well at the top!)
  – Use Ricky’s cutting method to ensure your strips are exactly the same size.
• Don’t go off on your own – follow Ricky’s plan
• Have faith! He says that each one will be unique and even if you think you do not like it – keep going!
• Watch this video before July 22nd  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLq3jkoDEIQ&t=350s
• For Step 2 you will need an 18″ square piece of freezer paper.  It is important that this square of freezer paper is truly square!  If your freezer paper is less than 18″ wide, cut your square as close to 18″ as possible. You will need a pencil, ruler (with a 30 degree line on it) and some type of colored pen, pencil, marker or crayon and your completed strata.

 June 26 – PART 1 – Let’s get started!

INITAL POST:

This mystery is free to all members.  It isn’t a true “class”, just a sew along.  Information on the first clue will be emailed on June 26th and then posted on this page.  Work at your own pace.  You will be given links to the video instructions by Ricky and will need to watch them prior to our meetings for each step.  Then we will help each other if there are questions.  At the first meeting we will decide if we will meet entirely on Zoom or have a couple in-person meetings along the way.

To get you thinking about Step 1 – Fabric –
This mystery requires up to 20 different pairs of WOF strips.  Details on size will be given in Ricky’s Step #1 video.  He says there is no pre-planning where fabrics will go and what matches what!  You will just need to make sure you have 1 dark solid pair.  Each wall hanging will be different and unique.  

Our goal is to have these wall hangings completely finished to be displayed at the Quiltapalooza 2026 quilt show in March 20