With just two sizes of isoceles triangle, this repeating-block quilt possesses an array of dizzying primary and secondary patterns. The block itself is not the first pattern you see. Instead, a circular shape (which is really a dodecagon—a twelve-sided polygon) immediately appears, overlapping with others and causing the eye to move quickly across the quilt's surface. Kaleidoscopic, indeed!

Pattern: 
Kaleidoscope
Maker: 
Maker unknown
Circa
1900
1920
Possibly made in
Pennsylvania
United States
72.5
67
International Quilt Museum, Jonathan Holstein and Gail van der Hoof Collection
2003.003.0038