Ice Cream Soda quilt progress

Slowly, but surely - new blocks are finished!

This is my latest batch of completed Ice Cream Soda quilt blocks, a pattern designed by Jodi Godfrey of Tales of Cloth. Jodi ships her unique recycled paper piecing kits all over the world. It makes a great gift for a fellow quilter. I started sewing my Ice Cream Soda stars spring 2019.

I’ve released myself from any expectation of finishing this quilt in a particular time frame. Instead, I keep my project bag by the sofa, accessible and inviting. Whenever I do pull it out and sink into those slow stitches, it’s always a soothing experience.

Today I counted my blocks, I think for the first time. Well, I have 30 completed blocks - six tidy stacks of five. That’s about halfway to the total number of blocks required. Nice! Maybe I will finish the blocks sometime next summer? Or maybe longer. Until then, I’m trying to resist the urge to begin joining them together.

If we’re lucky this summer, we’ll get to take a day trip or two somewhere fun in The Netherlands. We’re waiting on public transportation to be available again for leisure, something they’ve been limiting to control coronavirus. It looks like it should reopen soon, fingers crossed!

Before we go, I’ll have a to cut a new batch of shapes to take along. Hand sewing is perfect for a road trip. English paper piecing supplies are so compact and self-contained.

Here is my project-bag. I have one pinned bundle of cut shapes left, which is fabrics for one star block. I’ve pulled out my drawstring muslin bag, which contains the paper shapes. I’ll use those papers and the aqua thread for basting fabrics into precise shapes. (English Paper Piecing basting is good for using up threads you don’t like - in this case a weak cotton thread.). The clips in my project bag will clip together basted shapes that belong in a star group.

Other than that, you just need needle, scissors and thread. I’ve been hand sewing with MicroQuilter thread, a super-fine 70 wt thread made from polyester. I prefer this to cotton, because it almost never breaks, no matter how I yank on my stitches. Plus, it tangles less than the threads I’ve used before for hand sewing. With a dark and a light shade of thread on hand and such a fine weight, my stitches are only barely visible.

Curious about English Paper Piecing? Here’s an introductory post and video, from my early days. You’ll also find a wealth of info on the Tales of Cloth blog.