Project Update: 03.07.2024

Hello Friends and Welcome Back!

After this past long weekend, I got my days a little mixed up and though yesterday was Monday and forgot to post. Whoops!

I didn't want to miss out on posting entirely though, so I've decided to share this week's Project Update on a Wednesday instead!

With last week's goal update fresh in my mind, I've been working away at a few piecing projects to get the Summer season started, and I can't wait to share my progress!

Ice Cream Soda

Last month, I shared my thoughts on potential prints for the third round of a set of Ice Cream Soda blocks. Two of those blocks were pieced as planned, but I wasn't really happy with the fabrics I'd shared for the third.

Still wanting a busier print to liven up the block, I was feeling that the two prints I'd chosen weren't relating well with the white in the second round.

I ended up deciding to use a black, white, grey, and gold plaid that has a lot of visual interest, but which also features all of the colours used in earlier rounds of the block, which I feel makes it feel more unified!

Once I was finally happy with the prints for my third rounds, I finished piecing these blocks together at last!

And with those blocks completed, I was excited to start working on the next few Ice Cream Soda blocks!

The next three I pieced ended up leaning very much in the gold and yellow direction, giving them a very fun and cheerful feeling! And while these blocks focus more strongly on colour selection than print, I did try out a little fussy cutting in the rightmost block, creating a ring of leaves in the block's central round!

And if you've been following along with my progress on this quilt, you'll know that I'm currently working four blocks at a time. The final block in this set is still in progress, but I have selected and cut the fabric I plan to use in the third and final round!

The first two rounds both feature a lot of yellow and gold, so using another of those prints in the third round would have felt very monochromatic and low contrast. Instead, I decided to draw out some of the black from the bees in the central print and chose this black and gold hexie print!

It creates some really strong and much needed contrast, while still featuring colours from earlier rounds of the block. And I really love the effect!

The Ice Cream Soda pattern was designed by Jodi Godfrey of Tales of Cloth.

Generations Quilt

Moving away from my beautiful bee prints, I also did a little more work on my Generations Quilt blocks!

Previously, I had been bemoaning my poor measuring skills when I didn't buy quite enough background fabric in the colour I wanted for my green and orange Star blocks. When I went back to the store, the only fabric in a similar colour was a lime green that I purchased, but wasn't really happy with.

However, I have since managed to find more of that cooler green fabric and I'm so happy I have!

I really love how it contrasts with the warmth of the orange points of the Star, while also blending with the lighter green point, exactly how it looked in my colour concept drawing!

And with the right fabric in hand, I've been able to applique all three of these Six Pointed Star blocks onto their own backgrounds!

With the completion of these three blocks, I'm now up to 29 out of 30 Six Pointed Star blocks for my contribution to the Generations Quilt project!

The Generations Quilt pattern is based on two traditional quilt blocks; the Dresden Plate and the Six Pointed Star. Templates for these blocks were self drafted.

Though my progress over the past few weeks has been heavily motivated by my recent seasonal goal update, I haven't yet made any effort to tackle my two most pressing projects for the Summer. However, I still plan to look into them soon and am excited to see how they'll end up coming together!

In the meantime, I would love to hear what all of you have been working on! Please share your stories, photos, and ruminations in the comments below or send me an email to chat privately! And if you've been posting on Instagram, you can tag me to make sure I don't miss out on your projects!

I can't wait to see what we will make together next!

Until Next Time Friends, Keep Creating!

~VA