Project Update: 08.10.2024

Hello Friends and Welcome Back!

Over the last couple of weeks, I've begun to feel Autumn setting in. Leaves are changing, the air is cooler, and the weather seems to shift from one moment to the next!

I really enjoy watching these changes come and go with a project in hand. Siting, stitching, and experiencing the changes of the season is such a relaxing use of my time and I look forward to every second I get to spend doing it!

And stitch after stitch, I'm also able to enjoy watching each of my projects come closer to completion!

I haven't shared a project update in a few months, the last one was late August, so I'm really looking forward to seeing how much progress I've made since then!

Ice Cream Soda

Starting off, once again, is Ice Cream Soda!

Last time, I was working on a block that used the same pale yellow bee print in both of the first two rounds. I had chosen two possible fabrics for my final round; a dark print with high contrast and a light print that draw out some of the white details in the pale yellow print.

Though it has less contrast within the block itself, I was much more drawn to the white print than the black one.

And I'm so happy with the way the block turned out! It feels really different from the other blocks I've made so far and should add a point of interest within the finished quilt!

The other block in progress at that time was just a first round. It used a floral print and was fussy cut to place a grey flower in the block centre!

I had planned to use more of the same floral print in the second round, but ended up changing my mind and ended up using three different prints for the three rounds.

Though I'm still planning to try that combination, I impulsively decided the central round I had made would look really interesting with a grey second round to draw out the greys in the floral print.

It can be a lot of fun to follow impulsive decisions like this one when quilting! It can lead to some interesting combinations like this one, and if I had really disliked it, I can always take the block apart and start over!

From there, I made two other blocks to complete my set of four!

For these blocks, I carried on with my impulse fabric choices rather than doing much pre planning.

I really love how the monochrome block turned out! The rounds feel like they relate really well to each other and don't overshadow one another. I'm not as sure about the yellow block though...

It's not that it looks bad, I just get a feeling that the prints should be in a different order. Or perhaps that the block would have felt more complete with a dark outer round?

I'm not totally sure what I think, so I'll keep it how it is for now and think on it.

In the meantime, I started working on my next set of four Ice Cream Soda blocks!

Currently, they're all in different stages of completion, but one has been finished!

I really loved the previous monochrome block, so I made another one with some different prints. After finishing it though, I noticed I'd already made some really similar choices in an earlier block;

I don't mind having multiple similar blocks, but I'd like to avoid making any identical blocks. And though these two are similar—the same first two rounds with a black and grey printed third round—the density and direction of the print, along with the use of fussy cutting and slight colour differences result in the finished blocks feeling a little different from each other.

As I continue working through this project, I plan to reference my past blocks to see be sure I don't inadvertently make any duplicates!

It's really good I figured this out now, because I was well on my way to making another duplicate block;

After completing the second round of this yellow block, I was leaning towards a white third round, but found a block that already used this combination.

With that in mind, I'm not sure yet which direction this block will end up taking.

I auditioned a few dark prints, drawing on the dark linework of the bee print in the second round. It should make an interesting variation from the original with the white print!

For the grey block centre, I've already cut and basted a second round, which hasn't been pieced on yet, and have plans for the third round. But after looking through my blocks, I've found another one with a similar look to what I'd planned;

The central grey print in my current block is much lighter than the grey used on the older block, but the second round is the same print, and I was thinking a gold print would really bring the block together.

Clearly I've been down this path before, but I do really love this combination!

There are a few ways I can approach this. I wasn't planning to use that particular gold print, there's another, busier gold print that would work really well instead, but the colour placement would be the same.

Alternatively, I could use another colour from the second round print, like the darker grey, which would still work to unify the three prints in the block!

Of course, I could always change the second round to something totally different, but I really like how the first round looks with the multi colour honeycomb print, so I'd like to use it!

Finally, for the last of my ongoing blocks, I think it might be fun to feature a lot of black!

I found a print that features the same blacks and pale yellows as the central bee print, but the two look really busy side by side, so I think a semi solid print would act as a good barrier between them. I also haven't made many blocks with the central round being the contrasting one, so this should make the block unique!

I've made so many choices about my Ice Cream Soda blocks over the past few weeks and would love to get some input from all of you! Let me know which ones were your favourites, whether you like the prints I've been auditioning for my next few rounds, and which prints you would choose if you were in my place!

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

Blackwork Roads

The other project I've put a lot of work into recently is my Blackwork Roads sample quilt!

While I'd hoped to have this ready to share at the beginning of September, it ended up being a little too much work for the amount of time I had available.

So far, I've completed six of the nine chunks of the quilt, which I'm joining as I go rather than waiting until I've finished the final assembly instructions. This makes it a little easier to show off since the quilt is in fewer pieces.

Currently, I'm typing up the February pattern instructions and am excited to get those finished so I can make the next chunk! At this rate, I'm optimistic that I may even have my sample finished to show off in November!

Blackwork Roads is my own original design and is currently running as a quilt along. Check out the September instructions to get started!

Friends, it's thrilling to see how much progress I really made over the last few months! I've made two thirds of a machine-pieced quilt top, and finished several more hand stitched blocks! Along with that, I've gotten started on my font templates, more progress than I've managed over the past year!

After seeing all that progress come together in this update, I can't wait to get back to work on each of these projects, and I'm excited to share more soon!

In the meantime, I would love to hear your thoughts about my fabric choices for Ice Cream Soda and to hear more about your own projects! Please share stories and patterns in the comments below!

You can also find me on Instagram @v.a.fibre.arts, where I would love to be tagged in your posts!

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

Until Next Time Friends, Keep Creating!

~VA