Project Update: 10.06.2025

Hello Friends and Welcome!

With the Blackwork Roads quilt along coming to an end last week, I've been setting my sights towards our next quilt along project!

I'm still tweaking a few elements of the design, but I feel like I'm getting really close to something I want to share! Of course, since I'm not there yet, I don't have any sneak peaks to show off, so we'll have to wait a little longer for that. Hopefully I'll be able to share something soon though!

And while I've been working on that, I've also found time to make progress on my stitching! As usual, each project is proceeding at its own pace, so I'm excited to see how much I've done overall!

Let's take a look!

Ice Cream Soda

Starting off, we have the project with the least amount of new stitching; Ice Cream Soda.

After my last update, I was getting the feeling that I didn't have enough background fabric to finish assembling my quilt top. I had already been using two different chunks of background solid—I think they are the same colour but from different dye lots so they're just slightly not the same colour—so it doesn't matter if I add a third solid of the same-ish colour.

But, I want to make sure that the three different solids are evenly distributed across the surface of the quilt top, that way it looks a little more intentional if someone notices that the colours don't quite match.

With that in mind, I promptly stopped stitching Ice Cream Soda until I had time to buy more fabric. Conveniently, a nearby quilt shop was having an anniversary sale over the weekend, happy one year to Quiltiful!

With this new piece, I'm confident that I have enough fabric to finish my Ice Cream Soda quilt top and am looking forward to continuing!

My Ice Cream Soda quilt is based on a design by Jodi Godfrey of Tales of Cloth.

The Generations Quilt Project

Since I had set Ice Cream Soda aside to wait for more background fabric, I had my hands free to work on another hand stitching project; the Generations Quilt!

Since the last update, I've finished twelve more blocks; six each of the Dresden Plate and Six Pointed Star patterns!

These used the background fabrics I shared in the last update, but not all of the fabric. I ended up having more backgrounds than appliques to stitch onto them, so I'll need to piece a few more of those before I can continue!

I also took a quick count of the blocks I've finished and of the background colours I've used. I sorted all of my blocks into the five colour categories my Grandma was using for her Dresden pieces; yellow, green, blue, purple, and pink.

I have finished 24 Six Pointed Star blocks in the following colours; 2 yellow, 6 green, 6 blue, 6 purple, and 4 pink.

I have finished 25 Dresden Plate blocks in the following colours; 3 yellow, 5 green, 6 blue, 7 purple, and 4 pink.

There are some background colours that could go in multiple categories, specifically a shade of pale magenta that could be considered pink or purple, so I made an arbitrary executive decision on where to put those.

After counting, I decided I should make a few more blocks on yellow and pink backgrounds, so I bought a little more solid background fabric at the anniversary sale!

My choices confirmed something I was already somewhat aware of with regards to my favourite shade of yellow.

These two finished Dresdens have imperceptibly different background colours in the same golden yellow, and I've bought a few more different shades of golden yellow to go with them. I definitely have a favourite shade of yellow!

Luckily, I made a note on my shopping list to get a lemony shade of yellow, so not all of them are nearly the same colour, just most!

And now that I have lots of background fabric for my scappy white Generations blocks, I've been distracted making more in my Grandma's colours!

Grandma wasn't able to make as many blocks as Mom and I did because her eyesight isn't very good anymore and she has a tremor that makes hand sewing difficult, so I've already made several blocks on her behalf. But I've been thinking that it might be a good idea to make more!

Having extra blocks allows us to be more selective about which we will include in the finished quilts, or means we can make the quilts in a larger size. Overall, it gives us more design options!

I cut enough Dresden pieces for ten more blocks, and have finished piecing and basting six of those!

I also bought some background fabric for these at the anniversary sale! I couldn't find any prints with the teardrop shape featured on the other backgrounds, but I felt that this print from the Ramblings line by P&B Textiles had a similar feeling.

I'm looking forward to finishing a few more blocks soon!

My Generations Quilt is based on the traditional Dresden Plate and Six Pointed Star blocks, using templates drafted by Valerie Anne.

Old Town Mystery Quilt

Moving away from hand piecing, I've continued making Old Town quilt blocks!

I'm not really sure which of these I've shown and which are new, but I'm now up to a total of 21 completed blocks!

I laid the blocks out at random for this picture, not in the gradient I plan to use for the finished quilt, but seeing them like this has confirmed my feeling that the red-ish coral coloured blocks are a little too intense compared to the other background colours, so I'm planning to make a few extra blocks to replace those.

Once I've finished all of my blocks, as well as the extras, I can decide which will stay in the finished quilt and which will be set aside. I can't wait to see how they turn out!

My Old Town quilt is based on a design by Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville.

Pajama Pants

The final project I've been working on is the second pair of birthday pajamas for my husband!

I finished assembling them using the same pattern as the first pair and am really happy with how they turned out!

Unfortunately, once I finished them the warm weather arrived, so he doesn't have much need for flannel pajama pants right now. They will be waiting for him when the weather cools down again!

And for anyone who was interested in seeing the original fox print that inspired me to buy this fabric, here's a comparison;

I can't say that my husband has a particular love for foxes—I think he chose the original print because he liked their moustaches and silly hats—but I was inspired to make him a new pair of fox pajamas because he had loved the first pair until they fell apart!

I look forward to seeing him get lots of use out of these when the weather is right and can't wait to see what prints he will chose next time!

The pajama pants pattern was traced from an existing garment by Valerie Anne.

Friends, it's been so much fun catching you all up on my recent stitching progress, as well as some purchases from the Quiltiful anniversary sale!

In addition to what I've shown, I bought some floral remnants for my watercolour Potato Chip quilt, as well as some fat quarters just for fun. We'll have to wait and see what all of those turn into!

In the meantime, I would love to see what all of you have been up to! Please share photos and stories in the comments below, by sending me an email, or by visiting me on Instagram! I am always so inspired to see the work of other creators, both those who sew and those working in other mediums!

I look forward to seeing what we'll make together next!

Until Then Friends, Keep Creating!

~VA