Ice Cream Soda Quilt - English Paper Piecing

 A Finished Quilt

Another bucket list quilt! This is my Ice Cream Soda Quilt, a pattern by Jodi from Tales of Cloth. The Ice Cream Soda Quilt is an English Paper pieced quilt. According to my phone photos I started this quilt early January 2021. I took very few progress photos but I do have this snap of my cut and basted pieces, organised by block. 

I cut and basted all of the pieces prior to piecing (other than my initial test blocks), using many of my favorite fabrics, and relying on my intuition and a bit of luck in the hope that all of the blocks and colors would work together well. Many of the blocks include fussy cut fabric pieces and from memory I spent close to a week playing with fabric and cutting/basting the pieces for all of the blocks.

I then spent several weeks working on hand sewing the quilt top together. I love English paper piecing and the quiet slow stitching was a lovely way to spend the long days of summer, and many more warm evenings. Once the quilt top was completed it sat untouched for several weeks whilst I busied myself with the next, and the next, project. You know how it goes; always thinking and dreaming of the next quilt.

In March I pulled the quilt top out again and basted and quilted it. I went with my usual straight line approach, quilting straight edge to edge vertical lines just 1 inch apart, which worked out well with the quilt pattern/block repeat. 

For the back of the quilt I have used the same fabric that I used for my last hexagon quilt. This beautiful floral fabric is from the Sugar Sack collection by Whistler Studios (Windham Fabrics). This fabric collection was released in 2018, and no longer readily available. And I have finished the quilt with a narrow blue/white stripe fabric for the binding. 

QUILT DETAILS

Ice Cream Soda Quilt

Pattern by Jodi from Tales of Cloth

Quilt Size: 56.5 inches x 56.5 inches.

68 Ice Cream Soda Blocks + 8 half blocks.

Started: January 2021.

Finished: March 2021.

English Paper Pieced.

Machine quilted.

FABRICS USED

Many scrap fabrics from stash!

Background fabric: 

Robert Kaufman Kona Cotton - Tan.

BATTING:

QuiltLite - low loft cotton batting.

TOOLS AND NOTIONS

Ice Cream Soda Pattern and complete

paper piecing kit and

templates by Tales of Cloth

(available here).

Water Soluble Basting Glue - Sewline.

Straw Needles - Size 11.

The Bottom Line 60wt thread by Superior Threads.

With permission from Jodi from Tales of Cloth I have listed this quilt for sale in my Etsy Store.

You will find all the listing details here:

Ice Cream Soda Quilt - Etsy listing.

I have loved working on this project and I have completed it as per the pattern, only omitting the final border which is just a personal preference. I am rather thrilled with how it turned out!

As always, thank you for stopping by and scrolling through the many photos, as well as your kind comments and words of encouragement. So much appreciated!

Rita

RELEVANT LINKS:

Red Pepper Quilts Etsy Store

Ice Cream Soda Quilt Pattern + Paper Piecing Kit + Acrylic Templates 

available from Tales of Cloth

More RPQ English Paper Pieced Quilts:

Vintage Inspired Hexagon Quilt

Mandolin Quilt  (complete kit also available from Tales of Cloth)

Liberty of London Hexagon Quilt

Hexagon Stash Buster Quilt in Blues

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COPYRIGHT: Do not copy or use any content or photos from my blog without my written permission. This is original content from www.redpepperquilts.com.

A Vintage Inspired Hexagon Quilt ~ English Paper Pieced

 A Finished Quilt 

Another finished quilt! This English paper pieced hexagon quilt is very heavily inspired by a vintage quilt. The quilt top was completed over several months in 2020 while we were in lockdown due to the pandemic. For various reasons this was a very difficult few months for me and I was fortunate to be able to lean heavily on my craft. At this time I lacked creative ability and vision, but the simple repetitive task of basting papers and stitching by hand saw me through many long evenings and brought me so comfort. I still love English paper piecing.

To finish the quilt I have quilted it on my domestic sewing machine (with walking foot and quilting guide). I have quilted edge to edge vertical lines through the centre of all hexagons for a clean and simple finish. Quilting many such straight lines is time consuming but well worth it. 

For the back of the quilt I have used a single floral print fabric from the Sugar Sack collection by Whistler Studios (Windham Fabrics). This fabric collection was released in 2018 and I purchased yardage of this print for backing fabric. It's such a beautiful print and the colors work perfectly for this (and my next!) quilt. 

As usual, I have used my favorite black/white stripe fabric for binding. This particular fabric is by Ella Blue Fabrics which sadly is no longer in business. Lucky I still have some on hand!

QUILT DETAILS

A Vintage Hexagon Quilt 

Quilt Size: 55.5 inches x 56.5 inches.

Started: September 2020.

Finished: February 2021.

English Paper Pieced.

7/8" inch hexagons.

A total of 1612 hexagons.

Machine quilted.

FABRICS USED:

Background fabric: 

Robert Kaufman Kona Cotton - Snow.

Feature fabrics:

Robert Kaufman Kona Cotton - Blueprint.

Robert Kaufman Kona Cotton - Torch (orange).

Robert Kaufman Kona Cotton - Flamingo.

Many scrap fabrics!

BATTING:

Low loft cotton batting.

TOOLS AND NOTIONS

7/8 Inch Hexagon Papers

7/8"Inch Hexagon Template with 3/8" seam allowance.

Water Soluble Basting Glue - Sewline.

Straw Needles - Size 11.

The Bottom Line 60wt thread by Superior Threads.

This quilt is listed for sale in my Etsy Store.

You'll find the listing details here:

https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/1011719810/traditional-hexagon-quilt

This last photo is one of the few progress pics that I have of the quilt.

You can see here what the back of the quilt top looks like. Most 

papers have been removed at this point (except for the outer edges). 

As always, thank you for stopping by to see what I have been up to. Your encouragement, support and kind comments are appreciated. 

More soon! I have several finished quilts yet to show you. 

Rita 

RELEVANT LINKS

Red Pepper Quilts Etsy Store

More RPQ English Paper Pieced Quilts:

Stretched Hexagon Quilt - April 2019

Scrappy Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt - September 2018

Daisy Chain Quilt - November 2016

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COPYRIGHT: Do not copy or use any content or photos from my blog without my written permission. This is original content from www.redpepperquilts.com.

A Four-Patch in a Square Scrap Quilt - Part 2

 A Finished Quilt

At last an update! I finished this quilt late last year however the process of taking photos has eluded me until very recently. A week or two ago I got my dusty camera out and photographed the four quilts that I have made - or at least finished - so far this year. It's then taken longer still to edit and upload photos but here we are today with a blog post!

This quilt was inspired by a vintage quilt. It is a simple four-patch set in a square and the perfect scrap buster project as you only need small scraps of fabric for each block. Many of the fabric pieces were pulled from my scrap bin which is always rather satisfying, and while piecing the quilt top I ran with the "anything goes" theory; all the colors and prints. It's my favorite way to put together a fun and colorful quilt.

To finish the quilt I have quilted it with straight-line edge to edge quilting using my domestic sewing machine and a walking foot to ease the fabric layers evenly through the machine. All the individual blocks have been ditch-stitched. Once the horizontal and vertical quilting grid was completed I added diagonal quilting lines, again ditch stitching from edge to edge. Simple and functional lines of stitching rather than decorative quilting, which at the same time gives the quilt a lovely texture and a soft drape, especially with the light weight batting (QuiltLite) that I have used for this quilt 

For the back of the quilt I have used my favorite text fabric Newsprint from the Story collection by Carrie Bloomston, and have matched it a black/white stripe binding fabric; my go-to combination that always works well. I have more of both on hand! 

QUILT DETAILS

A Four Patch in a Square Scrap Quilt

Quilt Size: 63.5 inches x 63.5 inches.

Started: November 2020.

Finished: January 2021.

18 rows of 18 blocks ~

324 blocks in total ~ 2592 patchwork pieces.

Each finished block measures 3.5" x 3.5".

Machine Quilted - domestic sewing machine.

Cotton fabrics.

QuiltLite Batting

(more details on QuiltLite batting here).

BLOCK TUTORIAL

I used step 1 to 4 from my Economy Block Tutorial to make these blocks.

**I have substituted the centre square for a four-patch block by cutting

four 2" squares, sewing the four squares together, then trimming 

the four-patch centre block to measure 3" x 3".**

You'll find the tutorial here:

https://www.redpepperquilts.com/2013/08/economy-block-quilt-in-progress-tutorial.html

(Step 1 to 4 only for this block)

I have listed this quilt in my Etsy Store.

You'll find the listing here:

https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/1005604796/colorful-and-modern-scrap-quilt

At this time the quilt is listed for shipping only within Australia.

However, if you are located elsewhere please contact me by email for

clarification on postage cost and estimated international delivery time.

Email: redpepperquilts@gmail.com

I have a few more finished quilts to show you over the next few weeks, including three English paper pieced quilts. Here's a sneak peek:

Thank you for stopping by!

Rita

RELEVANT LINKS

Red Pepper Quilts Etsy Store

Economy Block Tutorial (step 1 to 4 only for this block)

A Four-Patch in a Square Quilt - Part 1 (work in progress)

More RPQ Scrap Quilts:

Bright Hopes Quilt and block tutorial

Scrappy Spool Block Quilt

Scrappy Irish Chain Quilt and Pattern

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COPYRIGHT: Do not copy or use any content or photos from my blog without my written permission. This is original content from www.redpepperquilts.com.

A Four-Patch in a Square Scrap Quilt - Part 1

 Work in Progress

The last few months have been hard, really hard. Our family has suffered losses (not covid related) which have left us with in deep shock and aching hearts, all made more difficult by a hard lockdown due to the pandemic. Although our lockdown has indeed come at great expense and many sacrifices we have eased out of isolation to find ourselves in an enviable position with currently no active covid cases in our state!

During this period I have aimlessly dithered around my cutting table and sewing machine. I have started several quilt projects but failed to complete any - as yet. I've lacked focus and commitment but have allowed myself to take it one day at a time. I knew that eventually the joy of working with fabric would return, even if that means short bursts of activity on some days and none the next. I'll take it. 

This quilt in progress was again inspired by a vintage quilt. It is a simple four-patch set in a square. It is a perfect scrap buster project as you only need small scraps of fabric for each block, and many of the fabric pieces were indeed pulled from my scrap bin. I set myself a small target of making just 10 blocks a day as a starting point, and pushed myself last weekend to complete all blocks - a total of 324 blocks.

QUILT DETAILS

Four-Patch in a Square Scrap Quilt

Quilt top measures 63.5 inches x 63.5 inches.

18 rows of 18 blocks ~

324 blocks in total ~ 2592 patchwork pieces.

Each finished block measures 3.5" x 3.5".

BLOCK TUTORIAL

I used step 1 to 4 from my Economy Block Tutorial to make these blocks.

**I have substituted the centre square for a four-patch block by cutting

four 2" squares, sewing the four squares together, then trimming 

the four-patch centre block to measure 3" x 3".**

You'll find the tutorial here:

https://www.redpepperquilts.com/2013/08/economy-block-quilt-in-progress-tutorial.html

(Step 1 to 4 only for this block)

I find the sew and trim-to-size method easier for small patchwork pieces. It is a lot of extra work but it results in accurate patchwork pieces, and as a result the blocks and matching seams come together neatly. Yes, this quilt does have some bulky seams! 

It feels good to be back at it, but I make no promises. The only thing for sure is that I have plenty of fabric on hand and all the tools to make many more quilts. There will be more quilts and I will continue to share them here on my blog and on Instagram as and when that happens. I am quietly excited to see what 2021 brings.

As always, thank you for stopping by and scrolling through the photos. 

Happy stitching,

Rita

RELEVANT LINKS

Economy  Block Tutorial (Step 1 to 4 only for this block)

More RPQ Scrap Quilt Projects:

Scrappy Quarter Log Cabin Quilt and Tutorial

Bear Paw Scrap Quilt and Tutorial

Bright Hopes Quilt and Tutorial

Checkerboard Quilt and Strip Piecing Tutorial

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COPYRIGHT: Do not copy or use any content or photos from my blog without my written permission. This is original content from www.redpepperquilts.com.

My Pandemic Quilt 2020 - Part 2

A Finished Quilt

Click on any image for a larger view.

My Pandemic Quilt is finished and I have lots of photos to share with you today. Our Covid situation is improving, and we are keenly anticipating the lifting of some restrictions that has seen us at home for what seems like all year. It does mean I have had lots of time to reflect, ponder, prioritise, and of course sew. There have been some dark days, but we're optimistic, grateful for family, friends, and that Spring is finally here to help lift our spirits.

I am pretty happy with how this quilt turned out. I have enjoyed stitching it together by hand (English Paper Piecing), and am proud of having quilted this one myself. I do machine quilt most of my own quilts, but despite having quilted many quilts I do worry with each new quilt that I could mess up the quilting, particularly when the quilt is larger and involves many small patchwork pieces.

The quilt has been quilted with closely spaced straight lines - ¾ of an inch apart. I use the hexagons as a quilting guide and quilt from edge to edge - no lines were marked. For this quilt I have again used QuiltLite as batting. QuiltLite is a light weight woven fabric similar to a loosely woven flannel fabric. I really like the look and feel of a low loft finished quilt, and although this quilt is quilted it feels more like a coverlet.

For the back of the quilt I have used a beautiful floral fabric Social Climber from the Floral Retrospective collection by Anna Maria Horner. I adore this fabric and was pleased to be able to use some of my stashed yardage for the back of this quilt (see below for a photo of the full quilt back - print matching success 👍).

QUILT DETAILS

Pandemic Quilt 2020

The finished quilt measures 55 inches x 73 inches.

Started: May 2020.

Finished: August 2020.

English Paper Pieced.

137 Hexagon Flowers.

¾ inch hexagons.

A total of 2768 hexagons.

Background fabric:

Robert Kaufman Kona Cotton in ASH.

Black dot fabric: Swiss Dots  in Black - Riley Blake Designs.

Green text fabric: Dictionary in Green from the

First of Infinity collection by Kumiko Fujita.

All solids fabrics are Robert Kaufman Kona Cotton.

Backing fabric:

Social Climber - Floral Retrospective 

by Anna Maria Horner for Freespirit Fabrics

TOOLS AND NOTIONS
¾ Inch Hexagon Papers
¾ Inch Hexagon Template with 3/8" seam allowance.
Water Soluble Basting Glue - Sewline.
Straw Needles - Size 11.
The Bottom Line 60wt thread by Superior Threads in
neutral tones including a dark beige - color #654 - for the
red hexagon border.

This quilt is inspired by a quilt called Talking to Flowers made by 山口智恵子＊Chieko Yamaguchi; a quilt that I very much admired at the Tokyo Quilt Show in 2018 and will not be offered for sale.

As always, thank you so much for stopping by and scrolling through the many photos.

Rita

RELEVANT LINKS:
My Pandemic Quilt 2020 - Part 1 (Work in Progress)
Tokyo Quilt Festival 2018 - Part 1
Tokyo Quilt Festival 2018 - Part 2
More RPQ English Paper Pieced Quilts:
Liberty Stars Quilt January 2018
Floral Hexagon Quilt September 2017
The Daisy Chain Quilt November 2016
B is for Blues Hexagon Quilt August 2020

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COPYRIGHT: Do not copy or use any content or photos from my blog without my written permission. This is original content from www.redpepperquilts.com.