Help me choose a Background for Ice Cream Soda?
This fall I’ve had the pleasure of taking a couple of quilt outings to sew with other quilters living in The Netherlands. Usually it’s a 2-3 hour train ride, as I live in the east and most everyone else seems to live the bustling west of the country. This can make for early mornings and long days, but it’s also a great opportunity to sit down with my English paper piecing and enjoy myself.
Before one such quilt outing, I set aside some time to prepare a new batch of cut pieces for my Ice Cream Soda quilt project. First things first - admire the blocks I’ve already made! I lined them up in my sunny windowsill and smiled. Isn’t that how we spend half our time as quilters?
These two are recent finishes. Each one has a little fussy cutting - just enough to keep me interested. I’ve seen some imaginative fussy cutting for the #icecreamsodaquilt. It can really be amazing! Mine is nothing spectacular, but I’m all about using the fabrics I already have and letting go during the process.
When I cut my fabrics, I use the Tales of Cloth acrylic templates. Previewing different parts of the fabrics with a template helps a lot with fabric choices. I tend to gravitate toward stripes! They always work well.
Then I pin together my stars-to-be. These little bundles are easy to take-along and keep organized!
Before I let you go, will you weigh in on my choice background fabric? Once all of my Ice Cream Soda blocks are made, I’ll join them together by hand using English paper piecing, as per the pattern. At first I thought I’d use a low volume background - classic and effective. But, I think I’ll enjoy the joining process more if it feels unique. Here are a few I’m considering.
::Background Fabric ideas::
Kona Solids Ash on the outside edges of the quilt and Kona Pewter for the quilt center.