Four years of Ice Cream Soda. Really, four and a half (but who’s counting)?

If you ever feel flabbergasted with the speed of my quilt-making process, remember that quilts are also my work. With Ice Cream Soda, my quilt-making was just for pleasure with no goals, deadlines or purpose in mind. That provides a bit of perspective, yes?

I so enjoyed the fussy cutting fabric-play for this quilt. I do have favorite blocks, but I really love them all. Looking back at the photos of the making brings back that sense of play and discovery. English paper piecing is such a rich ground for the serious fabric aficionado.

And I love the palette too! I am glad that I restricted myself to a limited color scheme, with only cool colors. It’s an unusual choice for me, but since the quilt was spread out over so much time, I could enjoy the restrained, refined palette whenever I came back to it.

I started this quilt way back in South Carolina, when we were packing for our big move overseas. I sewed the first blocks on the train and plane to Europe and thereafter in our first temporary housing, our first apartment, our first Dutch home.

I took them with me on each and every vacation and many a train-trip here and there across The Netherlands. These blocks have been with me to Germany, to Luxembourg, to England, to France.

There were times when I set this project aside and didn’t touch it for months on end. And that was fine.

When I met Floris last May I was just beginning to add the solid aqua joining-pieces. That process is a bit dull and could have taken another few years.

But then Floris. He reacted with such awe and wonder and admiration to this quilt. He sees it as “my masterpiece” (though I do remind him that the pattern is from Jodi at Tales of Cloth), and declared that I absolutely must keep it, something I wasn’t so sure about before.

Each time I joined another row together, he would marvel. I would have relished seeing the blocks come together anyway, but there’s nothing like love to give your needle wings.

And do you know what? The quilt is done - quilted and bound! Now we’re both, Floris and I, looking out for just the right moment and place to photograph it. So with some luck and if the rain lets up, I’ll be sharing the finish with you soon!

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