Stitch by stitch, color on color, shape by shape by shape, a patchwork quilt comes into being slowly.

This one, entirely sewn by hand, offered seemingly endless quiet moments for contemplation and rest.

But four and a half years later, an end did come. A period was set.

Now it is finished, my version of the famous Ice Cream Soda quilt in blues, aqua, teal and purple, cream and black and gray.

The background color? Caribbean aqua by Freepsirit Designer Solids. Doesn’t it look absolutely amazing with these smokey gray and black tiles?

I started this quilt just for love of color and patchwork and print. Only this year did I decide to keep the finished work for myself.

I could have hand quilted it to make the project last even longer, but I opted to custom quilt it with a motif which reminds me of snowflakes. To keep the quilt soft, I edited the motif to make it slightly more open. The quilt is sprinkled with a few stars quilted in the original fancier motif, just for fun.

And it is SUCH a soft, plush quilt. It’s luxurious!

I used fluffy wool batting and created a cozy quilt back with leftover Cuddle fabric and that purple flannel plaid.

Then for extra softness, I quilted the border with a wide-open motif.

I do wonder if my quilt would be even lovelier had I hand-quilted the work, but I have come to terms with that feeling. This version is the one that I finished in 2023, the one that I could photograph at my New Year’s getaway in a grand old house in Belgium, the one that I have already, very happily used.

Really the house we rented was a dream come true for photographing this quilt. I feel so lucky that it came my way for this moment.

My Ice Cream Soda quilt feels like a time warp, a passageway from before to today. It is a tangible connection to the Rachel who dared to undertake a grand adventure and to the delight she found in discovering that the bet was well-placed. With so many moments and so many years held in these stitches, the quilt connects me to my past, but it also whispers promises of comfort and beauty in the future.