A year-long quilt project
Welcome to the fifth step in the 2024 quilt project. (You can find the first one here, the second one here, the third one here and the fourth one here. As I explained in the New Year’s post here, I’ll be making a quilt this year and inviting you to join with me, here on the blog. This is what to expect:
- a new appliqué block each month
- a new embroidery stitch each month
- cheerful bright colours (but of course you can choose your own colour palette!)
- a quilt celebrating the seaside
There will be instructions at the end of the year on how to put the different blocks together to make quilt measuring 72 x 72″. However, you are welcome just make the individual blocks each month and use them in a different way.
Please note: All the instructions are free and available for your personal use. They cannot be used for commercial purposes or for teaching. I do run a small business, so if you enjoy making the quilt please consider also purchasing one of my patterns from the Etsy shop (link below) and/or tell your quilting friends about Amanda Jane Textiles. Thank you!
May block: The Ice-Cream shop
The block is made up of a blue shop, with pale grey door and window and a large sign above, featuring pink (strawberry?) and green ( mint?) ice-creams in cones. The shop is framed by a grey and pink print border. The featured embroidery stitch is herringbone stitch which will provide the texture on the cones. The shop name can be stitched in backstitch or chain stitch (already covered in previous months. The block measures 14½ x 14½” (14 x 14″ finished in the completed quilt).
Materials
You will need:
solid colours or low-volume prints in 100% cotton fabric: 2 x 3″ pink; 2 x 3″ pale green; 3 x 3″ neutral; 5 x 6″ pale grey; 5 x 11″ white; 16 x 11″ pink print on grey
stranded cotton for embroidery in grey and light brown
grey sewing thread for appliqué and piecing; pale green and pink for appliqué
Cutting
1 Download the templates for the central panel of the block using the pink button below. Set your printer to print at A4/letter with narrow margins. This month there are two parts in the download. Join the two pieces along the dotted lines so the shop name lies above the shop.
2 Trace the outlines, including all the shapes on the shop wall and the shapes and letters on shop sign onto tracing paper.
3 From the tracing paper cut out a template for the ice-cream cones and the ice-cream scoops. (NB Only cut out one; leave the second in place to mark the position of the cone on the shop sign.) Pin the cone template to the right side of the neutral fabric and cut out two cones.
4 Pin the ice-cream scoop template to the pink fabric and cut out once.
5 Place the template on the green fabric and cut out once.
6 From the white fabric, cut a piece 4½ x 10½” for the shop sign.
7 From the blue fabric, cut a piece 6½ x 10½” for the shop wall.
8 From the grey fabric cut two pieces 2 x 4” for the door and window of the shop
9 From the pink on grey fabric, cut two border strips 2½ x 10½” and two 2½ x 14½”
Making the block
1 Pin the grey door and window pieces onto the blue shop wall, positioning them according to the template. Small appliqué pins are very helpful for holding fabric pieces in place.
2 With grey thread in your machine and a regular machine foot, set your machine to zigzag, with a stitch width of 3 and a stitch length of 1.5. Stitch around the outside edge. Take the threads to the back and finish them off with a knot.
3 Transfer the letters for the shop sign to the white fabric with a water-soluble pen. One way of doing this is to tape the template to a window with masking tape, tape the white fabric on top and then trace over the letters with your pen.
4 Use two strands of grey embroidery thread to stitch the name of the shop. You could use backstitch (see instructions here) or you could use chain stitch (see instructions here).
5 Pin the two cones onto the white fabric in the correct position (refer to the template). Change your machine thread to a neutral colour and stitch the cones in place using the same stitch as step 2. Change your thread to pink and stitch the strawberry ice-cream scoop in place.
6 Pin the green scoop of ice-cream in place above the second cone, change the thread to green and stitch as before.
7 Mark out lines with a water-erasable pen across each cone.
8 Use two strands of light brown embroidery thread to make rows of herringbone stitch evenly across the cones, to create the texture of the cones. You can see a demonstration of how to do this embroidery stitch on my YouTube channel here.
9 Thoroughly remove all the water-soluble ink markings. Attach the two pink/grey side borders, pressing the seams outwards. Attach the top and bottom borders, pressing the seams outwards.
Press the block from the back.The Ice-cream block is complete. Set it aside and look out for the next block in June!
This pattern – available here in my Etsy shop – also has a seaside theme. It was inspired by our many family holidays on the south coast of Cornwall. All the fabrics in the quilt – including sandcastles, lighthouses, candy floss and more are designed by me and can be seen here.
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