Tania’s colorful journey (part one)

The following is part one of a story written by my Instagram friend, Tania Mills, about her ‘Anna Maria (Anna Maria Horner, now Parry) Ice cream Sundae’ quilt which was born out of the pandemic, where, she states, in Victoria, Australia, they endured some of the longest and strictest lockdown conditions in the world:

 I needed a fabric fix, I needed to go to a fabric shop, I needed to create, and we were unable to shop for anything other than essential services in person. Fabric wasn’t essential according to the Government. Online shopping, however, was booming. But I was a techno-phobe and avoided online shopping, credit cards, online payment services of any kind, and only shopped bricks and mortar. Facing never ending restrictions, I reluctantly spent a Sunday afternoon being brave and navigating the technology, and by the evening I had purchased my first bundle of Anna Maria Loves fat quarters. When they arrived, I was completely smitten and couldn’t wait to cut into them, but I’d only ever sewn hexagon flowers previously. I didn’t think that scrappy hexies would do these fabrics justice. I had been watching the continual parade of Ice cream Soda blocks float through my feed on Instagram and had a little fussy cut and fabric envy. I’d never tried fussy cutting like this either but I reckoned it was time I did. That, and my new online shopping confidence, was all the motivation I needed. I ordered the pattern, papers and templates from Tales of Cloth and waited for them to arrive.

Photo courtesy of Tania Mills

 My first few blocks were clumsy and awkward, the fussy cutting not quite giving the desired kaleidoscope effect, but as I cut each block, my confidence grew. My dining table had its first experience of being permanently covered in a project, and I piled fabrics on top of each other, with completed blocks strewn about. It was a heady mix of pattern and colour that excited my brain. It was at this time I decided to applique the Ice cream Soda blocks to background squares, instead of using joining pieces as in the pattern. It wasn’t the first time I’d taken this approach; I’d previously appliquéd hexagon flowers to squares, because in my mind, joining blooms with eleventy-billion joining pieces is torturous, and I’d rather spend just as much time hand stitching those same blooms to squares of fabric, and then machine stitching those squares together.

 I was obsessed and quickly progressed through the cutting and stitching of the English Paper pieced blocks. I piled those blooms high, left them on the dining table, and delighted in the mix of colour and pattern each time I passed by. I’d contemplated re-imagining some of the early awkward blocks, but realised that this quilt was somewhat of a journey quilt, and I could chart my growing confidence through the progression of the fussy cuts. I decided I would leave them and include them as they were.

 For the rest of Tania’s story, please join me back here in March where she talks about why this quilt was a “journey quilt.” You won’t want to miss her conclusion.

 If you have a quilt that has taken you on a journey, be sure to check out my book, The Story of Your Quilt; a journal that will help you tell your story. It’s filled with motivational quotes and inspirational prompts to get you started. Available here today. And if you’re ready to share a quilt story, I am planning a second book of treasured journeys and I want you to be included.  Email me below to have your story told.  You matter, as does your journey.

Photo courtesy of Tania Mills