Friday, May 22, 2020

Sippin' Sodas

When I was a kid
there was a dairy in my small town
that had a soda fountain.

It was a treat to go,
sit on the stools that swiveled, and
order a strawberry ice cream soda


served in a tall glass
with a red and white straw.

I don't remember when 
I came in the possession of some vintage
churn dash blocks that reminded
me of those delicious ice cream sodas and


those cheerful red and white straws,

It was during this quarantine
that I finally got this special quilt finished.


Sippin' Sodas
2020

Last November I began the process
of taking these 20 blocks apart


and resewing them to make them
all the same size.

These are all happy blocks
that look great sashed with
the medium gray print.



I decided to save time by machine quilting
in the ditch and doing straight lines in the borders as well.
The quilting went with the simplicity of the blocks
and, of course, the striped fabrics.


Okay, the original idea was to then 
hand quilt the vintage blocks,  


 but the more I thought about it
and reevaluated the vintage fabrics


I concluded the fabrics were too brittle.


I decided that hand quilting the blocks
could potentially break the fibers.
The blocks are 9 inches,
leaving a  pretty large space not  quilted,


but this quilt is one that will mostly be 
admired rather than used.  
The original maker of these blocks
is unknown, so I'm hoping
she would be pleased how they were finished.

Maybe her inspiration was a
 special time 
she had had at a soda fountain,


enjoying a strawberry ice cream soda, while
sippin' through a red and white straw.

Until Next Time-
Kyle

27 comments:

  1. What a nicely written and sweet post. At first, I was trying to understand how a churn dash block reminded you of the soda fountain and straws...then I saw the blocks and can completely understand. You did an amazing job reconstructing the quilt.

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  2. What about white buttons to secure the centre of the blocks? Regardless, a lovely quilt to enjoy!

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  3. What a beautiful quilt. I have quite a few vintage blocks waiting to be made into a quilt. You may just have given me the push to do something with them. Hugs

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  4. Your dedication to revisiting vintage blocks and making them work is amazing! Takes a lot of patience to unsew, especially with fragile fabrics. The final result is delightful and well named. Now I am craving a strawberry ice cream soda...Be safe but enjoy the holiday weekend.

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  5. What a lovely finish! You did such a beautiful job of completing this long time ufo. I’m sure the original maker would be thrilled!!

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  6. Nice! What a wonderful new life given to those vintage blocks. I love the pairing with the gray. If it were me, I might go ahead and hand quilt a simple corner to corner cross across the blocks. But then... I haven't felt the fabric. I'm sure you're making the right choice.

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  7. Good memories associated with the wonderful quilt you have made. Bless you for having the patience to deconstruct and reconstruct the blocks. It is charming!

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  8. What a precious quilt with such sweet reminders and memories! I too have fond memories of a similar soda shop in the little town I grew up in. You've done a great job with the quilt, and recording the story. ---"Love"

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  9. Great job on the reconstruction; the fabric must have still been in good condition. I have some quilts made by my great grandmother (possibly great-great grandmother), probably between 1920 and 1950, but they are not in great shape with many areas where the fabric has torn or disintegrated. My sister wants me to fix one enough for her to use it but I am skeptical it will work. I think I'll give it another look though.

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  10. I love your imaginative posts and your beautiful quilts!! You worked some magic with this one! Gladi

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  11. It's so special and soft. I'm sure the maker of those sweet blocks would be so pleased. Strawberry icecream soda, heaven. I had a set of old milkshake glasses from my childhood. The portion sizes back then were so reasonable. I gave them away when we downsized and they are being used by a busy household of milkshake appreciators:).

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  12. You've created another beauty from those long neglected blocks. Some quilts are meant to just be enjoyed and not used to death. This is one of them. You have an amazing amount of patience to take the blocks apart and reconstruct them but I'm sure they knew they were in the right hands.

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  13. Yay! Another quilt top finished during the pandemic. The color way is light and airy which makes for a perfect display quilt during the summer or anytime. The red stripes remind me of candy canes, which may make for a Christmas decoration. The antique quilts and fabric cannot be duplicated. Ditch quilting and straight lines work perfectly. Dare I admit that I also remember soda fountains. My preference was chocolate with vanilla ice cream.

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  14. Love this quilt! And, the story you've associated it with makes it all the more special! :-)

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  15. Such a lovely colour combination, so glad you got to finish a special quilt during this strange time in our lives!

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  16. Such a pretty-in-pink quilt Kyle, and you're so right - it does evoke memories of striped straws and a cool, refreshing soda. The block maker - whoever she may be - would be thrilled with your finish.

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  17. What a sweet memory and matching quilt. The colors blend together so well and it is both refreshing and comforting.
    I think you were right to not hand quilt it. I think the fabrics are too tender.
    You sent me a few of these blocks and I haven't used them yet but I think I know where they are.
    Do you want one for a label?
    I love that soda shop photo.

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  18. What wonderful memories you've associated with this sweet quilt! We had a soda fountain in our town, too, and it was a favorite place to go with friends. That was certainly a labor of love taking all those blocks apart and resewing them but now you have a one-of-a-kind charming quilt :)

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  19. We had a dairy to go to also. I always wanted a rainbow ice-cream cone. It was ice-cream that had a variety of flavors that looked like rainbow colors. The dairy was called Isaly's and they were the home of the "Skyscraper" ice-cream cones. Unique shape.

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  20. Such sweet memories and such a sweet quilt. I have always loved this block and these with those lovely pink striped fabrics are wonderful. They certainly deserved to become the beautiful quilt they are now.

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  21. This is a lovely way to pull these blocks together. I enjoyed your story about the soda fountain and can see where the memory of the straws came from. You have definitely given these blocks a new life.

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  22. Great job! I am sure if the maker could see it finished, she would be pleased.

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  23. Wonderful "rescue"! Love those vintage stripe fabrics. Your remembrance of strawberry ice cream sodas is the perfect tie-in!

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  24. The gray sashing works very well with these sweet blocks! Really lovely finish.:) The striped fabric just melts me!

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  25. This is a beautiful finish! I think the maker would be so amazed that you worked so hard to bring out the beauty on this one!!

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  26. I admire your patience in taking those delicate blocks apart and remaking them. Your Sippin’ Sodas quilt is a delight! We had dairies down the road from us, but no soda fountain included.

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  27. I've never tried to take blocks apart. I admire your patience and persistence in creating such a beautiful quilt. The original quilter, should indeed, feel honored and proud.

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