Welcome to the Scoops & Cones quilt along! We’re making the Scoops & Cones quilt together. This week, we’re making the background blocks for the quilt.
Head over to the introduction post to learn more about the quilt and grab the fabric requirements!
Click Here for the cutting instructions!
Click Here for the Ice Cream Cone blocks!
Last week, we made all the ice cream cone blocks for the quilt. And wow were they yummy looking!! This week we’re making our Uneven Nine Patches and Square in a Square blocks, but first we have some color way ideas for you.
Color Variation Ideas
In the original colorway, we used white as the background and cream for the accent, creating a low volume background that evokes a classic vanilla. This helps the ice cream cones stand out, but there are so many fun ways to play with the background and accent. We have a few examples below to help you visualize and don’t forget to use the Scoops & Cones coloring sheet to audition your own colors!
This black raspberry inspired colorway also has little contrast between the background and accent, but both are darker than the cones, thus switching the values in the quilt. The background recedes while the ice cream jumps out at you. This is a subtle, but striking option.
Next we have a birthday cake flavor inspired colorway with a medium amount of contrast between the background and accent. To create enough contrast between the accent color and the cones, we used a cool color for the accent and a warm color for the cones, and a brighter color for the ice cream.
I’ve been obsessed with Mary Engelbreit’s art since I was a little girl, and her use of black (polka dot) backgrounds with checkered areas totally suits this quilt! It doesn’t get higher contrast than black and white, and the trick to using it here is to choose ice cream fabrics with intense, saturated colors.
Now that we’ve seen some colorway options, let’s get to making our Scoops & Cones background blocks!
Uneven Nine Patch
Sew together an accent 3″ x Width of Fabric (WOF) strip to a background 3 1/2″ x WOF strip. Sew another accent 3″ strip on the other side of the background 3 1/2″ strip. Press towards the accent fabric.
Cut an accent 3″ strip in half so it’s about 20″ long. Sew the accent 3″ x 20″ strips to either side of the remaining background 3 1/2″ strip. This makes 1 1/2 Center Strip Sets as shown below.
Subcut the strip sets in 3 1/2″ sections. Cut 16 sections for the Nine Patch Center Rows.
Sew a background 3″ x WOF strip to either side of an accent 3 1/2″ x WOF strip, and press towards the accent. Repeat to make 2 full-length strip sets.
Cut a background 3″ strip in half so it’s about 20″ long. Sew the background 3″ x 20″ strips to either side of the remaining accent 3 1/2″ strip. This makes 2 1/2 Outer Strip Sets as shown below.
Subcut the strip sets in 3″ sections. Cut 32 sections for the Nine Patch Outer Rows.
Assemble the blocks by sewing Nine Patch Outer Rows to either side of a Nine Patch Center Row as shown below. The Uneven Nine Patch block measures 8 1/2″ x 8 1/2″ unfinished. Make 16 blocks.
Square in a Square
Mark the wrong side of the background 2 1/2″ squares in half diagonally once. Lay a marked square right sides together on the corner with an accent 4 1/2″ square as shown below. Sew on the marked line. Repeat on the diagonally opposite corner. Trim a 1/4″ seam allowance and press.
Repeat the process on the remaining corners.
The Square in a Square block is 4 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ unfinished. Make 25 blocks.
Next Time…
We’ll be assembling the quilt and sharing ideas for quilting.
We all scream for ice cream!
Last week everyone shared some scrumptious creations!
Claudia G.
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