Pineapple Blossom Quilted

I loaded the Pineapple Blossom quilt on the frame but couldn’t decide how to quilt it.  Lots of people have made this quilt so I did a Google image search to see if I could get any ideas on how to quilt it. I thought I might try a new freehand technique but it looked like most people quilted an overall meander or a pantograph.   I’m not very good at using pantographs.  I think it is hard to follow the lines with the laser light and my curves aren’t as smooth as they could be.  I’m pretty sure this would improve with practice but I’ll often go months between panto quilts. 

I bit the bullet though and ended up using Deb's Swirls on this quilt.  It’s an easy design but very pretty and I thought the curves would soften the sharp points of the design.  It’s also scary to use light thread on dark fabric because every mistake shows up.  It turned out pretty nice.  Here’s a close up of the quilting.  I’m hoping to get the binding on right away so I can hand stitch it down while watching basketball this weekend.



While quilting this quilt I listened to The Red Thread on my Ipod.  It really helps to have a little distraction so I’m not thinking so hard about staying on the lines of the pantograph.  This book was somewhat predictable and melodramatic but was great for quilting since I could follow the story without having to concentrate too much.  It is a novel that follows several American families as they go through the process to adopt Chinese babies and several Chinese mothers who give up their daughters for American adoption.  Overall it was pretty good--I would give it 4 out of 5 stars!  I really like listening to books while I quilt.  My local library offers them free through Overdrive Media.  It's simple to download them and you can catch up on your "reading" while quilting.

Design Wall Monday-Pineapple Blossom Blocks

I've been following Judy Laquidara's blog at Patchwork Times for quite awhile and thought it would be great motivation to show what I'm working on for Design Wall Mondays.

It took awhile but the blocks are finished and I just auditioned a layout on my design floor.  I think I’m really going to like this quilt. This week I have quite a bit of time for sewing so I hope to finish this quilt before my sewing group meets next week. I’m still quilting the rail fence quilt that’s on the frame and need to quilt and bind the last two for Quilts Beyond Borders so it may not happen. 

There’s also the bonus triangles to deal with.  I’d like to get those into a quilt right away.  Otherwise they just languish in the sewing room and I’ll probably never use them.  Here’s a sneak peak of my idea of how to use them.

Progress on Pineapple Blossom

I started piecing the blocks for the Pineapple Blossom quilt.  It seemed like this was going to be a really fast block to make but it’s taking longer than I thought.  One thing that’s slowing it down a bit is that the block creates bonus triangles and I’m sewing the seam for the triangles as I go.  I like to do that so the bias edge is stitched right away--and of course they will be ready for a new project.
Here’s how I piece connector (or folded) corners.  Most instructions have you draw a diagonal line on the back of the square.  I don’t like to draw lines so I placed tape on my sewing table and that eliminates the need for the line.  There is a commercial product available called The Angler that does the same thing but you have to attach it to your table each time you use it.  The masking tape is cheaper and it’s there when you need it. 
This photo shows the masking tape on the table and machine bed in front of the presser foot.  I have lines drawn so I can stitch either directly on the diagonal line or offset a 1/4” for seam allowance.  For this block I need to sew on the diagonal.  This is the dark line down the center.  It is aligned straight with the needle.

Start stitching in the corner with the opposite corner ON the line.  Sew from corner to corner, keeping the corner on the line for the entire seam.

You can see in this picture that the seam is straight and accurate.  See the square underneath?  The seam should be a thread or two to the right of that square.  This one looks good!

Trim the seam—see how I do it in the next series—and press it back.  Voila!  Perfect corners and no lines drawn!  I’ll reveal the finished blocks when I get a few more finished.

When I trim the corner I use an Easy Angle and measure from the outer corners instead of trimming my seam 1/4”.  That way all my triangles end up the same size and I don’t have to trim them up later.  I sew the seam right after I cut it so it doesn’t shift and it’s finished!

After sewing a 1/4” seam, press toward the darker fabric, trim the dog ears and the bonus triangles are ready to use in a new project.  I already have one in mind to use these!

New Quilt Started-Pineapple Blossom

The pattern for this quilt is on Bonnie Hunter’s Quiltville blog--here:  http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2005/06/pineapple-blossom.html
I’ve admired this quilt for quite awhile and finally decided to jump in and make it.  I had this box of batik scraps from an applique project I started some time ago.

I’m making 24 blocks for the quilt and the box of scraps wasn't THAT big so I though I'd use them up with this quilt.  I even found a pile of 2-1/2” strips of batiks to use when the scraps were gone.  Well, I’ve finished cutting all the parts for the quilt (except borders) plus a nice little pile of leftover squares, strips and strings, and it looks like nothing is gone from the box. 

It’s always a little disheartening when I think about how much fabric is in my cupboards, bins and shelves and how little is gone when I make a quilt.  Oh, well.  Every little bit used is progress.