Pineapples and Pansies

So it has been a long time since my last blog--but with so much summer fun, it was simply a very busy time so--while time was spent quilting, I did no blogging. No worries though, I took a lot of pictures and did journaling notes about what I wanted to write about for this blog and others. This is my second attempt to create this blog--for some reason, I lost what I had. So here I go again!

In my last blog I gave some helpful hints for creating the four-patch square which is the foundation for the Pineapple Quilt that is the topic of this piece. I don't know about my friends out there but, didn't last winter seem extra LONG???!!!!! It is without a doubt that the extended winter had an impact on my selection of fabric design and color for creating this quilt! I had decided in March that I was going to make a quilt for myself since I had made a quilt for each member of my nuclear family---and then some! So a summer quilt it was going to be!

From this photo it is easy to see how the center is comprised of the "four-patch" square as presented in my March blog.  To build the pineapple quilt blocks from the four-patch, a row of yellow was added to

each side of the "four-patch" square, then it was trimmed "off-square" from the four patch. A row of the pink pansy print was sewn then to the "off-square" cut which then was followed  by a row of yellow fabric.

 In this photo to the right, the "pineapple" appearance is beginning to emerge as a result of the repeated addition of subsequently longer pieces of colored fabric to build the design.

 In this photo of a completed pineapple quilt block, the "half-pineapples" are easily discerned. I completed 64, 12" pineapple squares to make a king size quilt consisting of eight blocks across and eight blocks down. Once the squares were completed, I laid two squares next to each other so that the patterns matched up, then sewed the pairs, laid all of the pairs in rows with the pattern true to their matching counterparts and sewed the pairs into rows of four, matched the rows of four to create eight rows of eight blocks. Once the rows were completed, I sewed them together to create the quilt top center shown below.

As you can see, the pieces and the colors contributed to a beautiful quilt top, which to me, created the right mood for a summer filled with brilliant color and flowers!  I did worry about it the quilt being a bit brilliant so I looked for a border fabric, something that would not only "stop" the pattern but serve as a "quite compliment" to the color scheme. To accomplish this I added a complimentary polkadot blue border that read as a solid.

This blue border added a nice compliment and effectively "stopped" the pattern.

I then followed the blue with the white pansy print followed by a blue binding which was a beautiful edge/finish for the quilt.

 I chose to have the quilt machine quilted with a yellow harvest variegated quilting thread and a mottled yellow backing which came out very well. The machine quilting was done by Elko Floral and Fabric.







What I learned was that the pineapple quilt pattern is tedious in that for each row in building the blocks one must measure, sew, and cut for each row otherwise, the blocks do not come out correctly. The cut is "off" the square in each round, thus creating the increased length of fabric in each row. If one is not paying attention, it is easy to cut the squares wrong. Interestingly enough, once I had completed the entire set of 64 squares and had sewn them together to make the quilt top, I spread the quilt top on my bed and realized that one of my four-patch squares was not aligned with the rest of the design! So I carefully ripped out the square and resewed each seam affected resetting the four-patch.  Interesting how one can look at a block and not see the mistake until the quilt top is completed!

Another point to mention is that much fabric is wasted when trimming at each measured square. If you worry about that, save the pieces and and donate to other quilting scraps to make beds for animals at shelters of your choice! Cotton fabric is a nice fill for pet beds.

I have enjoyed making this quilt and learned a lot about patience!. I am going to blog about making a "Bears in the Woods" quilt next which is currently under construction for a friend of mine. The "Bears in the Woods" will be made with his favorite colors and will serve as a house warming gift for his new home.
Happy quilting my friends!