Pineapple border, machine quilting, and a few little quilts

 

Border possibilities - Piano Key?  uh, nope, I like this one.

 I basted this in the house - it's about 63" x 63" -- sorta do-able on my sewing table.

And this morning ... ta dahhhhh!  I am so excited to begin the machine quilting - my favorite part!!!  I started with a Schmetz 14 quilting needle, but right away, it skipped, so I changed to a Schmetz 14 topstitch and voila.  Happiness!  This is an allover, kinda lighthearted in feeling, center is a swirl with a posy and then an echo around the posy.  This was inspired by Christina Cameli, in her recent MQ book.   LOT of seams, my machine goes thru them.  (Janome MC 6500, no stitch regulator). 

 

 Here is the top quilting thread - a King Tut variegated.
  

 

Here is the backing I found, on sale - Yeahhhh Pats Creative Stitchery!!!  Back thread is white. 


New subject - these are 2 little quilts I made starting with 9-patches, cutting the 9-patches, and rearranging the pieces.  For whatever reason, I have always LOVED making blocks and then re-cutting them.  They are too small for Linus quilts so I just look at them!  8-))) I call them 9-Patch Puzzle.

A friend saves vintage blocks, and a Pineapple Beginning

What a great way to start the day - aren't they beautiful?  Look at the giant white ones in the middle!   

In mid-November at the Guild give-away table, sat a large stack of vintage blocks.  Kinda sad and not well done but .... I grabbed them, shoved them in my friend Jody's hands and said, "Here make something of these!"  Poor woman - I didn't even give her a chance to object but she's creative, energetic and gets things D O N E !  Hmm, lots of piecing, by hand, not sophisticated, yet beautiful in their humility.   Some lady was using her time wisely, using what she had.  There is even some fussy-cutting. 

 

In mid December, (yes, less than 1 month later) Jody dropped by my house with a big wrapped "something" under her arm with instructions "do not open 'til Christmas" ... well of course I failed that edict.  After she left, I opened it ... and cried with joy. 

Look what she did with the "unloved" blocks!!!  She repaired some, added the inner black sashing, added the dark border purchased when she and I had attended some quilting function together.  She often finishes her quilts with a sliver of color against the binding.  She then washed it all, and those blah, tired-looking blocks turned into something beautiful!!!   Quilters make and give quilts away - we seldom receive a quilt, especially one with meaning.  How lovely  that she gave these blocks a real life.  It's prettier than this photo, and is now my TV-watching lap quilt.

 

 

  Above is the backing - perfectly lovely!  Thank you Jody!!!

New project ....

a Pineapple Quilt, using 2 slightly different blocks.  I'm loving it!  This design came with a DVD purchased thru Annie's Catalog/Craft catalog, and the DVD features Gyleen Fitzgerald.  (I LOVE my quilting DVDs!)  Oh My Gosh, I am loving this one!!!  I DID purchase her ruler  (about $14) which I also love.  Each block came out exactly correct, square and true.  (There is another ruler at Annies, but with more lines, options, cost - I chose the simpler version)..

If you have never made a Pineapple block, and are not paper piecing, you really need a ruler made for this technique.  The block is very easily pulled out of square and is trimmed and checked after each round.  These strips are cut at 1.5 inch, and the block finishes at 8 inches.  Also, her technique trims the blocks from the back.