Pineapple, "Green, Green Fields of Home"

 

This is my 5th ??? Pineapple Quilt /blocks I've made - there is just something about them I find appealing. They are perfect for scraps, of which I have many.  I absolutely love watching a DVD from Gyleen X Fitzgerald  whose design this is.  I purchased her DVD from the original Craftsy,  or was it Annies Crafts ?? AND her ruler.  There are other designs on the DVD but I'm stuck on this one, she calls it Hugs and Kisses.  Her delivery is peaceful, unstressful - a very pleasant project.  There are 2 different blocks for this version.  Note the "O" in the left block and the more symetrical coloration in the right.  The blocks on the right are each individual, in various color combos, but all with the same off-white light.  I've used greens, browns, lavendars and  harvest colors, all which remind me of my fortunate childhood on a small farm in Illinois.  

New subject:  

Some of you are have asked how things are in my quiet home, following the passing of my dear husband.  I'm doing well as expected and am very aware of my many blessings.  There is a season for everything - he always said "Make Every Day Count" and I'm doing my best.  I am eternally grateful for our years together, and now for my friendships, here in blogland, and in my "real life".  8-))  I am well and healthy, have friends, and feel safe and comfortable where I live.  It's now my job to keep going forward and to live my own life as well as possible.  Fortunately, I have this passion of sewing and quilting that always gives me pleasure.  "One Day at a Time" .  Even as a widow, I don't plan to disappear into dark places or sadness.   Yes, I have my moments, but I also have my job to do, that is to continue to live a good life.  Thank you all for comments or personal notes.  All are appreciated.

5th Quilt from Box of Scraps

DONE!  Yes, I'm still finishing that "box of scraps".  Our Guild is preparing for our Quilt Show and suddenly we needed a few more quilts.  This was close to completed, so I got off my you-know-what and finished it in several hours.  (Why do we wait so long?)  

It's not large, and looks a lot like a previous quilt.  This one is about 53" x 63".  I deliberately chose that busy backing.    

This project taught me about using a formula for cutting variable width floating borders.  Thank you Gyleen Fitzgerald!

I also learned (second effort) about making a faux flange.  My strips were 1 5/8 and 1 3/8 in., narrower than most of the instructions and next time I'll reduce them more, to 1 1/2 in. and 1 1/4 inches.  The binding is sewn to the back, then machine stitched to the front.  

If this is new to you, hints.  Be very neat and precise.  Quilt the top all the way to the edge, then trim exactly.  Be exact with those binding strips and don't stretch them when pressing.  When sewing down the binding,  I wanted to use my regular quarter inch foot as it's more precise than my walking foot - that is why I quilted to the edge and chose very narrow strips.  The last seam is on the front, with Smoke, invisible thread, very slowly and carefully.  Those stitches on front are extremely difficult to see.  Yeahhhhh!  

The busy backing was intentional because despite precision efforts, stitches were going to show where I didn't want them.  It's OK and it's DONE!

I have 4 quilts in the show, with no expectations for ribbons but ya always hope, don't ya?  Putting quilts in the Quilt Show takes effort, doesn't it?  Our show is local, with ribbons awarded by visitor ballots. 

"Pineapple Parade" - DONE

Yeah - It turned out DONE and good!   If you have not made one, I would encourage you to try.  Design possibilities are endless - note that there are 2 blocks in this design, making that "spool-like corner" and dark center in the same block, and the other block is traditional, and mine is scrappy.  The block corners are where much of the design ends up.  Get a good ruler and a good design and go for it.  No paper is needed for this 8 inch size, no drawing on muslin, ... those are other options.  My Pineapple DVD with several patterns was found in Annies Craft Catalog and designer is Gyleen Fitzgerald.  You will LOVE the DVD, (currently $14.99!) even if you don't make the quilt.  (There is another DVD option for the same quilt, but higher cost - not sure what that is.  I learned from the DVD and instructions on the DVD, and did not "join" the on-line class, another option.)  I DID purchase the ruler she recommended but others are available.   Again, she has a simple ruler, but Annies has a more complex ruler that that did not appeal to me.

My geraniums this year - almost all of my gardening is right here!  The foliage was so dense, and the leaves were thick and triangular - very pretty when weather was good.  Here, they have had one frost and one heavy wet snow, but they did survive under a blanket.  See all those green/yellow crawling ivy trailing things? I forgot what they are called,  but this year they survived the winter and returned.  8-)))

Now, I am off to sew on a project that is going to take a long time - my house is overflowing with quilts that get turned out every month, and there is NO room!  Yesterday I delivered 2 Linus quilts so there is a little bit of space again!  Happy quilting!