Finished!

Pineapple Blossom is finished! Complete with hanging sleeve, label and scrapbook page. I took it to both evening and day guild meetings last week for "show and tell".  Started the quilt in May in a class by Bonnie Hunter through our guild, and finished in August- that is record time for me. It's made all from my scraps, a few scraps from the guild giveaway table, and a couple of strips cut from unused fat quarters that I already had in my stash. I even had the batting and backing fabric. A "free" quilt, except for the one spool of thread that I bought to match the inner border for quilting.

Binding

Sewing the binding on with walking foot. It was probably not the best idea to have points right on the edge, it's hard to hit the point just right (not leave it floating or cut off). But I did o.k., if it wasn't right I ripped out and tried again.

Still Quilting

This Pineapple Blossom quilt is turning out to be one of my favorites. I've worked faithfully on it, only straying to make a quick tablerunner and a small door banner. Its not on my UFO challenge list, because I started it in May in Bonnie Hunter's class; and the list was made in January. As soon as this is done, I must go back and focus on that list!

I'm marking the light background areas with stencils and the trusty blue washout marker. Earlier while marking the design in the dark areas I ran out of the white iron off pen, and then finished with a white ceramic lead pencil. We'll see how this all comes out- hopefully with cool water.  

I'm meandering in the inner border.

In the outer border, I'm outlining with a quarter inch (more or less!) curve on both sides of the point edges.

I really like sitting at my machine and quilting away, listening to music or podcasts. However, it takes a long time, and it's August already! Looking at my UFO challenge list I see that I have only finished 2 out of 10 projects. If I'm going to finish, it looks like I'll have to let go and send some to a longarmer to be quilted. Something I've not done before; prefering to have my quilts be my creation from start to finish. Although there is some wonderful long arm quilting being done-lots of feathers, which I love.

Machine Quilting

I'm stitching in the ditch with the walking food and monofilament thread along the sashings.

Using the BSR to free motion a design I marked with a Clover white marking pen ( it's easy to see and disappears when gone over with an iron). I bury my thread tails with an easy threading needle ( a good thing to do while watching TV or movie).

Basting

Top is finished and I started pin basting yesterday. The previous quilt (Chrissy's ) I tried basting on my cutting table by clamping the backing in sections. It was much nicer standing up, but I had trouble with puckers in the backing when I machine quilted. So its back to crawling around on the floor! I can get the backing good and taut (careful not to stretch) by using clamps on the backing fabric and sticking a large pin through the clamp handles straight down into the carpet.

Border

Woo Hoo! -- the outer border is done and on Pineapple Blossom.

As of July 1

Center is all sewn together, working on the borders. Using the extra half-square triangle units sewn and cut from the block corners. Nifty how everything is used.

Pineapple Blossom Progress

I've got most of the blocks done, they are fun to make! I'm doing Bonnie Hunter "leaders and enders" to make 4-patches for the Irish Chain quilt in her book, while making pineapple blocks. I use paper plates to keep the pieces chosen for each block organized. I really like the cute little half-square triangle units that come from trimming the block corners; they will be used for an inner border - no waste!

This Weeks Quilting

Basted and started the quilting on Chrissy's graduation quilt. Went to Bonnie Hunter's Pineapple Blossom class on Tuesday, finished 8 blocks in class, here are four of them on the church pew I used for a design wall. A very good class, personal attention and relaxed.

Pineapple Blossom Class

I've got my strips cut(most from my scraps from other quilts and a few from fat quarters in my stash) and ready for Bonnie Hunter's class next Tuesday!