Just Keep Sewing

Kinship Quilt Progress ~ Day 13

I am really happy with this quilt in the making.

It is one of the few quilty things I have been able to accomplish this week.

Life has been happening.

One of my adult children was in the hospital for several days.

It proved not to be a life threat.

Nonetheless, as a mother, it was very upsetting.

Enough said.

Thanks to all who have seen hugs and prayers.

So getting this one block a day done has been an accomplishment for me.

This is my first 12 blocks with the fabric I am thinking to use as sashing for ...

... the "Plaid" setting 

as shown here:

 Kinship Fusion FPP Pattern by Gnome Angel

In the end I may choose to design my own setting.

Lots of time to think about that. 

87 days to be exact.

Here is today's block.

I really love these 

Curio by Betsy Olmsted for Windham Fabrics

One day earlier this week I could not sew a straight 1/4" seam

on a 6.5" unit piece.

Some of this may be my vision issues.

My eyes are always worse in the summer and humidity

even though I use prescription drops several times a day

I see my eye surgeon next month

although eye surgery is not in my plans this summer.

I have to see him every few months.

So I am falling behind in my other projects and commitments,

including the quilt on my longarm,

I loaded my 

Pineapple Rain Quilt

onto my long arm frame.

I am trying something new ... the top is loaded sideways

into the frame.

It took me awhile to decide how I wanted to quilt it

and how to achieve this.

The top and backing was ready two weeks ago. 

I am averaging only one quilt per month on my long arm so far.

I tell myself that if this trend continues

that I will have 12 quilts by the the end of my first year 

that otherwise would not have likely been quilted.

Just Keep Sewing ~ One Stitch at a Time 

I look for the positive in all things.

May your weekend be positively lovely.

Sunny and a good day for a backyard barbecue here.

:-) 

My Quilt Dance In the Pineapple Rain

Here is my Pineapple Rain Quilt Top! 

I designed my own modern version of the Pineapple Day quilt.

This top is featured today on 

The Jolly Jabber

Pineapple Day Quilt Along @ Fat Quarter Shop

This is my Pinkerville Pineapple Day Quilt

I was piecing pineapple paper blocks with the rain falling outside my sewing corner window

when suddenly the sunlight streamed in my window.

After three days of rain, the bright rays felt like a blessing.

So I went out to snap this photo from my back porch on my small urban hill in New England.

I call this a Pineapple Rain type of day.

Five minutes later it was deluging again.

This photo was the inspiration for my own layout of the Pineapple Day Quilt. 

I designed and sewed this quilt for the ... 

Here is the layout and

Free Pattern PDF download and Free Video Tutorial

for the quilt as designed.

To make my quilt I sewed

Four 12.5" pineapple papers blocks

and

Twelve 6.5" pineapple papers blocks

To piece my blocks I used these easy sew-by-number 

Pineapple Papers @ Fat Quarter Shop

Then I set my small blocks on point to represent the falling rain. 

Twelve 6.5" blocks on point 

My Tutorial for How I set these block On-Point Here

After trimming and squaring, these on-point blocks now measure 9.5" square.

To sew them into my quilt top I needed then to be the same size as my Pineapple Sun Block.

Sew I added 2" strips to the top and bottom on these elongated blocks.

I sewed them together as shown, adding 2" strips to either side of my on-point blocks

and four 12.5" squares of background fabric for the

negative spaces in my modern quilt layout.

I added 4.5" strips of outer border fabrics as shown

to represent the sky and earth. 

The day I took my quilt top outside for photos was a gray day with impending rain.

It has been a very rainy and cool spring in the northeast.

Suddenly it has become summer and I am spending a lot of my time outside

catching up on garden work.

I hope you like my quilt top.

I hope to have it quilted soon. 

Have a happy Pineapple Summer! 

Pineapples On Point ~ My Method

This is my Pineapple Block On Point.

This 6.5" Pineapple Block, trimmed and squared, now measures 9.5" square.

I stared my 

Pinkerville Pineapple Day Quilt Here 

I am sewing along with

Pineapple Day Quilt Along @ Fat Quarter Shop

I am using these easy "sew by number" ...

Pineapple Papers @ Fat Quarter Shop

I love them because I can make precise blocks by sewing on the pre-printed lines,
a big help to me with my vision issues.

Here is one of my 6.5" unfinished blocks. 

Here is the back of my block reday to set on point. 

To set on point I first removed the papers.

Then I sprayed with Best Press and pressed my block. 

I also sprayed with Best Press and pressed my background fabric.

This is an important step as there are a lot of bias seam in this setting

and starching and pressing helps to keep the block from being distoted.

I cut my pressed fabric into 8.5" strips.

Then I cut in 8.5" squares.

I use a 3lb. weight to hold my long cutting ruler to keep it from slipping.

Then I sprayed with Best Press and pressed my squares,

being careful not to stretch or distort the squares. 

This I cut my 8.5" squares on the diagonal twice to get my setting triangles.

This is the layout of my on point block.

The long outer edge of the triangles aligns with the edged of the block.

This is the straight of the grain of the cut triangles.

The bias edges are the points on the outside.

Then I sewed opposite sides and pressed outward.

Then I sewed on the last two sides.

It is important not to stretch the fabric in the triangles as you sew 

so that the bias edges do not become distorted.

Here is my block sewn into my top!

I am sew happy with this quilt top and cannot wait to show it to you next week on June 27th.

I hope to have my top quilted by then.

Edit:

This fabric line is 

Pinkerville by Tula Pink

I found my

 Pinkerville @ Fat Quarter Shop

Have a happy quilty weekend.