Let's Paper Piece Some Giant Pineapples!



18" Paper Pieced Pineapple Blocks!  Pattern FREE from Fons & Porter, available here

 Okay, so this is not technically on my design wall yet, but it's definitely on my mind.  I want to make a California king sized pineapple quilt.  I'm envisioning this in bright, cheerful colors, with lots of soft blues and greens to coordinate with the drapery panels that I've been promising procrastinating to make for my master bedroom.  (More on that later).  I spent some time perusing my quilting books, magazine clippings, and on Pinterest (you can see the antique pineapple quilts that are inspiring me here on my Pinterest Pineapple Quilt board) and decided that my favorite pineapple quilts were the antique ones with lots of very skinny fabric strips sewn into very large blocks.  I also determined that it will drive me nuts if my seams don't match up very well when the blocks come together, so I'll be paper piecing this. 


Gorgeous Pineapple Quilt from Flickr via Pinterest, Maker Not Identified




Modern Pineapple? Think Again -- Mennonite, circa 1880-1900, Maker Unknown

Now that I've gotten everyone excited about pineapple log cabin quilts, you'll be happy to know that I found a free foundation piecing pattern download from Fons & Porter here, which prints out in six sections that you connect to create one very BIG foundation piecing pattern.  All thoughts of doing this project on one of my vintage Singer Featherweight cuties evaporated as soon as I had taped the pattern pieces together, because this giant block seems to have been created with Big 'Nina 750 in mind.  Look how nicely that block fits under my behemoth of a Bernina!

18" Paper Piecing Pattern Fits Great Under the B 750 QE

Fontenay Vase in Porcelain, F. Schumacher

I am only at liberty to start yet another new quilt because I managed to disentangle myself from having to make the drapery panels that I promised to sew for my master bedroom.  I ordered the fabric six months ago, and then I stuck the bolt of fabric in a corner behind a door and thought of a million other things to do instead of making drapery panels.  In all fairness, it HAS been a very busy spring what with everything going on with the kids, the fundraiser quilt for Anders' fifth grade class, et cetera, but really, I just did not feel like wrestling with yards and yards of drapery fabric (grunt sewing) when I could be blissfully playing with bits and pieces of quilting fabric instead (happy sewing). So I finally dropped that lovely Schumacher linen print fabric (shown at left) off at my drapery workroom last week at my darling husband's insistence.  He said, "Do you even REMEMBER the last time you made drapery panels, or have you blocked it out -- like childbirth?"  ;-) 

Bernie reminded me that my current studio is not set up for working with long, multiple width drapery panels, and he said he'd rather pay my drapery workroom to make them than be forced to live with me while I'M making them.  I had nothing to say to that because I know it's true.  I loathe making drapery panels! 
So I'll make a couple of throw pillows out of this lovely F. Schumacher Betwixt woven geometric fabric instead, and then I'll starting a new quilt (or three).

Betwixt in Peacock/Seaglass, F. Schumacher

Meanwhile, back on my ACTUAL design wall, the nine bear paw blocks are done and they are staring at me reproachfully:


Bear Paw Blocks Finished, but Now What?

I love the blocks, and I know they are going on point like this, but I am kicking around a few different sashing and border options in the back of my head before I commit to a setting.  I just can't bring myself to sew them together just with plain white alternate blocks like I had originally intended.  Stay tuned...

I'm going to go ahead and link up with Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times, because it's still Monday (barely!).  I can't wait to see what everyone else is up to this week!