And the Tweaking Goes On: Design in Progress for Anders' Pineapple Log Cabin Quilt

In my last post, I showed this EQ7 pineapple log cabin project that I am planning as a second quilt project for my 11-year-old son, Anders, to make:

 

Once I had selected one of the simplest (fewest pieces) pineapple log cabin blocks and set up the layout and sizes, I let Anders play around in the software to come up with a color scheme for his quilt.  He decided on a black background with red and blue:   

 

 

Then I talked to him about what he wants to do with this quilt after it's finished.  With his first quilt project, he started to get discouraged about how long it was taking when he did not have many of his blocks finished, and he wanted it to be DONE so we made it pretty small -- but then he was disappointed that it wasn't big enough for him to snuggle under.  I originally set up his pineapple log cabin to be a 3 x 3 layout of 12" blocks, for a finished size of about 36" x 36", but Anders decided he wants his quilt to be twin sized to go on his bed.  Hmmm...  I have a feeling Mom might end up making a lot of these blocks if my junior quilter loses interest before it's finished!

 

I like Anders' color scheme, except that the lighter value reds and blues read a little too pastel raspberry pink and aqua from a distance.  That's due to which fabrics were loaded into the project sketchbook for him to choose from and him not knowing where to look to find more choices.  Knowing that he likes mostly batiks and wants reds and blues, I went back through those fabric stash add-ins and pulled lots more red and blue fabrics to add to the project scrapbook, and decided to mix in reddish orange fabrics with the reds for variety instead of lighter reds that would read pink.  I ended up with this:

 

 

...And here's what the whole twin sized quilt would look like, with a 6 x 8 layout of 48 12" blocks:

 

Before we start cutting any fabric, I'll let Anders play around with the colors and fabrics a bit more in EQ7 to make sure he likes it.  Once he gives the design on screen a thumbs up, we'll root through my ACTUAL fabric stash for close matches and maybe pick up some fat quarters of anything I don't have so he can make up a test block.  Two purposes to the test block, by the way:

 

1. Once the block is finished, I can import an actual photo of the block into EQ7 to get a much more realistic preview of what the finished quilt would look like using that combinations of fabrics, to be SURE it's what we want.

 

2. More importantly, Anders will get an idea of how long it takes to make a paper pieced pineapple log cabin block with 37 patches in it, and he will either be excited and want to make 47 more of them -- or he will realize that it's a bigger commitment than he is ready for.  In which case I'll guide him towards an easier block like a square in a square, or suggest making the quilt throw sized with fewer blocks, or even a table runner.

 

One more thing I wanted to share before signing off -- I got a photo of my Uncle Merle with his new grandson all snuggled up in the Amish Baby 54-40 or Fight quilt that I made for him! 

 

 

How sweet is that?  THAT'S why I wrestle with Minky backing and satin binding.  :-)  I'm linking up with Design Wall Monday at Stitch By Stitch and Main Crush Monday at Cooking Up Quilts.  Then I'm off to Anders' Spring orchestra concert.  Have a great afternoon!