Show 909

[Rita C.]

Wow is all I can say. I learned so much from this show. I will no longer be afraid of the dreaded "Y" seams and instead by looking at them as beautiful "butterfly" seams. I've been working on a grandmothers flower garden quilt for a little over a year now doing it by hand. I have most of my flowers done but still have tons of star points to make. This method will definately help speed things up. I will also give other blocks a try that I have stayed away from because I just couldn't get a nice "Y" seam. Who would have though a little un sewing would do the trick.

I have always admired the pineapple quilt and do like paper piecing but a quilt with this many pieces would be a lot of paper tearing. The technique works great. The specialty ruler would be a great asset to have but it can be done without it. I now have two nifty new potholders in my kitchen(DH says too pretty to use) and will be making a whole pineapple quilt. I have an idea of what I want but will wait until my book arrives before making up my mind.

I just loved this show. Hope to see more that teach techniques like these.
SueW

[Rita C.]

I agree with you Sue. It is always great to see new techniques that take the fear out of quilt blocks. I would never have considered doing a pineapple block before but I now feel that I could tackle it. Another great show from TQS!

Rita.

[Lotti D.]

yup - when i saw this, i immediately decided to cut all my little pieces into 1 1/2 inch strips in order to do a pineapple or two... not right now - but with all the little bits - it should certainly be possible in a year or three

[Eileen K.]

I just got the chance to watch Gyleen Fitzgerald's episode and all I can say is OMG!!! If you haven't watched it and you like scrappy quilts, you are missing out! Just sayin'.

[Margo C.]

Another project for my to-do list!! I got the book and the ruler, and have a 20 year old box of 1-1/2" strips! I wonder if they are ripe enough yet?? :lol:

[Deborah W.]

Another project for my to-do list!! I got the book and the ruler, and have a 20 year old box of 1-1/2" strips! I wonder if they are ripe enough yet?? :lol:

Margo--they should be aged to perfection!

[karen f.]

Margo that must be one humungous box!

[Margo C.]

Margo that must be one humungous box!

Not really, Karen! The entire box full is 20 years old, but I haven't been adding to it all this time!

[Kathryn S.]

I got the book and ruler from Gyleen right after watching the show. My reward when I finish up the BOM baskets will be to start playing with the pineapple ruler. I'm on basket # 14 now. Decided to power through them after a hiatus. It's amazing what some concentrated practice will do for one's accuracy! Anyway, Gyleen's book is inspiring and I want to make a BIG quilt. I bought her other book too, about finishing up old quilts. Also a gorgeous book.

Kathy

[Betty J.]

Another project for my to-do list!! I got the book and the ruler, and have a 20 year old box of 1-1/2" strips! I wonder if they are ripe enough yet?? :lol:

OK, now I don't feel so bad about finally starting to sew up the Kinsale Cloak this week that I cut out 12 years ago. Some fabric just has to sit a while before it's sewn up so it has the right depth of character. :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Rita C.]

Margo, I am looking forward to seeing what you make with the box of strips - and what was popular in patchwork 20 years ago!

Kathy, I know how you are feeling right now - I had got the hang of the baskets by about number 16! :roll:

BJ, I would love to see your Kinsale cloak when you sew it up. I am not sure if it will be the same as mine - I was given one over 20 years ago which is black wool, down to the ground with an extra large cape around the top and slits for the hands instead of sleeves. It has come in very useful over the years, particularly for halloween!

[Dawn S.]

I am with Sue on the "too much paper tearing" to do a whole pineapple quilt, paper pieced. I have always admired the pineapple block, and that is the ONLY class I took at Houston Festival last year. (Been on my bucket list for years!) But, we used a heavy vellum type paper for our paper piecing and all the while I was making the block, I was thinking about the hours it would take to pull the heavy paper out. After watching Gyleen's method, I am much more excited about continuing with my only-two-blocks-at-the-moment pinapple quilt. I just have to talk myself into the ruler! I have bought so many "specialty items" over the years, that just sit in the drawer, because they have one use and one use only, that I now shy away from them. So, after watching the show, I was in my studio (fancy name for my sewing room) trying to figure out how to make one of my existing rulers do the same thing as Gyleen's ruler. :shock: WHY do I do this to myself?

Just as a side note, I used to live about a block from the Craftwood Inn in Manitou Springs, and the area is absolutely beautiful. It is near the famous Garden of the Gods in the southwest of Colorado Springs, there are red rock outcroppings everywhere, and it sits in the shadow of Pikes Peak.

Dawn
In beautiful Northwest Montana

[Deborah W.]

Dawn--you sure pick beautiful areas to live in. The Flathead Lake area is gorgeous and I have visited the Garden of the Gods once and they are spectacular!

[Annis C.]

I did the pineapple blocks for my Pineapple Split quilt without a special ruler or paper. You just need square-up rulers with dots at the 1/4" marks. Most of us already have those. And you need to start with a 2 1/2" finished (3" cut) center square which needs to be sewn accurately for the first round, but the logs can be any size divisible by 1/4". I always add an extra 1/8" to the outer seam allowance on the strips to allow for not so perfect seams (a 1 1/2" cut strip would be cut 1 5/8"). And you can square up 2 sides at the same time. I do like her method though and if I had time would give it a try. I have a couple pineapple rulers but don't use them. I just buy them to see how they work. It's educational for me to see all of the different ways you can piece your blocks.

[Dawn S.]

Annis, I figured there was probably a way of using my existing rulers, but haven't played with it enough to find out. My little pineapples have 1/2 inch finished logs and a one inch finished center, so they are quite small. I really don't have time to work on it right now, but am glad to know I do NOT have to paper piece it! It will all be in snowflake fabrics. (I think I saw your pattern in a booth in Houston?)



Dawn,
In beautiful Northwest Montana