Low Volume Pineapple Quilt Finished (Part 2)

It's all done and here are some fun specs about this low volume pineapple quilt.  Part One on how it was made is HERE.

Using the Creative Grids Pineapple tool - each block is a finished 6".  There are 9 blocks across and 9 rows down - making a nice lap quilt 53" x 53"  after squaring up.  All the corner pieces are in beige to make little 'beige' diamonds. 

Doing some math: this lap quilt has 81 blocks.  Each block has 21 pieces of fabric.  That totals 1,701 pieces of fabric! 

Using low volume for all the 'rounds' in this block kept things simple.  Any and all fabric was cut to the sizes needed without regard to color. If you have a pile of low volume fabric this is one fun quilt to make.

A word of caution however, since there is so much trimming it is easy to get a little lazy with the rotary cutter and go faster than you should.  As soon as I thought "I got this trimming down" - I sliced my finger. 

Cream dimple dot minky backs the quilt and I used Aurifil 50wt. #2000 throughout. Quilting is a wavy line stitch that goes on the horizontal and vertical seams - as well as through the middles and corners (see pink lines).  Since the blocks are so small you don't need to chalk or mark anything - just do it by eye.

So that's it - a traditional Pineapple quilt made a modern way. With origins in Spain, called 'pina' after the pinecone - the pineapple became the universal symbol of warmth and hospitality when it reached America during colonial times.  Again, for links, pixs and directions how to make this quilt - Part One here can be your guide.

Materials:

Low volume fabric

Warm & White batting

Cream dimple dot minky from Hawthorne Supply Co.

Aurifil 50 wt. thread #2000

Creative Grids Standard Pineapple Trim Tool

Size: 53" x 53"

February 2020

The Making of a Low Volume Pineapple Quilt - Part 1

There are spectacular pineapple blocks and quilts with beautiful colors that make amazing patterns.  This is not that quilt - this is made with all low volume fabrics.  Low volume prints are usually creams, white and fabrics with subtle prints that are muted - giving a quiet and gentle look.

Pineapple blocks create those awesome patterns because each 'round' (or row) usually alternates between light and dark.  They play off each other and can be arranged in so many ways.  That spectacular effect can also take time to plot and figure out ... which is why I opted to do it the easy way.  And boy is it coming out nicely!

I did use the Creative Grids Pineapple Trim Tool.  Below are links to videos that explain in detail how to use this tool - as well as a good blog post with pictures from Crazy Mom Quilts that just uses a ruler.  Paper piecing is also an option and Gigi's Thimble post is really detailed with pictures as well. 

 My ruler still kept sliding around so I read about spraying some spray baste to help it get sticky - which it did, along with picking up a ton of fluff - but in the end it worked fine.  So, if your rulers or templates slide even with grips or medical tape - try spraying some basting spray for traction.  

The package directions listed how wide to cut the fabric strips - but not the fabric length for each unit.  I came up with these measurements to make things simple and not have excess fabric waste. 
Other than the center square which is cut at 2.5" x 2.5" - all strips are cut at 2" wide.

Round One:  2" x 2.5"    Sew opposite sides and then the other opposite sides.  Trim with the tool.

Round 2:  2" x 3.5"  Do the same thing - sew opposite sides, and then the other opposite sides ... trim.

 Round 3:  2" x 4.5"  sew as before.  
 Round 4:  2" x 5"     sew as before.  

Corners:  The instructions say to use a large rectangle and I just thought that wasted too much fabric.  Since my blocks were smaller (6.5" x 6.5" unfinished) - I could put a small triangle on the edge and it worked great.

Either cut out a 2.5" x 2.5" square - cut on the diagonal to get 2 pieces - or use a trim tool that cuts out a little half square triangle.  Both methods are fine.

Attach the corners as shown and trim.  All those scraps in the lower left pix are from ONE block - but to get these cool angles there has to be some waste. 

I put my strips in labeled bins and sewed all one size at once. Do all Round 1, all Round 2, etc.  Then store in baggies, again labeled.  Since all the fabrics and sizes can look similar you just don't want to have to re-measure strips if things get messy and mixed up on the sewing table.

The only note of caution I have for this type of quilt is this:

Because my fabrics were so similar I sometimes lost track of where to trim Round 3 - which is a little different than the others.  The videos and instructions were clear - it was me. 

So, no matter how goofy it looked  - I kept a sample block labeled with notes.  This is a good practice no matter what project you are working on - and maybe a life lesson as well :)

So that's it for now.  You can see that there is no wrong way to lay out something this gentle and pretty.  The quilt is just waiting for me to do the binding - but I wanted to share the mechanics and positive encouragement that this type of block is not out of reach for anyone.

Helpful links:
Crazy Mom Quilts - how to make a pineapple block without paper piecing

GiGi's Thimble: Pineapple Block paper piecing tutorial

Sherri from A Quilting Life video tutorial with the pineapple ruler

Creative Grids Making a Pineapple Block with the Pineapple tool

January 2020