Tidying

I've delivered the baby quilt to Maggie for quilting and have spent some of the weekend tidying. I keep and file lots of magazine pictures and  patterns and they have been piling up. So yesterday I sorted them all out into various categories such as Squares and Oblongs, Squares and Triangles, Settings, Borders, Strip Piecing etc. etc. Bag Patterns and now Modern Quilts have a box all to themselves. To make up for all this hoarding I've thrown away the contents of another box of strings which I am never going to use. I had to put back the spare room furniture now our visitors have departed and I empty the cupboards as they are too heavy to move full. The novelty fabrics (seen spilling out of their inadequate box) have taken the place of the strings - I cannot resist these and use them mainly for children's charity quilts.

Cupboard contents, empty box on right.

Australian/NZ fabric on left, two piles of Malaysian batiks  and sarongs on right.
Dots and stripes on window sill from Sarawak (very poor quality),
plus African fabrics given me or bought here.

After all these good deeds it was time to sew and the FP technique taught by Judi Mendelssohn last weekend and by other teachers proved invaluable in putting together the pineapple block. You ensure a good fit by placing a card on the line you are going to sew, folding the paper back, tearing if necessary and trimming a quarter inch seam with an Add-a-Quarter or ruler. Turn over and set your fabric piece on the seam edge (it's best to pin), turn over again and sew on the line with a smaller stitch, backstitching at the seam.

Card placed on sewing line

Paper pulled back over card edge

Measuring quarter inch seam.  The ridge on the Add-a-Quarter ruler is
useful here.

Trimmed

Fabric placed on seam edge; I then pin each end to secure.

Completed block