Get On Board With Sewing Blog Hop: A Pulchritudinous Pineapple Party--With Giveaways!

🍍 WELCOME! 🍍


Hello and welcome to all visitors from the



A big thank you to our hosts:

Stay tuned through the end where you can sign up
for some wonderful blog hop prizes!  I've also added
a couple little giveaways on my own so make sure
you catch them all!


Typically around here we drink coffee, lots of coffee,
but because today is special, feel free to grab some
wine or a tropical drink of your choice, imagine a
lovely sunset over the beach and let's do this!

It may be September but summer isn't over yet!
Today we're heading off to the Tropics!
Well...if you can't be there, you can at least bring
a little of it into your home with the cute little block
I'm sharing with you all today.


First a little about me:

Speaking of the tropics, my high school sweetheart and I
I will soon celebrate our 30th anniversary in Jamaica!
Our nest is empty but out of it came 4 children who
have grown into some pretty incredible adults:
Daughter 1
KU Music Ed Grad and SAHM, married to KU Architect
with 2 children and one on the way--yay!
Daughter 2
WSU Health Science Degree and Washburn PTA Degree
Son 3
Creighton Finance Degree and Business Analytics Degree
Son 4
Cadet at The US Military Academy West Point
Pole Vaulter and Captain on WP Track Team
We just got back from West Point where we attended
the Class of '23 Ring Ceremony:  pics and post here.


Like most of us, I began sewing at a very young age
but it wasn't until my late 20's that I made the switch
to quilting--and I've never looked back!


 In March of this year,  I upgraded to my longarm to a Lucey,
and took over one of the upstairs bedrooms for my studio.
(shown here but I really need an update post!).



I began successfully selling quilts on Etsy last year and am
working toward starting a quilting business.  I've been a
pantograph quilter for 5-6 years but I'll soon be purchasing
a computer for Lucey and we'll be off and running digitally. 


  After taking a couple classes from the talented Julia Quiltoff,
I'm also working to perfect my skills at custom quilting.


🌴 Now let's head off to the Tropics! 🌴

Palm trees, flowers, beaches and fruit!
Hubs and I are major foodies and love to cook.
When trying to settle on which one of those tropical
themes to go with for the hop, hubs had just made our
favorite pizza: sweet pig pizza with all the yummy toppings of
pulled pork (hubs had smoked himself), ham
and...pineapple.  It was the start I needed.


If you keep up with me, you know I love traditions.
Pineapples have long been a symbol of hospitality.
When sailors returned safely home, they would hang a
a pineapple on their doorway to invite friends and
neighbors in or a visit!  This is why today you often
see a pineapple on welcome signs.


I've created two projects for you to bring the welcome of
 the pineapple into your own home.  And both are so easy
that you can whip them out today--right after

To keep this super-simple I'm using only squares and
half-square triangles (HSTs)--and all from scraps.
The beauty of an HST project is that you can alter it to fit
any size squares you want!  You can also use any method
of making HSTs you like.

Here are a few links for methods and charts for
fast HST construction. 
 Choose whichever one(s) fits your size of scraps.


These should help you make some pleasing, plump,
pulchritudinous pineapples--posthaste!
(It means "physically beautiful" <wink>)

THE MINI WALL HANGING


We'll start off with the mini:
For ONE pineapple, you will need:

2 background squares
6 HSTs in background/green combo
4 green squares
4 HSTs in background/yellow combo
16 yellow squares


Choose your layout for the pineapple stem.


Sew together, first in horizontal strips....


And then the strips together, pressing seams downward.


If you've chosen tiny like I did, you may want to
use a spray stabilizer for ease. 


For the fruit section, repeat these steps referring
to the above diagram for the layout. 


Sew the stem to the top of your fruit section,
pressing this seam open.  
 Finish as desired. 



 I chose to add a small border
before quilting, binding and hanging.


My 1 1/2" (unfinished) squares resulted in
a mini measuring 6 X 10.

   THE TABLERUNNER


Now that you've had a taste for how simple and
fun this block is, let's dig a little deeper into that
scrap bin and make a table runner!

For this one, I chose to use 2 1/2" (unfinished) HST's.
This resulted in a runner measuring approx 11 x 39".

8 background squares
12 HSTs in background/green combo
8 green squares
12 HSTs in background/yellow combo
32 yellow squares


Repeat the above steps for each pineapple.




Once you have two pineapple blocks completed,
choose your layout for your center section with
the remaining 4 HST's yellow/white combo.


Sew into pairs, pressing seam open.


Next, sew the two units together, pressing seam open.

Sew 2 background squares together; repeat with the other two.
Sew one of these units to each side of your HST "diamond"
as shown below.


Next sew this diamond unit to the tops of each of 
your pineapple blocks as shown.


Can't you just imagine a candlestick sitting right here?


Finish runner as desired.
For mine, I added a 2" (unfinished) border.




Other ideas for this block:

I ran out of time for more but how about pillows
for your sunroom or porch swing?  Casserole-sized 
pot holder? Or even a  whole pineapple quilt?
Just note that the block is twice as tall as it is wide!
All it takes is squares and HST's and you'll be
sending out a tropical welcome in no time!

And now for the giveaways!

The Grand Prize Package
$25 gift certificate from Rebecca Page
$25 gift certificate from Gardensong Fabrics
Fabulously Fast Quilts book by Amy Smart
(donated by Patrica’s Mia is Mine Blog)
Crib size Quilter’s Dream Dream Angel Batt (by Brenda)
Pieces of the Santa Fe Trail digital pattern (by Melva)
Aurifil thread (by Melva)
Three stash builder bundles (donated by Island Batik)

To enter to win the grand prize, please sign up with
the rafflecopter at the end of this post!

My Prizes


I have two little pulchritudinous pineapple embroidery
scissors, each paired with a FQ just waiting
for new homes among my followers.
(Fabrics are the closest to "tropical" I could find!)

To enter:  comment below telling me how you follow
 and your preference on the FQ's:  "Batik" or "Blue".
First choice goes to the first winner selected.
Hopefully the second winner will choose the other!
 (Sorry, US mainland residents only.)


My own giveaway will run through Sept 12th.
I'm not super technical so I'll have the hubs choose two
numbers on Sept 13th--my birthday!  Then I'll drop you
a line to the winners.  Please be sure to leave your email
address if you are a no-reply blogger!


I appreciate your visit and spending time with me
today!  Now it would be great to get to know you!
Please feel free to follow along by any method
listed off to the right there.
(Though Bloglovin' has been iffy lately!) 

Don't forget to visit the other posts for today
and the rest of the hop!

Happy quilting!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Get On Board with Sewing Blog Hop Line up

Thursday, September 1

Anorina                Samelia’s Mum

Brenda                 Songbird Designs

Cheree                 The Morning Latte

Denise                  For the Love of Geese

 

Friday, September 2

Karen                    Karen’s Korner 

Nancy                   Grace and Peace Quilting

Sharon & Susan Ms P Designs USA

Nina-Marie         Creations – Quilts, Art, Whatever

 

Monday, September 5

Karrin                    Karrin’s Crazy World

Linda                     Texas Quilt Gal

Yvonne                 Quilting Jetgirl

Emily                     The Darling Dogwood                    

 

Tuesday, September 6

Gail                        Quilting Gail

Joy                         Days Filled with Joy

Melisa                   Pinker ‘n’ Punkin Quilting & Stitching

Carol                      Quilt Schmilt     

 

Wednesday, September 7

Melva                   Melva Loves Scraps

Tammy                 Tamarinis

Leah                      Quilted Delights

Patricia                 Faith, Trust & Breast Cancer

Comments

Happy September, Cheree and what a wonderful project to begin the month with. Thank you so much for the instructions on how to create this sweet pineapple block. The tablerunner certainly brings the tropic indoors. Have a great day and happy quilting.
Karen's Korner said…
There is nothing more tropical than a pineapple. A great way to use up those scraps and end up with a lovely tablerunner.
piecefulwendy said…
What a cute little pineapple, and so many ways to use it! You do realize I had plans for another project today, but I might have to squeeze this one in. I follow you by email, and enjoy your posts!
Nancy L said…
Thanks for sharing your great pineapple idea.I always have a bunch of hst in my stash, so this will be a great way to use them. I followed you by email and blogger. I really like batiks but either fabric would be great to have.
Donna P. said…
Just started following you by clicking the above at the top. Love the pineapple table topper/runner.
Follow with email, bloglovin'. The red batik please. 24Tangent@gmail.com
Linda said…
Wow, wow! Your pineapples are adorable, the runner is beautiful. I want some of that pizza! Love your prizes, so thoughtful, those scissors! Great post - loved it all.
quiltingbydawn said…
Cute pineapple mini and table runner! Thanks for sharing!
Lori Smanski said…
thanks for sharing and for sharing your pattern on how to make it. Thanks for sharing the cheat sheets. Oh but this is a wonderful give a way.
I love both fabrics.
but I can see using the "burgundy" in our front room and the "Blue" in our kitchen
quilting dash lady at comcast dot net
Anne-Marie said…
Love your project! And the thought of the pizza has me drooling and it's not even close to lunch time yet! Blue is my favorite, but both are pretty and the scissors are really cute.
chrisknits said…
I have my Pineapple hanging by my back door. Maybe I should have it by my front door? LOL. But mine is fairly neon in Blues and Limes. That blue piece is lovely!
ShirleyC said…
I love this! Too cute!
Karrin Hurd said…
Lovely pineapple table runner. I love the blue piece. I just signed up to follow through email.
Melva said…
I didn't know about the pineapple being a symbol of hospitality. Love it! And so tropical.
I love your pineapple table runner. Pineapples are definitely tropical to me! Thank you for sharing your family and your inspirational story with us. I'm sure you will love your computer for Lucey! I use mine more than doing free motion...but just because it's quicker than ruler work. I love doing ruler work! LOL Thanks for joining us on the blog hop. Good luck with your quilt business!
Ivani said…
The pineapple welcome story is new to me. So cool. Love your table runner and mini wall hanging, Cheree. Oh yes, a trip to Jamaica sounds great for celebration!!!
I love your pineapple projects, Cheree! I've made a one pineapple mini, and it's hanging on the wall in my sewing room. But I really like the runner with two pineapples - so cute! I follow you on Instagram, and see you on To-Do Tuesday. Always enjoyable to see what's going on at your house! Hope you're feeling better.
I follow you on email since bloglovin doesn't work anymore. Love the pineapple pattern. Thank you for this giveaway.
annemarie said…
I follow you by email - have given up on bloglovin. I love the batik print. You can be so proud of your children - loved reading about your cadet - what a nice ring ceremony. It seems like just yesterday when he began his cadet adventure!
Hi Cheree! I enjoyed reading a bit about you! And love the pineapple block!!!
Karen said…
Hi Cherie! Great post, and I am so glad I follow by email. Pineapples are part of my Thanksgiving/Christmas decor so your pattern for the runner is a must-make. Thank you for that and for the chance at your give-away. Either of the FQs would work in my decor but those scissors❣️And, Happy Anniversary - we celebrated our 41st in June. The years have just flown by!
Quilting Gail said…
LOVE your pineapples!!! Thanks for sharing the pattern!
grammajudyb said…
OMGosh! The best pineapple tutorial ever! I’ve been wanting to make one “forever”! I
I follow you and other favorite bloggers by bookmarking blogs in Google! Bloglovin has been a “ problem child” lately! I’m just old fashioned I guess!

We have Dark red, denim blue and cream in our family room. So either FQ would be fab!

Hope you are on the mend…..I still have a lingering cough from my bout with the Coronavirus the first 3 weeks in August! Blech!
Lee said…
I love your pineapple block and appreciate the tutorial! It is on my list to make one!Congrats on 30 yrs and on your upcoming birthday! Lovely post and giveaways. I love both colors, but if I had to choose I would choose blue! Very kind of you and have a lovely weekend - I follow with bloglovn, but might need to change that as it has been very iffy....
Kathleen said…
The block and the runner are just perfect! I am loving the idea of using my scraps for these; so it shall be earmarked. I am following by email and love the blue bundle but the red would be lovely, too!
CyndyL said…
Love your pineapple, great instructions, I have saved it to make later for a Christmas present for my brother and his wife. They lived in Hawaii and Guam, so I think they would like this for a memory of their time spent there. I follow you on blogger and would love the batic, but would be happy with the blue if my name is drawn. Thank you for the giveaway.
Cathy C said…
Love your pineapple. I follow on IG . Love the blue batik.
Sherry said…
I enjoyed my visit here this morning. I now follow you by email. Thanks for sharing the pineapple projects. I have some premade half square triangles to take a look at to see if I can put this together quickly.
Either of your wonderful prizes would be lovely however I am ALWAYS attracted to teals and blues. I follow you on email. Bloglovin doesn't work anymore. Thank you for this giveaway.
Needled Mom said…
Your pineapple runner is fantastic and looks so nice with the lantern on it. I may have to make one for my table. Like you, I started sewing early with clothing and eventually turned to quilting. I continue to sew clothes, but enjoy quilting more.
What a cute table runner and thank you for the tutorial! We're also celebrating our 30yr anniversary this year :) But not in Jamaica, lol! Not sure where yet! xx
sam said…
Love your pineapple runner. I follow on Instagram and blog newsletter. My birthday was September 6 so here we are. Happy birthday. I love the blue fabric just a little more than the batik. They're both lovely.
Nina Marie said…
I'm officially jealous over your quilting room - so much space!!
Carol Andrews said…
Thank you Cheree for the sweet tutorial for both pineapple projects. Sorry to be so late to the hop, but you know…..life 😉