A Cool Summertime Quilt

Aloha, Summertime Stitchers!
During our California heat wave this summer I was really craving something cool and breezy to stitch.  Not too hard or too complicated. Something fun and bright and tropical....

And I decided to play around with the traditional "pineapple" quilt block and see if I could create a modern looking design using more contemporary colors.  Here's what I came up with - the TROPICAL PINEAPPLE QUILT, using happy turquoise and tangerine colors:

Boy, was this fun to stitch!!
I've stitched a zillion quilts with traditional colors and ecru backgrounds, but it struck me recently that I have never worked a quilt pattern on white 18 ct. canvas with a WHITE background - Sheesh!! So this summer seemed the perfect time to try something new.... and the pineapple block is a perfect way to play with these tropical colors.  I used two variegated threads for the quilt blocks - Watercolours 208, "Tangerine" for the oranges, and Watercolours 331, "Summer Fields" for the tropical mix; then I added a few cool solid color #5 pearls, with two metallic ribbons in blue and orange for a sassy bit of stitchy bling!   Here's another view of those fun and easy pineapple blocks, showing how the interlocking blocks create a dazzling graphic look that's surprisingly modern, especially with the white background:

And as I was stitching with these happy beachy colors, I also was imagining how gorgeous this would look in other colors. Doing it all in reds and whites would be wonderful for a Christmas pillow.  Or how about all in beachy blues, for yet another summertime look?  Lime green and sky blue?  Purple and green??  The possibilities are endless with this cutie, and if you're interested in picking out your own colors, I recommend finding a variegated thread (or two) that you love, then building your thread palette around them.

So, Stitchers, if you're sweltering in your own heat wave summer, and looking for something to keep you cool, please splash on over to my website and see the ordering information on this refreshing new TROPICAL PINEAPPLE QUILT!