Thursday, July 13, 2017

A Proper Pineapple Block - and some Dyeing

After the paper piecing debacle yesterday, I was determined to make a proper pineapple block.  This time I did it by a more traditional piecing method.  This was cut/sew/trim and repeat.  The good part is that I got a pineapple block that I am happy with.
The best part is that I can now repeat it if I want to make more of them. And now, I can change sizes and alternate colors if I desire - because I know how it works.  Yaay!

I also have been playing with fabric dyeing again.  My goal was to mix a couple of specific colors.  That was a semi-failure.  I was going for Mint Green and Lilac Purple.   I think the Lilac is pretty close - close enough that I am happy with it and I have the formula written down.  The mint green - ha ha!  It isn't even green.  I had found a formula online for a color that looked close on the chart they showed.  Mine is blue not green.  Sigh!  I did a "re-do" that is still soaking.  I think it may be close but it isn't what I consider "mint green."
When I was dyeing these I also played with the concept of dyeing shades of the same color. In person you can see that the purple is three shades, but it didn't translate so well in my photo.
The other has a less defined shade variation.  I suspect that I should have made a wider variation in the amount of dye to water in these.
Still, here is the "not mint green" blue batch.
The one on the left is obviously lighter but the middle and right one are very close in value.

The fact is, I don't consider any of this a "failure" - it was a great learning experience for me. The fabrics are certainly useable for quilting so nothing was wasted.  I declare it a "win."

In case you are wondering, I watched both of the pineapple quilt block classes on Creativebug.  I used the traditional version to make this block.  Since the improv version uses the same technique with only a few variations, I feel sure I can do some improv ones if I want to.

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6 comments:

Vicki W said...

For good shades you might try starting with a darker base. It's hard to get good shades when you start off light.

Debbie said...

The pineapple block turned out fabulous! And I bow to Vicki for the dying project as I only tried it once ages ago. But your results are good and will be good light values.

Barbara said...

Loving the pineapple, Gene!

Jeanna said...

The pineapple block finished perfectly. I love how you set the center on point, slightly different than the outside pieces.

The fabrics came out nice, can't wait to see the green one.

Marlene said...

The pineapple block looks great. I had to go back to take a second look after reading Jeanna's comment about it being set "on point". I probably wouldn't have noticed a directional element to a checkerboard fabric and would have ended up with that effect unintentionally!

The "mint" fabric is not too terribly far from target, I would think. At the moment it looks "seafoam green" to me, leaning more to the blue side of blue-green.

A Left-Handed Quilter said...

Your pineapple block turned out well - it seems like we need to find a "rhythm" when we FPP - get the sequence down - get in the "zone" - rinse and repeat - LOL. And like Marlene, I had to go back to take a second look after reading the "on point" comment. Your dyeing results look like a "win" to me - lighter shades are hard to find sometimes - and yours are very nice - ;))