Sunday, September 27, 2009

Quilt Finished and Yarn Dyeing

Last night I finished the binding on the kid size lap quilt I've been working on. I didn't have very much to finish so it went quickly. I'm donating this quilt as the friend who gave me the main fabric knits for charity very regularly. I think she'd be pleased that I'm doing so. This is only the 2nd quilting project I have finished. The first was a table runner for my mom made from the scraps of the first quilt top I finished. I'm pleased that there are some finished projects coming out of my quilting even if I am giving them all away!
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When binding, do you stitch up into the mitered corned or just take a stitch or 2 at where the fabric meets? I've heard about both methods. I did 2 each way. The 2 where I just took a stitch or 2 in the corner where the fabric meets seem to look more pleasing. I ran out of fabric for the binding so I used the little bits I'd cut off from my strips for the main body of the quilt.
As I type, it's in the washer. I was a bit hesitant to wash it. Let's hope it doesn't fall apart!
The color is more accurate in this photo.
Last weekend there was a Midnight Knit In at my LYS, KnitWitz. There was a special learning opportunity - yarn dyeing! Jane was the instructor and did a fantastic job! It's a different method that what I've learned but there is no one method in dyeing yarn. You really can't do it wrong. There was a lot of interest and since I'd dyed before, I just watched and took some pictures. Everything was set up outside and thankfully it was not one of those humid days when it's miserable to be outside after dark.
This method was to take loosely balled yarn and dip it into dye. Then you squeeze out the excess, turn your ball, and dip it in another color. Fun!
Rinse and spin out the excess! Isn't it pretty?
Hang up to dry!
I've seen several of the dried yarn skeins and they're beautiful. I can't wait to see what everyone does with them!

14 comments:

Susan said...

Your quilt turned out great, Jackie! I give most of my quilts away too...after all just how many quilts does one need?

On to the yarn dyeing...that looks like so much fun! What kind of dye did they use?

Robin (RsIslandCrafts) said...

Your quilt looks great! When I am hand sewing my binding down I put a couple stitches in the mitered corner to tack it down. If I am machine sewing the binding in place, I take 1-2 stitches into the corner and then backstitch back out again.

Barb said...

Your corners look wonderful.....how did you do them, mine look horrible.

julia said...

Beautiful and fun! These will be gorgeous made into sweaters, scarfs, etc....

imquilternity said...

Well, for a beginner quilter, you're doing excellent work! I love the quilt and your corners are perfect. I usually just take a couple stitches at each corner, because I'm lazy and no one is going to care which way I do it! Now, if it was for a competition where it would be judged, that would be a different story.

I've wanted to dye yarn for quite awhile now and wish a yarn shop down my way would offer it. It looks like soooooo much fun! Thanks for sharing. Those balls of drying yarn are gorgeous!

Pat said...

Your quilt turned out very nice and the hand-dyed yarns look BEAUTIFUL!!

Anonymous said...

Hello Jackie,

Thank you for visiting me! Congrats on your new Bernina!! I hope you are enjoying BSR-ing! :)

Your quilt looks lovely. I love the colors. And your binding is PERFECT! You must be so proud of yourself, and you ought to be!

Anonymous said...

Your quilt turned out so cute! I love that you pieced the binding. I have never seen yarn dyed that way either. If you can get a photo of how it knits up and post it. I am curious how the inside strands dye, the color spacing, and how it effects the color pattern of a knitted item. Using the lettuce spinner to get the water out is a great idea!

Lori Holt said...

I take just 1-2 stitches in the corner also. I love that yarn...interesting way to dye it!
Fabulous.
x
lori

QuiltSue said...

Love, love, LOVE the quilt. Well done on that. Yarn dyeing looks fun too. I'd be really interested to see how it knits up, but there are some fabulous looking colour combinations hanging up there.

As for the mitred corners, I don't usually stitch. Most of my quilts are given to non-quilters, so they don't know if I should have done it or not!

woolwoman said...

Congratulations on the finshes Jackie - a finish is a finish even if it is gifted or donated. Still a feeling of accomplishment. loved seeing the photos from the midnight knit dyeing party. I agree - the results were very nice for a first attempt. Mel

Candace said...

Your quilt turned out gorgeous, Jackie! I learned a while back that if you want your quilt judged, you should stitch into the corner both front and back (which I now do even though my quilts aren't judged), but if not - the quilt maker can have her own say - LOL!
Love the yarn dyeing process - how fun is that!
Cheers!

Mary Johnson said...

I hand stitch my bindings and put a couple stitches in both sides of the miter.

Anonymous said...

Binding the quilt is my favorite part of the process! I machine stitch the binding onto the front, hand stitch the back, and use a ladder stitch for the mitered corners.

Love those dyed yarn balls! I second the motion that you post pictures of whatever you make with them! - Peggi