Finished up the final quilt for my thesis this afternoon! It feels good to get something else crossed off my to-do list! This quilt was started around 11 months ago. Finished quilt is 30"x55". Hand-dyed and un-dyed Kona Snow used to piece top, vintage sheet for the backing and shot cotton binding.
I had a hard time deciding how to quilt this top, which I think is why it sat unquilted for the better part of a year. The general consensus on flickr was to do channel quilting but I just wasn't feeling it. The dyeing and piecwork were imperfect and I wanted to emphasize that, not mask it. After a little help from friends I ended up settling on this ripple-like spiral quilting.
Luckily I had this wonderful dark pink shot cotton on hand from my last quilt shop run. It was the perfect match color-wise and texture wise alongside the modeled look of the hand-dyed fabrics.
This quilt was inspired by the techniques used by Elizabeth of Oh, Fransson, here. Her improvisational blocks made dyeing seem so accessible.
I promptly collected supplies to do this small batch dyeing: two packages of rit dye (I used red and yellow I believe), a pack of red plastic beer cups, and some Kona snow yardage. I cut my fabric into long strips to dye. The process was easy to follow and the results mixed. I had expected a more even dye. Having now experimented with wax-resist dye, I know why the result was uneven. Kona is not an ideal fabric for dyeing because of low thread count and sizing. I would have had better results with Kona PFD or Pimatex. The fabric was also not pretreated before dyeing. A simple soak in soda ash would have helped quite a bit!
In general I am happy with the final results of this quilt. After I put together the quilt top last year, I really did not like it. It sat in my sewing space for months before I finally pulled it out and hung it up unfinished. Now that it's quilted and bound I like it much better. I've come to accept it's imperfections!
I love the colors and the free, rippled quilting! It has a crisp, clean feel to it! Good job!
ReplyDeleteI love it. I love the quilting, really makes the quilt. Great one.
ReplyDeletelove the quilting!
ReplyDeletei think you picked the perfect quilting "pattern" for this quilt and that makes it shine!!
ReplyDeleteIt's great. I love the contrast of the quilting with the squares.
ReplyDeleteLovely ! I like colors, pattern, quilting !
ReplyDeleteI absolutely adore the colors of this quilt. Dying fabric is definitely something I'd love to try.
ReplyDeleteperfect colors, great job!
ReplyDeleteThat's very pretty. I think the quilting was an excellent choice! Do you do anything special to the fabric after dyeing so that it won't bleed when you wash the whole quilt?
ReplyDeleteIt's really pretty! Sometimes, taking a step away from a project is good, and it sounds like it was the right choice with this quilt. Now, you have a lovely quilt that is entirely handmade! Your dyeing is neat, and I appreciate the advice about using something other than Kona to dye for best results.
ReplyDeleteI love the ripples, and the colours you've used. It looks great!
ReplyDeleteI actually really like the effect of having dyed the Kona Snow vs a fabric better suited to handdying. I like the kind of ripply effect the dye had on the fabric and think it really makes it a much more interesting quilt than it might have been had it turned out with a more even dye pattern.
ReplyDeletegosh, i love these blocks! the colors are amazing together.
ReplyDeleteWell done! I'd give you an A+ for sure! ;-) As if my opinion matters, haha
ReplyDeleteHello Jeni ! I am a new follower of your blog and Flickr after I re-pinned some of your Pins on Pinterest :) I LOVE Pinterest! Consequently, I now LOVE your blog and truly appreciate the time and consideration you have put into it...wonderful information and tutorials.I am ready to learn to sew but haven't even made my first item yet, however, collecting vintage things is something I am passionate about and I have a question or two:
ReplyDelete1. Where can I find an online guide to Pyrex with the item #, pattern name, etc ?
2. How can I determine if a sheet is vintage while thrifting at Goodwill or another such store?
Thank you so much for all your help! You are inspiring!
Angie
I'm impressed that you did the dyeing. It's a beautiful quilt. Love the colors against the white!
ReplyDelete