I got up early the other day and had something to eat, then went into the studio and pinned the binding to the front of the Blushing Zebras quilt. Then I ran it though the sewing machine and finished it.
Now that Daylight Savings Time is over it is brighter and warmer in the studio in the morning, so I work in there then, and do other things in the afternoon. That room gets chilly when the sun goes around to the other side of the house and then dips behind the trees.
Blushing Zebra looks fabulous on your bed!!!!
ReplyDeleteShe is going to LOVE LOVE LOVE both of these, and YOU for making them for her.
ReplyDeleteI love the scrappy goodness of this quilt! Is it from a published pattern, or is it improv?
ReplyDeleteSally it is called "Sliced" from Amy Ellis' book, Modern Neutrals, Martingale Press 2013.
DeleteWhen I tie a quilt, I use a large eye needle, with a nice point on it and a bit larger than regular sewing needles. I thread the needle with the yarn and cut a doubled tail of the yarn about a yard long.
ReplyDeleteThen I take the first stitch at my chosen point, pressing the needle down through all layers and back up about 1/2 inch or less from the entry point. Then I stop and tie off that first stitch, going "right over left, then left over right." I don't cut the yarn! Next, I move over about three or four inches and take the next "bite" of fabric for the second knot or tie.
Here is where the needle does the tying: I pull the yarn all the way through the fabric, then toss the yarn loop up onto the quilt and bring the needle over and back under the previous stretch of yarn, pulling it tight and beginning the second tie, totally with the needle.
Then I toss the yarn down below that beginning knot, and bring the needle up over and under the same stretch of yarn, pulling the yarn taut so the tied yarn completes the knot.
Without cutting the yarn, I go on to the next spot for the next tie, and do the same thing over again, etc. When I've used all the yarn, and can't make another knot, I cut the last bit of yarn to my planned length of ties, usually about an inch and a half.
Then I go back along the tied yarn length lying on top of the quilt and I snip the yarn in between the ties. If I feel the ties are too long i cut them a bit shorter, but if I cut them too short, they tend to come untied before use of the quilt has made the yarn knot grab together and keep the knot tied. Tying the quilt as you go makes this final quilting step much shorter.
I'm sure somewhere online there is a simple explanation of this "tie as you go" method of quilting, but I couldn't find a nice, short one, so I hope you don't mind my effort to explain a faster, quicker and more fun method of tying a quilt.
Thank you for your blog and for showing us so many beautiful quilts! RuthW in MD