Row M

Major Landmark
It's Row M all joined and sashed. Many a time, I thought I'd never see this day! I'm too excited to bother writing a poem.

It's impossible to not think of all that has happened in my life since I first started this project. I think of Jane Stickle, too. This song (from the Civil War era)  is on my mind, Hard Times Come Again No More. Here it is performed by Emmylou Harris and here by Yoyo Ma, James Taylor, and others. The lyrics are here.


One Little Tweak?
I may replace one block, D13 - Field of Dreams. It's too dark. It will be easy to replace -- it's at the end of a row and it's easy to make. Here's a close look at it. It's not the only batik, but its color is intense. What do you think?

As of April 29, 2012
All 13 rows are joined.

Some more blocks....on a roll!

I am loving these blocks! I can't believe I have done this many for April!... I have now done 5 blocks for April...so nearly up to my goal of doing one a month. By this I mean its 6 months since I did my last block last year and this month I have done 5. I hope to keep going and the next block is a tricky one. I am doing the blocks by the Central Rows so the next one is C-4 :) I am also trying to do the fabrics similar to Jane's in her quilt as I want the quilt to look very similar to hers....I just love it!

B-13

C-1

C-2

C-3

Thanks for stopping by...

hugs

April blocks

I have 2 blocks completed this month, and have chosen the next ones I will attempt.

These are blocks A5 and A12.

Row L

Look!
Lots of little lacy labyrinths!
The end is looming large!

La-dee-da! Row L

As April 27, 2012,
12 rows joined (A thru L)
13 blocks to go!


(I'm too excited to write a long poem or tweak these washed out photos!)

Row K

A know-it-all with a knack for knuckling-down knocked-off a quilt.
Who knew?
Keep on keeping-on.

Kudos for quilters' keen kaleidoscopic keepsakes in Kentucky, Kansas, Korea, Kenya, Kwait, Katar, Kashmir, Kandahar,and Kurdistan .
Keep on keeping-on.

Kudos for kites, kilts, kisses, kittens, koalas, kangaroos, and kings.
Keep on keeping-on. 

Kitchen kudos for knishes, kumquats, kasha, and kale. 
Keep on keeping-on. 


Kudos for kismet, karaoke, Kabuki, Kabbalah, and kryptonite. 
Keep on keeping-on . . . Row K.

As of April 24, 2012

11 rows done (A through K).
2 rows to go.
26 blocks remain. 

Block B-12

Finally....after 6 months I have finally made block B-12. I kept putting it off because I thought it was going to be a hard one. I ended up appliqueing the shapes onto the 5 inch square by using needle turn applique. I actually enjoyed sewing it so I dont know why I kept putting it off.

I am now off to sew B-13....super dooper easy peasy one.

If you want to join this blog by becoming a member we have some places available still...just send me an email and I will add you to the blog. My email addie is up the top in the Contact Us page.

Also if you have become a member and I havent yet put your blog link up on the sidebar please let me know and I will add it.

Make sure you tell me your blog addie tho.

Hugs to all....

K-6 Unwonked

As I prepared to join the blocks in Row K, I realized that K6 – Ann’s Folley was screaming to be unwonked. The source of the problem? The long sides of the triangles were cut on the bias. Tonight I noticed that another block made with the same pink fabric also got wonky. The fabric is pretty cheesy -- it's going to stretch and wonk every chance it gets. To fix this block . . .

I pulled off the side pieces . . .

trimmed the sides to straighten them . . .

drew new seam lines on the back . . .

cut new pieces for the sides and sewed them together.

I'm really glad I took the time to fix this, or it would have been next to impossible to set into the sashing.

4 new blocks for April

I have 4 to add for this month:

D-1 Alison's guiding light

 D-9 Uncle Richard

 D-5 Cathedral Window

D-8 Dee Dee's Delight

I can't remember the last time I posted a block ...

I am happy to say that I achieved 2 yesterday and did it feel good to be back in the saddle again.

E3

E8

both in my favourite colour

Justin's Comet

Let me start by saying, I've always avoided mitered corners (unless binding) or set in corners, whatever the correct term is.  I'm a quilter who likes straight lines and simple intersections. So I printed the template directions from the Dear Jane software and cut my fabric and sat down to sew.

The picture above shows the first set in corner I have ever attempted.  Let me tell you, believe it or not it was a piece of cake.

So I continued with the other four corners and they came together just as easy.

I'm not sure what the right method or order of stitching is for this block. So I came up with my own plan as I went along.

Almost there now, just two more pieces to sew in.  Would you believe it only took me about 30 minutes to put this block together?  I think it's my favorite one I've attempted so far.  But that could be because it's provided the least frustration.  Or it could be that it is the most recent one I've completed. I think that's what happens.  Whichever one you just did is your favorite Baby Jane.

I hope you're still loving your Baby Jane.



A1

Block A1, finished April 12

Where has this month gone???

I have not done too much on my 'Baby Jane has the Blues' for a few weeks as we were holidaying in Vanuatu!!! A lovely 10 day break in the sun before winter arrives.........

I did complete one block in row E before I went away, so here it is:

E-3

Jane's Addicted - April Update

Four More Blue Diamonds...

I am doing my version of the Jane A. Stickle quilt in civil war reproductions, and am trying to keep a pretty traditional look to it. I am, however, "rearranging the furniture." In other words, I have rearranged the layout of the blocks based on value and motif, and am using a 'trip around the world' color scheme. The center is green, the four blocks around that are yellow stars, and the design goes out from there. The section of the quilt I'm focusing on right now is the "big blue diamond" - a large blue diamond that goes from top to bottom and side to side, that is made up solely of blocks with diamond motifs. (see above) 

I was sick when I realized I forgot to reverse "shutterbug" and will redo that at some point. (but not now)... I'm stalling on Mac and Muff - the tiny reverse applique is still intimidating me. I am picking up some skills though, that's for sure. Much to be learned. I'm enjoying the process...

Jane's Addicted - http://janesaddicted.blogspot.com/

... And a triangle:

TR-1 - Spanish Moss

One more block

We went away for Easter to visit family so I thought/hoped I would have lots of time to sit down and sew and make lots of progress on my Dear Jane. Well I didn't progress as much as I thought/wanted but at least I have finished one more block L3 Reflections Abound which I had started at the end of March. I have even sewn the sashing and added it to my Row L.

I now have 115 blocks completed, another 54 to go and counting!
Celine

A day off from work...

I had the day off from work today and thought I would challenge myself with TR-1, one of the triangle blocks from Dear Jane.  The block is called Spanish Moss. As you can see, I used the paper piecing method for this one.

The block actually went together quicker than I thought it would. Now I'm feeling inspired to try a few more Dear Jane blocks. It's supposed to be a rainy-snowy weekend here in Colorado so maybe I'll get a few done.



A few little Janes...

Here are a few of the modern Jane blocks I've finished over the past couple of weeks.


Now it's time for me to start working on some of the triangles for my Civil War Jane. It will be nice to start filling out the borders for that quilt too.

H-5 Michael's Motorcycle

I am trying to get back to work on my blocks, so today I picked a pretty easy one, Michael's Motorcycle.  I re-drafted it to make the triangles in the middle as half square triangles.  It didn't press too well because of all the bias in the middle, but I think once it's set in the quilt it will behave just fine. 

Tomorrow will be a work day, so maybe I can get one of the applique blocks ready to take with me.  Then I can work on it during my breaks.  I probably should spend a day and get several prepped for days when I need to do some hand work. 

Time to start pushing these out if I want to be finished by August!

My first post!

This is my first post here :)  I just started my Dear Jane journey this year.  I'm using Deb Strains "Coming Home" fabric line for the whole thing.  Well at least that's how I'm starting out, who knows how I'll finish!!

Here's my first 9 blocks.  I do paper piecing when I can, I love paper piecing.  I don't think I'll ever have this many blocks to show at once again :)

A-4, B-13, A-6, C-1

A-8, B-4, C-3

A-1, A-2

I hope to get a couple more done this weekend.  So far so good :)

Row J and a Jillion Janiacs

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A jillion jolly Janiacs jauntily jumped into Jane’s jigsaw joinery of jades, jaspers, and jonquils.
A jillion jiffy Janiacs jockeyed jobs, jargon, and jitters to justify their jigsaw joinery.
A jillion jesting Janiacs jabbered and journaled about their journey through Jane’s jigsaw jungle.
A jillion jubilant Janiacs were joyful in January, June, and July – just because.

Jeepers! Row J!

10 rows done (A through J).
3 rows to go.
39 blocks remain.

More photos and blogging re: on my most recent rows -- here and here.

Repeating Fabrics and Woven Sashing

I do repeat fabrics in my Dear Jane quilt but I placed the "repeats" so they are not side-by-side . . . that is, until I discovered this as I joined Row I. Many times, I've fantasized making a DJ quilt entirely from one background fabric and 1-13 other fabrics with great fussy cut options. This might be as close as I get to executing that idea, since I decided to focus on finishing this quilt and do not plan to make a second DJ quilt.

BTW, this may be one of my best photos showing the woven sashing. It's so subtle; I'm hoping that the quilting will bring it out.