Sashing Prep: Method to My Madness

Basket-weave sashing: 5:x1" and 10" x 1"

I'm all done sashing my blocks but I wanted to post this info on how I prepare the blocks and sashing before I start stitching them together. While I used a woven pattern, the same prep would be done for regular sashing, too. Before adding the sashing to each row . . .

• The sashing pieces are cut, seamlines and corners (dots) are marked. The short strips have 4 dots; the long strips have 8 dots. Because I was doing woven sashing, I had short and long strips.
• The seamlines on every block are checked for accuracy. Some applique blocks start out with no seamlines marked at all!

It's painstaking, but it helps control the wonks. Just look at the "migrating seamlines" in the Row K samples below. That pink block just barely had a seam allowance! It was a real nail biter! I remember when I made it. I had not made a block in many months and forgot many little tricks I had learned along the way....like putting a generous seam allowance around the outside of each block. I got all done, realized my error and just groaned. Luckily, I had enough to join it to its neighboring blocks -- just barely. Click the photos to enlarge them.

4.5" x 4.5" template is key to getting the job done.

Note the migrating seamlines (left and right) and a pink nail-biter (center)!

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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.

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. 

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.

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.

Adhesive Thimbles

 

I just bought them today and have yet to try them.
Has anyone tried the new adhesive thimbles?
Do you like working with them?

Another Row, Another Poem

Jane's quilt is ingenious, inventive, imaginative, impressive, and inspired.

Its impact is immense, illusive, immeasurable.

Immersed in idolization, I (and others) itch to imitate it with an independent interpretation.

Are there imitators in Iceland, Ireland, India, Iraq, Israel, Italy, and Indonesia? Inevitably.

Indeed, it is iconic. 

Row I 

9 rows done (A through I).

4 rows to go.

52 blocks await joining.

A3

I handstitched this block over a year ago. You can read the details here. The fabric in the center was one of my favorites and I used it several times in the quilt. Often, I thought it would have been fun to use one fabric over and over in all the blocks and see how many different ways I could cut the fussycuts.

A Poem for Jane

Rows A-G

Little by little, I'm (hand) sewing together my square blocks...with a woven sashing. It was on Row E that I decided to write something creative for each row....using as many words as I could that started with the same letter as that row. Here are 4 links to the poems for Rows E,   F,  G,   and H.

If you don't want to do the clicks, here's the Row H writing:



Where did it happen?
Hotel?
Hospital?
Hippodrome?
Hinterland?
Himalayas?


Hooey!


How did it happen?
Hoping?
Hovering?
Harping?
Humming?
Hibernating?
Hocus-pocus?
Hypnosis?


Hell no, honey!


Hallowed helping hands?


Hardly!

Here's the humble harvest from the heights of her hasty handstitching habit!
Hail!
Row H
Hip! Hip! Hooray!

A-1 Redraft

This was one of my last blocks. I started out working on random blocks and then later went to the center of the quilt and worked my way out. It is one of many blocks that look one way in the photo of Jane's block and another way in the book's draft. I decided to redraft it. You can read the details here.

A2 - Redrafted

I redrafted this block to accomodate my fussycuts. You can read about the details here.

Dear Jane Redrafts

Sometimes Brenda's drafts do not match the photos of Jane's blocks. When that happens, I often redraft the block. Out of the 169 square blocks, I redrafted over 30 of mine. For a complete list with links, go to my Dear Jane page and scroll down to "Follow Jane, Brenda, or Minka." In that section, I also link to other blogs that address the variations on the blocks -- including Connie's meticulous photos of the original quilt.

Here's one of my redrafts, H2 - Jacob Anthony. You can read about the redraft here along with photos that show why and how I changed the block.

I hope this helps!
Minka

Another Janiac

Where Do I Begin?
When Did I Begin?
I was so excited when I discovered this blog! What fun! I've been working on my DJQ so long that I don't remember what year I started -- LOL! I just know it was the late 1990s! I am humbled by speedy quiltmakers.

Lots of Changes
To date, I have made all my square blocks...15 of them were made twice or thrice because I changed my colors midstream. You can read about all my fretting over colors here. I started making my first blocks on the machine but that did not last long. I just could not get enough control and clearly, I prefer handwork. I kept 4 of the early machine-sewn blocks but all the rest were done by hand. You can see my stats, etc. on the Dear Jane page of my blog.

Today and Tomorrow
Lately, I've been joining my blocks -- rows A through G, so far. I'm trying to decide if I want to make the triangles or not. If I do, then I've got lots to figure out because I'm running out of the background fabric. (The early editions of the book listed the wrong amount.)

I look forward to following everyone's progress. It's always fun to see the different variations on Jane Stickle's quilt.
Minka