Needing some tips about Dear Jane

On Thu, 21 Jul 2011 11:35:11 -0500, Polly Esther wrote (in article ):

I've never done one, so I guess I don't know the rules. But I think similar yet different backgrounds would be stunning.

Maureen

Howdy!

"Anything goes!"

Blue & white by our own Tutu Haynes:

Cheers!

R/Sandy - leav> I don't know what I'm talking about but has that ever stopped me? NOoooo.

Oh Pati, it was great to read your post! Especially where you say you were a beginner when you started! LOL! That would be me! I wish I could join a group too. AFAICT, there aren't any locally and few local shops have even heard of the Jane A. Stickle quilt.

Just today, I decided to start with the triangles too. My friend and I are expecting to have a planning session over the Christmas holidays (that's the soonest she can get here, since she lives on the other side of the country :-( ). I'm in honour bound not to start without her, but she's not going to add the border of triangles and I am. (This only dawned on me last night - duh!) So, I guess I'll start piecing the triangles and see how I go.

I've already picked a few difficult blocks and made practice pieces of them. So far, so good. It looks like much of the piecing will be on foundations and for that, we plan to use a light sew-in interfacing. It travels quite well through the printer and will be much easier to get the foundations on to. I'm also re-drafting the block patterns so that they measure 6½" - I have a king-sized bed and need the extra area.

My latest thoughts have been 'I wonder if I could do quilt-as-you-go on this?' and so that's what I think of as I lie in bed at night. Still haven't quite got the plan properly in my head, but I will, I will! LOL!

I can't wait to get started: this is promising to be so much fun!!! ;-D

How enterprising of you to change the block size. Most of the designs fit neatly into the size; so will be easy enough to do 'proportionally'. You might have to work a bit on a few! As to the quilt as you go. I think that is actually a great idea. There are various methods 'out there'. But, I was thinking ... I would think that with such relatively small blocks, this quilt might be a candidate for a false back. You could use a fine muslin for the block backing, so that you could quilt them. Then, after they have all been sewn together with the sashing, you could choose the backing you really want (don't forget there are extra width fabrics, because you will already have a lot of seam thickness), and tie it to the top at, perhaps, every corner. The ties could be a feature, if you like that idea, or virtually invisible. See what you think. If I were a great one for block quilts (which I'm not, usually - I tend to do more whole area designs), I would have tried this method by now. Maybe it is in my future! I have tried a couple of the usual methods, but only for testing purposes.

I'm so glad Pati came in with her tips. You really are going to have fun, you know! . In message , Trish Brown writes

What a brilliant idea, Pat.

I have always like the idea of QAYG - but shied away from all the ways of making it look all of a piece. Clever way around the back problem:-)

Thankyou.

I'm working on mine right now! I have found the software to be worth its weight and price! I provides both templates and foundation piecing patterns. A good many of the blocks can be foundation pieced which makes it a point-perfect process. It also allows you to sort the blocks by difficulty level -- which is nice. You could also resize the blocks to 6 inch blocks if you wish -- which makes them a little easier to work with - but if you plan to make the exact quilt it would be huge! You could start with the beginner blocks and work your way to the more difficult blocks. You do not need the actual EQ software to run the Dear Jane software. The software is $50 -- but if you split it -- you could print the patterns to a PDF file and email the templates to each other. I would be lost without it!

As for fabrics -- Keepsake quilting would be a place to look. Here is a bundle of 50 FQ's. Do you plan to make your quilt "charm style" -- without repeating any of your primary fabrics? I would say a 5" charm will not work for all blocks. You are going to drive yourself crazy trying to scrimp so you don't run short as you cut your pieces. I am using layer cakes (10" squares) and bought several packs of them.

Feel free to email me privately if you have any questions. I'm about 60% done with the center blocks (the 4 1/2" blocks). Hope to have them all done by Thanksgiving!

Oddly, my quilting buddy (who now lives at the exact opposite end of the country) has been infected independently of me and mentioned it yesterday in a phone call. We had an 'AHA!!!' moment and began planning how we could do a quilt-along, even though we're thousands of miles apart. This is good! We figure:

i) we can work slowly along and support each other by email ii) we can share/swap fabrics to keep costs down iii) we agree we'd both like to use 1930s prints and solids iv) there are lots of online blogs with tips and instructions v) a Dear Jane would be a Very Good Idea - think of all the experience we'd gain!

Our main problems are:

i) we're really only beginning quilters without all that many difficult blocks behind us ii) neither of us has anyone nearby to offer help/advice in person iv) it's *really* hard to find a big enough selection of fabrics in the

So, with all the above as background, and keeping in mind that our plan is to make each block from a different print and use toning 1930s solids as background, here are my main questions:

Roughly how much fabric do you need for each block in a Dear Jane?

Is it a good idea to collect charm packs? Is a 5" charm square big enough to make one block? Should/can we buy fat eighths? (Easy here in Oz, not so easy in the US) Should we buy fat quarters and share them? Would it be cheaper/more sensible to just use white fabric for the background and buy 15 yards each of it?

Finally, does anyone have any recommendations for good online US shops? We really need to count our pennies on this and it's *lots* cheaper to buy online than from local sources.

If anyone's done/doing a Dear Jane, would you please share your wisdom so Trisha and I can get started? Thanks heaps! ;-D

I'm drafting our blocks to be a bit larger (6½") and so I've started from scratch in CorelDraw. It's easy and fun. Let's see if the 'ease and fun' element remains after 225 blox!

Yes, I think that's a great idea. Trisha is a lot better at foundation piecing than me and I'm a dab hand at appliqué. This should work well for us.

Thank you! Good luck with the big finish! I'm *busting* to get started, but I did promise to wait until the Christmas hols. I s'pose I'll just have to phondle all the pretty phabrix until then. Or, maybe, make a leetle incursion into the triangles on the QT. ;-D

I thought that would be the case, but you just try to resize that blasted ¼" seam allowance on a triangle or trapezoid! I've had to revisit my (old and rusty) drafting skills - which is A Good Thing, really. I'm enjoying it hugely!

Ooo! I love the sound of the false back! I'm thinking that, if I sash the quilt, I could simply SITD along the sashing strips after the back is attached. Straight lines are a lot easier to machine quilt than all those wiggly ones I see on YouTube!

YES!!! I've made a few practice blox, just to see if I can do it and it's so much easier than I thought it'd be. I'm thinking some of the foundation piecing is going to be a challenge, but I'll be sensible and start easy. Thanks so much for your input - I feel so rich with all these great ideas coming my way. ;-D

I love to 'hear' the enthusiasm in your writing! Tiny word of warning (sorry!): SITD is not as easy as it sounds >g

LOL! So do I! I've done so many different crafts and hobbies in my life, but quilting has come along kinda late-ish to me. It's so exciting to be able to start something completely new, but not too unfamiliar (I've been a person-who-sews since I was four).

Yes, I hear you! I haven't tried SITD yet, but my friend assures me it's dead easy. Hah! Just like high school dressage: quite simple *as long as you know what you're doing*!

O no, I wouldn't leave the blox unquilted: I'd quilt them as I went ('go-ed'?) and then do the sashing thing with the false back. So many ideas to think of and I haven't even put my scissors into fabric yet. I've printed out the first half-dozen foundations for triangles and keep looking at them meaningfully. Hmmmm...

;-D

Please! Just do a practice triangle! You can say you needed to do one to see if your fabric estimate was correct! Roberta in D

(clipped)

Ha-ha!

Returning to SITD: it is dead easy if you don't mind wobbles!!

If you do decide to do it, a couple of things which should help: if you quilt along the lower side of the seam it will be marginally easier. You will have observed that, if you press seams to the side, there is a high side and low side to every seam. However, the side 'prongs' of the presser foot will be a slightly different levels to one another. Exception is if you press your seams open.

when you are quilt>> I love to 'hear' the enthusiasm in your writing!

--Note this reply is completely OT--

Dear Trish

I have recently revived my fledgling interest in quilting through an aborti= ve BOM (too hard to do on my own!) and a couple of expensive lessons at a l= ocal shop which have left me with basic piecing skills but no idea of how t= o attach a quilt top to its border or backing, so tonight I decided to have= a look in rctq because rctn was such a great way to learn lots about cross= stitch when I first got interested in that, back in the mid 90s.

What a pleasure to find a post by you almost as soon as I started scrolling= through recent rctq topics! It was like walking into a room expecting to s= ee only strangers, and hearing a familiar voice. You probably don't remembe= r me, but I used to post as l_goddess_l or mooncat1973 on rctn around 1995-=

Warmest regards Alex (formerly of WA, earlier of Newcastle, and now of Canberra)

BOM (too hard to do on my own!) and a couple of expensive lessons at a local shop which have left me with basic piecing skills but no idea of how to attach a quilt top to its border or backing, so tonight I decided to have a look in rctq because rctn was such a great way to learn lots about cross stitch when I first got interested in that, back in the mid 90s.

through recent rctq topics! It was like walking into a room expecting to see only strangers, and hearing a familiar voice. You probably don't remember me, but I used to post as l_goddess_l or mooncat1973 on rctn around 1995-2005. I still think of you and your Boring Stories now and again.

I remember you, Alex! Thanks for your kind comments - I haven't done any 'proper' stitching in quite a while because the quilting bug bit and - well - here I am.

My advice (aside from asking for group wisdom here, of course) is to get stuck into YouTube. There's all sorts of helpful videos there to show you how to piece, baste and quilt. I'm still a raw beginner meself, having only a few quilts under my belt. I've embarked on my Jane A. Stickle quilt and have been having *so* much fun with it. Gee, I hope I can stay the distance: it's so absorbing and so *darned* complicated. LOL!

Chuck a google image search of 'Dear Jane' to see many scrumptious versions of this remarkable quilt. I've done three of the border triangles in 1930s prints - only 222 blox to go! =:-O

ortive BOM (too hard to do on my own!) and a couple of expensive lessons at= a local shop which have left me with basic piecing skills but no idea of h= ow to attach a quilt top to its border or backing, so tonight I decided to = have a look in rctq because rctn was such a great way to learn lots about c= ross stitch when I first got interested in that, back in the mid 90s.

ling through recent rctq topics! It was like walking into a room expecting = to see only strangers, and hearing a familiar voice. You probably don't rem= ember me, but I used to post as l_goddess_l or mooncat1973 on rctn around 1=

Oh, dear, Trish. I can understand the quilting overtaking the 'proper' needlework... not enough hours in the day to do it all!! And taking on the Dear Jane early in your career is true to form.

I just checked out some of the DJ links and *boggled* at it. So many blocks! So many SORTS of blocks! Good luck. :-) I think the Kaffe Fasset one quoted earlier in the thred is my favourite, love the rainbow in the arrangement - though I saw an indigo one that was lovely too. Not for me, though. I'll stick with my L-plates for now thanks!

YouTube had crossed my mind as a resource, and I'll be doing some watching this weekend while I struggle with binding, backing and quilting a complete "patchwork" cot sized top I bought at a recent craft fair. Good practice, and nicer than buggering up the quilt top I'm currently piecing. Babysteps on all fronts!

I'll have to try and be a mostly-lurker on rctq so I can get some time in at the needle. I have a two year old girl now who keeps me busy when I'm not at work. She's looking forward to getting her first pieced quilt finished soon - loves the colours in the jelly roll I chose for it. This is my study in basic cutting and piecing technique, so I can then make a lovely eye-spy quilt. We chose the fabrics for that one together!

:-) Alex