Dear Jane Quilt Update - 2015 New Year's Eve Edition

Dear Jane Quilt Update - 2015 New Year's Eve Edition

Happy New Year to everyone.  I thought I would take this opportunity to do a progress report on my Dear Jane Quilt.  Progress has been a bit slow over the past few weeks, so this is also a little motivational post for myself.

Dear Jane Quilt Update - December 2015, EQS

Here is the layout of the quilt with the completed blocks in their assigned placing using my Electric Quilt Dear Jane software.  The scheduled plan is to get all those white spaces filled up by next December, so I think today I will have a 'Dear Jane' block cutting day.

Dear Jane Quilt Update - December 2015

The Kim Diehl fabrics are really starting to come together now that there are more colours than just orange.  A new Kim Diehl range has just been launched, 'Sunday Best' ,and I am very tempted to get them to add to my collection. They are really hard to get hold of in the UK, but you will see that I have managed quite well so far.

Dear Jane Quilt Update - December 2015

You can see that I have done loads more orange blocks than any other colour and I still have 'purple' to do.  The triangles have not come up in my regular draws, so I expect there will be a glut of them at some stage in the near future.


Dear Jane Quilt Update - December 2015

Suzi has enjoyed me being home over the holidays and has got her sewing mojo back. She is a bit more interested in the Allietare Mystery Quilt than Dear Jane and is currently waiting for the next stage to be posted.

I have started posting some of the blocks up on a Pinterest page where it is much easier to look at them together, but I will keep posting my progress here.


Dear Jane Quilt - Block L6 Maze of Madness

Dear Jane Quilt - Block L6 Maze of Madness

As I learnt from doing my Nearly Insane quilt blocks, some blocks are reminders of special days or trips.  L6 Maze of Madness was the block I completed over the course of Christmas Day 2016.  There are lots of tiny pieces in this one, including eight 1/4 inch squares.  My main worry is not how small they are to sew, but losing them as I travel about!

Techniques: English Paper Piecing
Pieces: 47

Allietare Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt 2015 - Part 5

Allietare Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt 2015 - Part 5

We really are building up a wide range of blocks for the Allietare Mystery quilt now.   Here I have laid them all out, some in their sets, others just piled high waiting for further instructions.  Everything is up to date as of five minutes ago whilst I finished my sewing in my pyjamas - I love the motivation of the Linky Party!

Allietare Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt 2015 - Part 5

No cutting this week, so I started it off easy by stitching the corners on those large pieces.  I made the most of the bonus triangle again and really have a substantial pile of them now.  The next step took a bit longer in order to get those points matching, but I am pleased with my results.


Allietare Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt 2015 - Part 5

Here are some arrangements made with this weeks blocks. All just for fun!


Allietare Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt 2015 - Part 5

To be honest I have NO IDEA where all this is going.  I know traditionally that Bonnie does the big reveal on New Years day - that is only 4 days away.  I know that we are no where near having completed the number of blocks required for a 82" x 96" quilt. What lies in store over the next few days - WHO KNOWS? Only Bonnie - she is such a tease.

Linking up with all those who have made it to Part 5 on the 2015 Allietare Mystery Quilt.

I have also started a Fabadashery 2015 Allietare Pinterest Page if you prefer to see my progress in that format. 

Dear Jane Quilt - Block C6 Ashley's Aura

Dear Jane Quilt - Block C6 Ashley's Aura

I have been away in London for Christmas.  I stayed with my sister and we went to Midnight Mass at St Paul's Cathedral, saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens and saw the Christmas illuminations at Kew Gardens - all great stuff! 

The trip up and down the motorway provided a good few hours hand sewing, and the post Christmas dinner phase is always a good time to do some quiet hand piecing on Dear Jane.  This little block, C6 Ashley's Aura, has been hanging around for a while, whilst I gathered strength to put all my focus to it.  Once I started it wasn't as bad as I had first envisioned.


Dear Jane Quilt - Block C6 Ashley's Aura

Here is an 'in progress' photograph so that you can see how I approached this block.  Just four pieces appliqued onto the background all sounds simple, but as you know, not so simple for me.

A few days at home lie ahead, so I hope to get back on track with the Dear Jane quilt, along with keeping up with Bonnie Hunter's Allietare Mystery Quilt.

Techniques: English Paper Piecing
Pieces: 5
 

Happy Christmas!

Happy Christmas - à la Dear Jane

Christmas Tree Skirt - Low Volume / Neutrals

Christmas Tree Skirt - Neutrals / Low Volume

Over the past few years I have been meaning to make a Christmas Tree skirt for the large tree that stands in our hall during the Christmas period. 


Christmas Tree Skirt Design

Back in December 2012, I had the forethought to take measurements of a suitable size before we packed it away in the attic and the 'design' stayed pinned to my notice board for a while.

Christmas Tree Skirt - Neutrals / Low Volume

In November 2013 I decided to make a start on it with the hope that it would be done in time for Christmas (2013).  Here you can see me chain piecing some quarter square triangles in neutral / Christmas fabrics.

Christmas Tree Skirt - Neutrals / Low Volume

I managed to get enough squares together to make the top, but it didn't quite make it for Christmas 2013.

Christmas Tree Skirt - Neutrals / Low Volume


Not to be beaten, between Christmas and New Year 2014 I took some time out to piece up a backing for the Christmas tree skirt.

Christmas Tree Skirt - Neutrals / Low Volume

Finally, I have got the Christmas Tree Skirt on the longarm quilting machine.  I used a pantograph called 'Let It Snow' by Patricia Ritter.  The quilting pattern features snowflakes so I decided to add some white fabric and applique those areas of the quilting.


Christmas Tree Skirt - Neutrals / Low Volume

The Christmas Tree skirt is off the frame, the skirt trimmed into a circle, the centre cut and a binding attached.  

Christmas Tree Skirt - Neutrals / Low Volume

Most importantly, it is under the tree for Christmas 2015!
 

Dear Jane Quilt - Block B9 Tinker Toy

Dear Jane Quilt - Block B9 Tinker Toy

Here's a pre-Christmas quickie, B9 Tinker Toy.  Easy English Paper piecing for me with just a touch a colour in this blue Dear Jane block.

If I have a bit of time I like to do a bit of research on these block names and here is what I found for Tinker Toy

Tinker Toy Construction Game

I am sure over the years a 'Tinker Toy' has been a staple for Father Christmas when filling stockings and a quick check on Amazon shows that they are still selling them in a more 'whizz  / bang' style for the 21st Century.

Techniques: English Paper Piecing
Pieces: 13

Allietare Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt 2015 - Part 4

Allietare Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt 2015 - Part 4, Suzi the cat

This is Suzi the cat, my Mystery Quilt assistant.  She can't believe how much time I spent just cutting out this week!  IMHO Part 4 is a bit tricky and I needed to spread it out over three days and take great care in stitching each set as a batch.  It was made all the more tricky for me because I have switched my colours around.  I read the instructions many, many times to make sure I had the right combination of fabrics.

Allietare Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt 2015 - Part 4

Many, many 2" strips later I had cut about 720 pieces in total.  Again, if Bonnie told us this up front, the rotary cutter would probably not come out of its box.

Allietare Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt 2015 - Part 4


With more trapezoids, I decided to take advantage of the bonus triangles you can get from the stitch and flip method.  This meant an extra 480 lines of stitching for me, but also 480 bonus triangles to play with at a later date. 

Allietare Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt 2015 - Part 4



With the others from Part 2, I think I could make quite a substantial quilt from these half square triangles which will finish up 1" square.


Allietare Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt 2015 - Part 4

So here are all 30 sets done and they make a good dent into the total quilt and we are way past the half way mark.  The whole 'set' thing has completely thrown me this year.  With no more clips to keep these together I will just keep them laid out for the next two weeks  until they are made into a quilt.  They should be safe ...



Allietare Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt 2015 - Part 4, Suzi the cat

Bonnie is giving us Christmas Day off and plans to release Part 5 on Boxing Day.  Joining up with all the other Mystery quilters for Week 4 at the Quiltville blog!
 

Dear Jane Quilt - Draw 14, B9, C6, K4, L6

Dear Jane Quilt - Draw 13, D12, E5, F11 H11

Here is the first set of blue blocks for my Dear Jane quilt.  It is a refreshing change to have a different colour, but due to other quilting activities it has taken me a while to get these done.


Dear Jane Quilt - Japanese metallic fabrics

I mentioned my sister has completed the top of her Dear Jane quilt, well here is sneak preview.  The top is complete and now she is preparing to quilt it.  As she reminded me, I still have a lot of blocks to do
With that thought in mind, time for the next draw ....

B9 - Tinker Toy
C6 - Ashley's Aura
K4 - Thea's Turn
L6 - Maze of Madness

Just like buses, you don't see a colour for ages and then they all come at once.  This Draw will be BLUE again. 

Miniature Block of the Month December 2015 - The Quilt Room

Miniature Block of the Month December 2015 - The Quilt Room

I am pleased to say that I have managed to complete the December Miniature Block of the Month offered FREE by The Quilt Room, called 12 Pointed Star.  Even after twelve months of trying to get my foundation piecing up to scratch, I still made mistakes and had to unpick.  I love the sharp look of this technique, but my brain hasn't yet worked out how to get a successful 'flip' first time.

Miniature Block of the Month - The Quilt Room

But my perseverance has paid off and here you can see all twelve completed blocks together.  They still have all their papers in them and I think deciding the layout for the them within a quilt will be a job for 2016.