Dear Jane Update, November 2015 - 3rd Anniverary Edition

Dear Jane Quilt blocks - November 2015

This week marks the 3rd Anniversary of my Fabadashery blog.  It all started when I joined in the Bonnie Hunter's Easy Street Mystery Quilt and three years on I hope to be doing the 2015 Mystery Quilt, Allietare! Thank you to all my Followers who have joined the journey.  I had hoped to do something spectacular to celebrate, but it is a busy time at work for me and so I have opted for a Dear Jane update.  Since starting in 2012, I have also started another quilting blog which shares my longarm quilting adventures.  Please feel free to Follow along on that one too if you are interested.


Dear Jane Quilt blocks - November 2015

So back to Dear Jane. Here are all the blocks I have done so far and you can now see some pops of colour in the sea of orange compared to the last update.

43 blocks (25%)

4 triangles (7%)

 



Dear Jane Quilt - EQ Software - November 2015 update

In the pictures above you might spot some blocks that have yet to have their '15 minutes of fame'.  All I can say is that my stitching is more productive than my blogging - they will have their moment.  Also this update has reminded me that I need to keep up with the sashing, cornerstones and the blank triangles.

All this special blogging activity was encouraged by the monthly 'Help for Hexi- aholics' over at Sarah Did It!  Please visit. If you sew by hand, if you sew with paper, this is a safe haven to visit.  There are no hexagons in the stitching above, but if you look closely there is an octagon.

(PS: Sarah - Suzi says Hi!)

Dear Jane Quilt - Block I13 Sweet Harmony

Dear Jane Quilt - Block I13 Sweet Harmony

I love this sort of block, simple shapes and simple stitching, quick results contributing to the overall progress.

Blogging is hard work now the winter light is here. When it is daylight I am at work and even if I am about the sky is very grey and dark.

Techniques: English Paper Piecing
Pieces: 37

Dear Jane Quilt - Block C10 Patriots Lantern

Dear Jane Quilt - Block C10 Patriots Lantern

37 pieces for this little block, C10 Patriots Lantern.  I feel like I have overdosed on orange lately, but I am sure it will look great in the overall scheme of things.

BTW - My sister has just reported in that she has just embroidered her final Dear Jane corner block with her total pieces - 5309. I reached at least 6032 for my Nearly Insane and that figure didn't include the border.  I guess everyone is going to have a different number for the pieces they used in the Dear Jane quilt with all the different approaches to the blocks.  She is currently sewing her borders on.  I can't wait to see it.

Happy Slow Stitching Sunday!

Techniques: English Paper Piecing
Pieces: 37

Dear Jane Quilt - Block M8 Enchanted Square

Dear Jane Quilt - Block M8 Enchanted Square

Here is another pretty Dear Jane block, M8 Enchanted Square.

Dear Jane Quilt - Block M8 Enchanted Square

 You may see in the corner of the centre square a VERY tiny piece.  I am quite sure I encountered pieces this small with the Nearly Insane quilt, but for this I took a new approach, which I hope you can see from the photo.  The seam was a bit bulky, but only for a very tiny bit of the block.

I am off to spend the day sewing on my machine today with my local quilt group.  I am trying to clear the decks of some projects to make way for Bonnie Hunter's 2015 Mystery Quilt, the Italian inspired Allietare.  I have bee trying to get my fabrics together, and yes, I will be changing them again!  Is anyone else thinking of doing the Mystery quilt this year?

Techniques: English Paper Piecing
Pieces: 35

Dear Jane Quilt - Block A9 Cabin Fever

Dear Jane Quilt - Block A9 Cabin Fever

It felt like this had quite a lot of pieces in it - 41 in total.  Pretty standard for a Nearly Insane block, but these Dear Jane quilt blocks are making me a bit of a lightweight these days.  Saying that, I would rather have 41 pieces to EPP than 6 to applique!

Techniques: English Paper Piecing
Pieces: 41

Dear Jane Quilt - Draw 11 A9, C10, I13, M8

Dear Jane Quilt - Draw 10 F12, G3, G12, I5

Here is my first full set of red blocks.  It was great to have a new colour to work with, but all that applique took its toll on me.  Just a reminder that I have mixed up the placement of my Dear Jane quilt, so these blocks will be placed symmetrically around the quilt.

Now for the next draw ...

A9 - Cabin Fever
C10 - Patriots Lantern
I13 - Sweet Harmony
M8 - Enchanted Square

Before I get too carried away it appears that this Draw brings us back to ORANGE - can there be any more left?

Dear Jane Quilt - Block G12 Gloriae

Dear Jane Quilt - Block G12 Gloriae

Here is G12 Gloriae.   It wasn't a difficult block, but once I had sewn most of it together I decided I wasn't happy with my fabric choice.  I unpicked it all and used the striped fabric for a feature, so it took longer than expected.  I am still not 100% satisfied, it is such a big blob of fabric.


Suzi the Cat on the Butterfly Quilt

You haven't seen much of Suzi lately.  She has been out of sorts and just not interested in quilting or quilts, but since our return from Maastricht she has returned to her usual self and she has spent all day on the Butterfly quilt and is now currently using pester power to get her tea.  Last night she sat on my lap for 2 1/2 hours - a lifetime record.

Techniques: English Paper Piecing
Pieces: 25

Dear Jane Quilt - Block I5 Maria's Majesty



Dear Jane Quilt - Block I5 Maria's Majesty

I will confess that this block has taken me quite a long time. 


Dear Jane Quilt - Block I5 Maria's Majesty

It started about 3 weeks ago.  I was getting some of my blocks prepared before I travelled and knew that this one needed a bit more prep than others.  I have realised that applique is not the sort of sewing you can do whilst you are a passenger driving along, unlike my usual stitching, so it relies on being stationary for (in my case) considerable time.


Dear Jane Quilt - Block I5 Maria's Majesty

So whilst other blocks were coming together this one had to wait for its moment.  The first stage got stitched about two weeks ago and after several attempts the last melon got sewn on last Friday.  I am still learning to breath whilst I sew appliqué ....

NO EPP on this one and I am enjoying doing red blocks.  Again, a lot of effort for just 6 pieces.

Techniques: Applique, Reverse Applique
Pieces: 6

 

Dear Jane Quilt - Block G3 Four Leaf Clover

Dear Jane Quilt - Block G3 Four Leaf Clover

I was going to say that I think this is the first block I have done that is totally applique for this project, but I managed to sneak in some EPP.  Initially, I had a few hiccups which meant I had to rethink the centre shape. My first attempt did not have very good inside points, so I split the shape into four, EPPed the shapes and sewed them together, then appliqued the whole shape onto the block, whist removing the papers in a timely manner.  You may be able to see the seams in the centre, but I think my fabric choice has allowed me to get away with this.

Dear Jane Quilt - Block G3 Four Leaf Clover

The outer ring went on quite easily by sewing the inside edge with the cardboard form still inside, removing it and then stitching the outer edge.  It is hard to believe that such a tricky block has only six pieces in it.

Techniques: English Paper Piecing, Applique
Pieces: 6

Dear Jane Quilt - Block F12 Starburst

Dear Jane Quilt - Block F12 Starburst

This is one of the Dear Jane quilt blocks which travelled to Europe with me to the OEQC quilt show in Maastricht.


Dear Jane Quilt - Block F12 Starburst

It looks like a simple block and it was once I decided to slice up the 'arrow' pieces to ensure a nice inside point, which adds to the overall piece count.

Techniques: English Paper Piecing
Pieces: 20