Dear Jane Quilt - Block J1 Joseph's Jonquil

Dear Jane Quilt - Block J1 Joseph's Jonquil

This is Dear Jane block Josepha's Jonquil, J1.  Jonquil is a word I am familiar with but not one which I really knew what it meant.  A quick check on Wikipedia says JONQUIL is a shade of yellow, the shade of yellow which you will find on the Jonquil flower, which is very similar to a Daffodil.  So looking at the shape of this block that all makes sense. 

It is just that I did mine in blue.


Dear Jane Quilt - Block J1 Joseph's Jonquil

I did this appliqued Dear Jane quilt block whilst travelling on a car journey.  Here you see me with a teatowel on my lap holding all the bits and pieces.  Yes, I am still able to thread silk thread through a needle whilst we move along and I am enjoying this whilst this is still the case.  Early on in the project the applique was proving so mind-blowing that I needed to be stationary and be giving it 101% concentration.  So from this I am pleased to say that my applique skills and applique confidence are improving thanks to the Dear Jane quilt.

Techniques: Applique
Pieces:  6 pieces

 

Dear Jane Quilt - the Halfway Edition!

Dear Jane Quilt - the Halfway Edition!

As promised here is the latest update on my Dear Jane quilt progress.  I haven't pulled out the blocks since the last update in February and it is like meeting up with old friends.

Dear Jane Quilt - the Halfway Edition!

I don't lay them out in their correct order because it is so incomplete, but the Electric Quilt image below gives an idea of how it is going to go together.  The eagle eyed will notice that their placement is not the same as the original Jane Stickle quilt either.  That is the plan.

Dear Jane Quilt - the Halfway Edition! Electric Quilt Software

The white blanks are slowly filling up and some of the lines are nearly complete - it's just like playing BINGO! If you pop back to the post in October 2015 you can really see the progress I have made in the last six months. On the sidebar you can see this image updated regularly, but I like to capture a snapshot in these progress posts for a sense of progression.


Dear Jane Quilt - the Halfway Edition!

From the pretty piles of blocks above and the statistics in the table below you can see that I have yet to do a PURPLE block, which will hopefully pull the final colour scheme together.  You can also see that I have added those little extras to the data below - the sashing, the cornerstones and the alternate triangles.  It all has to be done and then I have to think about putting it together and removing those tiny bits of paper.

	Blocks	Triangle
Red	13/29	4/8
Purple	0/12	0/8
Blue	12/20	4/8
Green	8/28	4/8
Yellow	16/36	4/12
Orange	40/44	8/12
TOTAL	89/169 (52%)	16/56 (42%)
Sashing	17/312	(5%)
Cornerstones	28/144	(20%)
Triangles	5/56	(8%)

I have spotted other bloggers out there working steadily at their Dear Jane quilt. UKCityCrafter is building up a lovely collection of Dear Jane blocks in blue and white, the contrast is going to be stunning when it is put together. 

Dear Jane Quilt - Draw 30 - A10, J1, J5, J11

Dear Jane Quilt - Draw 29 - Border Triangles TR6, TR8, BR6, BR8

Here are some more Dear Jane border triangles. Sometimes I feel that these Dear Jane block posts can be a bit repetitive and only hope that they fall into your regular routine, in a reassuring way, as they do mine.

 

Personally, I like to document the projects I am doing and with a blog I find it easier to refer back to them easily. However, I have definitely noticed that it is quieter in blogland over the past year.  It appears that lots of bloggers have migrated to Instagram and Pinterest.  Over the past four years of writing my blog I have accumulated 266 Followers and I know from my stats that there are certain posts which people all over the world refer to on a daily basis.  Saying that, without really doing very much I have now reached 293 Followers on Pinterest.  I am not sure what all this means, but I hope you enjoy you visits and thank you for all your encouraging comments - that includes you Jocelyn.

 

Back to business ...

Draw 30
A10 - Which Points West
J1 - Joseph's Jonquil
J5 - John Jacob's Windmill
J11 - Twin Sister

This Draw will be in BLUE.

Dear Jane Quilt - Border Triangle Block BR6 Frank's Ric Rac

Dear Jane Quilt - Border Triangle Block  BR6 Frank's Ric Rac

This is the final Dear Jane border triangle for this Draw, BR6 Frank's Ric Rac. 

BTW The 'code' for the edge triangles is different in the book versus the software.  I don't know if there is a wrong or a right, and frankly neither are of any use to me,  I just keep looking until I find the one I want.

Not the most straightforward block. The tiny pointy triangle at the top of the ric rac needed a bit of a fiddle to make it fall into place properly, but sometimes when you are working so closely to something I think the problems get blown out of proportion.

Onwards and upwards.

Techniques: English Paper Piecing
Pieces: 26 pieces

Dear Jane Quilt - Border Triangle Block BR8 Thunderhead



Dear Jane Quilt - Border Triangle Block BR8 Thunderhead

This is THUNDERHEAD (BR8).  It sounds like a heavy metal band, but I am sure Jane Stickle was not aware of such a phenomenon in 1863. I had to slice up some of the pieces to get the centre shape, but if you use a busy fabric it is hard to see - which is the intention!


Dear Jane blocks - photo shoot

Today I thought I would show you a 'behind the scenes' photo of where I take my Dear Jane photos for my blog.  As you can see it is a professional set up, it is my kitchen table which has a skylight overhead.  I place the block on a piece of Kim Diehl fabric, take the photo with my iPad and then transfer it into Adobe Photoshop for a bit of cropping and enhancing, add a Fabadashery label and then post it online.

Here I the UK it is our May Bank Holiday.  At the moment it is raining, so maybe a day of stitching for me.

Techniques: English Paper Piecing Pieces: 32 pieces

Humble Quilts Mini Doll Quilt Swap 2016

Doll Quilt (13.5" x 15.5") made by Debbie Dodge

What a great way to start your day - a delivery from the postman with this delightful little doll quilt.  It has been sent to me here in the UK all the way from Delavan, Wisconsin, USA and has been made by the talented Debbie Dodge.

Doll Quilt made by Debbie Dodge

Debbie certainly nailed the brief on this one. I love the pink feature fabric and just look at that cute basket in the corner, it really makes the little quilt so special.  With the lovely quilt I got from Marcia last year, I am enjoying seeing my collection grow.

Doll Quilt made by Debbie Dodge

I posted details about the quilt I sent out to Heather in Florida on my blog last week and am pleased that everything has arrived safely.

Thanks to Lori at Humble Quilts for organising this international 2016 Doll Quilt Swap.  Giving and receiving these little quilts is such a pleasure and reminds me that I don't ALWAYS need to make big quilts!
 

Dear Jane Quilt - Border Triangle Block TR8 Brigadoon

Dear Jane Quilt - Border Triangle Block  TR8 Brigadoon

I am at a stage with the Dear Jane quilt where I just have to press on.  This is the stage where the steady hard graft pays off and brings you close to the finishing line.  The excitement of starting is over, the fabrics are now familiar friends and I pretty much have the techniques sorted.

Border triangle block TR8 Brigadoon is another yellow border block which is joining the chorus line which in time will be part of a great show.

Techniques: Applique
Pieces: 6 pieces


Dear Jane Quilt - Border Triangle Block TR6 Carla's Candle Flame



Dear Jane Quilt - Border Triangle Block  TR6 Carla's Candle Flame

Dear Jane Border triangle block TR6 Carla's Candle Flame is made up of 20 English paper piecing pieces and 2 applique pieces. 

These border triangles are really starting to build up which has made me think about the alternate triangle blocks and what progress I am making with those.  Well, frankly, I am not.  I need 56 and I have done 5.  It is the same with the sashing and the cornerstones.  I need 312 sashing pieces and I have done 17.

Get to it Frances! 

 Techniques: English Paper Piecing and Applique
Pieces: 22 pieces


Dear Jane Quilt - Draw 29 - Border Triangles TR6, TR8, BR6, BR8

Dear Jane Quilt - Draw 28 - E10, K5, L1, M5

The stitching on my car journey paid off and I have a further three Dear Jane blocks done, but before I show you  those, here is a round up of the pretty blue blocks of Draw 28.

TR6 - Carla's Candle Flame
TR8 - Brigadoon
BR6 - Frank's Ric Rac
BR8 - Thunderhead

This draw will be in YELLOW.

Malvern Tickets 2016 Giveaway Winner!

Malvern Tickets 2016 Giveaway Winner!

Thanks to everyone who entered my Malvern Quilt Show ticket giveaway and visited my Fabadashery Long Arm Quilting webpage and Facebook page.  This competition is now closed.

The winner is Frances Darvill.  Congratulations!

 

Dear Jane Quilt - Block E10 Five and Dime

Dear Jane Quilt - Block E10 Five and Dime

This Dear Jane block E10 Five and Dime is a simple orange peek block.  An orange peel quilt has always appealed to me and I often admire the 'Baby Adelia' quilt which sits on the sidebar of Susan's Thimble Stitch blog.  These orange peel shapes would be a great way to use up scraps and after pulling out JUST the blue fabric that I have remaining from this Dear Jane quilt yesterday, I think I should have plenty spare for such a project!

Today is Sunday, so do go and visit Kathy at Slow Stitching Sunday.  I have a long car journey today, so I am just off to pack up my Dear Jane blocks for some slow stitching as we zoom up the motorway.

Techniques: English Paper Piecing and Applique
Pieces:  6 pieces

Dear Jane Quilt - Block L1 Widow's Pane

Dear Jane Quilt - Block L1 Widow's Pane

This round of Dear Jane quilt blocks are largely squares in squares. Nice and straightforward to do and so the hardest part is choosing which fabrics to use out of my Kim Diehl BLUE fabrics.


Kim Diehl Fabrics - Blue Selection

Doing a sampler quilt like Dear Jane really helps you to learn about the different values of fabric, how small and large prints play their part and the interest you can get from using stripes and uniform patterns for fussy cutting.  Sometimes the fabric you want to use is not appropriate for the size of pieces you need to cut so it is back to the drawing board.  I think I have managed to use all these fabrics except the royal blue one on the far left, which doesn't seem to go with any of the others.
Techniques: English Paper Piecing
Pieces:  22 pieces

Dear Jane Quilt - Block K5 Passing Through

Dear Jane Quilt - Block K5 Passing Through

I mentioned that the halfway point is coming soon.  There are 229 pieced blocks in total, made up of 169 squares and 60 border triangles.  Dear Jane block K5 Passing Through is the 107th I have completed.

Techniques: English Paper Piecing and Applique
Pieces:  12 pieces

Dear Jane Quilt - Block M5 Mother's Point

Celebrating the Queen's 90th birthday

Today there has been an excuse to put up the Union Jack bunting as it is the Queen's 90th birthday. It is a bit more low key than the Golden and Diamond Jubilee celebrations of recent years, but a significant milestone in itself.

Dear Jane Quilt - Block M5 Mother's Point

Having milestones is my favourite way of maintaining interest in a long term project such as the Dear Jane quilt.  As you know, I recently reached the 100th block milestone and in the not too distant future there will be the halfway milestone to look forward to.

This is the Dear Jane block M5 Mother's Point. I like how the colours have turned out with this.  A nice simple block.

Techniques: English Paper Piecing
Pieces:  18 pieces

Dear Jane Quilt - Draw 28 - E10, K5, L1, M5

Dear Jane Quilt - Draw 27 - A3, B10, C8, M13

Here are the latest Dear Jane blocks.  Quite a simple set and just look at that Lynette's Diamond - I am still in love with it.

Prize Draw - Malvern Quilt Show 2016

Don't forget there are still a few days to enter my Prize Draw for two tickets to the Malvern Quilt Show in May.  All the details can be found on my 7th April 2016 post.  I will be making the draw on the weekend.
Moving on to Draw 28

Draw 28
E10 - Five and Dime
K5 - Passing Through
L1 - Widow's Pane
M5 - Mother's Point

This Draw will be in BLUE.

Dear Jane Quilt - Block M13 Lynette's Diamond

Dear Jane Quilt - Block M13 Lynette's Diamond

Oh my - I absolutely love this Dear Jane block, M13 Lynette's Diamond.   Yes, it is all applique and I am super-chuffed at the result.  In the book this is the last 4.5" square block if you were doing it in order.  If you didn't quite get that far, you are missing a treat.

Techniques: Applique
Pieces: 6 pieces

Doll Quilt Swap, April 2016

Doll Quilt Swap - Brown Broken Dishes Quilt

It was such fun doing the Humble Quilts Doll Quilt Swap last year that I just had to sign up again this year.  Now that I know my swap partner has received her Doll quilt I can tell you a bit more about it. The reproduction fabrics that are required are about in the UK, just not as abundant as the USA, but with the extra fabric my swappers sent from America last year I had a bit more to play with and went with a traditional country style brown scheme.

Doll Quilt Swap - Brown Broken Dishes Quilt

I went with a broken dishes pattern for the centre which used up most of my brown charm squares and then added some borders. 


Doll Quilt Swap - Brown Broken Dishes Quilt Reverse

I am currently reading 'Mastering Precision Piecing' by Sally Collins and so I thought with this small quilt I would take the time to gain more accuracy, based on the tips in her book.  I spun the seams of my triangles and I even chose to mitre the corners on the border.  You will see from the photo that I was as pleased with the back of the top as the front!


Doll Quilt Swap - Brown Broken Dishes Quilt

I had hoped to hand quilt this little beauty, but fitting it into my current work plan wasn't happening.  I popped it onto the long arm quilting machine and I had a pleasant couple of hours stitching. As usual posts were popping up on the internet and the Humble Quilts Facebook page of photos of doll quilts which had already been received as part of the swap, which put me into a panic knowing it had to be sent across the Atlantic.  As it happens it only took 7 days for it to arrive, faster than something within the UK takes!

Thanks to Lori at Humble Quilts for organising the swap.
Also a Finish for Whoop Whoop and Crazy Mom!