Wednesday 23 September 2015

Dear Jane Quilt - Draw 5, A2, H9, I11, M3

Dear Jane Quilt - Blocks B11, D5, F8 L11
Dear Jane Quilt - Blocks B11, D5, F8 L11
Here is a pleasing set of blocks from my Dear Jane Quilt, Draw 4.  They are going to be placed in the same position, but mirrored in four different corners of the quilt, so I hope that in the overall scheme of things they will balance nicely.  You can get the idea of how my quilt is coming along by the image on the sidebar.
 
The next Draw has taken place

A2 - One Two Buckle My Shoe
H9 - Snowflake Melt
I11 - Coyote Chase
M3 - Fireweed Flower

Yes, believe it or not it is ORANGE AGAIN!  If only I had a consistent run on the lottery ....
 

Tuesday 22 September 2015

Dear Jane Quilt - Block B11 Melissa's Cross

Dear Jane Quilt - Block B11 Melissa's Cross
Dear Jane Quilt - Block B11 Melissa's Cross
Before I started this Dear Jane block, I could see that there were a number of different ways to approach it.  For the majority of it English Paper Piecing would do a sound job, but those curved corner bits which end up as nothing were going to be a bit tricky.  I did it EPP, but you can see that the edges are a bit shabby.  I intend to hide all this once it is constructed and the sashing goes on.

Techniques: English Paper Piecing
Pieces: 21

Monday 21 September 2015

Dear Jane Quilt - Block L11 Caitlin's Rose

Dear Jane Quilt - Block L11 Caitlin's Rose
Dear Jane Quilt - Block L11 Caitlin's Rose
I have a had a busy few days working on my Dear Jane blocks.  I am still working in orange and I am still using English Paper Piecing, which seems to be working out very satisfactorily for this project.
Although this looks like a simple Dear Jane block, I was a little scared of it because of the diamond shapes.  I got caught out on diamond shapes on some of my Nearly Insane blocks, so I was sure to mark which were long edges and which were short edges before I started to construct it.

Techniques: English Paper Piecing
Pieces: 21

Linking Up with Design Wall Monday

Friday 18 September 2015

Dear Jane Quilt - Block F8 Church Window

Dear Jane Quilt - Block F8 Church Window
Dear Jane Quilt - Block F8 Church Window
Having just done a Cathedral window  for the Dear Jane quilt, I have now done a Church Window (Block F8).  Again, another easy one as far as I am concerned.
Whenever I do a block from the 'F' row it reminds me of the function keys on a computer and how in the pre-Windows era that was how we did fancy stuff on a computer.

Techniques: English Paper Piecing
Pieces: 37

Wednesday 16 September 2015

Dear Jane Quilt - Block D5 Cathedral Window

Dear Jane Quilt - Block D5 Cathedral Window
Dear Jane Quilt - Block D5 Cathedral Window
This was a lovely simple Dear Jane block called Cathedral Window (D5).  Easy to cut out, easy to sew together. Still no papers have been taken out so far.  You would think I would learn from the Nearly Insane quilt.  I just need to sort out my sashings, which is a project in the pipeline.

BTW I am amazed by all the encouraging comments you are sending.  I would love to reply, but it appears that many of you are No Reply Bloggers.  I know when I started blogging I didn't realise I was a No Reply Blogger.  Here at Happy Hour Projects there is post on how to check your status.

Techniques: English Paper Piecing
Pieces: 21

Monday 14 September 2015

Dear Jane Quilt - Draw 4, B11, D5, F8, L11

Dear Jane Quilt - Draw 3, C12, E8, F5, G10
Dear Jane Quilt - Draw 3, C12, E8, F5, G10

With much fewer pieces and smaller blocks, some of these Dear Jane blocks can be completed in just an evening.  I think I averaged about four blocks a month with the Nearly Insane, but these are being completed much faster. But then again there are quite a few more.

The blocks for Draw 4 are :

B11 - Melissa's Cross
D5 - Cathedral Window
F8 - Church Window
L11 - Caitlin's Rose

Looking at my colour scheme this draw is orange AGAIN.  All this orange made me wonder how many of each colour I would actually be doing, so here is the data.

Blocks
Triangle
Red
29 (17%)
8 (14%)
Purple
12 (7%)
8 (14%)
Blue
20 (12%)
8 (14%)
Green
28 (16%)
8 (14%)
Yellow
36 (21%)
12 (22%)
Orange
44 (26%)
12 (22%)

So, yes, there are twice as many orange blocks than some of the other colours which explains why they keep coming up in the draw.

Friday 11 September 2015

Dear Jane Quilt - Block G-10 Woven Meadow


Dear Jane Quilt - Block G-10 Woven Meadow
Dear Jane Quilt - Block G-10 Woven Meadow
I think this quilt block pops up in all the various sampler quilts.  It is called G10 Woven Meadow in this quilt, but is also known as Chimney Sweep or Album block.  It was one of the early blocks I did for my Nearly Insane quilt, but even though it was a bigger block it had ten less pieces than this one which is just 4.5".

I am using an orange fabric from Kim Diehl's Hearthside Seasons range in this block.

Techniques: English Paper Piecing
Pieces: 39

Thursday 10 September 2015

Dear Jane Quilt - Block F-5 Parcheesi



Dear Jane Quilt - Block F-5 Parcheesi
Dear Jane Quilt - Block F-5 Parcheesi
One of the reasons I enjoy English Paper Piecing is that I can take it anywhere and that I can stitch whilst we are in the car.  I am finding the applique blocks a bit more of a challenge when we are driving and had to wait until we were stationary to stitch this one. 
Because of the applique, this block took me ages.  For block F5 Parcheesi, I have sewn eight pieces of fabric onto another and it seemed to take all the mental energy of running a marathon.  However, I am more satisfied with the neatness with this one - I think we are moving forward.

BTW: Parcheesi is a board game
Next block, please ....

Techniques: Applique
Pieces: 9

Tuesday 8 September 2015

Dear Jane Quilt - Block C-12 Family Reunion

Dear Jane Quilt - Block C-12 Family Reunion
Dear Jane Quilt - Block C-12 Family Reunion
I was back in my comfort zone with this one. Lots of little English Paper Piecing squares, again just half an inch square.  Block C12, Family Reunion is a mini Irish Chain block and whenever I do small squares like this it reminds me of my scrappy Irish Chain quilt and makes me think how great it would be to do one with just half inch squares...

Suzi the cat helps out with rotary cutting
Suzi the cat helps out with rotary cutting
You will see from the photo that Suzi the cat is pleased that I am on another marathon sewing project.  She has been helping out with the rotary cutting and with only a few blocks done so far she is able to get them all onto the floor with just one swipe of her tail.

Techniques: English Paper Piecing
Pieces: 49

Monday 7 September 2015

Dear Jane Quilt - Block E-8 Mama's Maze


Dear Jane Quilt - Block E-8 Mama's Maze
Dear Jane Quilt - Block E-8 Mama's Maze
I am never happier than when I am doing English Paper Piecing.  I know what I am doing, I know what result I want and I can take it anywhere.  E8 Mama's Maze was a joy to do as it was lovely little squares and rectangles that all went neatly together.  The small squares are half an inch square.

Dear Jane Quilt - Block E-8 Mama's Maze
Dear Jane Quilt - Block E-8 Mama's Maze
I completed this block whilst away over the wet August Bank Holiday weekend.  We were in our camper van and I had many happy hours sewing whilst I waited for the rain to stop.  It did eventually.
Dear Jane Quilt - Block E-8 Mama's Maze
Dear Jane Quilt - Block E-8 Mama's Maze

Techniques: English Paper Piecing
Pieces:33