Dear Jane C-11, Soldiers and Sailors Monument - in Progress with Curved Seams!

This is a tough block.  I have never worked with curved seams before, and the quarter circles of C-11 have a really tight radius.  I drew seam lines on both sides of the curves and used lots and lots of pins.  I started pinning in the center, and used a guide pin to place each subsequent pin.

I had to be careful to stay on the line on the reverse side too, and to ease in the seam just enough for it to lay flat.  This was a huge pain. It would have been much easier to applique.

The results were OK, not great, considering all those pins.  I found that I had snipped too deeply on the first few seams, and the curve pivoted at the snips, messing up the smooth contour of the line. Oh well, live and learn.

The backs lay nice and smooth, and most of the wrinkles ironed out nicely.  :)

The center circle is definitely going to be appliqued; I just have to finish prepping the circle.  The purple circles in the batik seem to line up beautifully.  I'm hoping that illusion will distract from the imperfection of the seams.  

More yellow sections will have to be fussy cut out of the batik (which was barely yellow at all) to edge the block.

I'll be glad to have this block complete so I can start work on the nice simple paper-piecing block that's next.

Happy quilting,

Susan in Texas

Dear Jane - C9, Jane's Tears, and Grand Illusion Sashings Complete

These "Tears" were fun to applique.  Lots of nice, smooth curves and only a single, not too pointy, point. I finished this block while chatting up a storm at the project day last Friday.  It is always nice to have some handwork to do in a group setting.

I never did get my sewing machine out of its carrier on Friday since I spent the rest of the afternoon pinning the halves of the Grand Illusion sashing together.  If you remember, Clue 3 took me a really long time to complete.  I also had neglected to iron about three quarters of the many many required units, so I had to do that first before I could start pinning.  I used Sheila's vintage Shark brand iron and was it ever nice and hot!

I completed the next task on the Harlequin-Johnny setting triangles last night.  The triangles are now edged in red and the scallops have been neatly trimmed.  They look SO much better, but I do not have pictures of them yet, so that will have to wait until Wednesday.

Happy quilting!
Susan in Texas

Dear Jane - Patriot's Lantern Complete

It was wonderful to get back to Dear Jane.  I love these little blocks!  I prepared the applique for C-9, Jane's Tears, using the method described on Esther's Quilt Blog.  Instead of basting down the edges, she uses freezer paper and starch.  I sprayed a little starch into the cap of the spray bottle, then used a small brush to apply the starch to the edges before ironing.  This method works very well; with the edges staying crisply folded under after the freezer paper is removed.

Now I just have to stitch the applique to the ground.  I saved this hand-work for tomorrow's Blanketeer project day.  I also hope to make some serious progress on Grand Illusion tomorrow also.

I have already completed C-10, Patriot's Lantern.  This block has so much white in it that it was a mistake to use medium grey thread in the bobbin.  I think it made dark shadows along the seams, which make it seem slightly dirty.  That's one mistake I will not make again.

This paper piecing was so easy.  The outer edges do not have a single matching seam.  I just aligned the ends and sewed away. This block will not stay ironed.  The sides are not actually crooked, they are just curling upwards.

Dear Jane C-8, Hani's Crown

A nice simple paper-pieced block with a siggy at its heart.  Can you see it?  I fussy cut this batik to eliminate most of the pale, dull orange to get a block that would not be completely eclipsed by its near neighbor, Ashley's Aura.

I love this batik, it reminds me of ink in water.  There are only five blocks left in Row C, and three of them look pretty simple.  It is a good thing the rows and columns keep getting shorter and shorter, though Column C looks like it has some real doozies in it!

Dear Jane C-7, Megan's Mountain Laurel Completed

I finished Megan's Mountain Laurel.  I love how the paper-piecing came out, but the applique is only OK - those extra sharp points are a bear to get perfect.  Clocking in at 45 pieces, this block took some serious time to complete.  I finished the paper-piecing on Friday, prepared the applique on Saturday, then started working on it Sunday at the Blanketeer Bee.  With those sharp points, I should probably have attempted reverse applique, but all my previous attempts at reverse applique have turned out just awful! 

The next few blocks in Row C are much simpler than "Megan." What a relief!  Looking at it objectively, the case could be made that Row C is one of the most difficult rows in the entire Dear Jane quilt.  Sure, it does not contain "Papa's Star", but Row C is full of blocks with pointy appliques, and lots of complex paper-piecing - sometimes on the same block.  It makes me look forward to D-13, everyone's favorite siggy block.  

Dear Jane C-7, Megan's Mountain Laurel - a good beginning

You know it is going to be a fiddly block when getting this much done feels like a big accomplishment.  There are 45 tiny little pieces in Megan's Mountain Laurel, including four tiny little appliqued diamonds.  Megan is going to take awhile!  

I do love the "kite tail" stage. This took so long that my Clover iron got really hot waiting for me.  I had to use a press cloth to avoid scorching the muslin, but on the bright side, these tiny little pieces now lay perfectly flat. :O

And, of course, I just love the batik.  I believe the blue was a recent acquisition last Christmas in Green Bay.  So pretty!

Happy quilting!

Susan

Dear Jane C-6 Ashley's Aura Progress to Completion

Ashley's Aura seemed like it would be simple enough to applique. So, instead of dealing with all those curved seams, so I did it that way. Except for getting the melons sized correctly and placing them just right, this was not a difficult block.

I basted the pattern down to assist with placement, just like I did for Eye of the Cyclone.  It only takes a very few minutes to baste down the paper, and you make up the time later because everything comes together so smoothly.  I had very little excess of this batik, so I had to be careful with placement; basting helps with that too.

After basting down the pattern, I basted down the melons.  This was where I learned that some (most) of my prepared melons were a bit too large due to poor ironing at the points.  I corrected the points as well as I could, then basted the melons in place.  The actual applique was a breeze after all this preparation.

This is by far the most intensely colored Dear Jane block I have made.  It really stands out in its place on the design wall.  Some of the other fabrics in my batik stash are almost this bright; I will have to make sure to use plenty of them so Ashley's Aura does not become known as Ashley's Angry Aura!

Dear Jane C-5 Eye of the Cyclone - My Way!

I just love this block; there is only one problem - I made it all wrong!  The outer edges of the block are supposed to be all white.  For some reason, I got it into my head that the ground was a pinwheel and started from there.  I even marked my pattern incorrectly.  And you know what?  I like my block better than the original.  Sorry Jane, but this is a neat variation and I am glad I did it this way, though I do think the batiks looks more like a celestial vortex than the eye of a cyclone.

C-5  Eye of the Cyclone

This block is almost completely hand-pieced.  The only seams that are done by machine are the ones between the brown and white on the applique.  I made this block on the road, and even though the sewing machine was in the trunk, it did not make it into the hotel in Memphis where I made the pinwheel.  I am a very novice hand-piecer, so I was very impressed by how well the points came together on the pinwheel.  Maybe there is something to this hand-piecing after all!

The applique on this block looks like harlequin smiley faces to me. They were a little tricky to do.  The points were sharp, and I had never done curves quite like this before.  They came out only OK, not great.  It did turn out to be a good idea to baste the center of the pattern onto the center of the pinwheel as a guide.  I do not think I could have gotten the appliqued bits to form a circle without it.

Happy quilting!
Susan in Texas

Dear Jane C-4, Tic Tac Toe, Complete and a quick trip to the Green Bay Botanical Garden

The "Tic Tac Toe" block got completed in Green Bay.  I took my traveling Bernina along, and finished piecing the block at Mom's house.  I traced the octagon onto freezer paper and used my craft iron to apply it to the back.  I do not think I have ever used such a large piece of freezer paper, but it adhered to the back of the block just fine.

After the freezer paper was attached, it was very easy to press the seams under and baste the unit to the muslin ground.  It was nice to have such oblique angles to applique for a change.  I am going to be sure to place the darkest "window" at the top when I orient the block in the final quilt.  That way, I am hoping it will look like a darkened attic window.  :)

We went to the Green Bay Botanical Garden on the 4th of July and had the whole place almost entirely to ourselves.  The weather was perfect and it was really lovely.  The tall, spiky flowers in the background caught our attention.  They are called foxtail lilies and look very dramatic. 

I was captivated by the Hobbit House; it was such an enchanting little structure.  And so practical too.  It is very deep in the garden, well away from the main entrance, and houses restroom facilities. Brilliant!

Green Bay is hosta central; they are by far the most popular foundation plantings around residential homes.  They were everywhere, but I had never seen hostas with such large flowers as these.  They were the size of snapdragons!

I wish we could have stayed longer, but this was the day after the wedding, and the bride and groom showed up at her mom's house to open some of the wedding gifts, and we wanted to be present for that.  We got the call, and off we went.  We had a really fun hour or so at the gardens, which were in top form, with ample rain and sunshine this year.  If you get the chance to visit, you should definitely go there.  It makes a nice change from Lambeau Field.

Happy quilting,
Susan in Texas

More Dear Jane progress on H-2, Jacob Anthony and C-4, Tic Tac Toe

I decided to go with applique on the Dear Jane, Tic Tac Toe block to avoid any inset seams.  I created an octagonal pattern out of freezer paper, then pressed it to the back of the block.  The points where all the seams come together were a bit tricky to work with, but it is all basted now.  There was not very much of the dark green fabric left, so the one dark window looks odd to me.  We'll just say it adds interest and move on.  Now I just have to find the time to do the actual applique. 

I had already forgotten the name of the "Jacob Anthony" Dear Jane block, but I did not forget that it still needed triangles appliqued.   The triangles have been made for over a week; they finally got basted down yesterday.

I am looking forward to trimming both blocks to size, then moving on to a different block.  Tic tac toe was lots of work!  In the meantime, we have a wedding to attend, and our friend broke her ankle, so we have been very very busy.  More later.

Dear Jane C-4 - Tic Tac Toe - Progress

Doesn't this look like a tiny little window?  Progress has been slow. I had to stop and make my own papers for the top and bottom white bars, and for the triangles that are the next step.  I have never gotten very fancy with the Dear Jane software, so I am not sure if I could have told it how to make the additional triangles or not.  Possibly.  For now, I am just tracing the block design pieces and adding seam allowances.

C-4  Tic Tac Toe

I wish I could remember where I got this hand-dyed fabric.  Maybe it was from Joy's Fabrics.  Isn't it terrific?  I look for Joy at every show.  She uses the best quality blank fabric and her stuff always feels just wonderful.  And the colors!  Heaven.  I am usually such a control freak, but I really enjoy working with these crazy fabrics, even though you never know how it is going to turn out.

Dear Jane C-4, Tic Tac Toe

Once I get back to working on Dear Jane I do not want to stop.  This is the small center section of C-4, Tic Tac Toe.  I have not yet decided how to complete construction.  There is a little more obvious paper-piecing to accomplish: the top and bottom white edges, and the triangles that put the center on point.  After that, construction gets a bit trickier.

Dear Jane C-4 - Tic Tac Toe

Should I do as recommended in thatquilt and paper-piece the whole block?  Should I suck it up and deal with the inset seams like Jane Stickle did?  Or perhaps I should paper-piece what I can, then applique the whole thing onto a white muslin ground.  I will have to see which method appeals to me when I get around to actually doing it.  

The subtle green variations in this hand-dyed fabric are fun to work with.  It has an atmospheric quality that is very interesting.  The original fabric is rainbow hued, and there is not very much green left in the remaining scrap.  I will have to plan carefully, or this block will end up with purple corners.

Wordless Wednesday: Dear Jane - C-3, Rayelle's Fence, Complete

C-3  Rayelle's Fence

Dear Jane C-3 - Rayelle's Fence - In Progress

I think Jane Stickle must have liked checkerboard blocks as much as I do, there are certainly plenty of them in her quilt.  Rayelle's Fence looks huge right now, but I am sure it will tighten up when it is all sewn together.  I love this buttery/egg yolk color.  Yellow batiks tend to be either very bright or almost brown.  It is difficult to find nice yellow, medium-tone batiks; I wish I could find more.
  

Dear Jane C-3 - Rayelle's Fence

I am trying something different with the paper-piecing of this block.  It is practically a religious tenet that you do not sew past the lines when paper-piecing.  Even if I am as careful as can be, at times, my pressing causes the seams at the end of the stitching lines to go a bit crooked, which causes the final squares to be a little off-square.  In the hopes of preventing this inaccuracy, I over-sewed all the seams on this block,   The proof will be in the final squares; we will just have to wait and see.

Happy quilting,
Susan in Texas

Dear Jane M-2, Duff's Bluff Completed

Duff's Bluff turned out even prettier than I thought it would, despite its extra silly name.  I love the hint of indigo with the turquoise.  It is amazing how many of the blocks have some version of a nine patch as part of their composition.  I have not done a counting; but it seems as if nine patch and four patch variations, in some form or another, account for about a third of the Dear Jane blocks.  I will have to do analyze the blocks to see if I am correct.

M-2 Duff's Bluff

I will be switching to Grand Illusion now.  Clue five is so small compared to the other clues that I hope to finish it in a few days.  I am not going to kill myself trying to get all the Harlequin blocks put together either. Instead, I am going to complete the big bow-tie step, then move on.  In fact, I have decided to shorten the amount of time I spend on any one project, and cycle through them more rapidly.  I do not mind working on one thing for a long time; however, it certainly makes for dull blogging - and nobody wants that!

Dear Jane M-2 Duff's Bluff

The last block in column 2, Duff's Bluff, is in the works.  I think it is going to be beautiful when it is done.  I love this blue on blue batik; it reminds me of a painting of a celestial sky.  Most of the dark blue was edited out for this block, but I am going to find another block later where the dark blue can be the focal point.  Ah, the joy of batiks!

Well, we had our new vehicle checked out by a mechanic and it passed muster, so I guess we will keep it.  Larry was pleased since it takes about four hours to purchase a car these days.  I have yet to drive it myself, maybe this weekend I will get behind the wheel.

I pulled out the directions to Clue 5 of Grand Illusion this week since that is my next project.  I had forgotten the printer was running out of ink when I printed the pages.  My colors are so far off I had to study other people's completed quilts to determine what was what.  As far as I can tell on my set of directions, white means turquoise, deep yellow means yellow, pale yellow means pink and black is black.  Believe me, I wrote this down right on the picture!

Dear Jane L-2 Stephanie's Snowflake

I am so glad this one is done.  The Dear Jane software really messed up the order of work on this block.  The foundation pieces created by the software had you making inset seams instead of treating the center section like a simple nine patch.  Why would they do that?  I questioned the pattern too.  The long skinny pieces were supposed to be pieced, with the tiny little point being its own piece, orange onto orange.  What is the point of that?  I looked closely at L-2 in the book and it did not look as if it was made in two pieces to me, so I combined them.   

This block turned out to be more appealing than I thought it would; probably because it is such a cheerful batik.  I wonder if my whole mood working on this block was not affected by the fact that the orange fabric was heavily starched.  I used to do that because someone recommended it, but it was nothing but trouble, so I stopped.  This block is proof, at least for me, that unstarched fabric behaves much better than starched.  I have lots of the orange fabric left; I think I will wash out the starch before I use it again.  I should have done that in the first place! lol

I am planning to do one more Dear Jane block before switching back to doing Clue 5 of Grand Illusion, which, by the way, has already been removed from Bonnie Hunter's web site.  The pattern will not be available again until it gets published in one of her books several years from now.

Dear Jane K-2, Grandpa's Chickens

I love this block, though it was kind of boring to do.  How many Dear Jane blocks have six identical paper pieced sections?  Lots have four sections that are the same, but six?  I could have strip pieced it, but I doubt my squares would have come out as square; paper-piecing is much more accurate for me.

The Dear Jane software messed up on the outer edges of this block. One of the long white edges came out way too short.  I had to cut another one to make up for it.  I hate it when that happens!  I am working on L-2 now, and, as expected, it is being a real PITA.  I think I should have it done by tomorrow.  

I was very pleased with Larry's car selection yesterday.  He hunted and searched online until he found a 2013 model with only 8800 miles on it down in Houston.  We have been known to put that many miles on a car in six months.  lol  I am not too keen on black with a black interior, but for a cream puff like this, I will make an exception.

Dear Jane J-2, Picture Perfect

"Picture Perfect" was completed at the Blanketeer project day on Friday.  We had a lovely get together, and I got lots done, including this block and half of K-2, Grandpa's Chickens.  The only thing surprising with this block was how hard it was to edit out the orange - that stuff was everywhere!

The potluck was awesome, as usual, but the highlight of the day for me, was definitely when my friend, Renee, showed up as surprise. I had not seen Renee since she retired last year, but she and fellow Blanketeer, Sheila, both attend Holy Redeemer where we hold our project days.  Renee wanted to surprise me, so she had Sheila keep her in the loop about our project day schedule.  

Renee joined us right before lunch and we chattered away, catching up with life since October.  It was really wonderful to see her again!  We had teamed up two years ago and just really clicked.  Now we just need to convince her to take up quilting....

Dear Jane Fabric for J-2, Picture Perfect

I am having trouble selecting the batik for my next yellow block. The closest yellow is bright lemon, so I want to choose a deeper and richer yellow for this block.  The yellow fabric on the left would make a good background for an applique block; it would cause a mishmash on one that is paper-pieced like Picture Perfect.  The one on the right is the perfect color, but is a marble identical to the green block next door.  Larry suggested I edit out the dark orange in the middle batik and use that; I believe we have a winner.

Fabric Choices for Dear Jane J-2

All these decisions!  At least when I am visiting Grandma, I can occupy my time with very little thought.  I just pick up the pink scarf and continue where I left off.  Do until done, and done is when the skein of yarn is used up.

I love this stitch.  It is Knit 1, Purl 1, but every knit is worked into the stitch below the current row.  It makes it nice and poofy.  It is a bear to correct when you drop a stitch though; it does not follow the rules.  Grandma's long, heavy, metal needles kept sliding right out of the knitting and landing on the floor.  I ended up buying a set of short, very light-weight, bamboo double-pointed needles, and a set of removable rubber point balls.  When I am done knitting, the ball comes off the empty needle and is placed on the point of the full needle.  So far, no stitches have been dropped.