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.

Tatting Tuesday - More Interruptions

I expected to post a new edging pattern I have been crocheting in a larger yarn, when my plans were interrupted by an unexpected call. The used car we had arranged to test-drive came in today, instead of Thursday as expected.  So, after running to Susan's workplace to collect signatures, I spent the rest of the day at the dealership jumping through hoops of paperwork.  But finally, at the end of the day, the car was ours!

What I Did Today

Tomorrow I will get back to my crocheting and such.

Larry

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....

Six on Sunday - Week 5

The closet purge continues.  I found five pairs of slacks that were no longer sparking joy in me, and an old sound generator machine. It would generate a variety of soothing noises and slowly taper off to silence, allowing you to drift off to sleep to the sound of ocean surf, or gentle rain. Larry used to snore a lot, and this would help drown him out.  Seems like it developed problems with the sound selection, and we stopped using it.

Five pairs of slacks, sound generator - 7 pounds

After a thorough cleaning of his closet, Larry found two pairs of shorts and two pairs of slacks that are now too big (yeah!), as well as a carry-on bag, and an old gimme tote from a conference his mother attended.

Two pairs slacks, two pairs shorts, carry-on and tote bag - 9 pounds

Singer Restoration Saturday - Cooking Edition

Yesterday was Susan's project day with her quilting buddies.  At Susan's request, I made a batch of Caramel Chicken for her to take for the potluck lunch.

Caramel Chicken - Yummy!

The recipe for this tasty dish can be found here.  Susan found it while surfing the internet one day, and it quickly became one of our favorites.

Larry

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.

Dear Jane I-2 - Kaye's Courtyard

This simple little block gave me no end of trouble.  In the first place, I made all three checkerboards exactly the same.  I had to pull a white end off of the center slice and replace it with a green end on the other side.  As if that was not bad enough, I stitched a tiny little wrinkle in one of the seams, then sewed a green "ear" onto it before I noticed.  That only took me two tries to correct.  lol Honestly, it is surprising it turned out as well as it did.

I-2  Kaye's Courtyard

It was hard to decide between two scrap batiks for this block. Since the corners are so large, I had considered fussy cutting a green batik with large diamonds to showcase the diamonds, but in the end, I decided to go with something simpler.  No fussy cutting for this one, except starting with the darker, more mottled end of the scrap.  

Tatting Tuesday - Crocheted Edgings

I am gradually branching out in my crocheting.  Last week, granny squares; this week, edgings.  I started with a larger yarn and hook, and worked on a pattern from one of my grandmother's crochet books while I was in Shreveport visiting last weekend.

Crocheted Edging - Yarn and D/3 Hook

Looks more like a tiny tiara than edging, doesn't it?  I think I am beginning to develop a better feel for how tight to work. Previously, my stitches were so tight that it was hard to get the hook with the thread back through the loops!  Now I am finding it easier to make the stitches, and it is faster, too.  I finished the piece above in an afternoon, while Susan and Grandma took a nap!

Having improved working with yarn, I was eager to try something much smaller to work with.  Here is the same pattern (if I am remembering it right - Grandma still has the book in Shreveport), working with 50 weight thread and a size 10 hook.

Crocheted Edging - 50 wt thread and 10 hook

You can see the shells in the pattern appearing. This is a lot trickier, but I can see how the looser stitching applies to this level as well.

Larry

Dear Jane H-2 - Jacob Anthony

The Jacob Anthony block is almost complete; however, I have not yet appliqued the remaining triangles outside the diamond.  I like how this one turned out so far.  (I know, I know, I say that for practically every Dear Jane block; I must really like batiks, or something!)  

H-2  Jacob Anthony

The soft browns in this fabric work well in this block.  I decided to avoid most of the really pale tan and all of the dark grey to achieve the desired calm look.  Since the fabric has lots of the brown, I just cut a long narrow strip and edited the fabric from there.

Batik selected

I think I will use this batik again as the background for an appliqued block, then I can leave in some of the grey and tan.  It is nice to use the same batiks in different ways so the blocks coordinate without being matchy matchy.

I bought an entire bolt of white muslin to use on Dear Jane, based on the DJ list recommendation of 20 yards for foundation piecing.  I have been cutting off about a yard at a time and using that up before cutting more.  The second yard is down to a small scrap after about 44 blocks and four triangles.  I should have some yardage left, even if I use the muslin for the backing.  I wonder how they came up with 20 yards?  I do not think I am being that careful, and I have certainly made plenty of cutting mistakes.