Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Rain and Jane and Play

It's fall and it's raining. I love the occasional wet and chilly day. It makes me want to stay inside and quilt so maybe I'll get some sewing done today. Perhaps a little baking too.
 
 
Walked the dog in the rain yesterday down my favorite streets.

 
You'll be happy to know that I made my goal of getting back into stitching on my Dear Jane blocks and finished another one. Yay!
 
 
This is a huge deal for me since  - and this is hard for me to admit - I have not made any blocks at all this year. How could that be??  I've made plenty of small quilts and other projects, just have been too busy to work on my Jane I guess.  You know how that goes. Well, I want to say that I am back but we'll see.
 
A friend suggested I prep some blocks, keep them in zip-lock bags, then grab one when the urge strikes. A good idea if only I would take the time to do that. Usually, I am not that organized and when the urge strikes I don't want to prep, I want to MAKE. But I will try harder.
 
 
If you are just starting out and are not a purist and making all the blocks by hand I highly recommend the DJ software by Electric Quilt. You can print out the rotary cutting directions and paper piecing patterns and hand piecing templates instead of tracing them from the book. So much easier.
 
                                     
 
Every skill I need to make some blocks takes me so long to learn. I am not good at foundation paper piecing and I still have to work on that quite a bit. Everyone seems to feel it is so easy but I hate doing it.

 
There are many distractions around here. Like many of you, life takes up so much of my quilting time. But I hope I can find ways to continue making progress on this quilt.  My goal for November in my Yahoo Small Quilt group is to get back into it and make a few more of these blocks. It seems a lot of you have decided to do the same thing. I received so many wonderful comments and e-mails after my last post that I started a new Dear Jane Yahoo group, mostly for members of my other Yahoo group Small Quilt Talk (SQT) who are having difficulty getting their DJ quilt completed and need encouragement to keep going.    Join us here   if you would like to play along.

 

I started the group on a whim so that some of us could encourage each other and show photos of our progress. Surprisingly, we now have quite a few members and some who have become inspired to begin one too. This is great and I am happy so many of you are jumping in!
 

 
I started out by making a lot of the easy blocks to get into it.
 
 

                  
As I mentioned, I have only made 51 blocks so far. So I have a long way to go . . . .



13 comments:

Quilting Stories said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Quilting Stories said...

Sorry, I wanted to correct my message but I deleted it instead! I hope your received it.

Betty Lou said...

I applaud you for getting back to your Dear Jane, they are lovely quilts but just too much of a commitment for me. I'll stick to doll quilts. Love your heart block.

Susan D said...

Well done, getting back on track.

Sis Voorn said...

Nice Jane project !
Greetz from the Netherlands...

Created by Kathi said...

Love that you are working on a UFO and finding comraderie among peers who share your determination ... dear janes are beautiful quilts :) I also don't like foundation piecing... not sure why but it and me don't get along well.. but I prefer hand stitches to machine ones anyway! lol Kathi

Beardie Mom said...

I love days like this too! One of my UFO's is the quilt on the cover of Remembering Adelia!!! All the applique (done by needle turn) is done . . .

Merilyn said...

Such a nice idea to start the DJ (encouragement) group! I've packed away my one and only little first block, so will have to find it and try and post a pic of it on my days off and join in. Your latest block is very sweet! Just keep practicing your Foundation Paper Piecing, it'll get easier! I love it especially with small blocks, you can't beat the accuracy!!!! It'll be interesting to see how we all progress over the next year.......

agullainquieta said...

Els Dear Jane són preciosos, celebro que hi tornis!
Una abraçada

Deb said...

Kathleen don't make Jane stressful you do it when you feel like it so you can enjoy it, but if you need a prepper I am here for you.
I also love the rain but my doggie (Chihuahua) does not so I go by myself and enjoy the fresh fall air that the rain brings.

Nita said...

I've never heard of Dear Jane. I'll have to google it. Personally, I love these quilts that take years to complete. :)

Eileen said...

Kathy, your blocks look great! Are these new ones?

Nicky said...

Well done and enjoy the journey!

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