Friday, February 9, 2018

Dear Jane Progress

Finally, I had some time to sit down and start sewing my finished Dear Jane blocks together with the sashing. I've been busy but I've also been stalling because it was all a bit scary. How do I do this? Will everything fit together nicely? Or will it be a real pain to get the top assembled? What if they simply do not go together and the quilt looks awful? I went back and forth about the sashing too. The very first Dear Jane quilt I saw in person (made by Karan Flanscha, of Iowa) had cornerstones. Blue cornerstones. I liked the way it looked with cornerstones and I hope Karan doesn't mind I'm using her idea. Jane Stickle's original quilt does not have cornerstones but it made perfect sense to me.


I'm very happy with how it looks and, surprisingly, it wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. 

This is Karan's quilt - 


I remember meeting Karan when I was teaching a workshop at a guild meeting in Iowa some years ago. My mouth fell open as she showed us her quilt. It was beautiful and I became inspired. She encouraged me to try making this quilt and has truly been an inspiration to many quilters over the years.


I'd been trimming and squaring up the blocks as I went along but I pressed and did it again as I sewed the sashing just to make sure.  I'm always amazed when they turn out to be 5" square. You have to understand, I've been doing this since 2010 and my skills and accuracy have improved since making some of the early blocks. I've used two different sewing machines. Some blocks are hand pieced, some are machine pieced, some are paper pieced. Lots of variation and so much could go wrong. I breathe a sign of relief when they measure up. If you are thinking of making this quilt, be sure to get the official Dear Jane rulers. They're essential. And the software. Don't forget about the software. I would never have finished without the Dear Jane EQ software. A big help for the rotary cutting directions and a lifesaver as I did the paper piecing. Plus, the software contains lots of other info and some great tips. It's almost like taking a class -  all the info you need is right there.


Here's how I'm making the sashing with cornerstones - I cut 5" x 12" pieces from my sashing fabric. Then I cut a 1" x 12" strip from blue cornerstone fabric. I sewed the two strips together and then sub cut that into 1" strips as you can see below. I also cut 1" x 5" strips of sashing fabric. These were first sewn to the right side of a block (see below). The sashing piece with the cornerstone attached was then stitched to the bottom of the block. Then I sewed 6 blocks together with the sashing to make a row. Remember to leave off the sashing around the outer edges of the quilt as you sew the rows together. 



I decided to sew the rows together into four sections. Then I'll sew those sections together. It's a little less cumbersome for me to do it this way. As long as I don't get confused and sew the wrong sections together at the end. I keep the picture of Jane's quilt nearby so I can check every step of the way.


Snow days = Sew days. I stitched a couple more rows together yesterday and hope to finish the first of four sections today. (Don't worry, it's just a little snow. It'll dry. This quilt will probably go through worse before I'm done with it. And it looks so pretty against the white snow.)

Have a fun weekend! It's supposed to snow A LOT more here in the coming days.




30 comments:

Renée Welton said...

It’s just beautiful Kathy, and what an accomplishment! Congratulations!!

Granny's Button Box said...

Kathy, its beautiful, well done. Your fabric choice, perfect. Sharon x

sandi s said...

It’s a beautiful quilt! Hugs, Sandi

BillieBee (billiemick) said...

Stunning!

Gretchen Weaver said...

I put cornerstones in my Dear Jane also, I just think the quilt looks better with them. Your Jane is looking lovely, congratulations to being this close to a finish. You can be proud of your accomplishment.

quiltgrannie said...

It's great to see you getting back to DJ. And it's coming together nicely, love the blue cornerstones.

liz said...

Kathy: Great job. Glad you are finishing the quilt. Liz in Rochester

Sue said...

A beautiful quilt, and I love the corner stones. :-)

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

it looks wonderful - these quilts take awhile to make, I did two and they both took about 4 years out of my life to finish - I didn't get the software but I did have the rulers and the book - can't do without those rulers I found.

Samplings from Spring Creek said...

It looks beautiful--yes the cornerstones definitely add to the quilt. Keep going you are making progress.

Liz B. said...

It's beautiful, Kathy. I love how it looks with cornerstones, they really set off each block so well. Congratulations, I admire your persistence.
Liz B. in England.

Pauline Simpson said...

It's absolutely beautiful Kathy!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful...I am so impressed you are finishing. Personally, I have yet to do anything but drool over all the others I have seen.

Jane

Chookyblue...... said...

beautiful and it looks great........

Kleine Vingers said...

Lovely snow with the quilt.

ann said...

I have the Dear Jane on my to do list. I like the looks of the cornerstones. How much fabric is needed for the cornerstones for the whole quilt?

BJ said...

This is the year I start my Dear Jane. I've been stalling long enough! Yours pushed me off the fence about cornerstones - I love them! Yours is so beautiful. Thanks for the sashing tips.

Susan D said...

Oh my goodness. Cornerstones! They look wonderful, but I can just see that taking me a thousand times longer.

And of course, some of the blocks already have their own cornerstones, from their structure.

I'm going to have to think hard about this. Fortunately (?) assembly time is still a long way off for me.

Kathleen Tracy said...

Ann - I have no idea but I hope it's less then 1/2 yard because that's all I have of that blue.

Kathleen Tracy said...

Thanks for all of your kind comments! I need the encouragement to keep going . . .

Kathleen Tracy said...

BJ - just do it. Jump in and make an easy block or two to get started. I started by making lots of easy blocks to knock some off the list. Then keep a tally of the ones you've finished. Number them. It helps to see them add up. Then make more every now and then. They WILL add up over time.

Kathleen Tracy said...

Susan D - It really isn't really that hard to do the cornerstones. They line up nicely if you press correctly so the seams butt together. Making a row with 6 or 7 blocks and sashing is not that difficult. For me, it's easier than thinking about doing a row of 13.I finished putting together 36 blocks with sashing to make one section in less than a week. I'll do four sections with 6 or 7 rows each. I'm in no hurry.

Charlotte said...


Gorgeous! I love the cornerstone print. Great accomplishment - be proud!

Charlotte

Liz said...

So beautiful. Makes me want to start on my DJ
LizL

Radka said...

Wow, beautiful!
xx

TheLakeshore said...

Kathy, it is stunning. Truly.

Judy said...

Such an inspiration! Love the cornerstones, your blue is perfect. It's been wonderful being able to follow your progress, so glad you are blogging.

Louise said...

Well doggone it, I think that is my sister Judy’s post just above...I truly love how your blocks are looking especially with the cornerposts
I have to pull mine out and get back on it. I think I have just 30 blocks completed, but can say I really enjoy working on these.
Nice shade of blue.....thank you for posting the pictures.

Anonymous said...

I did sashes and cornerstones also! I like the look. I started my quilt in 1997 and abandoned it 100 times but finished this year. I was so exhausted on making the blocks that I said no to the triangles. The BLOCKS ARE IT.....and I can breathe again. Yours is so pretty. Congrats.

Anonymous said...

You did a beautiful job. I did cornerstones too. I thought that long narrow strip might get "whonky" and I liked the cornerstones better also. Mine just got back from getting machine quilting. AND mine only took 20 years to finish. Kept starting and abandoning. I don't know how Jane did it. Glad to have it finished though. Congratulations.

.

Related Posts with Thumbnails