About the 1863 Dear Jane Quilt
My Dear Jane Stats
- 169 square blocks; 3,559 pieces (in the "keeper" blocks)
- 100 (59%) of the "keeper" blocks have 632 fussy cuts
- 15 were made more than once (one was made at least 4 times and then I switched to hand piecing for good)
- 29 (17%) of the "keeper" blocks use directional fabrics (stripes, plaids,etc.)
- Woven sashing around the square blocks: 168 pieces
- 1 corner kite: 74 pieces; 2 fussy cuts
- 4 (2%) machine-pieced and hand-appliqued -- these were very early blocks made before I completely abandoned machine piecing: E10, G11, G13, J13
- 127 (75%) hand-pieced
- 16 (9%) hand-appliqued
- 22 (13%) hand-pieced and hand-appliqued
Sashing the Square Blocks
My sashing is set to look woven. Here's a diagram. With all the sashes made of the same ivory fabric, the pattern is well beyond subtle. It would have helped to set the north-south sashes in one color and the east-west sashes in another, but such an approach would have added more complexity to a layout that already struggles to look calm and cohesive.
Posts
To read about a specific block, go here, find a photo, click on it and see if it has a link to a blog posting.
- My Progress
- Mosaics - virtual quilts
- Photographing blocks
- Valentines for Jane - more virtual quilts
Poems for Jane
I wrote a free-verse poem after I completed each of these rows: E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L. When I finished Row M, I was too excited to bother!And Then I Ran Out of Fabric
In 2012, I was ready to begin making triangles, but was running out of the ivory background fabric. I bought 5 yards just like the book recommended. It turns out one needs 8 yards for hand piecing, 15 for machine piecing, 20 for foundation piecing. Disheartened, I took a break from Jane. Meanwhile, I joined a collaborative cross-stitch project; completed a three-year art course with Jane Dunnewold and exhibited my artworks in a few shows before I came down with Long Covid. Now, in November 2025, I'm feeling strong enough to consider finishing this quilt . . . probably with shortcuts, so I can finally sleep beneath it.
Galleries
- Blocks
- Replacement Blocks - before and after photos
- Block Construction - redrafts and construction details
- Mosaics - virtual quilts
- Valentines for Jane - more virtual quilts
- Dear Jane Progress
- Visiting the Dear Jane Quilt - I discovered two of the blocks are made with cheater cloth!
Redrafting Blocks
When Brenda's drafts look different from Jane's blocks, I either follow Brenda, revise the draft to follow Jane, do my own thing, or some combo thereof.
- A Quilter's Journey Back in Time
- Connie's Quilts provides a meticulous block-by-block analysis.
- Susan Gatewood has redrafted all the squares, kites and triangles for foundation piecing, which can be helpful even for hand piecers.
- Granny Maud's Girl designed her own triangles and kites -- and shares her drafts. She posted more here. I especially enjoyed this post: "Dear Jane, no quilt block can scare me now!"
Close Ups of Jane's Quilt
When redrafting, it's helpful to look at Jane Stickle's quilt. Thank you, Connie, for these photos!
Blocks I Redrafted
- A1 - Pinwheel Gone Awry
- A2 - One Two Buckle My Shoe
- A7 - Dad's Plaids
- A9 - Cabin Fever
- A12 - Framed Fancy
- A13 - Starlight-Starbright
- B4 - Chris' Soccer Field
- B5 - Hot Cross Buns
- B11 - Melissa's Cross - tutorial
- B13 - Four Corner Press Jane's block was made with cheater cloth (read about it here)
- C2 - Streak of Lightening
- C4 Tic-Tac-Toe I did not redraft it but wish I had
- C5 - Eye of the Cyclone
- C6 - Ashley's Aura
- C13 - Lakota Sioux Jane Stickle made this block with cheater cloth (read about it here)
- D11 - Snow
- E4 - Buffalo Tree Hopper
- E8 - Momma's Maze
E11 - Wagon Wheel- F1 - Big Top
- F10 - Potholder
- G11 - Decisions, Decisions
- H2 - Jacob Anthony
- H9 - Snowflake Melt
- I11 - Coyote Chase
- I13 - Sweet Harmony
- J1 - Josepha's Jonquil
- J2 - Picture Perfect
- J12 - Rebecca's Basket
- K1 - Crooked Creek
- K4 - Thea's Turn
- K5 - Passing Through
- K12 - Doris's Dilemma
- K13 - Brandon's Star
- L2 - Stephanie's Snowflake
- L4 - St George's Cross
- L10 - Nan's Naiad
- L11 - Caitlin's Rose
- L12 - Sally's Pride I changed the orientation.
- L13 - Harvest Moon
M1 - Dogwood Days- M4 - Stepping Stones
- M6 - Simplicity
- M7 - Junko's Rose Garden
- M13 - Lynette's Diamond
More Dear Jane Links
Interesting Baby Janes
- "A Tribute to Jane" made by Patricia Mayer and Karen Watts with an all-ivory border and fabulous machine quilting on the border! See it here, here, and here.
- Jane with Wide Sashing -- by my estimate, this quilt has 1½ inch sashing versus the ½ inch in Brenda's book
- Jane's Addicted plans a different arrangement of the blocks. Wish I had seen this many years ago -- I might have followed her lead.
- Machine quilting by Green Fairy Quilts on her DJ quilt made with Kaffe Fasset fabrics.
- Quilt Inspiration wrote two terrific postings about Janiacs. Catch them here and here.
- Dutch Comfort's border triangles are made with appliqued shapes from the square blocks -- circles, teardrops, squares, diamonds. I've contemplated something much like this. Wish I could see her corners. Unfortunately, this link is broken, but I'm saving this description, as it gives me ideas I want to remember.
- Thinking of You by Miai at the Tokyo Dome 2013. Look closely, it's Jane's configuration with different blocks. Her outer triangles have integrated scallops, making them into snow cones.
- Beautifully simple snow cone quilting; I do not know the name of the maker.
Janiacs
- A Quilter's Journey Back in Time
- That Quilt with lots of construction tips
Jane on Flickr
No comments:
Post a Comment