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Old July 20th 11, 03:23 PM posted to rec.crafts.textiles.quilting
Polly Esther[_5_]
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Default Needing some tips about Dear Jane

I don't know what I'm talking about but has that ever stopped me? NOoooo.
Trish mentioned thinking of using 30's repros for her fabric. 30's
repros to my mind are mostly happy silly grandma's apron, bubblegum pink and
kittens with mittens. The Dear Jane quilts I've seen (not many) have been
created with much more somber (how's that for a word?) tones.
Will somebody who knows please climb in here? Polly


"Pat S" wrote in message
...
Before you do anything, Trish, I suggest you visit one of the Dear Jane
online groups.
When you get the books, you will see that there are no instructions. Now,
instructions have been created elsewhere than in the book, and tips etc
and have been gathered together on the dedicated sites (you can discuss
etc just like here). If you have found the blogs and such, that will do
you fine. I didn't use them - not because I am arrogant, but I have ways
I like to work and we are all different. The very fact that it had been
proved that they were do-able was enough for me!

One thing, you may find that the background fabric quantity which is
usually given has been overestimated. It would be awful to have to buy
the large amount - at Australian prices - and then find you had a lot left
over. I bought a lot less background that it said and think I will have
enough; but it does depend very much on how you work with the blocks.

Working slowly is good; just set an easy target - even one or two a month
will keep you going. You will find that some are very easy and you can
get quite a few of those done quite quickly. Others will take more time.
It is a very appealing project and you will have great adventures along
the way. When you have examined all the pros and cons, don't be afraid to
make them your own by, perhaps doing fewer blocks (if you are finding it
hard-going), or re-arranging them.

By the way, I know this is going to sound scarcely believable: but, when
you have finished and are labelling your quilts, you must be careful not
to call them 'Dear Jane'. You might want to put them in a show or make
them public in some way, and the 'Dear Jane' title is copyrighted by the
author of the book; and there is at least one record of her taking someone
to court over the name. Many of us use the Dear Jane name as a sort of
shorthand. You can always use the name of the original designer and call
it something like 'Trish's quilt in the style of the Jane Stickle Quilt of
1863'.

Hope something here helps.
.
In message om, Trish
Brown writes
Well! It's only a couple of weeks since I found out about a thing called
'Dear Jane' here at rctq. I wonder why I so badly need to make one???

Oddly, my quilting buddy (who now lives at the exact opposite end of the
country) has been infected independently of me and mentioned it yesterday
in a phone call. We had an 'AHA!!!' moment and began planning how we could
do a quilt-along, even though we're thousands of miles apart. This is
good! We figu

i) we can work slowly along and support each other by email
ii) we can share/swap fabrics to keep costs down
iii) we agree we'd both like to use 1930s prints and solids
iv) there are lots of online blogs with tips and instructions
v) a Dear Jane would be a Very Good Idea - think of all the experience
we'd gain!

Our main problems a

i) we're really only beginning quilters without all that many difficult
blocks behind us
ii) neither of us has anyone nearby to offer help/advice in person
iv) it's *really* hard to find a big enough selection of fabrics in the
30s prints we like
v) even though we've ordered 'The Book', we can't figure out how to buy
the fabrics.

So, with all the above as background, and keeping in mind that our plan is
to make each block from a different print and use toning 1930s solids as
background, here are my main questions:

Roughly how much fabric do you need for each block in a Dear Jane?

Is it a good idea to collect charm packs? Is a 5" charm square big enough
to make one block? Should/can we buy fat eighths? (Easy here in Oz, not so
easy in the US) Should we buy fat quarters and share them? Would it be
cheaper/more sensible to just use white fabric for the background and buy
15 yards each of it?

Finally, does anyone have any recommendations for good online US shops? We
really need to count our pennies on this and it's *lots* cheaper to buy
online than from local sources.

If anyone's done/doing a Dear Jane, would you please share your wisdom so
Trisha and I can get started? Thanks heaps! ;-D


--
Best Regards
Pat on the Green


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