i) we're really only beginning quilters without all that many difficult
blocks behind us

I was an absolute beginner when I started my first Dear Jane - and for that
one I started with the easiest block I could find and once that was
completed, went on to the next one. That was a great way for a beginner to
start, because it meant that, by the time you reached the real stinkers, you
had some skills behind you.

ii) neither of us has anyone nearby to offer help/advice in person

Ditto. And I never spoke to anyone in person about the quilt and my
difficulties before I completed it. And I finished it.

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.

I scraped by with a fat 1/8th (or a tad less at times) for a block AND a
plain triangle and a pieced triangle. In my first DJ, I repeated quite a few
fabrics, but the second only about six duplicates. (Make a spreadsheet or
something to track your fabrics. I had little squares stuck on a paper
replica). Certainly, if you are careful, a charm square could do you.

I did use (very cheap) muslin for the background. Good was that it was cheap
so that it didn't really matter how much I used. Bad was that it was a bear
for the small applique, so be warned on that. Also be aware that if you are
doing a lot of paper piecing, you tend (however miserly you are, to use a
bit more fabric). I used 6m of 150cm wide - and that gave me quite a bit of
wriggle room. That did NOT include the sashings.

I got The Book and then redrafted each one in EQ4 (that dates me, doesn't
it). Now things are a lot easier with EQ's DJ software (you'll see my quilts
in there and some of my tips too). I would seriously recommend purchasing
the software unless you are going to hand piece everything using freezer
paper or some other precise method.

And finally, good luck and enjoy the journey. Shout if you have specific
problems - there's a number of people here who can help.

--
Cheers for now
Tutu
Cape Town, South Africa
"Trish Brown" wrote in message
eb.com...
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


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

--
Trish Brown {|:-}

Newcastle, NSW, Australia