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#21
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Needing some tips about Dear Jane
Oh yes, that is a lovely version. I have never seen it done in anything
like that way - so pretty. The way the background colours form those 'trip around the world ' diamonds is so clever - and the border echoing all those colours ..... quite something. In message om, Trish Brown writes Polly, this is the one that got me hooked: http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/...KiPeNl?start=0 I think it's just gorgeous, the way she has used the coloured backgrounds to accent her prints! I hope mine will be as pretty! -- Best Regards Pat on the Green |
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#22
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Needing some tips about Dear Jane
Lots of my quilts are scrappy, with very mixed backgrounds. IMO it
makes the whole thing more lively. Once I went a bit overboard though. The solution was to quilt all over the surface with a contrasting variegated thread. It worked sort of like a glaze on a painting to pull all the different fabrics together. I'm probably going to have to do this again on the top I just finished. Roberta in D, Queen of the Scrap Heap On Thu, 21 Jul 2011 11:35:11 -0500, "Polly Esther" wrote: Should the background of every DJ block always have to be the very same? ( I realize that someone can make a DJ out of tie-dyed t-shirts if they take a notion.) Why I pose the question is - I am making a 'simple star' quilt and the blocks' backgrounds are sort of similar but they are not the same. The result, methinks, is very nice. Just wondered if you couldn't do a DJ with various backgrounds without an initial outlay for 15 yards - a staggering thought. Polly "Susan Laity Price" wrote in message .. . Please email me off group (slpdesigns at speakeasy dot net) I am also working on a DJ and would like to share information. Susan Price On Wed, 20 Jul 2011 20:01:29 +1000, Trish Brown wrote: 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 |
#23
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Needing some tips about Dear Jane
On Thu, 21 Jul 2011 11:35:11 -0500, Polly Esther wrote
(in article ): Should the background of every DJ block always have to be the very same? ( I realize that someone can make a DJ out of tie-dyed t-shirts if they take a notion.) Why I pose the question is - I am making a 'simple star' quilt and the blocks' backgrounds are sort of similar but they are not the same. The result, methinks, is very nice. Just wondered if you couldn't do a DJ with various backgrounds without an initial outlay for 15 yards - a staggering thought. Polly I've never done one, so I guess I don't know the rules. But I think similar yet different backgrounds would be stunning. Maureen |
#25
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variety Needing some tips about Dear Jane
Oh wow, Sandy. Thank you. Why am I surprised that there would be one with
Kaffe fabrics? And, of all things, I think I love the gentle tones the best. That could change. In mid-sentence. I would have to 'give the book away' too. No DJ in my future but I am truly wow'ed by them. Polly "Sandy E" wrote in message ... Howdy! "Anything goes!" Blue & white by our own Tutu Haynes: http://tinyurl.com/3qbkzml Technicolor: http://tinyurl.com/4xrglot http://dear-jane-quilt.livejournal.com/ http://ballaratpatchwork.com.au/scra...ett-dear-jane/ ... I gave away my Dear Jane book; wasn't going to make the quilt, enjoyed reading the history; that was enough. I do enjoy seeing other quilters' interpretations. ;-) Cheers! R/Sandy - leaving all the former msg. 'cause I want to |
#26
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Needing some tips about Dear Jane
Trish, I have finished quilting my DJ quilt and have started a second
(plus a couple of other projects from block swaps that need to be finished.) A couple of thoughts for you, using different backgrounds allows you to buy as you can or need to. The other option here is to use something basic, that you can buy in smaller amounts. I used Roc-Lon muslin and have no idea how much I used. G When I started my DJ I was pretty much a beginner. Didn't know how much of the quilt I was going to do. And I started with the triangles. (Had to be different.G) The group I started with met at a shop and we got 4-6 pieces of fabric each meeting. These were about 6" wide by 9-10" long and enough to do at least a block or triangle. Some of the blocks can easily be done with a charm square plus background, some can't. And a warning, once you start the small blocks they become addicting. And if you are planning to hand piece I heartily recommend the purchase of the book "Quilted Diamond 2" by Linda Franz. Even if you never do any of the diamonds the almost 2 hour DVD lesson on hand piecing is wonderful. Wish I had had that before I started my Jane. Most importantly remember: Finished is better than perfect. Make it big and trim it down. HAVE FUN. Pati, in Phx On Jul 20, 3:01*am, Trish Brown wrote: 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 -- Trish Brown {|:-} Newcastle, NSW, Australia |
#27
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Needing some tips about Dear Jane
Pati, in Phx wrote:
Trish, I have finished quilting my DJ quilt and have started a second (plus a couple of other projects from block swaps that need to be finished.) A couple of thoughts for you, using different backgrounds allows you to buy as you can or need to. The other option here is to use something basic, that you can buy in smaller amounts. I used Roc-Lon muslin and have no idea how much I used.G When I started my DJ I was pretty much a beginner. Didn't know how much of the quilt I was going to do. And I started with the triangles. (Had to be different.G) The group I started with met at a shop and we got 4-6 pieces of fabric each meeting. These were about 6" wide by 9-10" long and enough to do at least a block or triangle. Some of the blocks can easily be done with a charm square plus background, some can't. And a warning, once you start the small blocks they become addicting. And if you are planning to hand piece I heartily recommend the purchase of the book "Quilted Diamond 2" by Linda Franz. Even if you never do any of the diamonds the almost 2 hour DVD lesson on hand piecing is wonderful. Wish I had had that before I started my Jane. Most importantly remember: Finished is better than perfect. Make it big and trim it down. HAVE FUN. Pati, in Phx Oh Pati, it was great to read your post! Especially where you say you were a beginner when you started! LOL! That would be me! I wish I could join a group too. AFAICT, there aren't any locally and few local shops have even heard of the Jane A. Stickle quilt. Just today, I decided to start with the triangles too. My friend and I are expecting to have a planning session over the Christmas holidays (that's the soonest she can get here, since she lives on the other side of the country :-( ). I'm in honour bound not to start without her, but she's not going to add the border of triangles and I am. (This only dawned on me last night - duh!) So, I guess I'll start piecing the triangles and see how I go. I've already picked a few difficult blocks and made practice pieces of them. So far, so good. It looks like much of the piecing will be on foundations and for that, we plan to use a light sew-in interfacing. It travels quite well through the printer and will be much easier to get the foundations on to. I'm also re-drafting the block patterns so that they measure 6½" - I have a king-sized bed and need the extra area. My latest thoughts have been 'I wonder if I could do quilt-as-you-go on this?' and so that's what I think of as I lie in bed at night. Still haven't quite got the plan properly in my head, but I will, I will! LOL! I can't wait to get started: this is promising to be so much fun!!! ;-D -- Trish Brown {|:-} Newcastle, NSW, Australia |
#28
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Needing some tips about Dear Jane
How enterprising of you to change the block size. Most of the designs
fit neatly into the size; so will be easy enough to do 'proportionally'. You might have to work a bit on a few! As to the quilt as you go. I think that is actually a great idea. There are various methods 'out there'. But, I was thinking ... I would think that with such relatively small blocks, this quilt might be a candidate for a false back. You could use a fine muslin for the block backing, so that you could quilt them. Then, after they have all been sewn together with the sashing, you could choose the backing you really want (don't forget there are extra width fabrics, because you will already have a lot of seam thickness), and tie it to the top at, perhaps, every corner. The ties could be a feature, if you like that idea, or virtually invisible. See what you think. If I were a great one for block quilts (which I'm not, usually - I tend to do more whole area designs), I would have tried this method by now. Maybe it is in my future! I have tried a couple of the usual methods, but only for testing purposes. I'm so glad Pati came in with her tips. You really are going to have fun, you know! .. In message om, Trish Brown writes Oh Pati, it was great to read your post! Especially where you say you were a beginner when you started! LOL! That would be me! I wish I could join a group too. AFAICT, there aren't any locally and few local shops have even heard of the Jane A. Stickle quilt. Just today, I decided to start with the triangles too. My friend and I are expecting to have a planning session over the Christmas holidays (that's the soonest she can get here, since she lives on the other side of the country :-( ). I'm in honour bound not to start without her, but she's not going to add the border of triangles and I am. (This only dawned on me last night - duh!) So, I guess I'll start piecing the triangles and see how I go. I've already picked a few difficult blocks and made practice pieces of them. So far, so good. It looks like much of the piecing will be on foundations and for that, we plan to use a light sew-in interfacing. It travels quite well through the printer and will be much easier to get the foundations on to. I'm also re-drafting the block patterns so that they measure 6½" - I have a king-sized bed and need the extra area. My latest thoughts have been 'I wonder if I could do quilt-as-you-go on this?' and so that's what I think of as I lie in bed at night. Still haven't quite got the plan properly in my head, but I will, I will! LOL! I can't wait to get started: this is promising to be so much fun!!! ;-D -- Best Regards Pat on the Green |
#29
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Needing some tips about Dear Jane
What a brilliant idea, Pat.
I have always like the idea of QAYG - but shied away from all the ways of making it look all of a piece. Clever way around the back problem:-) Thankyou. -- Cheers for now Tutu Cape Town, South Africa "Pat S" wrote in message ... How enterprising of you to change the block size. Most of the designs fit neatly into the size; so will be easy enough to do 'proportionally'. You might have to work a bit on a few! As to the quilt as you go. I think that is actually a great idea. There are various methods 'out there'. But, I was thinking ... I would think that with such relatively small blocks, this quilt might be a candidate for a false back. You could use a fine muslin for the block backing, so that you could quilt them. Then, after they have all been sewn together with the sashing, you could choose the backing you really want (don't forget there are extra width fabrics, because you will already have a lot of seam thickness), and tie it to the top at, perhaps, every corner. The ties could be a feature, if you like that idea, or virtually invisible. See what you think. If I were a great one for block quilts (which I'm not, usually - I tend to do more whole area designs), I would have tried this method by now. Maybe it is in my future! I have tried a couple of the usual methods, but only for testing purposes. I'm so glad Pati came in with her tips. You really are going to have fun, you know! . In message om, Trish Brown writes Oh Pati, it was great to read your post! Especially where you say you were a beginner when you started! LOL! That would be me! I wish I could join a group too. AFAICT, there aren't any locally and few local shops have even heard of the Jane A. Stickle quilt. Just today, I decided to start with the triangles too. My friend and I are expecting to have a planning session over the Christmas holidays (that's the soonest she can get here, since she lives on the other side of the country :-( ). I'm in honour bound not to start without her, but she's not going to add the border of triangles and I am. (This only dawned on me last night - duh!) So, I guess I'll start piecing the triangles and see how I go. I've already picked a few difficult blocks and made practice pieces of them. So far, so good. It looks like much of the piecing will be on foundations and for that, we plan to use a light sew-in interfacing. It travels quite well through the printer and will be much easier to get the foundations on to. I'm also re-drafting the block patterns so that they measure 6½" - I have a king-sized bed and need the extra area. My latest thoughts have been 'I wonder if I could do quilt-as-you-go on this?' and so that's what I think of as I lie in bed at night. Still haven't quite got the plan properly in my head, but I will, I will! LOL! I can't wait to get started: this is promising to be so much fun!!! ;-D -- Best Regards Pat on the Green |
#30
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Needing some tips about Dear Jane
Kate in MI wrote:
I'm working on mine right now! I have found the software to be worth its weight and price! I provides both templates and foundation piecing patterns. A good many of the blocks can be foundation pieced which makes it a point-perfect process. It also allows you to sort the blocks by difficulty level -- which is nice. You could also resize the blocks to 6 inch blocks if you wish -- which makes them a little easier to work with - but if you plan to make the exact quilt it would be huge! You could start with the beginner blocks and work your way to the more difficult blocks. You do not need the actual EQ software to run the Dear Jane software. The software is $50 -- but if you split it -- you could print the patterns to a PDF file and email the templates to each other. I would be lost without it! http://www.electricquilt.com/Shop/DearJane/DJ.asp I'm drafting our blocks to be a bit larger (6½") and so I've started from scratch in CorelDraw. It's easy and fun. Let's see if the 'ease and fun' element remains after 225 blox! As for fabrics -- Keepsake quilting would be a place to look. Here is a bundle of 50 FQ's. Do you plan to make your quilt "charm style" -- without repeating any of your primary fabrics? I would say a 5" charm will not work for all blocks. You are going to drive yourself crazy trying to scrimp so you don't run short as you cut your pieces. I am using layer cakes (10" squares) and bought several packs of them. http://www.keepsakequilting.com/prod...OLLECTION-.htm Thanks for that, Kate! I'll email the URL on to Trisha so we can purchase ASAP. I bought one charm pack and was lucky enough to find it had only 10 different prints but with 2 squares of each print in it. Whew! That's just enough for some simple blocks. It seems to me, there'll probably be quite a bit left over after duplicates and over-budgetting are taken into account. What a shame! I'll have to make another quilt out of the scraps! One thought is to make double blocks -- you each would end up doing 1/2 of a quilt -- twice -- then you could trade so 1/2 of your quilts is made by your BFF. Yes, I think that's a great idea. Trisha is a lot better at foundation piecing than me and I'm a dab hand at appliqué. This should work well for us. Feel free to email me privately if you have any questions. I'm about 60% done with the center blocks (the 4 1/2" blocks). Hope to have them all done by Thanksgiving! Thank you! Good luck with the big finish! I'm *busting* to get started, but I did promise to wait until the Christmas hols. I s'pose I'll just have to phondle all the pretty phabrix until then. Or, maybe, make a leetle incursion into the triangles on the QT. ;-D -- Trish Brown {|:-} Newcastle, NSW, Australia |
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