Dear Jane

The Christmas cactus has outdone itself.  It is full of blossoms.  Maybe it is a Thanksgiving cactus.  qui

Making Dear Jane blocks is addictive.  Some are very easy to piece.  Some are very hard.  I’ve found that the hard ones are best if pieced by hand or paper pieced.  The easy blocks can be paper pieced also.  Sometimes it’s easier to paper piece than to figure out the measurements.

The blocks are 4 1/2″ square.  It would seem as if they wouldn’t take as much time as a larger block, but sometimes they  take just as long to make.  The applique pieces even though they are very small, take time to position and sew down.   The hand quilting time is much shorter and the binding doesn’t take too long to sew down.

I’ve been making the blocks in the potholder method.  Every block is hand quilted and bound.  Then they are sewed together.  The binding makes a nice sashing.

The Dear Jane blocks are the perfect size to take to a sit and sew.  I try to keep a few ready to take when I go out.  I have several blocks in different stages of construction in a basket.  Some are pieced and ready to quilt.  Some are quilted and have the binding sewn on and are ready for it to be tacked down.   Some have the applique ready to sew.  I like to applique at home and do not take these until they are ready to quilt and bind.  Every block is in it’s own baggie with a picture of the block and it’s position on the quilt.

I’ve been making them this way and found that I have more finished than I thought.  Row A is finished.

The instructions for row B are in baggies with the fabric that I will use for those blocks.  I’ve started piecing the Row B blocks. When they are finished, I’ll do the same with Row C.  Row D is completed and is sewn onto the body of the quilt. Row D is the top row.  There are four more blocks sewn on that are outside the picture.

I originally planned to start in the center of the quilt and work  the rows around the center.  The center block is the green circle that is four down and seven over from the left.  Somehow, that plan fell away and I was making a lot of blocks out of order.  Eventually, they will all be sewn into the quilt.

Jane will take a rest for a while.  I have several other projects that need finishing. I’ll bring her out again when I run out of blocks to take to a sit and sew.

Have a great day and happy quilting.