Dear Jane: Back Blocks Arranged

So I have prepped the backing for the 169 blocks. These are all labelled and ready to go.

I'm waiting for my rulers to come before I begin tackling the next block.....or more like start the blocks.

Dear Jane: Decision & Prep

Well I have made a few decisions on this project.

1. I am going to do ‘quilt as you go’ with the blocks as I finish them.
2. I’m working on a pattern for the back so when the blocks are put together, it has a nice backing.
3. I ordered the Dear Jane templates to piece the blocks together. I have never paper pieced before so don’t want to waste the limited fabric I have. Nor do I want to get frustrated and put this back on the shelf.

I worked out the back of the quilt pattern, figured out the number of blocks and cut them out. As you can see I have given it a first pass of organizing the fabric. I will take all the pieces over to mom & dad’s where they have to floor space and will lay it out to ensure it is organized for when I start Quilting.

I am waiting for my templates to come, which should be next week. I can also start looking at the blocks and see if I can organize the first row at least.

Dear Jane Quilt Project - so the journey begins...or starts again

Besides it being quite a while since I blogged, I thought I would start again as I have a quest this time. To document my journey with the Dear Jane quilt. If no one reads this, or it is read 20 years from now, I’m hoping someone will acknowledge and appreciate the experience I have gone through with this quilt.

If you Google “Dear Jane Quilt” you will find many links on its history and other quilters journey to complete this project.

When I saw this quilt back in 2010, I fell in love with it. The different blocks, the history and the challenge interested me. I was able to find a block of the month for this quilt and started to receive the instructions and fabric on a monthly basis. BUT this was also the time I just began quilting. Being a beginner, I found this very daunting, only completed 1 block and put it on the backburner. One of many quilting UFOs – UnFinished Objects.

So, you say, you’ve been quilting for quite some time now, have done many quilts and your skills have increased 10-fold – so what has stopped you? Well to say the least you just don’t jump in with this quilt. I have spent 2 weeks now researching this quilt. How to begin, do I do paper piecing versus regular piecing, quilt the blocks as I go or join them as a completed top? There have been many questions and sites I visited to figure out how I’m going to tackle this project. Also, there has been many eye-opening facts and information. Like:

Total number of blocks: 169

Size of blocks: 4 ½”

Total number of triangles: 52

Size of triangles: 4 ½” x 8 ½”

Total numbers of corner blocks: 4

Size of corner blocks: 8 ½” x 8 ½”

Total overall pieces used in this quilt: 5,602

Overall finished size: 85” x 85”

I’ve also read that this project has taken most people between 2-4 years to complete. Why do you ask? Well in the quilting world, this quilt is often called “the most often started, and least often finished”. Due to the size of the blocks, total number of pieces and integrate blocks, this is a very daunting quilt.

Now I should mention that I am not working on this quilt on its own. I typically have several quilts on the go at one time, that way I am hoping I won’t get bored and put it (or any others) back on the shelf. For 2020, I do intend on getting a lot of my UFOs completed. Plus, I’m sure I will get side tracked and start other projects which typically happens. By spreading the “joy”, I’m working on getting things completed and hopefully my “stash” of fabric cleaned up.

So wish me luck, keep checking back for updates and here’s to getting my Dear Jane finished.

I am slowly getting organized with this quilt, still deciding if I do paper piecing (which I haven’t done before!) or regular piecing.