Dear Jane Quilt Block, D-8, "Dee Dee's Delight". This is a 4 1/2" block with 8 hand appliqued pieces. To sew this block, start with your background fabric a little larger than you need. You'll trim this when the block is finished. Lightly crease the square from corner to corner, and down the middle each way to find the center. Baste the appliques to the background square one at a time as you sew them. Do all four sides and then the four corners. Because each piece had to be sewn perfectly, it took me a long time to sew. I found this block to be more difficult than most.
Dear Jane Quilt Block, C-1, "Trooper Green's Badge".
"Thimble Mini Quilt". Look at the photo of this Miniature Quilt I made and read the words that I wrote on some of the pieces. (Click on the photo to see it full sized.) The quilt contains 144 different fabrics. They are the size and shape of Thimbles. I made this to encourage myself, and it always makes me smile. You can do anything you make up your mind to do. Ask God to help you! God Bless You All Today.
I just have to share this with you...a couple of years ago, I bought a bag of depression era quilting scraps at a flea market. The scraps were cut in the shape of petals to be sewn in a daisy style quilt block. Looking through the scraps, I found only one with a cute white Scottie dog wearing a red bow, on a blue background. I just loved this print and thought about the Aunt Grace 1930's Reproduction fabrics designed by Judy Rothermel. I sent the scrap to Judy at the School House Quilt Shoppe, and she used it in her next Aunt Grace fabric line. When it was printed she sent me a yard of it as a thank you. Now I can sew little white Scottie dogs into all my scrap quilts, and enjoy the thought that this fabric print is now reproduced for a new generation to enjoy! (I see Judy still has some of the fabric left, and is selling it at $8.00 a yard. Look for the link to her shop in the sidebar at the right side of this page.)
Dear Jane Block, A-8, "Florence Nightingale", 4 1/2" block, 11 hand sewn pieces. The gold fabric is by VIP, Cranston Print Works. / This is a simple, pretty block, and easy to sew. It's an old traditional Quilt Block pattern, often called "Album Block". Friends would sign their names or remembrance wishes on these blocks and give them as gifts, especially when someone was moving away. There are many pioneer quilts made from this pattern, and we can imagine how much comfort they brought to a new bride setting up home for the first time far away from those she loved.
I made this Christmas Sampler Mini Quilt a few years ago with the help of my friend Mallory. She made 6 of the blocks, and I sent her 6 blocks for her quilt. It's fun to do a block swap with friends. I drew the patterns for the Sun Bonnet Angel, the Red House, and the Pine Tree in the upper right corner. My blocks are hand pieced, machine pieced and hand appliqued. Mallory made the Christmas Tree, Wreath, Ginger Bread Man, Santa, Candle and Folk Art Angel, using Machine Paper Piecing, and Machine Applique. To organize a block exchange with friends, be sure to agree on the colors and types of fabrics to be used, so you'll have a pleasing finished quilt. I just love this Christmas quilt, and I'd like to thank Mallory for her blocks and her friendship! Hugs, Mallory! :)
L-4, "St. George's Cross", 4 1/2" block. 21 Hand sewn pieces. This was a fairly easy block to sew. You need to work slowly to be sure to stay on the sewing lines, especially with the tiny white strips. Be sure to place your pattern straight with the grain of the fabric so the block will stay nice and square.
D-3, "Jason's Jacks", Hand Appliqued, two pieces of fabric. I cut the pattern out of freezer paper, and ironed in onto the right side of the striped fabric. Then I cut out the applique, leaving a small seam allowance all around. I used small brass safety pins to attach the cut out shape to the right side of the background fabric. I clipped the seam allowance as I sewed the block, a little bit at a time, using a dampened round tooth pick to tuck under the seam. It was a simple block to sew.
Dear Jane Quilt Block I - 10, "Iris Medallion", 21, hand sewn pieces, 4 1/2 inch block. Fabric by Thimbleberries. This block has some tricky angles. I re-drafted the pattern from the one in the Dear Jane book on gridded freezer paper. Then I cut out the pieces, and ironed them onto the reverse side of the fabric, leaving plenty of fabric around each piece to hold on to. Then I traced around each pattern piece with a pencil, and sewed on the pencil line. After sewing each seam, I trimmed the seam allowance to a bit less than 1/4 inch. The fabric I used doesn't have much pattern or color to it, but I think that helped to make the block turn out better than I expected. I like it!
C - 9, "Jane's Tears", Fabric by Documentaries by Benartex. This is an easy, reverse applique block with 5 pieces. Hand sewn. It's one of the most distinctive blocks in the quilt, and is often chosen for friendship/swap blocks to trade. I just loved making this block myself.
This is my Miniature Steiff Teddy Bear, Flocks and a little quilt. Flocks is 100 years old, and only 3 1/2 inches tall. Next to her is a very old Staffordshire dog. The quilt behind her is a Mini Quilt made from scraps of Civil War Reproduction fabrics, in the Tumbling Blocks pattern. The quilt was sewn by hand.
I love this block. I've looked at other girl's blocks made from this pattern, and it's pretty no matter what fabric is used, but I'm especially fond of this gold print. There are only a few yellow blocks in the original quilt, so I wanted to use the prettiest fabric I could find. This was an easy block to sew, without too many pieces.
I just started a page at Facebook for my Dear Jane Quilt, "Dear Jane Quilt, And My Quilt "What A Pain Jane!" I've put a facebook badge on this blog to connect to it. I hope you enjoy watching my progress, and I hope I can get it done this time! Have a fun Holiday Season! Carol Jean
