Jane Stickle Quilt: I-11

Block number/name: I-11 “Coyote Chase”

Date completed: February 27, 2010

Number of pieces: 12

Notes on block: So tired… All this week, I’ve been grappling with lack of energy. It was nice to finally feel focused enough be able to work on this block! On this one I pieced the background and then appliquéd the outer diamonds by needleturn with freezer paper on top. Finger-pressing the edges of the diamonds really helped to keep my edges straight and made placement much easier.

Recently, I've received a few comments asking about how I put together my progress chart, so I thought I'd address that here. I have the Dear Jane software and was able to export a snapshot of the original quilt layout into my photo editing software (I use Corel Paintshop Pro Photo X2). Then I converted the image to black and white and saved it. As I complete blocks, I take my block photos, crop them off the seam allowances, and then copy them as a new layer into the quilt image. Finally, I reposition and resize the block so that it fits over the appropriate spot in the quilt image and then I save it. I add to it as I finish more blocks. So, at this point, I have my quilt image + 177 layers.

Since there are so many image software programs out there, and I am only familiar with Paint Shop Pro, I don't know that being more specific would be helpful (since I don't know how they work). But hopefully, you can kind of get the idea. If you have more specific questions, feel free to comment or email me directly at rzaback {at} gmail {dot} com. Just keep in mind that I can't respond to commenters that are set to no-reply (if it helps, here's a nice, simple tutorial on how to change the settings so that bloggers can respond to your comments).