Dear Baby Jane: M-9

Block number/name: M-9 “Fan Dance”

Date completed: January 22, 2009

Number of pieces: 28

Notes on block: When I visited the Dear Baby Jane site the other day, I was distressed to find a near-blank page and an urgent call from Anina. I immediately wrote to her and she told me not to stress. It seemed that the copyright issue was rearing its head again, and she decided to take the site down. Fortunately for all of us following along, Anina has taken all that great information and re-posted it on a new site, That Quilt. And she is going to continue to post blocks on a regular basis. Huzzah! Thank you, Anina, for sticking with it, and continuing to lead us on the journey to create That Quilt!!! This block is the first one posted to the new site.

Despite the convoluted approach I took to piecing this block, it turned out pretty spiffy! The smarter method would have been to follow Anina’s example and piece the wedges and then put the wedges together to form the center square. Unthinking, I first put the center pinwheel together. Then I realized that I had to do a bunch of inset seams. Ugh. But, it all worked out in the end. I also love this happy fern fabric. So pretty!

Dear Baby Jane: L-1

Block number/name: L-1 “Widow’s Pane”

Date completed: January 19, 2009

Number of pieces: 22

Notes on block: I completed this block last night while watching television. It was a nice quiet evening of stitching—just lovely.

Today saw the inauguration of the United States’ 44th president, Barack Obama. The feelings of hope and excitement are near palpable. It will be interesting to see the changes and progress in the years ahead. I’m feeling pretty hopeful right now.

Dear Baby Jane: M-8

Block number/name: M-8 “Enchanted Square”

Date completed: January 18, 2009

Number of pieces: 35

Notes on block: Phew! This one took a little time. Considering how many pieces there are, I’m really happy with how it turned out. Initially, I was not thrilled with the green I chose—it just seemed kind of blah—but it grew on me. And seeing it in the layout with some of the surrounding blocks, I'm really glad I used it. Apparently, my subconscious was trying to help me out on this one!

Dear Baby Jane: TR-2

Block number/name: TR-2 “Australian Pines”

Date completed: January 14, 2009

Number of pieces: 20

Notes on block: Yay! A triangle completed in a timely manner! Small victories.

I couldn’t help but Google “Australian pine.” According to the National Park Service, it’s an invasive alien plant that is causing trouble in the southeastern United States. It has its very own “Least Wanted” poster. I think its mug shot, with the little birds resting in front of it, leans toward cute rather than menacing. They might need to work on that.

Dear Baby Jane: F-13

Block number/name: F-13 “Tour de France”

Date completed: January 9, 2009

Number of pieces: 5

Notes on block: Instead of my usual appliqué style (needleturn with freezer paper on top), I decided to follow Anina’s example and try the freezer paper on bottom technique. I worked very carefully as I cut out my freezer paper templates so that all my edges would be as smooth as I could make them. And when I pressed, I took my time and really worked the edges so that they would also be as smooth as possible. Last night when I finally got to stitch, I could not believe how quick and easy it was to stitch everything down! And the circles are practically circular! Sometimes when I do needleturn, my piece starts in one spot and somehow seems to shift or contort (no matter how much I baste) so it’s a little off by the time I’m done; and I can’t really tell as it’s happening because the seam allowances and the freezer paper make it difficult to really see what’s going on. This was not an issue at all with this new style. Because the pieces were all prepped and the edges finished, there were no surprises in placement and everything started and ended where it was supposed to! So cool!

I am excited at how well this technique worked for me and very happy with how this block looks.

Dear Baby Jane: LS-6 & F-4

Block number/name: LS-6 “Susie Q”

Date completed: January 7, 2009

Number of pieces: 25

Notes on block: I’m grateful that Anina is interspersing the triangles and center blocks. If the triangles were all left until the end, I suspect I would be in trouble. They'd never get done! Triangles just seem to take me a long time. It’s not that they’re any more difficult… it’s more like I just can’t focus on them as well. I completed the appliquéd top section as well as the bottom section of the block last Thursday (1/1), then the middle portion on Sunday and (finally) put everything together tonight. I guess that’s not too bad. It only took a week.

The green triangles in this block were sized such that it allowed me to use the fabric I cut for I-4 that I didn’t end up using. I really like this green a lot… it’s very tropical and happy! It was one I got from the Dear Baby Jane green swap a few months ago.

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Block number/name: F-4 “Old Windmill”

Date completed: January 7, 2009

Number of pieces: 13

Notes on block: Two blocks in one night. Yay! I chose the fabrics I did for this one because they both made me think of wind, which seems appropriate for this block.

Dear Baby Jane: I-4

Block number/name: I-4 “Stability”

Date completed: December 30, 2008

Number of pieces: 25

Notes on block: Being random is starting to take a lot of effort. The fabric I initially cut for this block ended up being the exact same shade/tone of green as J-4. Fortunately, I realized this before I started sewing. But I still had to re-cut. And though this fabric was not my first choice, I do like the bright and happy results.

Keith has been playing a video game lately that I’ve really been enjoying. It is a strategy game called Valkyria Chronicles. Though it is taking place in a fictional universe, its storyline seems to echo events of World War II Europe, including the German invasion of Czechoslovakia, the Holocaust, and more. The story is really well-written, includes great characters, and offers many positive messages regarding peace, tolerance, teamwork, and more. The animation is beautiful. It really is like watching a movie. I’m loving it (though it is quite distracting while stitching). I can't really say much about the game aspect since I've only been watching and not playing, but Keith seems to be enjoying it.

Dear Baby Jane: L-8

This was one of the three blocks I completed back in 2004 when I first began my Dear Jane quilt (the others were D-13 and E-10). This is what I wrote about it back then...

Block number/name: L-8 "Box Kite"

Date completed: September 29, 2004

Number of pieces: 15

Notes on block: Tonight has been very productive! Not only did I finish my very first block, I finished my second! I prepped it before dinner, and pieced it together as we watched the new Star Wars Return of the Jedi DVD (and right now, Keith is none too pleased with some of the changes—most notably, Anakin's ghost and the Sarlac). Once again, it's not perfect, but it's pretty close. Just a smidge smaller than D-13. Hopefully, I'll start getting the hang of it soon. But, dude, 15 pieces... that's pretty decent, I think. I wonder what block I should try next...?

Dear Baby Jane: K-4

Block number/name: K-4 “Thea’s Turn”

Date completed: December 21, 2008

Number of pieces: 21

Notes on block: I went a little crazy on this one. Not only did I fussy cut all of the green pieces, but I also took the time to do a bit of re-drafting and added the white bars onto the outside edges of the inner green triangles, just as Jane Stickle did in her block. I really liked how that looked so I felt the need to replicate it. This may be one of my favorite blocks thus far.

Snow continues to fall outside. At this point, we’ve got probably about 10”-12” of accumulation. My poor little car is buried! On the bright side, the Boy did get a little time outside in the snow the other day (but not too long, since we don’t really have any winter snow clothes).

Dear Baby Jane: K-13

Block number/name: K-13 “Brandon’s Star”

Date completed: December 20, 2008

Number of pieces: 25

Notes on block: My seams were a little narrow on this one, so it’s a little bigger than 5”. Other than that, all worked out pretty well on this one. I started it last night, and then finished this afternoon as the boy and his papa played together. Lots of smiles and fun.

Snow is in the air around here lately. I can definitely appreciate the beauty of it and love to look at it, but really, I’m kind of a snow-hater. It’s cold, wet, and horrible to drive in, thus trapping me in my house. Bah-humbug! We did get out today to the mall in hopes of getting a Santa picture with the boy. After 40 minutes in our car getting there, we stood in the massive line for about 3 minutes before deciding waiting for hours with a hungry, sleepy toddler was just not worth it. We didn’t even do any shopping. We left the insanity. Our hope is that the weather and roads will be clear enough on Monday or Tuesday so that we can make a trip first thing in the morning, and maybe beat some of the Santa picture crowds. I must have a Santa picture!!! (Note to self: next year, do it around Thanksgiving instead of the week of Christmas.)

Some brighter news: I’m now caught up on my Dear Jane blocks! Yay! In celebration, here is a progress update:

Dear Baby Jane: L-7

Block number/name: L-7 “Town Square”

Date completed: December 19, 2008

Number of pieces: 17

Notes on block: I feel like such a cheater! I couldn’t help myself though. I had to skip ahead and do this block, despite the fact that it has not been posted on the Dear Baby Jane blog. I had this little square of fabric, about 4 inches square, that I just loved. But I was also very scared that I would accidentally lose it (if you saw my quilting room, you would understand why I was worried). For a long time, I kept it safe in the pages of my Dear Jane book. But then it fell out. Thankfully, I found the little piece, but decided then and there that I needed to use it now. Having such a small amount of fabric really limited my block choices. This one worked out perfectly, virtually using about every scrap of this piece of fabric.

Now I really need to get focused and catch up with the Dear Baby Jane blog. Only one block behind now!

Dear Baby Jane: TR-5

Block number/name: TR-5 “Michigan Dunes”

Date completed: December 17, 2008

Number of pieces: 21

Notes on block: What is it about the triangles? Lately, I’ve been having motivation problems whenever I’m working on them. I start and then just kind of let it lie for awhile. With the square blocks, I’m always compelled to finish them as soon as I start stitching. In any case, it is finished now. I’m really hoping I can get caught back up this weekend.

There has been some distressing news from Anina about the Dear Baby Jane blog. Apparently, Brenda Papadakis has contacted her, requesting a discussion about the blog name. As a result, Anina is feeling as if maybe she should delete the blog altogether. Eeep! This would be so sad, as Anina has truly been my inspiration in making this journey. She has put so much time and effort and care in building this amazing quilting resource. Her guidance has been invaluable not only to me, but to numerous other quilters.

At first, I was incensed to read about the email. I could just feel Anina’s frustration and hurt. Then I started talking about the issue with my husband, and reading through the comments left on that post. Trademark/copyright are tricky issues. My husband (who is in the software industry, and who has strong feelings on the subject himself) put it in an “imagine if…” situation for me, and I feel like I can better understand where Ms. Papadakis is coming from. Hopefully, with some discussion and maybe a name change to the blog, all will be well again.

Ooo! I just checked the Dear Baby Jane blog, and it looks like there is positive news. I’m crossing my fingers.

Dear Baby Jane: G-3

Block number/name: G-3 “Four Leaf Clover”

Date completed: December 11, 2008

Number of pieces: 3

Notes on block: Reverse appliqué works so well for me. I love it. Inspired by a version I saw in the flickr pool, I used a striped green for this block (though it’s pretty subtle).

The preschool holiday party was last night. And even though my son wasn’t able to attend, I ended up having a pretty good time hanging out in the cookie room all evening. It was so fascinating seeing how each child went about decorating the cookies. Not to mention that the preschoolers were just so darned cute, there was nothing one could do but smile.

Dear Baby Jane: F-6 & A-8

Block number/name: F-6 “Deanie’s Daisies”

Date completed: December 9, 2008

Number of pieces: 34

Notes on block: I’m a little behind still. But I’m working on it. I’ve had a nasty cold the last few days, and have pretty much spent my evenings laying on the couch doing nothing. But I’m happy I’m finally feeling well enough to do a little stitching in the evening now. But I stayed up way too late in order to finish this block. I suffered for it the next day. I’m going to blame my funky appliqué melons on sickness. Really though, I probably ought to have tried the freezer paper on bottom method for this one. I guess I thought that they were so small, and I have so little experience with that method, that they would probably end up looking better if I did needleturn. What I found, however, is that it was difficult to accurately place the pieces, and so now I have a funky center. Live and learn.

Since from a galloping horse it would probably look alright, I’m keeping it. (Though I admit, I did re-do one of the melons. It was just bad.)

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Block number/name: A-8 “Florence Nightengale”

Date completed: December 10, 2008

Number of pieces: 11

Notes on block: Easy peasy. And I didn’t stay up too late doing it. I was in bed by 11:30. Yay! Now if only my poor sick boy could manage to keep from rolling out of bed 3 times a night… I’m very tired today.

(Don't pay any attention to that funky one... it was the last of the dough, and I couldn't very well let such tastiness go to waste!)

Tonight is the preschool holiday party. I’m in charge of the cookie room, wherein hordes of preschoolers gather to decorate sugar cookies. So I’ve been baking. Rather, I should say that my husband has done much of the baking (as I didn’t want to disease the cookies while still recovering from my cold). Fortunately, I made the dough last week (pre-sickness), so he was able focus on rolling, cutting, and baking. I’m a little sad though, because I don’t think the boy will get to go since he’s still sick. But, being the cookie maven and all, at least I can decorate and bring a cookie home for him.

Dear Baby Jane: RS-1

Block number/name: RS-1 “Tennessee Valley”

Date completed: December 6, 2008

Number of pieces: 26

Notes on block: For whatever reason, this block took me a long time to finish. I started it the Monday before Thanksgiving, and just didn’t get around to completing it until last night. Most of my seams match up pretty well, so I’m rather pleased with it.

Today was pretty eventful. We went out this morning and purchased a Christmas tree and got it standing up in our family room. We plan to decorate it tomorrow evening. This is quite a feat given that we generally don’t put up a tree until the weekend before Christmas (last year the decorations didn’t even get put up until Christmas Eve!). Notable event number two: during naptime, The Boy managed to jump himself out of his crib. Fortunately, the only injury was a cut lip. But it was still super scary. Now he’s sleeping in a toddler bed. He made it pretty clear that he’s against the change, evidenced by a huge fuss at bedtime. But I checked later on and he had crawled into his bed and fallen asleep. He’s getting to be such a big boy!

Crafting away...

I know I haven't been posting much in the way of crafty progress lately, but its not for lack of doing. I have been stitching away at stuff, including Dear Jane, Prairie Pinwheels (which I've given up hope on completing before Christmas, but I'm working on it nonetheless—15 of 48 blocks done so far!), and some holiday gifty things. Also, I've nearly completed another block for my Grandma's Country Album II:


This one is called "Tethered Twigs." The trickiest part was the little bow. Those pieces were narrow! I completed most of it using needleturn applique with freezer paper on top. The only bits left to do are the embroidered stems for all the little buds. But my big discovery in this block: Roxanne's Basting Glue. That stuff is awesome!!! I used it to set the stems in place, and I am just so excited about how well it worked. I'm thinking that my next block, I might try the freezer paper on bottom method where you prep all the pieces and turn under the seams before stitching down, thus giving me the chance to really try the basting glue out. But there are a lot of pieces in the next block (ergo, a lot of prep work), so I'm not sure if I'll have the patience for that or not. We'll see.

Meanwhile, I'm stitching up gifts for our toddler friends in my son's PEPS group. Hopefully, I'll have some pictures to share soon!

Dear Baby Jane: L-4

Block number/name: L-4 “St. George’s Cross”

Date completed: November 24, 2008

Number of pieces: 21

Notes on block: I’ve been waiting for a block to use this pretty fabric in (from the “Posh” collection by Chez Moi for Moda). I just love it! I’m also very happy with how the block came together… my ¼” bars are actually ¼” inch wide. I’m feeling pretty proud at the moment. I actually started this block last night, but was just completely unmotivated and decided to read a book instead. I ended up doing the bulk of the work this evening while watching television with Keith. With frozen hands. Our house is so cold! No amount of snuggling under a blanket (which, while stitching, is kind of challenging) seems to help my chilled appendages.

Dear Baby Jane: D-7

Block number/name: D-7 “Meeting Place”

Date completed: November 17, 2008

Number of pieces: 13

Notes on block: Inspired by Anina’s version of this block with its yellow scrolls, I decided to use this scrolly holly print. And it’s festive and happy too! This block is pretty simple, but it was a challenge for me. Just as I was about to sew the last sections together, I realized I had pieced one of my white fabrics wrong-side out. Doh! So I had to tear out that piece and restitch. I didn’t really want to take everything apart to do it though, so I ended up having to do an inset seam. At least I had my prior stitching lines to guide me. And then I cut one of the outer white bars 1/8” too narrow. Oops. You can see that the top bar in the picture is not as wide as it should be. And, of course, I realized it after everything was sewn together. I’ve decided that it should be fine. I mean, there’s still a good 1/8” seam allowance left. :)

Dear Baby Jane: BR-8

Block number/name: BR-8 “Thunderhead”

Date completed: November 14, 2008

Number of pieces: 30

Notes on block: It was very surprising to me that this triangle turned out as well as it did! Everything went together pretty smoothly—even the funky inset seams on those inner V-shapes. It’s another one of those weird renderings. The original block has a square-in-a-square going on in the center, thus avoiding any inset seams, but then Brenda Papadakis’s version does not. But I went with it anyway, I think in part because it has fewer seams this way. And I’m felling lazy.

Dear Baby Jane: I-3

Block number/name: I-3 “Family Album”

Date completed: November 14, 2008

Number of pieces: 21

Notes on block: I picked up this fabric a couple of years ago for use in a baby quilt with a vegetable garden theme. When I initially saw it, my impression was of cabbages. I knew it wasn’t a cabbage print, but I figured cut up into little pieces, the effect would be there. It wasn’t until I got home and opened the fabric up that I saw that “Yellowstone” appeared throughout the design. So, this one didn’t get used in the veggie quilt. But it seemed just right for a happy lakeside window view.

This block was a little intimidating because of the 1/4” bars throughout. I worked really carefully to keep my seams straight and to size. I suppose it would make my life a little easier to mark all my seam lines on long narrow pieces like this. But it just feels like cheating somehow (I don’t know how I get these ideas into my head… probably the same way that I decided I needed to be handpiecing all of these blocks). So I use my eyes and check every so often with the ruler.