Dear Jane...

Dear Jane,
     Your book came in the mail today, along with a pin featuring a picture of the original Dear Jane quilt that was made during the civil war by Jane A. Stickle.  Brenda Papadakis, who drafted the patterns and wrote the book, signed it "Dear Lynn, Please enjoy your Jane Journey! Brenda :)"   I also bought a book and pin for my Pastors Young wife Ema, who first told me about wanting to make a Dear Jane quilt. Yep...it's all her fault for starting me down the road to Janeville.  She needs to share in this "journey". She is expecting her third child...she may be pretty busy. She dreams about doing it. If she can eek in some time, maybe we can work on a few blocks together.
    I am fascinated. I read the pages and studied the quilt pictures.. I see a trip around the world. A trip around the world in very old civil war fabrics. Each block  is unique. Each block is  painstakingly finished and very creatively done. It is breathtaking. I am so glad it is well preserved in a museum for all to enjoy. Jane's artful  gift to the world. Thank you for the quilt Jane. Thank you  for the challenge Brenda .
      I am sorry to say that the prospect of duplicating the blocks as they are does not excite me in the least. So I set about looking for Dear Jane examples...in different colors
     While searching on line  for Dear Jane quilts, I was amazed to find SEW MANY SITES! Blogs, pictures, fabrics, Dear Jane anonymous,  Dear Jane quilting groups, Dear Jane block of the month. Dear Jane Tutorials. Baby Janes, Amish Janes, pastel Janes, earthtone Janes.   My heart fell in love with a Dear Jane that was made from brights!  Are you surprised?
   I spent an hour or so graphing out the quilt on graft paper to figure out how many squares of each color I would be making. With a Christmas gift card in my pocket, I drove to the fabric store where I  bought mostly tone on tone keepsake fabric brights. There are some already in my stash to add variety :). (So much for  being on a  fabric diet.)  I broke my first New years resolution.

    The fabrics all need to be carefully washed to be sure they are colorfast. Then ironed. Some are stacked here to give you an idea of the color I am using.
    On the back of the quilt, Jane embroidered  a note that says there are 5602 pieces in the quilt.  There are over 200 blocks  in a Dear Jane...this could take some time.
     I am officially a baby Jane now. My sister Chris wants to make this along with me. Another baby Jane.YAY .. Chris...time to get your blog up and running...What colors will  you be using?

 Love,
     Lynn

There are a couple of photos from the green fairy quilts that  have inspired me. You can find them there.

January quilting projects

I finished the crayon geometric quilt this last summer.The second week of January I sewed the  batik strip quilt for grand daughter number 4..  The woodland charm pack quilt is in the making, for a daughter in law...shhhhhh..... It only needs borders.    SEW....off to put on borders!

The Brazen Needle #1

     
   Color has fascinated me ever since I can remember.  I was especially drawn to bright colors as a child. When my grand blessings ask me what my favorite color is  I say.." I love the way the green leaves contrast against  the blue of the sky".  One color next to another color.... Color evokes emotion,  makes me feel happy .
     Creating things was a favorite past time since I was a  little girl. A scrap of fabric would be fashioned  into a primitive doll dress. A piece of fabric became an embroidered  cat pillow. Coloring books were colored then the people and animals were cut out and made  into paper dolls.
     At age 12 I sewed my  first dress. The dress had  a large pleat down the center, hot  pink and orange paisley.   I helped my mother to make baby gowns when she was pregnant with my youngest sister at age 13.  I loved that  I was helping to make something soft and warm for a new baby . When my younger sisters grew older I made them bathing suits from old clothes.  One sister who is 13 months younger than I , joined me and we made all of our clothes when we were in junior high school.
     I  get energized when I create original clothes and quilts.I give away much of what I make, quilts for grand blessings, charity quilts, dresses, smocked bonnets, doll clothes.
    I decided recently to sell on Etsy.Soon, I will have the site up and running.