I'm sure most of you have heard of the Dear Jane quilt or as some like to call it That Quilt! It's a quilt made over 150 years ago by a lady called Jane A. Blakely Stickle and contains over 5600 pieces. It's a sampler quilt of 4.5" blocks (169 of them!) with a triangle border (adding it all up to 225 patterns in total).
What I had not heard of was a Share Jane quilt - get lots of people to make a block and spread the work over many hands! Great idea isn't it? So when Paula Rafferty organised an Irish Share Jane Quilting Bee, I joined in and said sign me up for 2 blocks. I figured 5" unfinished, 4.5" finished, aren't they tiny? Easy peasy, should be fast as lightning!
Then I got blocks B7 and B8 in 3 different colourways and had to stop and think! How on Earth was I going to make these? ThatQuilt blog came to my rescue and I learned how to do reverse applique, needle turn applique and got to re-visit inset seams.
For my part I am glad to have learned a lot about blocks from templates and exercising my hand sewing skills. They are far from perfect but I really like the softness the blocks seem to have from handpiecing when compared to machine pieced. I have also discovered I love the black on black blocks the most and really want to make a black quilt now!
Thank you Paula for allowing me to share in the trio of Irish Dear Jane quilts! I wouldn't have tried this otherwise and am delighted to have finished these little but fiddly blocks eventually!
Even though they are only little blocks I'm calling this one a Friday Finish!
Very nice! Working as a group towards finishing that daunting quilt sounds like a wonderful idea.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a Friday finish- they look amazingly intricate, I can see how people can be sucked into the big quilt!!
ReplyDeleteBlocks this challenging definitely count as a Friday finish - no matter what size! I like both the black on black and white on white versions. Look great!
ReplyDeleteSweet blocks Ruth, I am always impressed by those crazy quilters who take on the challenge of a Dear Jane quilt. I like your black on black blocks too.
ReplyDeleteThose are tiny and beautiful. Great idea to share.
ReplyDeleteBlack on Black looks stunning Ruth! The one paisley background is one of my favorite fabrics ever. Bravo to you for trying a new technique and making those beautiful blocks!
ReplyDeleteGreat blocks and beautiful piecing.
ReplyDeleteI have made those blocks and know exactly how much work goes into them! Did you find yourself getting better or faster by the third? Did you choose hand pieced blocks or was it a lucky dip?
ReplyDeleteThey are lovely- and I love the black on black as well. Kudos to you for tackling these.
ReplyDeleteYour black on black is really striking; I'll look forward to an all black quilt. Your blocks look very nicely made, especially given that you were mastering new techniques!
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