OK ladies, I just e-mailed Gayle at Sentimental Stitches re: posting pics of our Midget Blocks. Will let you know when I hear back from her. Everyone happy, now?

quote:

Originally posted by Gerda:
If I'm wrong, you may throw FQs at me!
Gerda

ROFLOL What if someone is really, really mad? Half yards? Gerda, better plan to duck if someone is upset enough to throw whole bolts! Have lots of aspirin on hand! Can you borrow a bike helmet from one of the granddaughters? Construction hat? How about one of those crazy hats Vikings wear? The kind with horns. You could just spear the bolts. Have to be careful to avoid whiplash, and you would have to cut around the hole, but..... Wish my mother had thought to punish me that way growing up. I just got grounded! LOL Think I am about to get grounded now, right?

Went to check my e-mails and this was in it.

http://www.stitchinheaven.com/block_month.htm

Scroll down to the Dear Jane BOM that is starting in January. Grented you get 10 patterns per month and the fabric, but that is a pretty hefty investment over 24 months. What caught my eye was the statement that due to the difficulty of the quilt, they provide suggestions as to which techniques to apply to which blocks. How many techniques did Jane Stickle have? There was no freezer paper. There were no acrylic rulers. What about these rulers? I understand there is a whole set or rulers just for Dear Jane and Jane Austin quilts because of the odd angles of the pieces. Are they necessary? Or is this a case of much ado about nothing? The more information I get, the more confused I am. Isn't the truth supposed to set you free? (wistful smile)

Great Gerda, thanks for emailing Gayle.

Meg, you have a very valid point about the original Jane and the fact that she made this wonderful quilt without benefit of all the things that we've come to rely on these days. That's what makes it so awe-inspiring!

As far as copyright goes, any block that we make is our creation and becomes our copyright! As far as using free patterns on line, sometimes the owner likes to know what you are doing and get permission if you are doing a group teaching session with her designs, which ae aren't. I can't see how she would mind that we are thinking of using her free pattern page, because it gives her more free publicity even if it isn't making her money.

When I have hosted group albums on BC I would always list the website so that the owner got credit for her block patterns.

I believe what we all should do when making our personal albums is give a website page or book title and credit to the owner of our block patterns. I will set up a front page guideline page one day next week. SO be sure to add anything you want added.

Gerda
Do I hear an underlying motive in having FQs thrown at you???

Meg
You crack me up and the post about the freezer paper and rulers that Jane didn't have that we have to have!!! Will we ever be set free!! LOL

Dorian
This will be an open enrollement and anyone can join at any time.

Here is a book that has some 4 1/2" blocks ---"Better Homes and Gardens - 501 Quilt Blocks," if you wanted to just do some small blocks to get comfortable making small blocks! We are not going to exclude anyone on a time factor or the pattern used as long as it's a small 4 - 4 1/2" block & all legal!!!LOL

Wow, I have the Dear Jane book and have drooled over it, but I've got so much going on that I just haven't started on it. It's such a big project. And I've also been investigating colors and settings, etc. to sort of know how I want to approach the thing. I'd hate to invest in some large amount of background fabric only to decide after 5 blocks that I want to make it scrappy or something. You know? I just don't know how to start! It seems like everyone knows what they want it to look like and I don't have an overall picture in my head yet.

Have you guys found THE Dear Jane website?
http://www.dearjane.com/
They have block hints here and lots of photos. They do not have the patterns. You have to purchase the book. I would like to get the CD too. Does anyone have it? Do you like it? And if you are paper piecing the blocks, what paper are you using? I have had a hard time removing the paper from the little tiny corners and have to use tweezers and sometimes it's quite a pain. I would like to find water-soluble paper and just wash it all away in the end! Of course, with my luck, I'd spill coffee on it!

Wasie

Hi Wasie!

I've had the book for a couple of years and have only made three blocks...I think that this group will be the motivation I need to jumpstart my "jane journey".

I'm paper piecing the pieced blocks. I draft them in EQ5 then print the foundations on Jenkins freezer paper sheets. I'm addicted to freezer paper when it comes to paper-piecing because I hate pinning and I always seem to get stuck by one when I'm sewing, lol. Since the sheets are rather thick, I use a teeny-tiny stich length setting on my machine and the paper tears away easily which is a surprise considering the paper I'm using. I do fold it back and forth a couple of times before tearing and that does seem to help.

I've never used the water soluble paper, it does sound like a dream come true!

I don't have the CD, but I think Milica does.

I'm definitely going scrappy with mine! Like you, I don't want to buy a whole bunch of fabric and not finish this thing. Scrappy give me a reason to use all those fat quarters I've been buying over the years. (Well, at least those that I don't end up throwing at Gerda, lol!)

Kim

That makes me feel better if you have only made 3 so far! What is Jenkins freezer paper? Is it from the grocery store or did you buy it special? I have a roll of freezer paper, but I hadn't thought to use it for paper piecing! It is nice how the pieces will stick when you iron them on!

Wasie

Ok
I have started a list of names for the front page of those who have shown an interest in making small blocks I will also add Rules and Guidelines also.

I need to know how many blocks you can make in a week or month...

What can we do to keep motivation going?...beside tossing FQs at Gerda?

We will making our own personal albums and my dream is to host a community album when we finish our blocks.

quote:

Originally posted by Debo:
What can we do to keep motivation going?...beside tossing FQs at Gerda?

We will making our own personal albums and my dream is to host a community album when we finish our blocks.

Hmmm...... I can see that Gerda will be motivated! LOL Instead of FQ's could you toss Hugh Jackman at me a few times. No, better not, that would keep me very unmotivated! LOL

Ever heard the expression one man's trash is another man's treasure? To paraphrase, one quilter's dream is another's nightmare. I have no idea how to make a personal photo album.

Unless I can get a special papal dispensation or a note from my mother saying I am technically-impaired so I can be excused, will you show me how. Ha! Teaching me may turn out to be your worst nightmare, too, Deb! How 'bout I just send the pictures to you? 'Kay?