Tuesday, August 25, 2009

I've never grown daffodils before, so I'm thrilled to bits to have these three flowers. I've always loved daffodils and jonquils, but couldn't grow them while I lived in the tropics. I have lots of others coming on, but they aren't ready to flower yet. I just hope Dolly doesn't decide to investigate them too closely.

I finally have Row D of my Dear Jane finished, a couple of the blocks seemed to take forever. They had to be pieced with tricky set-in seams, and as if that wasn't enough, tiny pieces appliqued onto them afterwards. It took hours to get them done, I was shattered by the effort. Mereth sort of said 'I told you so' while I muttered over the little bits of confetti I was trying to stitch in place. However, I'm still enjoying the overall process; it's just that some of the blocks are more daunting than others. And some are plain ugly, which isn't encouraging.

I gathered up all the printouts and templates and freezer paper bits and sorted them into this ring-binder. The yellow post-it tags mark pages where I've made the block and filed it in the plastic sleeve. In the software I placed all the blocks into a quilt project, then printed the quilt out as a reference. I have been printing out random blocks up till now, but I made a concerted effort and printed out each block. Some are foundation pieced, some are rotary cut, some need templates, so I just worked through the blocks, deciding on the various methods to use. I refer to this blog quite a bit, for good ideas on how to tackle the hard blocks

Each block is filed in the correct order; all the blocks from the first four rows are sewn together, but the random blocks are stored in the plastic sleeve with whatever is left of the printout. When I print out the block outline, I choose the option to print two to a page. It's making use of paper that would otherwise be wasted, and if I want to make the block again I have the printout there already.

Now I'm all ready for Row E, which I hope to finish before I pack the whole lot away again and get on with some larger projects. As much as I love the little blocks, the fiddliness drives me wild. I need to work with some 3" strips for a while.

6 comments:

Tricia,  1:20 AM  

Wow...talk about commitment! I don't think I put that much effort into my university classes!
I am definitely impressed and will continue to keep an eye on your project.
Have a great day!
Tricia

Pat 1:33 AM  

Your Dear Jane is really looking good. And I agree that some of those blocks are really hand and time consuming.

DJ Goddess - My Love Hate Relationship with Jane
http://quiltsandotherhobbies.blogspot.com

Brenda 6:20 AM  

I could never finish a Dear Jane. Have made a few blocks but just don't have he commitment.I shall just enjoy watching your progress.

pdudgeon 9:44 AM  

i'm glad you mentioned that there were set in blocks. i was having such a hard time trying to figure out the piecing on that last red and white block that you showed. I got everything figured out except those darn corner squares, LOL.
so now the mystery is solved--they were set in seams! congratulations on being almost 1/3 of the way thru your Dear Jane! piece by piece is the only way to go at it.

SueR 1:03 PM  

You may not have intended to be funny, but I had to laugh at a couple of things you wrote. You managed to verbalize everything I ever felt about the Dear Jane quilt in one post. I got 25 blocks made and always intended to make them all, but it fell by the wayside. Some of the blocks took me all of one day to make. The funny parts were the fiddliness driving one wild, and some are plain ugly, which isn't encouraging. LOL, that says it all!

julieQ 12:40 AM  

You DJ is shaping up so beautifully. I know what you mean, the tiny pieces can drive you nutty after a while. Your organization is quite impressive.

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