Saturday, September 2, 2017

FINISHED WITH DEAR JANE!!!!!

I can hardly believe that I finished this quilt, but it's true!!  From my first sight of a few Dear Jane replicas at the Fort Worth, Texas quilt show in 2008, when I was so impressed by it, then thinking about should I or shouldn't I (or could I?), for about 5 years, until I received the Dear Jane Book for Christmas in December, 2013, I just wasn't sure.

But, when I received the book from DS#3/DIL (after having it on my Christmas list for a few years), that clinched it!  I finished the first block (A1) on 1/22/2014.  I took the last stitch on the binding 8/28/2017.  That's about 3 years, 7 months and 6 days.  

I definitely could not have done it without the "Dear Jane" book by Brenda Papadakis and this web site.  I also received a lot of encouragement from Kathleen Tracy's Dear Jane Support Group on Yahoo.  Not to mention tons of encouragement from my Blogging Buddies group and many other bloggers, friends and family (especially my ever loving and supportive DH!!).

After all the paper piecing (PP) that I did on it, I should be an expert, but no, I continued to have to rip out many of the PP seams, probably due to always being in a hurry to get things done.  My DS#1 hung a clothes line for me, which has made taking pictures of quilts much easier.


My piecing, appliqué and quilting certainly isn't perfect and I broke down and included many instances of machine appliqué because I was just tired of trying to appliqué a tiny triangle measuring about 3/8" by hand.  I even PP some of the diamond shapes at the points of the border triangles - anything to make it easier.

Each of the colored fabrics in the 169 5" square blocks in the center section is different, and each of the colored fabrics in the 52 border triangles is different from each other.  I used a variety of background fabrics for all the blocks trying to use fabrics that would look good with the main colors of each block.  My sashing, corner kite blocks and scallops is a good quality muslin.


As you can see above, Jane Stickle added to the original quilt that there are 5,602 pieces in the quilt.  I didn't take the time to count, but that is probably close!  I wonder what she was thinking when she made her quilt in 1863 and what she would think if she knew that hundreds or thousands of women all over the world are copying her quilt.  How did she come up with so many designs, because each block is unique!




As you can see, I am one happy quilter!!


Now for the name.  I decided to name it DEAR JANE'S QUILTING JOURNEY (from Texas to Oregon).


Thanks again for all your support over the past 3 1/2 years!

30 comments:

  1. A masterpiece for sure ! Congratulations !

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  2. Wow! What an accomplishment! I love the colors and fabrics you chose to use. It's gorgeous! One of the prettiest Dear Jane's I've seen. Congratulations on finishing this!

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  3. It is, as they say, simply glorious! Congratulations Ruth!

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  4. You did a wonderful job! The colors are stunning - much brighter than the original or most of the replicas I've seen. Congratulations!

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  5. I knew you would get it finished, and indeed, it is incredibly beautiful! I can't even think of a word that would fully describe. I cannot imagine working with all those tiny pieces, and more so, so many of them! I venture to say that finishing it will be the absolute high point of your quilting life. Certainly it is priceless! I hope there will not be a family fight over it some day. ---"Love"

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  6. Ruth - you are amazing!! Congrats! Beautiful colors and fabrics. I am so proud of you and so glad you finished and showed us all your hard work and inspiring pictures. Now, if only I could get motivated to finish mine!

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  7. Congrats! What's next now that this monster is done?! It's beautiful!

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  8. Oh my goodness Ruth! I didn't realize you were so close to a finish. It is absolutely stunning! Congratulations on this beautiful finish.

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  9. I am SO happy for you, Ruth, and so proud of you for sticking with it and making it happen!
    I think Jane would not care what methods you used to create the blocks. She would just be honored to know you loved her quilt enough to want to copy it.
    Kudos to you, my friend! It is a gem!

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  10. Oh Ruth - it's a triumph!! You looked thrilled with your efforts as well you should be. I like the name you've chosen for it too. I think Jane would be embarrassed at all the fuss but delighted that her quilt and others like it, continue to inspire quilters of our age.

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  11. WOW congratulations Ruth, i'm in awe.. it's simply gorgeous!!!

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  12. Your color choices make this the most beautiful DJ I've ever seen. Good for you for persevering!

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  13. Congratulations!! Well done, a beauty! As someone who has only done a few blocks of this quilt I recognize the effort, stamina, skills and love for the project that is in this quilt. An heirloom!

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  14. Ruth. It is stunning. You need to feel over the moon with this finish. Super congrats! Jeanne in Michigan

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  15. You have every right to be a happy quilter and you should be proud too. It is awesome, just fabulous!! Congratulations!!
    I too wonder sometime at what Jane would think if she could see the interest, the trend and the amount of copies her quilt has produce. Do you think the original one was made with paper piecing? Was it all hand sewn? She would love your rendition of her quilt as it is truly gorgeous. ;^)

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  16. Congrats. It is beautiful and a heirloom for sure. Mine is in a project box some where patiently waiting.

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  17. Beautiful finish. I have so enjoyed watching your progress and however you accomplished the challenging parts works so well.

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  18. Oh My Gosh!!! This is amazing!! Congratulations on a beautiful job, well done. And also on the bravery for making this quilt - I am in awe of you!! :)

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  19. I love it! Great job done...Congratulations!!! You should be very proud!

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  20. Kudos to you. Beautiful quilt. I was in awe when I saw the original DJ quilt last fall. I am in awe of yours too.

    Charlotte

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  21. Congratulations! Standing ovation for you! Three years s incredibly short. I have been working on mine for about 13 years (I think),on and off, mostly off, obviously. Yours is gorgeous. I definitely need to get back to mine.

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  22. Your Dear Jane is just gorgeous. Way to go on an amazing finish. I could look at it for hours!

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  23. Whoop! Whoop! It really is amazing!! Love that photo of you and the quilt!!

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  24. Congratulations! I saw your link on the Humble Quilts' blog. And you did the scallops too! I really must get back to mine - all center blocks done, pieced triangles done, not assembled. I used paper piecing where ever possible.

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  25. Fab.u.lous!!!! I am so happy for you to have finished this beauty. What a labor of love. Congrats.

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  26. Oh my stinking gosh what an accomplishment.... You are my hero

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  27. STUNNING - an instant heirloom.
    your quilting and scalloped edges are so special - CONGRATULATIONS~

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  28. Oh .... so, so lovely! Congrats and enjoy!

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  29. Wow! Congratulations on this awesome quilt finish. I'm glad someone has the patience to do such a project because it is not me.

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  30. wow! I am in awe of ladies such as yourself who complete this epic journey!! Beautiful!!

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