hand-d-wrapped!

Joy. For the past two days my left pinky and ring finger have been bound together. Why? Well, my over enthousiastic Golden Retriever pup Darwin made a dash for the garden gate (eager to join his walking buddy Sjaan a female Wheaton terrier) while I tried to close the kitchen door and my pink was stuck in the middle of the tug. He may be almost six months old, and weigh in at about 55 Lbs, but when he pulls...!....I should have called him BamBam! My poor pink got a good yank and after a day of being swollen, very sore and a strange shade not matching my skin color, it was time to go to the hospital and check it out. Three hours and three x-rays later, the doctor reported there were no breaks, but a very serious twisting of the joint.

Okay it's not the end of the world, but why did it have to happen when I have to baste the linen in preparation of my first ever Cross-stitch sampler Round Robin? When I wanted to begin making templates and cutting fabrics for my first ever Dear Jane block? When.....well, you get the idea. I shouldn't fuss so, nothing broke, and it was my left hand, yet I really miss the fine motor movents necessary to do the things I love. There's nothing for it than to putter about the sewing room and continue getting it organized. It's the perfect day to do it - strong storm-level winds are pounding against the house and sheets of rain are streaming down the windows. Think I"ll get myself another cup of tea....

The decision is made. Finally!
While working on other quilting projects, I've been thinking about the Dear Jane project: how to organize it, supplies, and of course the color scheme. At first, I thought to faithfully reproduce the original, following the colors and the Around-the-World pattern. I looked at what many other DJ quilt makers were doing and came across everything from Civil War reproductions to Parrot-coloured quilts. All beautiful!

Then, last Friday, I went to my local quilt shop to get some supplies for the baby rib quilt, and fabrics to make Christmas gifts with. My eyes fell on a wonderfully soft pink piece of fabric......and I'm not necessarily a pink fan......and soon everything fell into place! Together with the shop assistant we criss-crossed through the store finding one fabulous shade after another. With each bolt we got more excited as the "feel" of the quilt came together before our eyes! Most of the fabrics are Japanese, with a sprinkling of Reproduction fabrics. It was more important to me to get that softly muted affect, and many of the Japanese fabrics come in those wonderfully subtle colors. All of this on a solid Ivory background.

It feels good to have finally made a decision about the colors and to have a base from which to work with. In time, I'll probably add some muted or faded reds and golden yelows as bright notes.
Now, the next question: Do I still follow the Around-the-World pattern or just start and see how it goes? I'll let that simmer in the back of my mind as I get started on knotting the baby log cabin....

The Quilt

The Quilt, originally uploaded by Monkicat.

The Quilt made by Jane A. Stickle in 1863 aka the Dear Jane Quilt. Hope to start on it soon and to be up for the challenge!

The Dear Jane Project

A couple of years ago, in one of my favorite quiltshops that no longer exsits, I came across a book about a quilt. This quilt was made up of 225 little blocks surrounded by a "icecream cone" border or "kites" just as intricate. The quilt was made by Jane A. Stickle in 1863. Thumbing through the book, seeing the many little blocks with their many little pieces I began to think that one had to be completely mad to start such a venture. I guess I've gone mad.
Then, each time I went to a quiltshop, quilting championship, or other quilting shindig, the book would always pop up. The little blocks kept fascinating me and nibbling at me in the back of my mind. About a year ago, in yet another quiltshop the book lay there again - out of frustration I bought it. I sometimes have that with books: books that you come across in bookshops and they somehow seem to "speak" to you. Well that's what this one did. It came home, got the once over, and put on the shelf, other quilting projects higher on the priority list. In the meantime, surfing on the Net, its surprising how many sites were devoted to this quilt! It seemed a world wide phenomenon. "Fascinating", Spock would say......
To make a long story slightly shorter, I joined the Dear Jane list ( who were these mad women?) and began to learn about this group of wonderful, creative, talented, prolific and full of humour quilters.
I haven't begun yet, but will soon, after the "deadline" projects are completed. In the meantime, I've collected materials, tools and of course, fabric to get started as soon as possible. It's still a bit daunting, but with the help of friends, and certainly my Dear Jane friends, it should work out just fine!