Sunday, February 15, 2015

Dear Jane by the Numbers

I spent last weekend, taking out each block and counting the number of pieces that I used. My count at the moment is 4687. Your count my be different than mine, it depends on how you drafted your templates and the sewing techniques you used. In several blocks, I had to sew scraps together to make a large enough piece of fabric to cut out the shape. I counted this as two pieces. Jane must have counted all the sashing, setting triangles and scallops, her total is 5603 pieces, and she embroidered it on the quilt, very unusual for quilts in that time frame. I found one mistake that I made, I left off a paper pieced triangle on the triangle block, left side, 10th from top. I left it in, I'm not going to fix it. Does anyone have a template for the scallops around the edge? It is not in my book. I don't have the CD with templates.
Row I has the fewest pieces, 271, row L has the most, 332.
5 is the lowest number of pieces per block.
Two blocks have 49 pieces.
One block has 50 pieces.
One corner has 68 pieces.
There will be 56 setting triangles, and 64 scallops and 4 corner scallops.

The Last DJ Blocks

Finally, the last triangle block, it was all applique, so it took awhile. My hands were doing ok at this point, they did not hurt much.
This corner kite has 68 pieces. I really had to scrounge my fabric stash to find enough vintage print, that had a small enough pattern, for these tiny pieces. It went together easier than I thought it would. I used traditional piecing, rotary cutting each piece.
With a darker rose colored embroidery floss, I stitched, "All vintage fabric, from 1920 to 1940's." On the bottom tip of the block I am going to add the total number of pieces.
I added blue and yellow embroidery to the signature block. At the bottom I stitched "Original Quilt by Jane A. Blakley Stickle" and in the bottom petal the date "1863." Around the top star "Reproduced" in the star "BY" and "Amy Marie Cruger Vetter" around the top of the flower petals, and 2015 in the top petal.

I really like that I got all that information on the one block. My spacing wasn't great, even though I wrote it out on paper and pinned it in place to see how it fit. My embroidery stitches, kind of stretched it out, and I ran out of room to stitch. But I am finally done with all the blocks, triangles and corners!!!! YEA!! I plan on piecing it all together with sashing, during spring break. I have about 8 yards of a vintage light apple green, hopefully that will be enough for the sashing and backing. I am not sure yet if I will use that on the setting triangles or vintage prints, which I am quickly running out of. It may be a huge challenge to cut 56 triangles out of vintage prints, and I worry about the contrast, and will it be too busy. Thank you for following this journey, it has been at least three years, maybe 5, to make all this.