The Dear Jane Quilt is based on one made by a Jane Stickle during the American Civil War, and completed in 1863. There are 225 blocks in all. I bought the book but at that time the CD was not available. So I painstakingly copied the patterns by tracing them onto tissue paper, pasted them on cardboard, and cut out the teeny patterns. When it got to the triangle borders, I gave up and found another simple to do border pattern. The book is called "Dear Jane: The 225 patterns from the 1863 Jane A.Stickle Quilt" by Brenda Manges Papadakis. Brenda was a Maths teacher, and found the geometric designs fascinating. With ruler, compass and photographs, the book was born. This blue DJ is my third, all without the complex triangular borders.
Today it has become quite a quilt reference book. I have seen photos of quilts derived from Dear Jane (or “DJ” as its fans term it) where the blocks have been re-configured, re-sized, re-colored: it is indeed a long, long process to complete one block, let alone 225!
A spin-off, Dear Hannah, is available,also by Brenda. My DH blocks are slow in coming, but someday it will be completed. Right now they are in a plastic shoe box labeled “DH-WIP”.
Anyone who has attempted a Dear Jane quilt has got to have tons of patience. This finished piece is not an exact replica, because I did not do any of the triangular border pieces. Too complex for me. And for those with curves, I made modifications so I don't have to sew or applique curves, but instead looked for prints that would do as curves or circles. CFdging a bit. A combination of paper piecing, applique, hand and machine piecing did it.
I ran out of white background fabric halfway, and for some reason could not visit Pahurat (where all the good cotton fabrics are found, also called Indiatown and reachable by river taxi from where I live). So one of my spare white new bedsheets was called to duty. The weave is much tighter than
Measures about 85 x 90 inches.
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