Baby Jane update - May

I should call this my June update since several of these May blocks were completed just this week. Some other projects and busy weeks kept me from Dear Jane for a while. I don't want fall that far behind again. Believe me, these blocks are much more fun to construct at a leisurely pace!




I now have 31 blocks complete. My favorite in May are the last two:

• I8, Pete's Paintbox - Pete is my schnauzer's name. Fitting because this was the first time I was completely satisfied with the results of my freezer paper piecing.
• H11, Columbine - My second happy results with the method, leading me to think that as I improve, several early blocks may need to be redone.

Finally, I recently visited Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, which caused me to reflect on Jane and her quilt finished that same year of the tide-turning battle in July of 1863. During 3 days at Gettysburg, there were 51,000 casualties among both armies. The number of Americans who died of disease and battle during the entire Civil War is estimated at 620,000 (roughly 1 in 5 soldiers and 2% of the U.S. population). It was the deadliest war in American history and it's impact had ramifications even up to our time.

In a time of such worry and destruction, I increasingly understand why Jane would have chosen to create a quilt so intricate and beautiful with her own hands. Perhaps it was her need to create something, anything good while she waited for the war to end. Jane could not have known how it would end when she finished her quilt in 1863. I'm left to wonder, like Dear Jane author Brenda Papadakis, whether she began another quilt. It seems to me, she must have.

I'll be keeping Jane and her quilt in mind as we watch Ken Burns' Civil War documentary this summer. Also, I'm hoping to see Jane's quilt in person this fall while it is on display in Bennington, VT.