Visiting Jane Stickle's quilt

Wow! I didn't think I could be further impressed by Jane's quilt, but seeing it in person gives me even more appreciation for her handiwork. The intracacies of each block are stunning, and at 145 years old many of the fabrics are still bright and vivid.




It's apparent to me now that Jane must have had a working plan for the quilt. Maybe she started with the center block and worked outwards? Given that many of us who make Baby Janes today use computers, modern techniques and machines to plan and make each block, to have made hers entirely by hand is simply impressive. And how in the world did she get her hands on so many different fabric pieces during the Civil War?

The Bennington Museum displays the quilt around mid-September for one month and this was the last weekend for the 2008 display. The museum has several exhibits including other 19th century quilts, an old Vermont-made automobile, historic local pottery, and a wonderful collection of Grandma Moses paintings (she lived nearby across the New York border).

If you get a chance to go, I recommend visiting Bennington as a gateway into touring Southern and Central Vermont in the fall. In town the foliage wasn't quite peak, but at Woodford State Park where we camped just 10 min up into the Green Mountains, the foliage was a little past peak. Camping was fun, but we nearly froze at night despite the 70 degree daytime highs, prompting us to call it quits one night short and headed home a little early.

Dear Jane update: September

Just a few blocks completed this month since I didn't have use of my sewing machine for half the month. Of the 12 blocks on my to-do list, I chose the easier ones to get back in the swing of things. It may take a couple of months to be caught up again, what with all the handmade Christmas plans I have...




Oh, and in 8 days, I'll be visiting Jane's own quilt. I hear it's one of the best years for New England foliage. I'm hoping for some good pictures.

Baby Jane update - August

Nothing to report for August. The group took a two week break in the beginning of the month, and at the end of the month I fell 4 blocks behind since I was finishing Maggie's Quilt and a few other projects. I have resuscitated my sewing room to its life as a guest room for visiting friends. In a week or two, I'll be back at work playing catch up with the group.

I do have exciting Dear Jane news, at least for me. We have made plans to go see Jane Stickles' quilt at the Bennington Museum in October. The museum displays the quilt for a month each year, and they are even hosting classes with Brenda Papadakis, although I won't be able to attend that weekend. We're going to camp at a nearby state park. Hmmm....October in Vermont....I think we'll need two dogs and quilt just to stay warm.

From our first trip to Vermont, Halloween weekend, 2004

Baby Jane update - July

1. G8, Justin's Comet, 2. A1, Pinwheel Gone Awry, 3. A2, One two buckle my shoe, 4. D10, Battlefield

Above are four of eight blocks I completed in July. My favorite is the star, which is my first hand-pieced block. Yet again, many of these were completed over two crash-course days because I fell behind the group. But every time I get back into the swing of Dear Jane, I remember how good it feels to accomplish a single, sometimes complicated, often imperfect, 4.5" block.

And every time I update my virtual design wall, I'm excited to see the quilt coming together. 44 blocks complete - over 25% of 169 blocks. Yeah!

Baby Jane update - June

Another month passed and another Dear Jane update. In June, I completed 7 more blocks for a total of 37 blocks complete. Below are the four more difficult ones from June:

1. H11, Piercing Rays, 2. F2 - Kaleidoscope, 3. K8, Springbrook Park, 4. M11, Rickshaw

The first one, H11, gave me a headache. I will probably rework this one at some point. It is clear that I'm still having trouble with Y seams. I have been holding off G8 - Justin's Comet, precisely due to the Y seams, so I think I will try hand-piecing for once. Anina's suggestion of using the foundation paper to help stabilize piecing should help too.

The other three blocks were also freezer paper pieced in sections then sewed together. I finally have foundation piecing down and have learned the hard way not to try to conserve fabric when foundation piecing. I need to work on piecing sections together more carefully, because the sections do not always line up exactly right (example, the two halves of the center of F2). I'm generally pleased with my finished blocks, apart from the occasional headache. It constantly amazes me that Jane Stickle made the original quilt by hand without the conveniences of modern tools and methods.

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.

Baby Jane update - April

Here's my first 24 blocks for my Dear Jane project. That's 14% of 169 blocks, yeah! The picture above starts with the first and ends with my latest. It's really fun to see them all together like this and I love the purples combined. You can see them individually on my flickr set.

Reflections:

• Using solids vs. prints shows every misplaced stitch and error to a greater degree, but I think the minor mishaps will be less noticeable in the quilt. I remind myself that Jane's was not perfect either.

• Four of the blocks are foundation paper-pieced. The simple ones were easy and I loved learning a new technique. But the hardest one, B-6 Wild Goose Chase (pictured 3rd, bottom row) caused as much grief as a wild goose chase. (I know my subject well, since we call the several dozen geese who take up residence near us each Spring the"Jerry Springer Geese" due to all the fighting, loud-mouthing and chasing each other.) B-6 progressed fine until the last few borders, at which point I noticed it was off-center. I may remake it at a later date, but with 39 pieces in a 4.5" block, I am glad to have one finished.

• Several participants are sashing one side of each block as they are sewn in order to save effort in the final construction. It's a great idea, but what color will my sashing will be? White, a shade of solid or printed purple, maybe even black or grey? I will probably wait until the end nears to decide.

• Finally, I am so glad to have a group of quilters of all skill levels (now 100+) to share in this project, especially such a talented and dedicated leader as Anina. It's great motivation, and many of their blocks are stunning. The variety of fabric choices is amazing. You can see blocks from the entire group at the Dear Baby Jane flickr group.

Baby Jane update - March

My Dear Jane blocks are multiplying and I'm enjoying this project more than I imagined. Though it's just a dent in the puzzle, I have 11 blocks complete, including a few simple ones I made ahead of the group. It may take an hour or two to finish a block, but it's a small accomplishment in itself and I am proud to hold a finished block in my hands. I have learned so much already, including my new favorite technique: freezer paper applique. As the blocks increase in difficulty, I will definitely earn my stripes!

Here is a link to my Dear Jane blocks in flickr if you want to take a peek at the individual blocks themselves. Since I chose not to buy the cd software, I am using Sharon Mastbrook's Virtual Design Wall (pictured above), which gives me a sense of how my somewhat randomly placed shades of purple will look together in the completed quilt.

Dear Jane,

Call me crazy, but I'm starting a project that I'll slowly work on for the next year or two. Perhaps I'll make a table runner in the end or maybe I'll be ambitious enough to finish the whole quilt. It's my version of the Dear Jane Quilt. The original quilt (pictured) was completed during the Civil War in 1863 by Jane A. Stickle of Vermont. The quilt has 169 4.5" blocks, plus 56 additional border triangles. A real masterpiece.

The Dear Baby Jane blog group has just begun this project, and I'll learn and practice my quilting techniques as I follow along. I will complete at least two blocks per week, so it shouldn't be overwhelming and I can still work on other projects as time permits. Many quilters choose beautiful historical reproduction fabrics, and being a student of history, I certainly considered this option. However, I ultimately decided mine will be slightly more contemporary in monotone shades of Kona cotton purples (one of my favorite colors) and white background. I don't think I'll tire of the fabric as easily using solids. I was mostly inspired by this black and white version and this blue and yellow version on flickr.

Below are my three first blocks - B13/C9/D13. Two simple machine-pieced blocks, and one tear drop block done in reverse-applique (as described here, although I used a paper template and my hera maker to draw the applique line - next time I'll try the freezer paper method). I'm not thrilled with my hand stitches on the tear drops, but I think I'll have to learn to live with a little imperfection. That's life, right? I've also made very handy use of my new Clover finger press tool instead of ironing seams. My pattern book should arrive soon, and I'm anxious to study it.