The Story of an Epic Quilt

I met this quiltmaker probably 10+ years ago. I think that she has been working on this quilt all of that time, but, you would have to ask her. I do know that every time I saw her at a retreat, she was working on her 'Dear Jane'. It's been a true journey for her. I am honored to be in a position to quilt this for her.

 This was taken when we hung the finished quilt top during one of my retreats at Camp Gravatt. Many of the 'Frayed Knots' have watched Verity work on this quilt. Through this quilt, many have learned the story of the 'Dear Jane' quilt and how it came to be. Actually, a whole new generation of quilters have come to know this quilt.

Since before I knew that I would get this quilt into my studio for quilting, I have been planning how I would want to quilt a Dear Jane. I knew that I wanted to preserve the heritage of the quilt. Verity also pieced this top with 30's reproduction fabrics, so, wanted to work well with that too. I have looked at thousands of pictures on Pinterest for ideas. I have talked with other longarmers that have quilted this quilt. One longarmer that has really helped me with choosing designs is Lynn. She really got me started on design choices and that has made this journey a little easier. Verity chose a solid backing for her quilt, so the quilting will actually show more on the back than the front. I like that. I like for quilting to take a backseat to the piecing on a quilt such as this. Batting is Quilter's Dream Wool. Thread is Superior's Bottom Line in the bobbin and Sew Fine through the needle. So, preliminary decisions have been made. Next comes loading the quilt. 

December 2, 2021 is loading day. This should have happened over a week ago, but, today is finally the day. 

Usually I totally baste a custom quilt on my frame before taking the first quilting stitches in it. However, I am approaching this quilt differently. I have spent lots of time with this top and know it to be flat and square. There should be no issues. There will be no thread color changes, so, I am going to start at the top and work my way down. Verity has drawn the scallops in below the triangles, so I have a really good visual and will know where to quilt and where to stop the quilting. 

I spent 3-4 hours this morning deciding on the actual designs that I want to go in the blocks and triangles. I have studied all of my examples. Lynn sent me some great pictures and I have added some designs from other designers to my collection. Time to start stitching.

Since I am starting at the top, the first thing I have done is to stitch in the ditch the full upper border and the first 2 rows of blocks. 

NOW IS THE TIME!!! I plotted the plain triangles, set the designs, adjusted where necessary, and started stitching. Olivia Statler and I stitched out all of the plain triangles with a nice tall feather design. Looks good! I am not 100% comfortable with the design I am looking at for the pieced/appliqued triangles, so, I'll sleep on it and decide tomorrow.

I used my Statler program, Creative Studio, and drew out the design that I wanted in the scallops. Have to make sure that I leave Verity plenty of room for that binding. I plotted those, and placed the design. Olivia Statler stitched these perfectly following my guidelines. 

This is how the day finished. The stitch in the ditch will not show on these pictures because I dropped the belts on the Statler and used a ruler and hand guided the stitching. Time to call it a day. Tomorrow will be all about this quilt.

December 3, 2021, It is a beautiful day here is South Carolina. At one point today my thermometer was reading 80 degrees! In DECEMBER!!! I just love it. The only thing on my schedule today is Verity's Dear Jane. 

As I said yesterday, I didn't feel comfortable with the design I had chosen for the pieced/appliqued triangles, so this morning I am in search of one that I feel will work better. I love the one that Lynn had used in her quilt for the plain triangles, but, felt that this needed something different. I finally found it. Printed out my block design listing and started plotting and placing designs. First in the pieced/appliqued triangles. Stitched those. Yep, I made the right decision for this quilt. These look great!

Next will be the blocks in the first 2 rows of the quilt. These have been 'ditched' and are ready to quilt. I have plotted and placed every other block and stitched them. Then I placed the rest of the blocks in the row and stitched them. I am in a great place to start working down the side borders. Usually I turn the quilt to do these, but, with these designs, I can work the side borders as I roll the quilt. Those triangles have been ditched, plotted, and designs placed and stitched. 

I am not working the corner kites just yet. Decisions need to be made on those areas. They will wait until later. 

It is now 5:30 in the afternoon and I am ditching the next set of rows. I had hoped to be farther along, but, this stuff takes TIME!! So, it's time to call it quits for today. Tomorrow will, again, be all about this quilt. 

Pouring a glass of wine and putting my feet up. Ribs in the oven........... LIFE IS GOOD!!!

This is what I have to this point. What's in black was stitched today. Again, the stitch in the ditch will not show on these photos. 

More to come tomorrow. Have a great night. 

Joyce-One Loose Thread.