Holidays Fast Approaching

Lots of housekeeping notes this month!!!!  First, between holidays and Florida trips, we have a little bit of rescheduling to take care of.  There will be no Jane Club in November.  Instead we will meet twice in December.  Dates for the next two Jane Club meetings are December 8 and December 22 - both Wednesdays - same time, same place!!!  Our Challenge blocks for our next meeting are:  D-4:  Crystal Star, and LS 13:  Watermelon.  These will give us a chance to practice those points with Linda A's technique!

On another note, remember to make 5 Siggies for our next meeting - one for each of our group.  We'll exchange them at the next meeting.  A reminder, the Siggy block is D-13: Field of Dreams.  Lets make them 5" unfinished as most of us are doing that size (sorry sorry sorry Sally!)  Or, we could make 1 of them 9 inches for Sally!

Bring your machines on December 8 as I will be teaching the method of paper piecing that Carol Doak uses.  Also, bring rotary cutter and matt - small is fine.  Bring fabric you want to use --- I'll bring foundations for everyone.  I'll choose a relatively easy one so I can show you her entire method.  If you don't want to do paper piecing, bring something else to work on while we do that ---- no problem!

As usual, I forgot my camera last time, so no pictures.  I will TRY to remember next month!!!!  DUH!

Next season off to a good start!

Great new group of people in the Jane Club!  Two hours flew by!  Welcome to Pat, Sally, Fran, Linda and of course welcome back Flo!  Pat, I'm thrilled that you got "hooked" enough at the Meet the Teachers that you decided to jump in.  Linda you are definitely an addict!  How did you get so many blocks done along with everything else you're doing?  And Sally,  already you have designed your own Jane!  Love your fabric choices  and definitely you have to bring your first 9 inch block  next time.  Flo, your paper piecing is wonderful --- and your itty bitty triangles on our Mac and Muff block are great!  I didn't get a picture of it this time, so bring it again next month - I want to put it in our album next to your block without the itty bitty triangles!!!!  LOL!  Fran, love the tool box!  When I saw you come in, I thought you had one of the very early "portable" computers with you!  Your fabrics are great - amazing how you and Sally are both choosing to do the quilt in Red/Blue.  I'm going to email you the picture I took last night - maybe it's a small enough file for you to use in your blog follower picture.

Don't forget to check out the Tiger Lily Janiac Album on Photobucket so you can see the latest.  Also check out the Bennington Jane slide show - the pics should show better on your computers than they did in last nights' light.

Next months challenges are I-9 Chase a Myth and BR 4 Candy Dish.  See you all then!

Dear Jane at Bennington

We had a great weekend in the Berkshires and the best was getting to see the Jane Quilt at the Bennington Museum.  I'm going to try to put a link here to the slide show on photobucket - the museum allowed pictures as long as there was no flash, so these were taken with my iphone, but they seem fairly decent.  Lighting around the quilt was low.  The museum has had the quilt since the 1920's but they don't know where it was before that according to one curator.  It's in absolutely amazing shape with only a little fading in the upper right corner.  The quilt is oriented 90 degrees to the right (from Brenda's layout in Dear Jane), making Block J-12, Rebecca's Basket upright rather than tipped to its left.  Click on the link to see the slide show!!!!!!!!Dear Jane Bennington Slideshow

New Session Starting

We have a few new members signed up for the next session of the Dear Jane Club.  Welcome so far to Linda, Fran, and Sally and of course, welcome back to Flo.  For anyone else who would like to join the "cult", there's still time.  This sessions meetings will be the last Wednesday of September, October, November and December from 6 PM - 8 PM at Tiger Lily.  At the meeting on September 29, I'll do a brief overview of the software for those of you who are new so please bring your laptops if you want to play!  We'll also talk a bit about documentation and organization.  Bring your show and tell, and something to sit 'n stitch.  Also, come with ideas for focus topics for the next three sessions as we'll plan them.  And, of course, dont forget your challenges!!!!  (See the post below!)

Late Late Late!!!!

Sorry I'm so late posting after our last meeting!  We met upstairs, and Flo had to travel between two classes as she was signed up for both!  You did great Flo!  We missed Marilyn and Deb and I was so focused on our applique tutorial that I forgot to take pictures!!!!  What a shame.  But, we did manage to get a good start on both reverse applique and cut away applique.  Nice work Pat and Flo.

This was our last meeting of the summer session.  So it's time to resign up if you want to continue.  I know we have one new member - Linda A - joining us and Flo, I know you signed up again.  Meet the teachers is going on this Sunday at Tiger Lily, so if you didn't sign up and want to, here's an opportunity!

Before I forget (a problem I seem to be having lately!!) our challenge blocks for our September meeting are:  B-12 Starflower and RS-8 Love Forever.  These will give us a chance to practice those applique skills.

Our next meeting is September 29.  Our topic for that evening is Organizing and Documenting.  I know there are some questions about the software, so bring your laptops if you want - I do a quick recap.  Be sure to bring something to sit 'n stitch and of course your show and tell.  SOMEBODY remind me to take pictures!!!!

Our July Meeting

Marilyn's

We had great fun and laughed a lot at our July Meeting.  The technique of the evening was paper piecing and Pat, Marilyn and I did I-7 - Mac&Muff.  As you see, we each came up with our own version - quite by accident which often is the case with paper piecing in my experience.

Deb & Flo, I've saved your paper foundations so you'll be able to try it too - wonder how yours will come out!

Before I forget, our Challenge blocks for the August meeting are:
A-10 - Which Points West and BR-1 Rosemary's Rainbow.  And our focus technique for next month is applique.  I'll come prepared to demonstrate both hand needle turn and hand reverse.  If anyone wants me to show the blind stitch machine applique, let me know --- I'll come prepared to do that too.  I use the freezer paper method.  If any of you want to demo your techniques, that'd be great.

I'm going to try adding a few more pictures from our meeting but as you can probably tell, I haven't quite got the hang of controlling where they go in the blog so bear with me.

OK - now back to work on my Baby Jane.  Today is a Jane Day!

Pat's

Lyn's

Print Command Short Tutorial

Hi ladies,  My headphones with built in microphone came today, so I did a short tutorial on the different options controlled in the Print Command of the Dear Jane Software.   I'm trying again to provide a direct link to You Tube, so lets see if this works.  The audio is definitely much better.  That's a relief! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C46ByM3A3fo  You should be able to click on the link and it will take you right to You Tube.  If you expand to full screen or Pop out once you are on YT the video is quite clear.  Let me know if you have any problems.

You Tube Link

Sorry Ladies, I can't get the paper piecing link to youtube to work so I took it out of the earlier post.  I'll keep working on that - in the meantime, your only option is to watch it right on our blog and I'm not sure you can make that big enough!  In the meantime, my headphones with microphone are scheduled to arrive tomorrow, so I'll create another mini tutorial to see that that goes.

In the meantime, don't forget out BOM and TOM - Sweet Tater Pie and Australian Pines - B-2 and TR-2.  Have to confess I haven't started mine yet - am still trying to get caught up with my other BOW and TOW challenges (which I am 3 weeks behind on).  I think knitting socks is definitely cutting into my Jane time!

Paper Piecing Screen Shot Tutorial

Well, everyone, I've put a video tutorial on printing a paper pieced foundation block in Dear Jane Software up on You Tube.  You will probably need to listen to it with headphones, as my built in Microphone really isn't loud enough.  I've ordered a headset with a built in mic, so the next one should be better - at least I hope it will be.    I've posted it on our blog directly below this post.

On another note, I had a thought about doing a Dear Jane challenge within our group.  How do any of you feel about that possibility?  We can set the challenge rules ourselves and make it as simple or demanding as we want.  We'll talk about it at the next meeting.

Foundation Printing.avi

Ladies, click on the little grey triangle in the middle of the screen shot to start the video.  I just discovered that if you click again on the tutorial once you start it, it will take you to YouTube and you can watch it full screen.

Month 2 June 2010

  Great Meeting last night everyone!  Here are the BOW and TOW pics.  I'm really impressed by all the blocks you've done.  We've got a great cross section of techniques and fabric pallets going.   Our BOW for our July meeting is B-2:  Sweet Tater Pie.  Our TOW is T-2:  Australian Pines.  Remember - if you've already done either of those, do a substitute of your choosing.  Next month's mini-workshop will be on Paper Piecing by machine.  I plan on doing I-7 Mac and Muff.  I'll come with a foundation for each of you so that you can work along with my demo.  Be sure to bring two fabrics of your choosing to work with and of course, your basic sewing supplies including your machine!  

I realized this morning that we never got into the print part of the software.  I'm hoping to put a "tip" section on our blog, and will try to get a short demo of the print options posted for you.  Since this whole blogging thing is new to me, I have to figure out how to do that first, so check back in a few days and see if I've been successful.

Feel free to post comments and suggestions for the group - remember, this is OUR club - so any ideas, suggestions are always welcome on the table.  And Marilyn, remind me to bring my triangle ruler next month, just in case you don't have yours yet!

Spanish Moss

Well Ladies, I just finished paper piecing Spanish Moss - I had a bad day with this one - the first thing I did was slice one of the completed units in half when I was trimming.  Then of course, I cut too narrow - and then of course I reversed the fabrics... and on and on and on.....  And this one was supposed to be rated "easy"!  Ha!  In the end it came out ok.  See you all Wednesday night - and welcome to Flo who will be joining us.  Don't forget your laptops, show and tell, and something to sit'n stitch.We'll be playing with the DJ software.  You might want to start thinking about the TOM and BOM challenges for next time!

Reminder

Ladies, don't forget!!!! Next Wednesday night, June 30, is our second club meeting.  Bring show and tell, sit 'n stitch and your laptops and DJ software manuals.  And of course, don't forget your BOM and TOM! I've made no further progress on my Siggy top but there is still a week.  The culprit is socks!  I'm learning to knit socks!  Like I NEED ANOTHER project!  LOL  See you all a week from tomorrow.

Siggy Top Done

Well, ladies, I finished the top with my 85 Signature exchange blocks.  I'm going to try to put a picture on here and I'll put it in our Tiger Lily Janiac album on Photobucket.  Maybe I'll even have it quilted by our club meeting.  Getting behind - I realized I also have to do the challenge blocks for the club.  I did Florence Nightingale, but haven't finished Spanish Moss Tri yet.  In the meantime, I'm behind on my BOW and TOW challenges for the Dear Jane list I belong to.  Don't forget your laptops next meeting.  And your show and tell stuff.

Siggie Swap Quilt

I'm posting this so I'll be committed to having the top done at our next DJ club meeting.  I've trimmed all my international and Papadakis swap blocks, laid them out and decided on the setting.  Now to sew them together - 81 of them.  Maybe I'll get a pic up here one of these days.  Don't forget your Block and Triangle challenges ladies!

A Great Start!

Well we're off and running.  It was a great start to the club with Marilyn and Pat.  Deb, we missed you - but Pat will fill you in.  We're agreed on a starting format - each month we'll do a Triangle Challenge and a Block Challenge (chosen by the group).  This challenge can be incorporated into whatever project(s) you're working on or it can be just a challenge to determine the use of at a later date.  This month, Marilyn and Pat chose A-8 Florence Nightingale for the the block and TR-1 Spanish Moss for the Triangle.  Do them with any technique you choose and whatever size you choose.  Bring them along with anything else for show and tell next month.

We decided, too, that we would have a portion of each month devoted to a technique mini-workshop - again consensus of the group.  For June, since all three of you have the software, I'll do a mini class on the software, so bring your laptops and your manuals.  Sorry you didn't get a vote, Deb, but since you also have the software, we figured you wouldn't mind.

Sit'nStitch will be part of each month as well, so bring along whatever you're currently working on - hand or machine - I'll be taking pictures next month to post on the blog, so Pat and Marilyn, bring the blocks you had last night.  Also, ladies, be thinking about whether or not you want to be working on a common project - project ideas are on the Dear Jane Home page of the software to get you started thinking.  Also, be thinking about what technique mini-classes you want to have (or give!).

Don't forget to sign up as a follower on this blog.  You can post comments to any of my posts.  I'll check here daily as well in case you have any questions.  We'll see how that works out.

See you all next month!  Happy Quilting!

And we're off!!!

Welcome you three brave people who signed up.  And Thanks!!!!  We just made enough to make this club run.  Hopefully we'll get more interest as we go along.  Starting tonight - May 26 - and we are definitely going to have a great time.  I plan to post your pictures here, and anything else Jane related that we come up with.  Hopefully you'll all create a photo album on Photobucket and who knows - maybe your own blogs!!!  In the meantime, this will be our chronicle - lets try to draw some other people in!

Sign up is posted

Well, the Tiger Lily Jane club is scheduled to run the last Wednesday of every month from 6 - 8 PM.  Sign up is in 4 month increments, so people don't have to make a year long commitment right off the bat.  Meet the Teachers is this Sunday at Tiger Lily from noon to 2.  Hope the club gets enough sign ups to fly.

Dear Jane Club

Lyn's Photobucket Albums

Well, I talked to Donna today and the Club is listed in the shops newsletter that coming out soon.  It's scheduled for the last Wednesday of each month from 6:00 to 8:00 PM.  Details to follow.  So all you ladies who are saying you're interested, now is the time to get out there and sign up!!!!  In the meantime, I'm going to work on "refining" my blogging skills so that by the time the club gets started, I will hopefully have the blog bugs worked out.  My next thing is to try to figure out how to put a link to my photobucket Dear Jane Albumn.......hmmm......maybe the Link button above will do it!

Welcome

I'm thinking very positive thoughts about a Dear Jane Club here in the Mohawk Valley, so I decided to get right down to it and create a blog- anticipating that the interest I'm hearing about will materialize and we will have our very own Mohawk Valley group of Janiacs.  I thought this would be a good way to keep in touch with each other once the group starts, so I guess I'd better figure out the "ins and outs" of blogging!  And while I'm at it, here's a picture of my very first Kite - Goshen.  I'm really really proud of this one - 68 pieces!