I've been chipping away at the blue Dear Jane for a while now. It has been driving around with me all week to take advantage of odd moments. One of the problems I had been experiencing was thread shredding. I've been using whatever type of thread happens to be spooled onto the bobbins in my bobbin ring. Since I have read a lot of good things about YLI thread, I put in an order earlier this week at
Redrock Threads. There are 4 spools for hand quilting: dark and light blue as well as cream and white. In addition I added in a few more colors of silk thread for applique that will be more compatible with the rainbow colors of Dear Jane. I have a neutral assortment, but thought it might be nice to have some actual colors as well. Then, since the shipping was a fixed price of $5 I went ahead and added in a couple of "quilting between" needles to try. I'm not sure what kind of needles I've been using, but they bend pretty quickly. Since I'm not sure what size will work best I got a 9 and a 12 to try.
In addition to hand quilting, I have a little bit of hand sewing to do on yesterday's marathon collection of Dear Jane blocks. 9 blocks completed while everyone was off playing with Lego robots! 4 of them have little melons or diamond that need hand stitching, I'll try out some of my new silk thread and cross these off the list. I'll have to save some to sew during Downton Abbey. The third season started last week and I am hooked. Do you have an hand work to settle in with on this day of rest? Kathy is hosting a linky party, so head over to
her blog and see what everyone is up to.
How many Dear Janes are you / have you made? I did the Dear Jane and when it was finished did the Sylvia's Bridal. Now I am working on the Dear Hannah.
ReplyDeleteYour pink DJ blocks are so pretty! How are you quilting the blue DJ - do you have a set design or are you just free-styling each block?
ReplyDeleteGreat buy on the thread! I have heard that hand appliquers prefer the silk thread. And you got a ton of blocks done yesterday! Woo hoo!
ReplyDeleteLove your Dear Jane blocks. These are so pretty ... and your work amazing. A few years back as a very new quilter I happened to see the original quilt in the museum in Bennigton, VT, and was struck by awe. At the time, I bought the book, but I am yet to sew a block. I am still pretty overwhlemed at the intricacy of this quilt. Kuddos ... :) Pat
ReplyDeleteNot sure I could work on blocks that small. Piecing is not my forte! I admire all your dear jane and midget blocks, spectacular!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you've got a lot going on with the hand stitching and are making progress. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteYou are so talented! Hope you find some good thread..and I too am hooked on Downton Abbey!
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