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“Dear Jane” — no, it’s not a salutation, it’s the name of a quilt. Not just ANY quilt — a quilt made by Jane Stickler during the Civil War. It has 225 little blocks — each one is different and all were designed by Jane. Some of the 4.5″ blocks have as many as 30 pieces, which means some of the pieces are very small.

So, here I am into my EARLY years of quilting thinking I should tackle Dear Jane. First, I needed the Dear Jane Book that illustrates each of the blocks, but NOT the patterns. So, after buying my “starter stash” of about 50 different pieces of fabric, I went with my dear friend, Betty, to a Dear Jane Quilt Retreat in April. We learned different techniques to use for this quilt including paper piecing, applique, reverse applique, and rotary cutting. We also met some fantastic “sister” quilters from the Waxahachie area. Our quilt teacher, Glenda, was very patient and very helpful. She arranged for us to stay in the 1890 House in Cedar Hill and what a fantastic place that was for a retreat. It was my first one, but if all are like this one, I’m ready to go again!

My Dear Jane quilt will be in blue tones with muslin background. Jane’s quilt was very colorful, and I am amazed at how many different fabrics she was able to use without having a JoAnn’s or quilt shop to find them. In that day, the ladies would recycle their fabric from their clothes. And you know, they didn’t have as many clothes in their “closet” as we do!

There is also a dedicated website to Dear Jane — www.dearjane.com

So, I have finished 10 blocks out of the 225 total — and when I get brave enough to post them here for ALL the world to see, I will. Looks like I’ll be working on this project for the next five years . . . or more!