How many?

[Jo H.]

Is anybody hand piecing their DJ?

I'm hand piecing mine so I can sit downstairs with hubby. It's been very enjoyable so far.

JoJo

Can I ask - for the blocks that you would probably do foundation piecing for on a machine...are you using freezer paper templates or foundation piecing with something that's super thin? I've started off sewing mine on the machine but I'm just not happy with the bulky seams that it's creating and so thinking of switching to hand piecing which I do like doing.

[Jo H.]

I bought the book and the CD I did about 12 blocks. I will savor making every block some day. Makes you appreciate the quantity of fabrics that Jane was able to use as well as the time she spent creating her masterpiece.

[Jo H.]

Is anybody hand piecing their DJ?

I'm hand piecing mine so I can sit downstairs with hubby. It's been very enjoyable so far.

JoJo

Can I ask - for the blocks that you would probably do foundation piecing for on a machine...are you using freezer paper templates or foundation piecing with something that's super thin? I've started off sewing mine on the machine but I'm just not happy with the bulky seams that it's creating and so thinking of switching to hand piecing which I do like doing.

I'm using freezer paper templates, which has been more accurate than my horrible paper piecing which I have tried in the past. I know that others have great luck with paper piecing but not me. I'm so much more accurate when hand piecing.

JoJo

[Jo H.]

I bought the book and the CD I did about 12 blocks. I will savor making every block some day. Makes you appreciate the quantity of fabrics that Jane was able to use as well as the time she spent creating her masterpiece.

12 blocks is a great start! I enlisted my hubby to help me find black and white fabrics and it's been great fun. He is the ultimate hunter and has found some great fat quarters.

JoJo

[Jo H.]

After our trip to Texas, Houston and Austin I am working on the last block of row "C". So I will have 39 blocks done, and 12 border triangles. I am hand piecing and hand applique. I did 6 blocks and 2 triangles on vacation, it is a great way to have hand work while traveling.

Margarita back home in Auburn, CA

[Jo H.]

After our trip to Texas, Houston and Austin I am working on the last block of row "C". So I will have 39 blocks done, and 12 border triangles. I am hand piecing and hand applique. I did 6 blocks and 2 triangles on vacation, it is a great way to have hand work while traveling.

Margarita back home in Auburn, CA

Wow....Margarita -- that was a good DJ trip. How did you like doing the triangles? Some of them have the smallest of small pieces on them. I was thinking they would have to be appliqued on but now can't decide.

JoJo

[Jo H.]

JoJo

I cut my pieces with 1/4" seam allowance, then mark the sewing line, after sewing the pieces together, I trim the seam allowance down to about 1/8". I have not had a problem. On some of the triangles I did applique a portion of the diamonds after cutting the background a bit bigger. I have the Dear Jane rulers which makes it easy to square of the pieces when finished.

Margarita

[Jo H.]

Thank you for the advice. I started a new block last night, hand piecing using freezer paper as templates and drawing lines on for the seam allowances. I did one of the less complicated blocks as I just wanted to see if this method would suit me. The block turned out wonderfully, much better than the others I've made, I'm really pleased with it and am definitely sticking to this method now in fact, I'm just preparing another one now. I have the DJ rulers, I bought them when I got the book (3 years ago ) :roll: and would agree that they're very useful indeed.

[Beth A.]

What is this "freezer paper method" everyone here is talking about?

BethMI

[Beth A.]

What is this "freezer paper method" everyone here is talking about?

BethMI

Hi Beth,

the method that I'm using with the FP is to print the DJ block onto the non shiny side and then cut apart on the lines. Then I iron each piece to the correct fabric and using a ruler and pencil I draw the seam lines on right up next to the FP. Then, using a ruler and rotary cutter I cut out the shapes with a 1/4" seam allowance. I saw this method on Linda Franz's Writing Table Quilts DVD - the shapes being made in that are actually diamonds that are very much in the DJ style of block, the process is just the same though and it works extremely well.

[Beth A.]

Ahhh - thanks!

BethMI

[Beth A.]

[
Margarita

And tell me about the DJ rulers. Where do we get them.....

[Sharon E.]

Of course now that I just finished my DJ quilt, I find out there was a ruler all along. LOL

Sharon

[Sharon E.]

Norina, I bought the Dear Jane rules at the local quilt store, they have a ongoing club of "DJ'ers" there. You might try and google Dear Jane Rulers and see what you find out.

Margarita

[Eileen K.]

I'm back!! It has been a very interesting several days. It's long, so if you don't want to read it, I'll understand.

As you may know, the World Series has been on TV. We've been staying up to watch as many games as we can. On Saturday, DD Keri wasn't feeling too good. She had some stomach pain but we thought it was cramps or gas. About 2/3 of the way through the game, she was worse. DH Mike tried walking her around, going up and down the stairs. She told me to turn up the TV so she could hear the game, to the point where we couldn't hear ourselves think.
After the game, we all went to bed but Keri came to the stairs doubled over with pain. Mike decided to take her to the ER and told me to get some sleep since I'd have the next shift with her.

Well, she had appendicitis! They called in a surgeon who operated around 7am on Sunday. (I sent Mike home)He did a great job, considering her appendix was higher than normal and behind her gall bladder. So she's been home recuperating, doing the best she can to get to a point where she can go back to work. Don't worry, I'm not letting her push too hard.

It's all kind of put a crimp in my sewing. I decided to do block A-1 by machine paper piecing. Lordy, Lordy!!! I think I'm going to print off the templates; I don't want this project to become something I'm not going to enjoy doing.

All this to say that I'm back!! I can get back on the DJ wagon!!!

eileenkny