Happy Spring! (or Fall if you live in the Southern Hemisphere!)

Doesn’t time fly when you are having fun – or working on a challenging Dear Jane ® Block? Since we are a week away from our deadline for our first row, I thought I would put out a new post describing some of the ways that you can post your blocks – because we need to see all 13 in one post!… and Instagram will only let you post 10 photos in one post.  (For the purpose of our sew along you may have multiple photos, but they should all be the same post).  We understand that it can be challenging to get that perfect photo – especially if you have already sashed your blocks, but be creative and use any tools available at your disposal. Below you will find 2 apps that I like to use to post multiple photos/photo collages.

When Melissa and I did the #100days100blocks last year, I learned how to use Instagram Layout (Free App – Check your App store), which lets you make a collage of up to 9 photos.  I enjoyed the symmetry of posting 9 equal blocks – like the Brady Bunch intro, so I got pretty excited about the postings that were multiples of 9.

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Once you save your Layout, it saves to your photos and then you can combine multiples of 4 or 9 like these:

Pretty exciting huh? .. But Eve, the Dear Jane® rows have 13 blocks each, how can we post those?  Unfortunately, we can’t get the same symmetry with 13, but there is another App that allows for making a collage with more than 9 photos!  And best of all it is called Photo Quilt!!! It is a free App, but there are some upgrades you may purchase – and you might have to watch a short advertisement, but I believe that you can make a “Photo Quilt” with an unlimited amount of photos.  Similar to Instagram Layout, Photo Quilt has multiple different layout options and will save to your photos as well. Below I have 3 different examples of layouts for my 13  “A Row” blocks.

So if you would like to post all of your Dear Jane® “A Row” blocks all in one photo.  Photo Quilt is a great option.  If there is an app that you know about and would like to share, please let me know in a comment on this post.  I love hearing about and trying new technology!

Also, remember when posting your 13 “A Row” block, be sure to mention @scrappysewandso,  and our awesome sponsor for this month: @clintonmodern and use the hashtag #dearjaneqal2019 in order to be eligible for this month’s prize, which is a fat quarter bundle from Clinton Modern:

Further, if you are interested in seeing what else Clinton Modern has to offer please check out her website here:

Clinton Modern Creative Website

She now has Tula Pink’s Pinkerville!!!

…And until April 30th use the code DEARJANE15 to receive 15% of your purchase!

 

So what else have Melissa and I been up to?  Because as you know, we like to use any spare moments that we have to sew – who wants to clean right???  And both of us have had some time off this month due to the March Break.

Melissa has been making green hearts to send to New Zealand to be made into quilts by Angels in Gumboots. You can see some of them here:

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And she also participated in the #bloembasketalong with @johannaweidner and @clintonmodern making this adorable set of bags:

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I have been doing the Trinket Sew Along with Alison Glass.  I bought the pattern last year and used most of my March Break to sew the blocks – still don’t love FPP!

My blocks are below, collage made by… you guessed it! PhotoQuilt!

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And I also signed up to participate in the Sisterhood Quilt Swap with @happysewlucky . I spent yesterday making my blocks to send to my sisters.  Again… still don’t love FPP but it is growing on me.

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So that’s all for now, we wish you the best of luck as you finish the rest of the blocks in your “A Row”, we look forward to seeing our Instagram feeds filled with Dear Jane® !

 

ScrappySewandSo Episode 2 is up on Youtube

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Hi Baby Janes!  ScrappySewandSo Episode 2 is now up on YouTube.  To view our latest video please click on the following link:

ScrappySewandSo Episode 2

Be sure to subscribe to our channel so you don’t miss any new videos when they come out!  Stay tuned for a new blog post this week on how to post multiple photos to Instagram, so that you can enter to win this month’s prizes!

Happy March! Let the Dear Jane® Quilt Along Begin!

We have lots of great things to share with you for this edition of the blog post. So let’s not beat around the bush!

Our sponsor for the month is Clinton Modern Creative – Fabric, Patterns and Notions for Modern Makers.  It is an online shop out of Saskachewan, Canada, and happens to be one of our favourite shops to order fabric.  Why?  Because owner, Darla Clinton stocks all of our favourite modern designers such as Tula Pink, Libs Elliott, and Alison Glass – just to name a few – and at excellent prices with FAST shipping!  Darla is very active and generous in the Instagram quilting community and she sponsors many Quilt Alongs, including the recent Alison Glass “Trinket” Quilt Along  – which I think I will definitely be throwing my hat into this spring!  Check out her delicious curated bundle for the “Trinket” Sew Along below.

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If you are interested in seeing what else she has to offer please check out her website here:

Clinton Modern Creative Website

Until April 30th use the code DEARJANE15 to receive 15% of your purchase!

As I have been using Libs Elliott’s Mixtape and New Wave Fabrics for my Dear Jane® Quilt, I have acquired most of my fabrics through Clinton Modern Creative!

How do I enter to win this months prize?

Well the details have all been updated under the March 2019 Schedule on the Dear Jane® Quilt Along   page. So just clink on the hyperlink for more details!

Official Dear Jane® Launch!

Today is the day!!!! The kick off of our #dearjaneqal2019 !! It seemed like the day would never come!! And now here it is!
Since this is our kick off party let’s all post our photos of our plans, our fabric choices, our old blocks we put away, our inspirations and have a real celebration!!
I can’t wait for my feed to be filled with beautiful photos of our Dear Janes®!!

Here are Melissa’s plans:

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And here are Eve’s:

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What’s that?  There are prizes!

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To be eligible to win a 1/2 yard bundle of 4 Kaffe Fasset fabric from Eve’s “Personal stash” you must post a photo of your plan etc with the hashtag # dearjaneqal2019 and with @scrappysewandso so we can be sure to see your posts!
Don’t forget to follow @scrappysewandso and always post the #dearjaneqal2019 for your posts to be eligible for prizes and so others can see your work your profile must be public. Follow the hashtag #dearjaneqal2019 to see everyone’s posts!!!! Have a great day!!! And Happy Valentine’s Day!

How can EQ Dear Jane® help me with piecing my Dear Jane®?

Greetings all!  And Happy February!  As we get closer to the start date of the Dear Jane® Quilt-a-long, I would like to share with you, a tool that has made piecing my Dear Jane® blocks so much easier.  

 

As you may already be aware, there is a Dear Jane® software program made by Electric Quilt.  This program is several years old, however, it is still a very valuable tool to assist you with the planning and construction of your Dear Jane® quilt.  (Note that you do not need to own any other EQ software in order to use this one.  It is a stand alone program.) Further, for those of you having trouble locating a copy of the Dear Jane® book, it can serve as a substitute, while you are waiting for the book’s re-release (although, I still recommend using the software in combination with the book).

For more information on how to purchase the software, please click on the link below:

Resources for Dear Jane®

Thanks to Electric Quilt, we have 2 copies of the Dear Jane® software to give away, so keep reading for more details!

I decided to purchase the Dear Jane® software because, even though I have been sewing for many years, I have only been quilting for 2.  Therefore, I figured I could use all of the help I could get!  As a high school teacher, I have had to keep up with technology as a part of my job, so the idea of playing around with a computer quilting program quite appealed to me.

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As you can see the Dear Jane® software comes with a very comprehensive User Manual, that I found to be quite helpful.  I also found the program to be very user friendly when I sat down to play with it.  One thing to keep in mind when deciding whether or not to purchase the software is: that the Dear Jane® software is formatted on a CD-ROM and is a Windows-only program.  According to EQ, the Dear Jane® software has stood the test of time so they are planning to re-release it in an updated format (download) that can be used on modern computers (Windows and Mac) at some point in the next few years.  Regardless, if you are intending to participate in this Dear Jane® Quilt-a-long, the current EQ Dear Jane® software is a solid investment.  Continue reading to see how I have benefitted from all of the tools made possible by this software.

1. Use the software to plan your colour placement and layout.

Dear Jane® is a large and complex quilt that I believe requires some planning, especially in terms of colour placement.  

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One of the benefits of using the EQ Dear Jane® software is that you can print a colouring page of the Classic Dear Jane® Quilt layout.  You can colour the blocks inside the software (see below) as well, but I believe there is something to be said about pencil crayons and paper. 

 

2. Use the software to calculate fabric requirements

Yes, when embarking on a project of this magnitude, it is important to know how much fabric one is going to need.  In the photo below, I used the EQ Dear Jane® software to colour the blocks, including the setting triangles.  I then printed the plan for my reference.  The EQ Dear Jane® software allows you to upload bitmap images of your own fabric, to really visualize what your quilt will look like.  For my Dear Jane®, I plan on using Libs Elliott fabric – but for planning purposes I used the solid fabric palette in the EQ Dear Jane sketchbook.

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After completing the colouring of my plan, the EQ Dear Jane® software also gives me the option of printing the fabric requirements.  In the photo below, you can see that I have labelled and totalled all of my fabrics by colour.  This is based on 42 inch wide yardage – the program allows you to adjust the width. (Sorry I had to label because I was out of coloured ink at the time of printing – My daughter had a school project which used up all of my ink!)

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3. Use the software to print your blocks.

What???  I can print my blocks!?!  Yes!  You can print the cutting instructions for each block.  Depending on the block you want to print, you can print rotary cutting instructions, templates, or a foundation pattern!  In the photo below, you can see the rotary cutting instructions that I printed for block “A-5 Cathie’s Campfire”. The EQ Dear Jane® software takes away the painstaking 1/8 of an inch measuring that is hard on my old and tired eyes!

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I personally love doing English Paper Piecing, especially to avoid doing “Y seams” and, also, for sewing the tiny curves included in some of the Dear Jane® blocks.  The benefit of using the EQ Dear Jane® software is that you can print your own “EPP” templates onto card stock and “EPP” to your hearts content!

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In the photo above, one can see that the templates that I printed for block “A-10 Which Points West?” have the 1/4 inch seam included, which I used to cut out my fabric and then removed before basting my fabric to the papers.  In the photo below, you can see the same block in the “EPP” stage of construction, whilst I relax and watch Netflix.

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So there you have 3 good reasons to invest in the EQ Dear Jane® software!  

These are features that I found to be most helpful to me so far in my Dear Jane® journey, however, I have barely scratched the surface on what you can do with this software. As mentioned on the EQ website: “this software will help you see how other quilters have made their own beautiful Dear Jane quilts and even design your own on your computer screen. From there you can print patterns for your quilts or the blocks, read sewing instructions, print quilt labels, surf Dear Jane web sites and so much more. “

…and as I mentioned earlier we have 2 copies to giveaway so…

How can I win a copy of the EQ Dear Jane® software?

  1. Watch our Instagram account @scrappysewandso  – we will be giving one away there!
  2. Sign up for our Dear Jane® Quilt-a-long here:  Dear Jane® Quilt Along and watch your inbox for details on how to enter to win!