awesome Bev

Wow Bev!!! Your blocks are great! I am behind the 2010 schedule too!!...further behind than you and now I am going out of town all next week to visit my daughter and attend a niece's baby shower. Maybe I can get some of the blocks that I already have put together and quilt them while I am gone. Are you using Warm and Natural batting like Lesley? I have used WN for hand quilting quilts before and I find it too thick to hand quilt through and my stitches on the back of the quilt are awful. But in this case you are having only 2 layers which might help. But you will eventually have to use 3 layers to do the QITD if you are going to hand quilt that part too which I plan on doing but may change my mind once I get there. Thanks for posting your pics!! I enjoyed seeing them!

Elizabeth, only quilting through the top and the batting means you don't have to worry about what the back looks like at that stage at all. I do agree with you that when I added my backing, right at the end, my stitches on the back aren't great, they are more like pin pricks rather than the same as on the front, but at least it meant that the stitches on the front are the same size as on the blocks themselves.

If the quilt police care more about what the back looks like than the front, then that is their problem. My daughter wants me to put my Jane in a show this year, and I think that would be their biggest critisism (though they might not like the front either, or the 'unconventional' way it has been quilted).

I have never entered a show before but I might just gather up my courage, just to see what the judges really think.

Hi Lesley,

I am like you...would like to enter a quilt in a Show for once but can't seem to get one finished that I could enter. I was wondering if the judges would except a quilt done with the technique we are using for DJ as far as quilting it in the layers like we are or will do it in. I would think it would be more excepted if it were done with hand quilting in the ditch? I don't know...I am new at this. I really like your technique! I do think my hand quilting stitches improved with different batting. I used a real thin batting last time. Hobbs Thermore. It is so thin it is like not having anything in-between. You can get your backing stitches better! I don't know what I will use next...I have some Quilters Dream that I have never used and people say it is wonderful for hand quilting. I think it is queen size....so my question is for the technique we are using for DJ will there be more waste of batting? I am thinking that if you are careful you won't really waste? I will have to check measurements on the Queen batting that I have and also the measurement on the DJ quilt to see if it will be enough. Worst case I could go ahead and start with this Quilter's Dream batting and if I run out just get more...and that will work because I will be just using it in pieces. I am thinking out loud Lesley :roll: You know what I think you may need to patent your technique :thumbup:

Elizabeth, I, too, am using Thermore for Jane's Journey. I love it. The only obstacle if the thousand and one layers of seam allowances! :) I pieced the entire top and am now quilting it. It's all done by hand.

I thought it had a strange feel when I took it out of the bag and basted it - sticky. However, it's working up just swell!

I am so glad to hear that you are using Thermore!! I have several bags of it but being so thin I didn't know how it would work with this method! So that is probably what I will use now! So it wasn't any harder to piece the batting together using the Thermore? Gosh, I am beginning to feel wishy-washy now :roll: I feel like I keep changing my mind but I am getting such great ideas from everyone to help me make my decision!

Hi Blinky,

I am actually using 'Bamboo' batting. It is very soft and quite thin, perfect for handquilting. I first used Bamboo about a year ago that I ordered from Victoria, Australia and found it great to work with...have been hooked on using it since. I keep a look out for specials and it works out cheaper for me than W&N.

Hi Shemjo,

I will do that, anything to spur more people on the journey :)

Bev, where do you usually get your Bamboo batting? Sound cool?

www.connectingthreads.com They have a great deal on batting...I just splurged and ordered two of the wool batting. Free shipping if you order $50 or more. I know it is a chunk of change if you can spring it all at once.