BOM: Stitchin' Heaven or Fabricfanatics.com?
 

I want to do a Dear Jane block of the month and both Stitchin' Heaven and Fabricfanatics.com offer one that I would like to do. I can only do one. Stitchin' Heaven has a beautiful blue and white Dear Jane and I'm on their waiting list. It looks like they offer an excellent BOM program with really good directions. Fabric Fanatics in Plano offer a beautiful batik Dear Jane. I can't tell if they offer good directions and instructions. I have two questions:

1. Will a batik fabric Dear Jane be much harder than regular quilting fabric Dear Jane?

2. Who offers the best BOM instructions: Stitchin' Heaven or Fabric Fanatics? Have any of you used either of these shops' BOMs?

I think I would experiment a little with batik applique before I started a Dear Jane. Batik is heavier and less pliable so it seems to me that it would be hard to do hand applique, especially on something as large and complex as a Dear Jane. But you could make a small project and see how you get along with it. If it works for you, use it. I don't know about the directions. froggyintexas

I have made most of the Dear Jane blocks (I have 22 left). The blocks are really small, 4" finished but I made mine 6" finished. There is a lot of applique in the quilt and personally, I do not like to applique with batiks. You do not get smooth, round corners with batiks, at least that is what I have found. I just know that I don't like my applique as much with batiks and try to avoid them. (On the other side, you should not use a loose weave fabric either, as it frays.) As for the directions, I'm sure that they are using the same directions provided by the Dear Jane CD. We made the quilt in 4 years, 4-5 blocks a month. It was fun but I don't think I would of stuck to it if I wasn't in a class. I'm happy I did it. Have fun! Hope you like to paper-piece because there is a lot of that too.

I have no answer for your question re the two stores.
There are several other shops offering DJ BOMS, so you might want to check them out too.

I checked out the Stitchin' Heaven site, for the blue DJ you mentioned, but no picture.
By chance do you have a photo? I would really like to see it, as I am thinking of a DJ in blues!
Please? and Thanks!

Try this link. If it doesn't work, try the Stitchin' Heaven site again. It's quite a ways down the list of their BOMs and if you want this BOM be sure to get on their waiting list. When they get enough people, they start the BOM for that quilt. Hope the link works. You may have to copy and paste it to get it to work.

http://store.stitchinheaven.com/stor...&Item_ID=20292

Thanks Okie2Tx ... not sure how I missed it before! :)

I have done two BOMs from Stitchin' Heaven, a Baltimore Album quilt and the Rhapsody. With both, you had to buy the book, and all the instructions were in the book. I didn't get any additional instructions, just the fabric, each month, but I really didn't need them.

I just got a newsletter from Wish Upon a Quilt in Raleigh, NC, and they will be starting a Dear Jane in January. There's nothing on their website about it yet (I checked), but I can forward you the newsletter if you PM me.

http://wishuponaquilt.com/