Thanks a bunch... I'm curious. About the topic:)

Oh My!! Am I going to lose my mind? I just bought the book and am making copies of the blocks now.Have a whole tub full of fabrics I have been collecting to use. Can't wait to get started.

There is no 'stupid question' - ever!

There is no such thing as a stupid question. Everyone has to ask a question sooner or later that may be obvious to some others. BUT...if YOU don't know the answer, the design or the technique, then you have to ask. Just like the rest of us.

I have seen them and think they are a lot of work but dont know how they got their name

Thanks for the link...lots of good info.

Jane A. Stickle in 1863, made a quilt with very small blocks -- a sampler. A book has been published with patterns for many, many blocks and quilters will often use these patterns to replicate a portion or even to use more modern fabris to give it a new twist. http://www.dearjane.com

I'm impressed!

Wow, thanks for asking that question; what a work of art! I've never seen one before.

I saw a demo of one of the tiny blocks on a Fons & Porter TV show once and it is just TOO small for me to even think of. YIKES :lol:

When in doubt, Google!!!

Thanks for asking, I have wanted to know myself.

They are beautiful for someone else to make. If I started one, the question would be, "Dear Lord, why did I get into this?" Just Google Dear Jane Quilt and you will find more than you can absorb. froggyintexas

A Dear Jane quilt is one I won't be making anytime soon, if ever. Making all those small squares would drive me crazy(er)

It is a Civil War quilt with a lot of 4" blocks.

I am fascinated by the Jane Stickle quilt history. I'll share what I know with info from a website as well as my input.

In 1863 a woman named Jane A. Blakely Stickle completed a sampler quilt. Her name would be unremarkable today except for one thing that she did; she signed her amazing quilt.

"In War Time. 1863. Pieces. 5602. Jane A. Stickle."

The quilt was passed down through the family. During the depression years a relative in St. Louis, Missouri found the signed quilt and knowing Jane was from Vermont sent it to the Bennington Museum. The museum is one of the finest art and history museums in New England.

The quilt appeared in Lady's Circle Patchwork Quilts magazine, Winter 1983 issue which featured quilts and quilters from the state of Vermont. Jane's quilt was shown draped from a bowfront chest so it was not seen in its entirety. But what really put it on the road to becoming world famous was when it was pictured fully in Richard L. Cleveland & Donna Bister's book Plain and Fancy: Vermont's People and their Quilts as a Reflection of America, published in 1991. That is where and when Brenda Papadakis saw "The Quilt".

The geometry of the block designs quickly captured Brenda's attention. She spent the next five years researching Jane Stickle's life and times. She drafted the patterns of the 169 four and a half inch blocks, the 52 triangle border blocks, and the 4 kite-shaped corner blocks and then published those in the book Dear Jane, The Two Hundred Twenty-Five Patterns from the 1863 Jane A. Stickle Quilt.

The fascinating fact about Jane's quilt is that it was created during the Civil War when cotton prices were exorbitantly expensive; like $40 a yard. The government required all the cotton it could get for uniforms, etc. But, Jane was a dressmaker. There are over 500 different fabrics in her quilt, and they believe they are made from scraps left over from her dressmaking. There are no repeats of the patterns/blocks or fabrics. Each one is unique to its own block.
My quilt guild had a quilt show almost a 18 months ago. About 10 years ago, the lady who wrote this book traveled around the country conducting workshops on how to make the blocks. One of our quilters finally finished hers; took her 10 years to do it. Why did it take her so long? Because she wanted an exact replica of Jane's. She had visited the museum and viewed the quilt, although it's only exhibited a couple times a year. She bought the book, made the quilt and even hand-quilted as closely as possible to Jane Stickle's quilt by using a magnifying glass to see the stitches in the original one.

I created a powerpoint on the history of quilting that I used when I taught, then edited it for our quilt show including an entire section on Jane Stickle's quilt. Mary's (our member) quilt was on display, and every time I talked about it, I got cold chills. I can't even begin to wrap my mind around a quilt that has over 5000 pieces. It truly is an amazing quilt. It took Mary almost 10 years to complete her quilt; working on it on and off.

I designed a Baby Jane (using the Dear Jane software) with a selection of 49 of her blocks and have finished 37 so far. I am using Civil War reproduction fabrics and have tried to lay it out in the same color pattern as her original quilt. (i.e. green center block, surrounded by yellow, surrounded by lavender, etc) I do not plan on making any of the border triangles. The Dear Jane software allows you to print out the block patterns as paper pieced, template or just with the dimensions. Making the blocks has been a challenge, and one that I have set aside periodically so I could work on quilts with larger blocks. I did piece all the applique blocks first as they were the easiest. Worked on those while sitting in the hospital after my DH had 5-way by-pass surgery. Sure did help me retain my sanity.

I'm surprised there were so many who didn't know what it was. I thought all quilters especially American quilters knew. I don't care for them but can appreciate how much work goes into them.

What a great story!!!!!! Perhaps her husband went into the Civil War and was wounded????????That would account for his not being around in 1869's.
Fantastic quilt and history.

What a great story!!!!!! Perhaps her husband went into the Civil War and was wounded????????That would account for his not being around in 1869's.
Fantastic quilt and history.

My daughters and I just started quilting and shop hopping and collecting. We get so excited about this fabric line or that gadget. But we've found it's like we're years behind the real quilting world. Like I learned about Dear Jane from this post so yesterday we went to our LQS (which is more then an hour away). They HAD civil war prints. DD is in love with 30's prints and they're starting to be seen on the sale shelf too.

I'm so grateful I found this board where all our questions can be answered. We can join swaps and increase our "stash" or practice our skills OR learn about Dear Jane.

A very time consuming small block quilt that will make you crazy before you finish. Ask me how I know. I didn't finish mine. AND I didn't like the blocks I finished. They are, if my memory serves me, 3 X 3 blocks and seemed like there were thousands of them. I sold the book and donated the blocks.
Sally

To give you a little more info on Jane:

Jane was a contemporary of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s maternal grandmother. Jane was born the same year as Abraham Lincoln, Charles Darwin, Edgar Allen Poe, Louis Braille and Felix Mendelssohn.

In the 1860 Census, Jane is listed as living alone, so we can suppose her husband is off fighting in the war. Later the information says her husband is dead and she has gone to live with relatives. She lived her entire life in the Vermont area though.

The lady in my guild hand pieced and hand quilted her entire quilt, which is why is took her almost 10 years, I'm guessing. (she has to be nuts!! LOL)

From what I understand, it is a specific quilt that has now taken on historical significance. You can get a book that explains the quilt - who made it, when, the block patterns, etc... Some of the blocks are fairly simple, some are insanely ridiculous!

Good quesion....I don't know myself.

one of the most FUN and CHALLENGING quilts you can do. :) I'm halfway done with mine. :) Started a year ago.