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Dear Jane Class and Club Ideas - February 2008

Dear Jane Book by Brenda Papadakis

Dear Jane Quilt Design Software by The Electric Quilt Company

Inspired by Brenda Papadakis's book Dear Jane: The Two Hundred Twenty-Five Patterns from the 1863 Jane A. Stickle Quilt, the Dear Jane software from The Electric Quilt Company gives you many ready-made class and project ideas.

Class members must own either the book or the software to participate in these class projects.

1. For Beginners: LESSON OF THE MONTH

Organize a club that meets once a month. You could title it, 12 In the Manner of Jane Lessons. Use the software to print out a lesson for each member, each month. Over the course of the year, members will complete 12 Dear Jane blocks, construct a small In the Manner of Jane wallhanging, and learn every construction technique they'll need for making the full-size Dear Jane quilt ­ from fabric selection to quilting. If your club meets at your local quilt shop, members can purchase supplies there. Complete instructions are done and on the CD. Just print!

2. For Intermediates: BLOCKS OF THE MONTH

Coordinate a club that meets as often as you feel necessary, but keep members on track by giving them monthly block assignments for completing all 169 square Dear Jane blocks in a year.

Assign blocks to be completed each month, using the Block Listings chart found on the CD to determine which blocks to assign. Students should make 4 easy blocks a week or 2 or 3 challenging blocks a week.

Throughout the year, celebrate by presenting Dear Jane completion certificates as they complete block milestones. At the end of the year, hold a Dear Jane tea to honor those finishing all 169 blocks. Present them each with a Wonder Worker Award certificate. Serve tea and Stickle Oatmeal Cookies.

3. For Intermediates: DEAR JANE TABLE TOPPER

Make a cute table topper using thirty 5-inch Dear Jane blocks and 24 solid triangles. You can get complete measurements in the Dear Jane CD. Again, much of the work is done for you, simply print out the directions.

4. For Intermediates: VERTICAL JANES

This is a five month project intended for five people. Complete Vertical Jane rules including tasks and deadlines are included on the CD. A Vertical Dear Jane consists of five panels sewn lengthwise into a small quilt top. Panel 1, 3 and 5 each contain five different pieced Dear Jane blocks. Panels 2 and 4 are appliquéd with a vine design. The leaves, flowers, pods and other vine design elements are taken from appliqué shapes found in the original Dear Jane quilt. Choose from 3 setting styles. As a round robin project, the appliqué panels will be done in the first round by Quilter 1, who has selected the fabric for the project and who has designed the vine appliqué and made decisions about the settings of the pieced block panels. Four quilters will work in rounds to complete each top with each project returning to the initial quilter for completion.

5. Beginners: DESIGN CHALLENGE

If everyone in your group does have the Dear Jane CD, here is an idea for a design challenge. Using the Dear Jane software at home, they can design quilts, then bring their designs on a thumb drive, a CD, or as printouts, to share.

The Alternate blocks in the library could easily be used as a design challenge -- design a Dear Jane with alternate blocks. The wizard has some examples to help get them started -- Cornered Jane, Log Cabin Jane, and Spacey Jane are just a few.

Use the Dear Jane software to design your own Dear Jane quilt.