Monday, March 23, 2020

Hand Pieced QAL - Jane



Having fun hand piecing?  It's time to get started on our second block - Jane.

While the pieces for Evelyn (our first block) could be cut completely with a rotary cutter, our Jane block requires the use of templates for the house shaped unit that extends to each corner.  Jane is a nice easy block to piece whether you are new to hand piecing or picking back up your needle and thread after a break from last year's QAL.

Still need the pattern for Book Club for the Hand Pieced QAL - grab yours now!  Book Club is a 9 block sampler and two block setting to make either a wall hanging or a throw sized quilt.  Did you miss the QAL announcement?  You can find more information here!  If you have any trouble ordering the pattern, please don't hesitate to email us at handpiecedqal@gmail.com - we'll be happy to help!


Tips & Tricks

The center square and the triangle units for Jane can be cut with a rotary cutter or by tracing templates.  The house unit is cut completely with templates.  Make sure you mark all your stitching lines on the wrong side of the units.  This specialty ruler - The Perfect Piecer -  makes it easy marking sewing lines on angles.

The rotary cutting instructions for the units can be found in the bottom left corner of the pattern sheet.  Please consult the tutorials for Using Templates and for Marking Stitching Lines if you need some tips.


Layout all the units to match the design for the Jane block.  (I am using my wonderful wool pressing mat to keep everything organized.) 

One thing you will notice if you are using the templates to cut your triangles is that the corners are round-ish which is helpful to remove bulk from your seam allowances.


Assemble your center unit by sewing two house units to the center square.  Then sew a triangle to each side of a house unit.


Assembling the final block is easy.  Carefully align the seams and sew through seam allowances (tutorial).


The link-up for Jane (or any blocks you make this week) will open on Thursday, March 26.  You can also add your blocks to the Evelyn link-up - it closes Thursday right as the Jane link-up opens.  If you share on IG, please tag your photo with #bookclubqal and #handpiecedqal.

Make sure you go visit Kristin and see her Jane block!
The Book behind the Block


Jane Eyre  by Charlotte Bronte begins with the story of orphan young Jane being raised by her cruel aunt.  She moves from that home to an equally grim boarding school eventually leaving the school and finding a position as a governess at a house called Thornfield.  Along the way, she finds love, loses love, and finds love again!

The decision to name blocks in the Book Club quilt along was an easy one.  Figuring out what name belonged with which block was a bit more challenging.  Our naming inspiration for this block was the house unit since part of Jane's story is unraveling the mystery behind the doors of Thornfield.

My daughter (the English major) loves this story and has a beautiful copy of the book sitting on her book shelf.  It's been a long time since I read the book and it is going onto my to be read pile.



Please stop by Kristin's blog to check out her version of Jane!


Stay in touch and join our community so you don't miss a thing! 




Have a wonderful day! Patty

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