HQAL: Update on Jane’s Quilt

I am calling this posting the triple three’s. Not only can I not believe were we are in the year 2023, it’s hard to believe we are in the third month of the year and three weeks have gone by.

So here I am with another update on my hand quilting project. At our last posting I had shown you another project I had been working on so that I could finish it.

I am back to Jane’s Quilt and have continued to make steady progress on her. I have moved the hoop a good two times and third smidge move over and I used her to cuddle up with on a few cold days. She is so warm and toasty.

Pic 1 – not even close to a full view … I am working my way around the outside of the middle medallion and just when I think I am getting closer to the finish line, I am shocked to realize I am nowhere near a finish. More importantly I am enjoying the process. Working on this brings me closer to her quilt top maker, Jane and Jane’s daughter Jeanine, both have passed on and are deeply missed.

Reading through this before posting I was thinking – is this like a memorial quilt? No, I am thinking of this as a living treasure and a testament to friendship and life eternal. Jeanine, her husband and family were one of our closest friends and I thought I would just share a very quick story on how we met if you don’t mind. Jeanine and her husband Don owned the Christian Book Store in our once small town of Yucca Valley, CA. Her only employee was a mutual friend named Vicky. She was battling cancer and needed to go home but could not get in touch with Jeanine (out of town, no cell phones in the 70’s) Not knowing if she should close the store, she called me and asked me to come in till Jeanine got back. Of course Jeanine was shocked to find me there, returning back that day. Thank you ‘s all around but even more surprised to see I sold a couple of items that had been in the shop for a long time (years) which she had given up trying to sell. This led to her asking me to work part time – just a little here and there – which led to a beautiful long lived, amazing, family friendship. ( and just a thought now looking back – it was not about selling the items ~ sometimes we lose site of the beauty or uniqueness of something and I imagine after hanging on the wall for so long she had lost seeing the beauty in the items since no-one bought it/them. I remember they were wall pictures. For me, I had never been in the shop before, they were new to me and beautiful so they were easy to recommend and sell ~ when you lose the luster for something or someone try looking through new eyes)

Now I am off to check in with the others in this HQAL, please join me, there are some gorgeous projects in the works.

Hand Quilt Along Links

This Hand Quilt Along is an opportunity for hand quilters and piecers to share and motivate one another. We post every three weeks, to show our progress and encourage one another.  If you have a hand quilting project and would like to join our group contact Kathy at the link below.

KathyMargaretDebNanetteSharonKarrinDaisy, and Connie

HQAL: Jane’s Quilt Update

Happy January and the start to another great year of hand quilting. I am continuing work on Jane’s quilt. I am now 1 year in working on her. She is kept front and center in the living room on the couch doing double duty; reminding me to work on her when I am just vegging watching tv and keeping me cozy warm.

At our last posting I showed you this picture, there’s not much visual excitement.

But I have made some real head way these last three weeks, having completed 25 logs (if I’ve counted right) of the this log cabin beauty.

I have also started another quilting project. Another baby quilt for my granddaughter who is expecting her first child in April. It is a baby boy! The nursery theme is desert/western. I wasn’t having much luck finding anything at our local fabric stores. I was looking for something cactus, roadrunner etc. My daughter found a great online fabric store (not just fabric) called Spoonflower. The selections for this theme was mind boggling. I have already begun and am making good progress. The front is cute with all kinds of dinosaurs pulling wagons and cowboys on bucking dino’s and the back fabric has cute snakes in cowboy gear. Now I must admit, I have a deep seated aversion to snakes but these are cute and since I wasn’t the one solely picking the fabrics I had to cave and endure my long standing fear.

Here’s a little peek into the nursery. My daughter free hand drew and painted this desert theme for the crib background

Before I close till next check in I wanted to say a big welcome back to Connie 🙂 Below are the links for checking on the others in this group.

Hand Quilt Along Links

This Hand Quilt Along is an opportunity for hand quilters and piecers to share and motivate one another. We post every three weeks, to show our progress and encourage one another.  If you have a hand quilting project and would like to join our group contact Kathy at the link below.

KathyMargaretDebNanetteSharonKarrinDaisyConnie, and  Cathie