- Value
- A fabric can only be assigned a value (light, medium or dark) when it has been placed next to another fabric. The beautiful prints and luscious colors we love so well do not affect value. When you spend a couple of hours on a block, you want to make certain you have selected fabrics with well-defined value differences. You don't want every block to be a "star." Some of them must be supporting cast in your quilt, so select fabrics with closer values to make some simpler blocks.
- Smidgen
- a) Cut your pieces as accurately as you can, placing the fabric fully under the painted measuring line but not extending beyond it. The thickness of this line is a "smidgen." b) Sew the pieces a "smidgen" less than one-quarter inch; a "smidgen" in this case is 2 or 3 threads of the fabric. This "smidgen" compensates for the little hump that occurs when you press your seams to one side.
- Press
- Using a hot iron press each seam before joining one unit to another. Press by just setting the iron down on the pieces, with the seam allowances toward the dark fabric. I no longer say use no water in the iron, as I have seen many blocks become square and flat with a shot of steam. However, make certain you press and do not move the iron over the pieces as this might stretch them.
- "Finished is better than perfect!"
- None of us tries to make an ugly block. Do the best that you can on the day you make your blocks? Cut and sew accurately using the smidgen rule and press. Smile and put it in your stack of completed blocks.
- Log cabin around it
- If your block is too small, cut four one inch strips of the following measurements: one 1 x 5, two 1 x 5 1/2, and one 1 x 6. Sew them around your block and then trim to the desired 5 inches. These strips also look nice to outline or accent blocks in different settings.
- "Just say thank you"
- When you are showing your blocks or talk to friends and they tell you how wonderful your work is, just say "Thank you." It is not necessary to point out each little imperfection in your work; chances are no one else notices.
- "Cut it big and whack it off"
- In order to help with accuracy and in holding the tiny pieces sometimes found in the blocks, cut the pieces larger than needed and then trim them to the desired size when ready to piece the block. This motto is especially useful when making half-square and quarter-square triangles and when appliquéing a block.
- When making a block using freezer paper templates or in hand piecing
- Increase the seam allowances on all of the pieces around the outside edge from 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch. It is a security factor and it is certainly easier to trim off 1/8 inch than to wish you had 1/4 inch more to make the block 5 inches unfinished.
- This is your quilt
- Jane made hers and we love it dearly. Hers is the mother of them all and our quilts are her babies, thus the name Baby Jane. Add and take away blocks and change the patterns as you wish. Use whatever fabrics you desire. We are all making our quilts 'in the manner of Jane.' This is your quilt and it will be as great a treasure to your family as hers is to us.
- Keep a journal
- It is important to keep a record for your children and grandchildren. You should write about both your life and your quilts. This is your legacy.
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