The Unboxing of My Dearest *JANE*

Here she is, in all her fancy zip-top bag glory! It’s been far too long, dearest 30s TATW — Trip Around the World — Rainbow *JANE*.

Its construction was a gift of time that I desperately needed, while also connecting me back to my great-grandmother, Gladys, who loved all things textile-related — especially linens. I recall admiring fabrics with her as a very young child. I also embroidered when I was young, inspired by her beautiful antique pillowcases. Despite my modern minimalist taste, I collect milk glass, vintage and antique Christmas ornaments, and have a feather tree that reminds me of her.

Many gorgeous linens and glassware items were tucked away forever in her hall closet. I always felt that was so sad — she loved them so much but was always saving them for another time. In the end, they were still brand new and sold by my maternal great-aunt and grandmother.

Not me! I am living my best life, sleeping on the softest embroidered-edge 100% cotton pillowcases and gladly bringing out glassware for the pure enjoyment. I’m likely drawn to shell collecting because of her as well. She had the most gorgeous pink conch shell in her restroom with a thriving asparagus fern planted in it.

With her help, I learned to propagate violets, trim climbing roses for the best growth, identify various plants — all while playing with antique toys kept in a box at the bottom of her linen closet.

She was patient and kind to me; I felt so cherished in her presence.

I think my memory of her is what sparked the idea for my 40th birthday. I know the quilt choice certainly was. For the longest time, I’d buy bits of fabric that reminded me of her, without realizing they were all 1930s reproductions. When I saw a 30s *JANE* at the Chicago (Rosemont) Quilt Festival, I found the perfect design to showcase those fantastic fabrics.

At the time, I was so busy raising babies, working, baking, and cooking that I kept prioritizing everyone but myself. The priceless time leading up to that milestone birthday was exactly what I needed to claim as my own gift. Afterwards, with encouragement from my online friend group, I worked on the triangles and kites — and then we needed a long break from one another.

Jobs changed several times, the kids grew older, my volunteer work slowed, and I was no longer running to soccer games with bags of snacks in hand. Still, my time was dedicated to the education of others, balanced between working on graduate degrees and meeting family needs.

I’ve been busy being busy, and my health has finally required a pause — a forced break, if you will. It’s helped me put things into perspective, including the importance of rest and my favorite activity: sewing. I’m still working on my formal education but am consciously choosing to make time for creative ventures along the way.

First on my list is revisiting my dearest *JANE* project. Seeing all that work just waiting for the last bits — some redos and the final top construction — feels like a moment of progress after an incredibly extended hiatus. It’s about time we get reacquainted.

I’m a little nervous about continuing this beautiful project, as I’m still not fully recovered from wrist and forearm surgeries, but I’m learning to be patient. Just revisiting the fabrics feels amazing.

The latest quandary? Whether or not to construct a second version in the process of completion.

Piece & Appliqué,
Heather

Liberty of London Stash

 The Liberty of London fabrics have been folded and moved to the top of the 30s cabinet. It's not ideal but will work for a while. I can pull the drawers out of the second cube to access the variations. The first cube has mostly quilter's blues and yardage of the Emily Belle line. The second set has purple quilter's cottons and my Tana Lawn pieces. 

The Aneela Hoey are folded in an open cube temporarily until I get the latest rolling cabinet in place and the L shaped desk situated. They'll have their home soon. 

Piece, 

Heather

Tula Pinks Found a New Home

    

  

Moving the Tula Pink fabrics to their own (small) rolling cart feels like a much better option than squished on the top of the 30s cabinet. Opening drawers to see the colorful designs with room to grow the collection brings me joy. I hope you're doing something purposefully to bring some more happiness to your life as well. 💞

I pulled the Liberty of London and Kaffe Fassett fabrics last night to colorize, refold, and adjust the method for some smaller cuts. The Liberty collection is new to me, mostly scrappy fat eighth bundles; the remaining scraps of Kaffe fabrics from FWQA are in the mix. It was intended as a gift for my maternal grandmother however, she passed before I was able to complete it.

Piece, 

Heather

Aneela Hoey & Tula Pink Fabrics

       

The Aneela Hoey and Tula Pink fabrics have all been folded & placed above the 30s cabinet but the cubes are too small; another move is in order. Looking at the two piles, some more Tula Pink yardage is clearly in order. The stash includes some hard to find patterns purchased for a sewing supply pouch, possibly a Bionic bag, one of these days. 

I also have some more Aneela Hoey embroidery and organizers to get to one of these days. I used to sew outside the house frequently before COVID and have done so little traveling the past few years that I'm in no rush, maybe that's a project for this winter. The smaller rolling carts were just filled with polka dots - my favorite basic - but they've only been sorted by color. I'm leaving the basics folded as is for now. Other prints and the Essex Linens were moved from their cubes to the small, solid cabinet in the back corner of the sewing room.

The Spring International Quilt Market will be in St. Louis, MO - my hometown this coming April. That means I'll be in for a good week and will have time to sew a bit after visiting with friends and family. My first big show, the International Quilt Festival, was at Rosemont (Chicago, IL). There's another post with some highlights, if you're interested.

Piece,

Heather

The Last (so far!) of the Heather Ross Fabrics

The last of the Heather Ross fabrics have finally found their new home in the second rolling cabinet. The longer drawers of these chests are perfect for everything from FQs to yardage storage. 

About half of the basics have been moved to a smaller cabinet with plenty of space for stacks of goodness. The Essex Linens that I have been amassing have more space than they did in the cabinets, as most of those cuts are several yards long. I even have some space behind each door to stock with smaller bits and plenty of room for more scrumptious Essex Linen cuts as I add to the stash. 

Wishing you happy organizing,

Heather

 

Sewing Room Makeover: Part I

           

The sewing room is mid-chaos with the cubes being moved around as I search for the perfect layout. The fantastic rolling cabinets have been a major upgrade. All the Heather Ross fabrics have a beautiful home - with a spare drawer yet to fill! I'll add the photos of the second set to another post this week. 

My family has been so helpful in this process, I couldn't have done this without their hard work and patience. While it's not ready to sew in quite yet, I am feeling much better about the space and am loving the updates. We're inching towards the finish and I couldn't be happier about it. 

I hope that this finds you well, dear RF reader. 💕

Best Wishes,
Heather

Folding of Heather Ross Fabric Continues

The fabric folding is going quickly, sorting will require another set of drawers to work with but for now, it has been great to open each drawer to see such beautifully illustrated quilter's cottons. I've been wanting Heather Ross’ gnomes, cowgirls, goldfish, banana seat bikes, lightening bugs, frogs, and owl fabrics for years.

There are quite a few white and cream background fabrics and I'm considering placing them in a rolling set of drawers to make space for the vividly colored focus fabrics. This plan requires some rearranging, but I have some willing helpers, thankfully.

There are storage cubes to remove and rearrange, as well. I like them but think that they would be more useful on top of the glass front cabinet, the shoe box for lesser utilized items, and possibly raised in the corner of the L-shaped counter. The room feels larger with the changes made so far, I'm excited to see how great it will be when finished. 

  
I am looking forward to getting to some actual sewing and piecing soon.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Heather

Heather Ross Fabrics

The Heather Ross fabrics are looking great and the process is going smoothly. I have several pieces 4+ yards in length and multiple cuts of smaller sizes of the same prints. 

This is because many of the textiles were ordered wherever I could find them once released. I have since started pre-purchasing 1/2 - full yard cuts of her new lines. There are still quite a few fabric piles in the small cabinet to tackle. My husband will be exchanging the folded ones for more piles soon; for now, I'm leaving the sealed sets together. 

You can find her fantastic prints at Windham Fabrics or at Heather Ross' site.

Piece,

Heather

RF Readers, Organization & School

It's great to see that readers have increased quite a bit lately. Welcome!! The US is back on top and Brazil has fallen to last place while France is no longer listed. 

The Heather Ross fabrics are being organized as I  continue to fold this week, clearing out the small cabinet and moving everything to the long rolling cabinet(s). Using the same folding technique as the 30's for these but for longer yardage, I've had to fold them in half length first to achieve the same look... just in case anyone is organizing their stash along with me.  The Aneela Hoey, Liberty of London, Kaffe Fassett & Tula Pinks are calling. I may be folding for quite a while but the process is going much faster now that I have the technique down.

I've moved forward with plans for the third, accelerated masters; classes began this week. I'll reward myself with some sewing room time as I progress. There are so many sewing projects on the to-do list that will keep me busy for months. It felt good to sort through the charms for Jane but I'm still undecided about the triangles and I was so sure I'd use the background fabrics for the longest time. I may have to think on that a while before I can commit to a final layout plan.

 

I hope you're having a terrific weekend,

Heather

Cabinet is Complete!

I've just finished folding of the 30's reproductions and couldn't be happier with the results. There were so many green fabrics that overflow had to go into the  bottom drawer. There are still black, brown and multicolored FQs to move, but there's still room in the 'shoe box'. Now I'm wondering if I should go back to the box and refold all those FQs, too. I'm in no rush to commit to that tonight. 

There's a small set of rolling drawers for scraps once I have some time to sort the giant rubbermaid container. It's just so nice to be able to view all the 🌈 prints together, they make me so happy.  Great grandma Gladys would be so proud!

There are some charms left to sort as I prep stacks for the top construction. I keep changing my mind about how to best compliment the triangles and am glad I didn't try to piece it as I went along. I understand that the process might feel overwhelming for some, but this is my first full quilt. Originally, I had no plans to attempt any triangles, had never appliquéd, and basically approached it as a great learning experience, which it absolutely has been. 

Happy Organizing & Planning,
Heather

Starting to Shape Up

The warmest colors are finished with roughly half of the cool tones to go. The cabinet is really shaping up! It reminds me of the ooh and ah factors of my favorite quilt shop, Erica's, that has sadly closed its doors. The sewing room is becoming more inviting every day - I can't wait to be in there regularly. 

I hope to fold some more greens and blues tonight or tomorrow and move on to the Heather Ross prints next week or weekend. Fingers crossed. 

Happy Folding,

Heather 

                                               

Folding Continues

The first folded fabrics were moved to the cabinet. I like the look, but will need to finish the reds for the first shelf and pinks for the second before I'll know how I feel about it for sure. It looks like the yellows and oranges did not travel well and may need to be re-stacked soon. Blues & greens were planned for the bottom shelf.

I may have to split the green 30s between the second and third shelves if is room available.  I found several stacks of smaller charms between FQs in the folding process. I'm considering cornerstones for the Dear Jane construction and changed my mind about the background fabric between the triangles and kites. 

Happy Organizing,
       Heather

Folding Method

When folding fabric to take advantage of vertical space, be sure to use the WOF (width of fabric) as the starting point. I have several cuts of the same fabrics and the folding techniques used by the sellers vary greatly. The most common cuts are FQs and 1/4 yards from initial purchases, 1/2 to 1 yard cuts in recent shipments, though I will take several small cuts if stock is low. FQs are not folded consistently between various shops.     

While the comic book boards were thought provoking, the acrylic ruler allows room for other cuts or items in front of the folded fabrics in the cabinet, maximizing available space. The board method would have also required pressing all of my cabinet contents and that sounds terrible. 😆

 Folding at WOF or half WOF (FQ)

FQs can be folded several ways

I prefer to use WOF as the basis of most of my folding options and find the consistency is helpful longterm in my projects. I originally planned to iron as I go along but that would take far too much time and seems like an unnecessary step. Once you have your WOF (except FQs), fold in half lengthwise towards the selvedge edges. Place your ruler at about 2 inch mark above the raw edge for FQ, a bit more for yardage up to 3.5 inches. Wrap the remaining fabric while holding the center or at least the ruler at the end of the fabric edges. If utilizing for FQs, you're starting with half the WOF, meaning you can skip the fold in half.

Carefully pinch as you go to avoid uneven wrapping. Continue to wrap the fabric around your ruler until finished.  If you prefer to tuck in the remaining 1-2 inches or the remaining fabric will not hold on it's own, tuck on the same side you finished on or use a wonder clip to hold in place. Pinch your fabric again, as shown above left and slide your fabric off of the ruler. 

The first few will seem awkward at first but the process gets better with practice. 

Happy Folding, Heather