Almost half Quilted -- Dorinda

The red border in the center is the center of the quilt.  I only have the border to the right in the picture and I'll be ready to roll.  I can't believe this project is really on its way.  I figure that I have another 65ish hours left.

Here are my latest Dear Jane blocks.  The first one and most of the second one were made 3 weeks ago before girls camp.  I finally finished the second and made the third entirely today. 

C-3 Rayelle's Fence took 45 minutes.  I basically didn't follow the pattern on this one and completely messed up the measurements.  The outer pieces are all too small.  I just put a white border around it and called it good. (29 pieces)

C-4 Tic Tac Toe took 45 minutes.  It is entirely paper pieced - the outer pieces my own design (the little squares are not very straight either). (41 pieces)

C-5 Eye of the Cyclone took me an hour and 45 minutes and I LOVE IT! I almost wish I'd done it in flashier colors because it's so darn cute.  I machine pieced the center circle using y-seams to keep the center point from being too bulky.  Next, I pressed the edges under using freezer paper (3 thicknesses fused together), sizing painted on with a brush, and a mini-iron.  The outer bubbles are machine pieced in pairs (orange and yellow) and then appliqued down using the same method described above.  The applique was done by hand.  I enjoyed every minute of this little block. (17 pieces)

Total time for these three:  3 hours 15 min. (87 pieces)

Total Dear Jane time to date:  25 hours 46 min. (673 pieces)

OK, so quilting half of Dorinda has taken double the time of 2 1/4 rows of Dear Jane -- unbelievable!  I so wish I'd counted my hours on piecing and appliqueing the top because it took SO MUCH LONGER than the quilting.

Can I just say that JANE, YOU WERE AN AMAZING LADY!  I'm an advanced quilter and these little babies are challenging.  I cannot imagine your skill level especially since you did not have all the conveniences of today.  You must have made each piece with precision and love.

When I finished my Dear Jane blocks today I had to sew patches onto my son's scout uniform -- yuck!  A man who doesn't sew obviously decided to put patches on pockets and on sleeves.  There is nothing like sewing inside a tube through a patch that is too thick to get a needle through.  Needless to say I'm not proud enough of my work to show it today.  I am proud of my scout son, though.