I enjoy the emails I receive about the Jane Austen Quilt. Today, my plan is to answer a few of the most common questions. What could be better than starting with a few photos?

I took this photo at Jane Austen’s House in Chawton in 2001. Since then, the quilt has been professionally cleaned. The quit is lighter and brighter without centuries of dust and dirt, and now it is beautifully displayed on a replica of Jane Austen’s bed.

I first saw the patchwork coverlet in Jane Austen’s bedroom at the house in Chawton before I was a quilter, and it has fascinated me ever since. It is the inspiration for five of my books: Quilted Diamonds, Quilted Diamonds 2, Jane Austen’s Writing Table Quilts, Jane Austen Patchwork (downloadable pattern), and Jane Austen Patchwork Mystery.

Jane Austen, Cassandra, and their mother sewed patchwork when they lived in Chawton. They used templates for English Paper Piecing. There was no preference for sizes which were easy to measure, because they weren’t measuring. 

As a result, the shape and size of the diamonds and sashing are tricky for modern quilters. The few patterns which appeared over the years simplified the numbers to avoid measuring in eighths and sixteenths of an inch, or cutting odd angles. That added another layer of confusion. There was no way to reconcile the sizes and angles in the various sources.

Since Inklingo eliminates the need for measuring (by printing the outline of the shapes on the wrong side of the fabric), I knew it was possible to prepare an absolutely accurate pattern to sew by machine or by hand. 

With the gracious permission and assistance of the Jane Austen Memorial Trust, we were able to determine the measurements of the original, so Jane Austen Patchwork Mystery and the Inklingo download are the first and only accurate patterns.

WHEN WAS IT MADE?

Almost every reference to the coverlet quotes a letter which Jane Austen wrote to Cassandra on Friday, 31 May, 1811, from Chawton:

(Yes, that’s how she spelled pieces. She liked freindship too.)

However, the letter may or may not refer to this coverlet. The difficulty of the dates is discussed in Jane Austen Patchwork Mystery. The problem is the date of the fabric panel used for the center medallion.

MEDALLION FABRIC

Quilters often ask me where they can get the fabric for the center medallion. 

The medallion in the original coverlet is an attractive printed panel. There have been a few attempts at manufacturing a reproduction of it.

If you can’t say anything good, don’t say anything at all. Moving on . . .

I started with a cotton drapery fabric and then selected the fabrics for the diamonds and the sashing from my stash and from a local quilt shop.

Some quilters have appliquéed baskets of flowers for a lovely medallion, and others have created their own artwork to print on fabric, the way Emma might have done. (Except that Emma probably would not finish hers!)

I also used the cotton drapery fabric for the border—instead of sewing 2500 small diamonds like the original!

I sewed this small version by machine, except for the inner border of diamonds.

NOT A QUILT AT ALL

No, it’s not a quilt! The “Jane Austen Quilt”  is only two layers (top and back; no batting or quilting), so it is a coverlet. You can be true to the original or make a quilt. What do you think Elizabeth Bennet would do?

There are photo galleries of Bath, Winchester, Chawton, and Hampshire under the Jane Austen tab on the web site, and you can see the books and sample pages at Shop > Jane Austen.

I hope this mysterious patchwork will make you curious to know about Elizabeth, Emma, Fanny, and the other heroines, and entice you into reading—or re-reading—Jane Austen’s brilliant stories.

Linda & Monkey

PS  We have written about Jane Austen on this blog before. You can collect the posts on one page by using the Search feature (up at the top).

Jane Austen’s History of England is available and you can turn the pages!

When you click on the link for Jane Austen, you are offered choices for viewing, including, “I am using Microsoft Vista or have the .Net 3 plugin for Windows XP.”  I wasn’t sure I had the plugin for XP, but I checked it anyway, and it worked.

The page turning effect is charming, but it gets even better, if you use the tools on the screen.

“Listen” allows you to listen to a British lady reading page by page with appropriate expression. If you click “Read,” the text is displayed in a popup. Jane Austen had beautiful handwriting, but it is hard for our eyes to adjust to the style of letters used in the late 1700s, so the text helps.

Check out all of the tools.

I have been a fan of Jane Austen for a long time—long before my Quilted Diamonds books. I have been a fan for so long that I cannot watch the Colin Firth movie. (I assure you; it is the horridest nonsense you can imagine. 1) The 1980 BBC version with David Rintoul and Elizabeth Garvie is much, much better.

I bought my first copy of The History of England at Harrods on my first visit to Britain in 1978. I wanted to see Harrods, but the book department was the only one with prices I could afford. The little book was my souvenir.

Since then, a facsimile of the book has been added to my JA library. The illustrations were drawn by Cassandra, Jane Austen’s beloved sister, and there is speculation that several of them are actually portraits of members of the Austen family—not the monarchs. (JASNA, Persuasions)

You can trust Jane Austen. On the first page, she promises that there will be very few dates, and she is good for it. The only dates mentioned are “May 6″ and one other, which you can find for yourself. It is a good joke by the sixteen year old Austen.

If you are familiar with Jane Austen’s History of England, you are in for a treat.

If you are not familiar with Jane Austen’s History of England, I envy you. This is an amazing way to read it for the first time.

Of course, you also need Jane Austen Patchwork Mystery whether or not you want to sew a replica of the famous quilt.  (There are photos of Chawton, Bath, Winchester, and Hampshire under the Jane Austen tab on my web site too.) To learn how to hand piece, see Jane Austen’s Writing Table Quilts (at a sale price).

Now get over to the British Library. It is worth it, even if you had ”to walk three miles, or four miles, or five miles, or whatever it is, above [your] ancles in dirt, and alone, quilte alone!”  2

What could be better than a little sewing while you listen? 

Thank you for visiting me here.

Linda & Monkey

Footnotes
On a quilting blog? Are you surprised? 

“All the overpowering, blinding, bewildering, first effects of strong surprise were over with her.” 3
       1. Northanger Abbey, Ch. 7
       2. Pride and Prejudice, Ch. 8
       3. Persuasion, Ch. 19
       4. Pride and Prejudice, Ch. 32
“When the door opened, and to her very great surprise Mr. Darcy, and Mr. Darcy only, entered the room. He seemed astonished. . .” 4

Jane Austen is in my thoughts almost every day, for one reason or another. Today is the anniversary of the day she was born, 234 years ago. She has had a wonderful influence on my life, in several ways.

I have been lucky to visit Chawton a few times, long before I had thoughts of writing and publishing Quilted Diamonds: Jane Austen, Jane Stickle & Friends in 2002. Since then, she has provided inspiration for two more books (QD2 and Jane Austen Patchwork Mystery) and my DVD lesson for Jane Austen’s Writing Table Quilts.

In the early days, I had no intention of making a replica of the famous patchwork, but eventually I unravelled as much as I could of the mystery with the help of Mr. Tom Carpenter and the Jane Austen Memorial Trust, and published the first ever comprehensive pattern for the coverlet. Quilters around the world are making replicas of her patchwork, some by hand and some by machine, and some of them are enjoying her books for the first time.

“It appears to me the most desirable arrangement in the world.” (Emma, Ch. 19)

Jane Austen Patchwork Mystery also includes a pattern for a smaller variation of the original. There are sample pages of the book on my web site, and also photos Bath, Chawton, Hampshire, and Winchester, which you might enjoy on this special day. You can find the photos under “Jane Austen” in the top menu bar, and the books and sample pages under “Shop.” Monkey says, by the way, Jane Austen’s Writing Table Quilts (DVD hand piecing lesson) is on sale too. ”It was a plan to promote the happiness of all.” (Emma, Ch. 53)

Jane Austen wrote or revised all of her novels with a quill pen in the dining parlor at Chawton. It is no mystery that her novels have been admired for almost two hundred years, or that she is compared favorably to Shakespeare. Her novels offer more than romance. They can be enjoyed by readers of all ages, but are also studied by academics worldwide. Even with modern advantages and her perfect examples before them, novelists struggle to reach her high standard today. For a writer to be compared to Jane Austen is high praise indeed! 

Today is a good day to take a few stitches on your Jane Austen Patchwork, or spend a few minutes reading one of the novels, and to give thanks for the influence of this brilliant writer. 

Happy Birthday, Jane!

Linda & Monkey

Don’t you just love stars? We do. These stars are fast and easy when you print the shapes with Inklingo, and there is a brand new downloadable collection with 60-degree diamonds and triangles (60 DIA 1.0).

Sixty-degree diamonds are used in classic traditional designs like six-pointed stars and tumbling blocks. Inklingo makes them more precise, simpler, and faster than techniques like English Paper Piecing or acrylic templates, so now everyone can make them. 

Shapes in 60 DIA 1.0

There are Inklingo sixty-degree diamonds with 0.5 inch sides, 0.75 inch sides, 1.0 inch sides, 1.5 inch sides, 2.0 inch sides, and 3.0 inch sides.  Now that the Shape Collection # 1 CDs are almost all gone, there is a new Inklingo download  for one-inch diamonds and related shapes.

With Inklingo, you can print 12 perfect diamonds on a fabric scrap 6 x 6 inches (enough for 2 stars), or 12 half diamonds on a fabric scrap 4.75 x 6.5 inches (enough for one star).

2. Join the two halves. “Circle the intersection” in the middle for a perfect center to your star. This is illustrated in The Inklingo Handbook on page 55:  Pass the needle around through the seam allowances, one pair at a time, in the crosshairs, before backstitching and sewing the last half of the seam. The thread goes around the intersection one and a half times. You will love the results!

The DVD lesson (60 minutes) with Jane Austen Writing Table Quilts illustrates continuous stitching, circling the intersection, and pressing techniques with a pre-Inklingo pattern. The sale price makes it a fantastic value, for yourself or for a friend, especially if you are new to hand piecing.

If you are looking for a small project or hostess gifts for the holidays, coasters are great. (We can’t stop making them!)  Monkey Exercise # 001 is a downloadable pattern with all of our best tips for finishing coasters for your friends. It was written using shapes on the Inklingo # 1 CD. The long half diamonds in the new download add even more design options and new info for custom page sizes.

Tiny quilts are great for coasters, pincushions, needle case covers—and relaxation! There are worksheets in the shape collections and many ideas online for using stars made with diamonds, half diamonds, and triangles.

As you can see, we cannot stop making them.  It is perfect therapy while recovering from a very sore throat.  (I have one. Monkey is fine.) Thank you for visiting!

Linda & Monkey

Martha's Jane Austen Quilt

It appears to me the most desirable arrangement in the world. (Emma, Ch. 19) The symmetrical medallion layout of the Jane Austen Patchwork appealed to me when I saw it hanging in Jane Austen’s bedroom in Chawton several years ago.

It was a thrill for me to be able to prepare the first accurate pattern for the patchwork, with the gracious assistance and detective work of Mr. Tom Carpenter of the Jane Austen Memorial Trust. 

What is the mystery?

The original Jane Austen quilt has been described in many books and magazines, sometimes without being able to give one accurate idea of anything (Pride and Prejudice Ch. 27), so there are still questions and little mysteries. The patchwork has been the subject of much speculation, but this book provides accurate, detailed information for making a replica or a smaller variation.

I used a drapery fabric with a large floral design for the medallion and borders of a small version.

These are NOT 60 degree diamonds, and the measurements can be tricky, but you can skip the measuring if you print the cutting and stitching lines on the wrong side of the fabric with Inklingo.

The Austen ladies made the patchwork in about 1813 with the technique we call English Paper Piecing. However, with a sewing machine (patented 30 years after Jane Austen’s death), this design can be strip pieced. The book also includes detailed, illustrated instructions for traditional methods by machine or by hand.

There are sample pages of Jane Austen Patchwork Mystery on my web site. If you visit, be sure to see the photo galleries under the Jane Austen tab in the main menu for photos of Chawton, Bath, and Winchester.

Everyone who receives e-mail notification for new entries on this blog will be eligible to win an autographed copy of Jane Austen Patchwork Mystery on September 21st. It was a plan to promote the happiness of all. (Emma, Ch. 53) (Enter your e-mail address in the box in the side bar.)

I can hardly wait to see Martha’s finished quilt! Thank you, Martha!

Linda & Monkey

The hand piecing snob is sitting on the machine—out of the goodness of his heart—but his mind is on hand piecing.

Inklingo has made the preparation so fast and precise that quilters who previously found hand piecing too tedious are interested for the first time, especially because it is so portable and relaxing.  Monkey’s Top Ten Reasons for Hand Piecing are on the Inklingo site (under the Hand Piecing tab). 

I love my sewing machine, but I am one of the quilters who enjoyed hand piecing even before Inklingo, and I made two DVD lessons, so beginners can see every step up close, and see that it is simple and fun. 

To start this blog off on the right foot (i.e. hand) there is a special price on one of my DVD lessons, so you can enjoy hand piecing some Inklingo shapes.

 
The lesson on the DVD of Jane Austen’s Writing Table Quilts is a wonderful intro to hand piecing, and the lesson applies perfectly to the FREE Inklingo shape collection for LeMoyne Star (although those shapes are also for machine piecers). Monkey says, If you aren’t too spoiled by Inklingo, you could even sew one of the Writing Table Quilts, which are very pretty, small, pre-Inklingo projects with an important connection to Jane Austen.

We will write more soon about the advantages of machine piecing with Inklingo, and about Jane Austen too. It was a plan to promote the happiness of all.  (Emma, Ch 53)  Thank you for visiting our new blog!

Happy Canada Day, eh?

Linda & Monkey