Dear Jane…it’s starting

…dearjane
Dear Jane…It’s starting!

I’ve been quilting for almost 20 years now…I started when I was 24 years old, I had just married and needed a hobby. I received my auntie Lana’s old singer sewing machine (you know the one from the 70s with metal body and only a few stitch options but could sew with no issues – this one even the tension was great. It was a heavy sucker too.

This sewing machine gave me an idea…I needed to take lessons, I signed up and never looked back. Back to back lessons, a pair of shorts, a skirt with darts and a concealed zipper and voila I was in love with sewing. So much so that when we were renovating our home, I craved sewing – and had my hubby setup my sewing machine in my kitchen so I could work on a project or two over around renovating the house..

All those years ago I spied the Dear Jane quilt – which was very unreachable – or so the quilters I shared my enthusiasm with – is how they responded to me. I was too new at quilting to take on this type of project. Or things like ‘the Dear Jane quilt is SO hard…’

I believed them. All these years later I wish I hadn’t as I think I know I would be a better quilter today and better sooner, no earlier in my quilting hobby career had I tackled this Dear Jane project all those years ago.

My friend Alison – she’s my quilting buddy – also had the idea of tackling a Dear Jane quilt…unbeknownst to me – she purchased the book first and brought it to a retreat – where I reviewed, read and learned about how lacking in information this book is…

There is no patterns

There is no fabric suggestions

There is no templates

There is no guidelines

except…

The drawings of each block, finished size

So if you want to make this DJ like I do, then get out your ruler and pencil, your card stock and paper piecing Carol Doak Paper, your math, your cheat sheets and BEGIN!

Welcome to my Dear Jane Journey, I hope you play along, comment and join in the fun, I’ll give you all of my cheat sheets – answer any questions you may have and be your Janiac pen-pal your confident, your ‘measure twice-cut once’ side kick!

I’m Valerie…and I’m tackling this Dear Jane Quilt…and telling a story along the way.

Follow me at:

Pinterest

( do you use Instagram and Facebook and if so do you think I should post there?) I’m leaning towards Instagram but lmk your thoughts)

New – Project DF Podcast – e118

As a podcaster I am always searching for a great story, I was galavanting through an antique store and found this book by Margaret Echard, based on a true story about her family, set in the 40s – the book, smelled good, it felt like it was SOMETHING more than paper and ink and it’s green hard cover texture. A collection of juicy secrets and skin tingling worthy words, a collection of mystery, deceit and intrigue. A good story has to have LOVE and DEATH (did you know this) I bought this book and within the cover there was an insignia ______

I tell stories for Audible as a side hustle, I know how to produce my voice for satiable listening ears..or so I’ve been told. I’m a project manager by day. I like the challenge of putting things together in a consolidated view, playing with files, organizing, planning, keeping people motivated. It’s the process I love.

My CAST knows the vibe I give, “please don’t give up on me now…”

I read the book, cover to cover, did some investigating on the people, places and history of the author and the book itself. I could only find one, 1 person who left a review about this book and he, it turns out is Canadian, and an actor…my idea was forming.

What if I made this book into an audio drama? What if I got a bunch of people who use their voice(s) to tell stories like podcasters and voice over artists, and actors…what if I did this?

Lots of ideas begin to ruminate, I carried the book with me, wrote copious amounts of notes, picked apart all of my favourite podcasts for their best tricks and tips and included those and some of my own from my over 100 episodes.

Lots of sleepless nights, late nights & early mornings.

I put out my feelers…leaned on my community of voice artists and the excitement was contagious which was sort of inline with the covid pandemic feel, a sense of connection to the world going through the pandemic together, ALONE, isolated.

We recorded this all REMOTE in our own homes, ALONE, I collected these clips and files, processed, processed some more, spliced, added music, mixed and mastered for hours, and days and minutes…

I asked for more from my CAST of 25, can you add this line, can someone play this on the piano, I had people drop out, other CASTs friends wanted to join, and their moms and their kid’s are involved, roommates, wife and husbands, friends of friends, even my husband got in on it when I needed titles read, miscellaneous lines added here and there.

It has to stay a secret, only this ^^ one guy knows the truth, the book name

Welcome to ProjectDF, it’s a mystery, it’s a side project that I am so proud of, it’s a collection of amazing talent from across this country of Canada, across the United States of America as well as into Australia..the talent runs far and wide.

If you’re still reading by this point, thank you for your support, thank you for listening and sharing and leaving comments. Thank you to Kylee and Rafe and London as my main characters who didn’t give up well over a year into this – it all paused, but they stuck with it and came through for me, for this…Project DF Podcast.

Chained Maggie – e117s3

episode 117 season 3

Today I welcome to the show Tamira Ci Thayne, author, animal activist, book designer, and founder and former CEO of Dogs Deserve Better. She reached out to me to produce an audiobook, Reboot Ranch by Eileen Watkins and I just fell in love with Tamira’s purpose – to inspire, assist and entertain animal lovers, activist and rescuers in your fight for the animals. She fits perfectly into my theme of READ and CREATE. Think Books for Animal Lovers, think books that tug on your heart strings and you want to learn more about rescue operations, slaughter houses, adoption and donating. Welcome to the show Tamira!

QUESTIONS I’M DYING TO KNOW ABOUT TAMIRA

First break: How did you get into this, how did the name come about, Who Chains You? What happened that changed you?

Second Break: How did you get a passion for saving animals? Younger?

Third Break: What was the start of the book…after Dogs Deserve Better?

Fourth Break: What would be your ideal, infrastructure to get your business where you want it?

Fifth Break: Do you read all of the books you publish? Whats the Criteria?

Sixth Break: Do you have a favourite book in your repertoire?

Seventh Break: The Olympic Animal Sanctuary, true story?

Eighth Break: It went to the Dogs, Tamira’s Book

Ninth Break: Eileen Watkins book Reboot Ranch (insert retail clip)

Tenth Break: Her platform for people to tell their stories?

Eleventh Break: List off some of the more unique stories about animals in your publishing house? Snails, Hermit Crabs, Sloth Bears (dancing bears)

Twelth Break: A book that has done so well, unexpectedly, think rats!

 Thirteenth Break: How do you read these books, does it take a toll?

Fourteenth Break: Starfish Story..

Fifteenth Break: Who’s your audience?

Sixteenth Break: The books that Tamira writes..

Eighteenth Break: The people who harm animals…

Nineteeth Break: A personal story about turtles that has impacted me..

Twentietth Break: One piece of advice for helping animals and rescue shelters..

Twenty Onth Break: Tamira asks me…

Twenty Second Break: What’s next for Tamira. & What is a Piegon Shoot?

Twenty Third Break: Coronavirus Impact..

Season Three – video cover art

Follow Tamira & Who Chains You

Website @ Who Chains You

Instagram @Freedom Chaser Books

Facebook @Freedom Chaser Books

Twitter @Freedom Chaser Books

Follow Me:

Website @ ValerieMoss.ca

Instagram @ValerieJMoss

Facebook @VSMoss

YouTube @ValerieJMoss

Pinterest @VJMoss

The show music is call ‘Girl’ by Text me Records and Leviathe

The cover art, storytelling and production is by me, Valerie Moss.

Stay Tuned for the next season, season 3 on Valerie’s Variety Podcast with your host me, Valerie Moss from Studio 17