More DJ Blocks & I have succumbed to Dutch Treat!

I have completed my 75th Dear Jane block - I did G6 - Papa's Star - that little star in the centre is just only 1 inch square... I paper pieced this block and it didn't really take long at all - I am very happy with it.. I have also added a few blocks completed this week that I missed out on my last post.

And I have succumbed to a Dutch Treat block - this is my first block - only 4.5inches square and reverse appliqued. Nice ... I might have to make a few more!

It was a lovely 40 degrees celcius here today - too hot for Tasmania - so I had to stay inside and hand piece - again!

Happy Quilting until next time....Jane

A Few More Dear Jane Blocks ... and a cat or two!

Okay ... it is official. We have new furbabies. British Shorthair pussy cats. They are from the same litter - so are brothers - one is blue and the other is lilac. The blue is called "Jet" and the lilac is called "Merlin"... I secretly call them mouse and rabbit - but don't tell anyone lol!

This is my son with a peacefully relaxed Merlin.

And here are some more of my Dear Jane blocks - these ones from last week.

I have done a few more than this ... but haven't taken photos of them. My DJ numbers are now at 74:20:04:1886 - so I have been moving along with them. Problem is ... too hot here to work ... but I have also been looking at the Dutch Treat book and purchased half a meter of two fabrics today - lovely dark blue, almost the Japanese dark blue colour. I might play with a block or two from this book.

Happy quilting until next time.....Jane

More Dear Jane Blocks & My Very First Quilt

These are four more of the Dear Jane blocks I have made this week. They will all need trimming down to 4.5 inches but I will do that when I add the sashing to them.

My Jane's Dear Jane numbers are now at - 70:16:04:1731

And this quilt is my very first quilt I made in 2002. A simple Irish Chain which I have hand quilted - I decided that I wouldn't add more quilting to it but leave it as I first did it. I still like it and it is not too embarassing.

Still going with a large custom quilt at the moment - I really did underestimate the time needed on this one - but it does look good if I do say so myself...

Happy quilting until next time....Jane

More Dear Jane Blocks

I have had a busy few days...customer quilting a large Custom Quilt with beautiful feathers ... hopefully when I am finished it I will be able to post a picture or two. I have also been making more Dear Jane blocks and made 6 today and a few during the week - including the Block of the Week and Triangle of the Week. . Don't you love the weekends!

My new numbers for my quilt are -

"Jane's Dear Jane" 66:16:04:1671

Happy Quilting ...Jane

Jane's Dear Jane Quilt - Triangles

In between everything else I have been up to, I have been making triangles this week...well you can't longarm at night can you? Most of these triangles have been paper pieced and I use the method where you fold the paper back - so you don't have to get paper out of the stitched lines - much much easier.

So Jane's Dear Jane Quilt Numbers are now 60:15:04:1493 and growing by the day!

Happy Quilting until next time...Jane

Information on the "Cat Quilt" - Twisted Tails

I have had so many of you all wanting information on this quilt ... so what better way to tell you all than by putting in the link ...it is a free pattern from http://www.quiltzine.com/tales1.html

Mine is an adaptation of the pattern -

If you start with a snail trail block - you can build up the rest of the cat - just draw it up. My cats block is 60 inch square for the whole four cats - I started with four 2.5inch blocks to make my four patch in the centre and built it up from there. Then fit in half square triangles into each corner. If you want smaller Cats, just start with those four centre blocks smaller

Good luck and Happy Quilting ...) Jane

Aaaand.. Drum Roll ... DD is finished!

This is it.... I have pieced, and quilted "Double Delight" quilt. I love it - thanks Bonnie - you have outdone yourself this time.







I wasn't sure about the brown batik border - but once I perservered with measure, pin, sew ... for each edge - I was sold. Put it on the longarm and quilted "Paisley Playtime" pattern on it .... see http://www.lorienquilting.com/ if you want to see where I get some of my patterns from.


I am very happy with how this quilt has turned out ... now to stitch on the binding... yay! I'm using the same pink as the set in triangles on the outside ... just had enough fabric.

My husband challenged me to finish this quilt today because my rule is I don't do customer quilts on the weekend (sometimes I do though!) .. and I did it! Binding is a night time job.

Now I had better finish my Dear Jane Quilt BOW & TOW...

Happy Quilting until next time ... Jane

Kitty Quilt finished

The kitty quilt is finished .. just got to put a label on.
The quilt measures 75 x 75 inches - a nice size.

The centre panel with the cats is 60inch square.





I used a lovely rich brown/gold fabric from Robert Kaufman as the backing - and have also used this to bind the quilt with.


And the quilting pattern .... Cat's Paws ... which I thought was very fitting. Now I just hope the receipient of this quilt loves it as much as I do.

So ... back to my Double Delight Mystery Quilt which has to have the borders sewn on....loving it.

Happy Quilting til next time. ... Jane

Tonight ... I Sewed!

Tonight ... I sewed my Double Delight Mystery Quilt together. I auditioned a number of fabrics as the set in triangles - I liked the blue, which is the colour I used in the alternate 9 patch blocks, but alas ... I didn't have enough. So I used a pale pink that I had used in the 9 patches also ... I quite like the pale look.




Can't wait until Bonnie has put up Part 7 - which I think will show what she has done with her borders .... I am almost tempted to put a narrow chedder border and then a larger brown border of the same fabrics used in the quilt ... or I could put a chedder / blue / chedder and then brown borders - all narrow.... not sure. It is a nice sized quilt already - borders added would make it a bed quilt. I have never made a quilt quite like this before and I am quite happy how it has turned out. Thanks to you Bonnie!

Nick over to http://quiltville.com for a look at Bonnie Hunter's stashbusting quilts - Scrappy quilts are one of my favourites (although any quilt is a nice quilt).

Happy quilting until next time.... Jane

What a Week!

I have been busy quilting customers quilts - but I can't quilt at night - too noisy and by then my feet have had enough of being stood on all day. So.... I have made these two lovely little pin cushions with beading around the seams. Very cute they are too IMHO!

I put the borders onto my B&W quilt and am very happy with the result - it is a big quilt though - about 78inch square

I thought I would show you all my leaders and enders that I have been making whilst piecing Bonnie's Double Delight Mystery .... aren't they lovely. I will be making a four patch quilt - these are my own hand dyed fabric ... so I really have been stashbusting.

Anyway - back to the Salt Mines.!

Happy quilting for now...Jane

A sneak peek at what I have been up to

I have been busy creating over the last month - hand dyeing fabric and designing a "Cat" quilt for a friend. So here is the sneak peek as no borders have been added yet!

My snail trail cat quilt in autumn tones













And this quilt using my B&W fabric and my hand dyed colours...A friend of mine said she loved cutting and piecing but didn't actually need any more quilts - so I gave her my B&W stash and a selection of my hand dyed fabrics with the pattern for this quilt and said "here you go - have fun" .. So big thankyou to Barbara - you have done an absolutely lovely job of piecing this quilt for me. I just need to add borders to these two quilts and I can have fun quilting them.













And......More Double Delighting from Bonnie Hunter's Mystery Quilt. This is Part 5 - the final block - that is 9patches (the other one is Part 4). I am now ready to put them all together.... Can't wait to see the final quilt and decide on borders and binding.

Happy Quilting until next time ... Jane

Dear Jane is on again & a bit more Double Delight

One of my New Year Resolutions was that I would finish my Dear Jane quilt this year - hopefully before September when our local Quilt Group - Launceston Patchwork Quilters - is having their exhibition (between 10th and 12th September). I would love to have it ready for exhibition then.

So here is this weeks TOW (Triangle of the Week) and BOW (Block of the Week). The block looks pretty horrible and I think I will go back and piece it properly next week sometime (instead of reverse applique).

My quilt is called "Jane's Dear Jane" and my numbers are now:

58 blocks, 10 triangles, 4 corner kites and a total of 1316 pieces - so about one third the way through.

And more of Bonnie Hunter's Double Delight Mystery Quilt - I have finished Part 4 - well done one block and then decided I needed to vacuume and tidy up my quilt studio ready for work tomorrow. Back to customer quilts tomorrow - yay!!

Here is my block - I do love it .... and below are all the little blocks waiting in line to get done - perhaps one or two every break from the quilting machine.... who knows I might have this part finished by the end of the week.

Happy Quilting for now.... Jane