Merry Christmas to you all

I would like to thank you all for your support over the past year, both customers and friends alike.   This year has seen some tough times for me but some great times too!

I would like to wish you all a very Merry and Happy Christmas and a very Safe New Year - don't make too many resolutions.   

I will be back sharing my blogging journey with you all again in the New Year.

Hugs
Jane x

Some Gorgeous Eye Candy

 This is a beautiful quilt designed and made by Helena ... she has done a great job ... and I just love her design and colours she has used.

What a beautiful gift for her friends in Qld.

This is the back ... ohh I do so love Batik fabrics ... and these colours are devine.


Happy Quilting for now ... Jane x

Giveaway over on JaneMonkStudio Blog and some quilting

 Over on my other blog ... janemonkstudio.blogspot.com I am giving you the chance to win this hand drawn by me - Illuminated Letter Zentangle style ... if you win I will put in any initial you want ... it is drawn on the 20th December 2010 (to celebrate the opening of my online store http://janemonkstudio.com) 

Go visit and check it out ..

 Isn't it wonderful how a simple all over quilt pattern can bring a quilt to life ... mind you this one is very pretty.

 A close up ... this pattern is Merrily Heart by Anne Bright ... very pretty.

 Make a feature of the back.

 And another ... this time with Angel Wings

This has to be an all time favourite pattern

Okay ... doing necessary maintenance on the quilt machine ... hopefully I can still meet the deadlines before Christmas ... it is very stressful not being able to quilt when I need to quilt!

Cheers for now ... Jane x

Zentangle for Quilters

 Last Saturday I taught a Zentangle for Quilters workshop at Esmes in Kings Meadows - Launceston.  You can see more at Esmes link above ...Lillian has done a nice write up with photos of the class.    It was a great day with 8 ladies ready to learn how to do the Zentangle!

This pic is their first Zentangle attempt ... I was so proud of them all ... I love how each and every one has their own style to bring to Zentangle ... lovely.

Then it was onto the quilting part ... now this lady (Hi Sara) hadn't done much free motion quilting before ... took to it like a duck to water.
Don't those Zentangle patterns look great stitched out.

 Here is a close up .... I am impressed ... for a first attempt it is very nice.  Well done.

This is a little quilt I did for a customer (this is going all the way to Switzerland) ... Satin fabric with a polar fleece backing ... it was very cute.

Happy quilting for now ... Jane x

Launching Jane Monk Studio Web Store

Hi everyone ... I would like to welcome you to my new web site store.

I have a listing of all my Workshops, including my Zentangle for Quilters and other Textile Workshops such as Journal Covers, Postcards, and my beautiful doll Fleur the Tasmanian Garden Fairy.    I hope you will visit and enjoy looking around.   I have included the link below....Thanks Jane x

Welcome to my new online web store  www.janemonkstudio.com

Where you can buy Zentangle®  and other supplies, buy a quilt, book a Workshop, check out the Galleries to see Jane's Tangle patterns, art and quilts.

I have been working on this for quite awhile now and would like to welcome you all to come see my new store, check out my workshops, purchase Zentangle and other goodies.   It is early days yet and there will be more to come. 

I would like to say a very big thank you to Christine from Gecko Gully who has built both of my web sites .... held my hand through all the technical jargon and requirements that, quite honestly, are beyond me most of the time.   

So if you have any feedback, questions or queries feel free to email me ... just go to the contact page for details.   

Hugs and thank you for your support here on my blog as well ... I will still be updating my blogs frequently. 

Workshop & Zentangle for Quilters Workshop

 This week for a couple of days I was in Ulverstone doing a workshop at Cranberry Crafts.  Lynne had arranged for Robyn Alexander of Colour STreams to come and do a two day workshop.   I booked this early this year and had no idea what I would be doing.

I must say I am really happy that I did do this workshop ... I learnt how to do nuno felting which I had never done before and expand on dry felting ... it was a lot of fun.     The kit I chose was a little bag in Olive tones.  This is the kit with absolutely everything that I would need, more than enough to complete the project.

 This is my finished bag ... I am very happy with it...don't know if I will be walking down the street with it (although I might).  I have learnt some very good techniques that I can expand on and use in my own way.   If you get a chance to do a workshop with Robyn Alexander - DO IT - you won't regret it.  She is very supportive and a very easy teacher to learn from.  Thanks Robyn and thanks Lynne for bringing her down here.  She is back next year I think!

Now onto the other workshops ... If you want to learn how to do this .... I am having a workshop at Esmes on the 4 December .... you will need to contact Lillian at Esmes (click on the link to get to her store) to make a booking (and I am not sure how many - if any - spaces are left ... give her a call.

I will also be doing this workshop "Zentangle for Quilters" at Cranberry Crafts in January 2011  and Michelle's Sewing Basket in April 2011.

For now it's back to the quilting for me ... Hugs Jane x

I'm Still Here!

 I can't believe it has nearly been a month since I posted ... I am here and I have been working.  Although I did sprain my Extensor ligament - at least that's what I think you call it - my wright arm elbow to wrist - very sore.   Slowly getting back to it though.

I can't show you the whole of these quilts but I thought you might like to see the border I did ... it is a Zentangle pattern and you can see more of those over on my other blog http://janemonkstudio.blogspot.com 

 This border is really neat ... takes a long time to do ...; but is neat.

 On the back

 Front again.... this time I have arranged the patterns so they create little fans.

 A nice Edge to Edge pattern on a beautiful purple quilt ... somthing about purple!

 I just love this backing - from Widebacks ... they have a really bright yellow as well which I love ... other colours too.

Did I mention that I have all the swatches for the Wideback fabrics ...so you can see them before I order them for you.

 This little guy was walking around our back yard last week ... we think he lives in our very big woodpile.   Wasn't too shy and let me get really close to take a photo ... very cute.

 Had enough of the camera and was on a mission to get home.

What do you think about this "border" pattern ... I made it up myself ... it is a cross between a leaf and a butterfly ... I do like it and will probably use it again.

Okay that is about it .. sorry I haven't posted for so long.  I have the Christmas quilting rush at the moment so will be away from the computer a bit ... but I'll try to keep you posted on what I'm doing.

Happy quilting for now ... Jane x

Candlewick Quilt - Custom Quilting

A little bit of what is on the machine this week ... a beautiful candlewick quilt.

A busy week for me ... so happy quilting to all ... Jane x

Edge To Edge Patterns & Basting

This is a lovely hexagon quilt that I did for one of my customers ... we decided on an Edge to Edge pattern - also called "AllOver".   This quilt is going to a teenager and would be likely to be washed regularly.   The big all over pattern also left the quilt soft and drapable.

This is the left over blocks that I incorporated into the backing (I also make up backings if required)

The overall effect was great.

I also provide a Basting service for hand quilters ... Basting on the longarm keeps all three layers nice and smooth and square.  I quilt with a big tacking stitch in rows about 3.5 to 4 inches apart ... if you are interested in this service please contact me.



I am happily engrossed in quilting again after a few weeks away this month.

I will only be taking a few custom quilt bookings per month from now on ... so if you want me to custom quilt for you, contact me so I can schedule your quilt into my diary.  I am currently booked until mid January 2011.   I am happy to take your Edge to Edge quilt bookings continuously ... I have a 2 to 3 week turn around for these - less if you have pre-booked.

Happy Quilting for now ... Jane x

Finally Home

 To those of you who travel a lot - my hat off to you -it takes its toll - 39 hours of flying, waiting, flying etc to get home.  I am happy to have gone away and seen and done the Certified Zentangle Training - it was so well worth the trip, but now I am happy to be home and sleeping in the comfort and familiarity of my own bed and home with my family - I missed my boys (although I'm sure everyone knew I would).

This picture was taken somewhere over the International date line - I missed the 17th of October!

I just loved the movement of the clouds 30,000 feet or so.  Beautiful.

This is the Oakhurst Retreat Centre at Whitinsville MA where I stayed for the week - great hospitality - even a cup of tea (not like I have at home  but near enough! - Thanks Terri and Deacon Ed for looking after us all).

So now I am a Certified Zentangle Teacher ... I take Beginner, Advanced and special Zentangle Inspired Quilting for your Domestic Machine classes.  You can contact me on jane@purrfectlyquilted.com.au if you are interested. 

A great big thankyou to Rick and Maria of Zentangle for their hospitality, teaching and friendship ... it makes Zentangle even more special now that I have been to Whitinsville.  I met so many people (and they all seemed to know me - am I really that loud on my blogs - lol!) they were all friendly and interesting - so many interesting stories ... I have one to share with you later which will make you all smile - certainly gave me a great laugh!

So I am out of action for a couple of days to catch up, recouperate and generally get myself together and refamiliarise myself with my family (mmm does that sound like I have to do some washing, cooking, cleaning and gerally get those two boys of mine sorted out - one 17 and one 50 - oh and the two boy kitties to hug and play with lol!) ...  talk to you all soon.

Happy quilting for now ... Jane x

I will be away for a little while

This is the quilt I have finished off this week ... I do like curved cross-hatching and can now do it a whole lot better after taking a class with Raylene Smith at the AMQF last week.  Thanks Ray!

There are still some chalk marks in the pic ... just ignore them.   Anyway customer very very happy with the result.

I will be away for a couple of weeks from blogland as I am heading off to the USA to do the Certified Zentangle Teacher accreditation course with Rick and Maria of Zentangle ... very very exciting as I will be the first Tasmanian/Australian to attend.    So I will catch you all soon.

Happy quilting for now ... Jane x

Home Again

Hi ... I am home again and have had a wonderful four days over in Adelaide at the AMQF.  Tracey Browning and Sharon Parkinson have done a fantastic job of organising the event, plus all the volunteers, teachers, vendors, and the quilts ... there were some beautiful quilts.  I did take photos but not many.      I must have been too overwhelmed to take too many photos.  

 This the BEST OF SHOW by Rachelle Denenney "Fancy Flutterbys" - couldn't get close as it was up on the stage.

I did a few classes, loved Helen Stubbings class on Colourque - she is a great teacher.  Michelle Turners Wholecloth class was great, Belinda Betts class on using those darn rulers was good - learnt a lot and Raylene Smith's classes were very inspirational - so much so I couldn't wait to get home and get back on the machine to do some custom quilting - thank you to everyone of you - we have some really top class Australian tutors.  My classes on Zentangle went down very very well ... I saw lots of Zentangles being done over the weekend - see you all can draw really well!    I ran into some familiar faces and met a lot of new ones.  I purchased a wonderful Salem cutting mat from Constantine Quilts and it came home with me on the plane - with some other stuff I wrapped up, the weight was 9kg over - and the airline did not charge me for this - WOW - I am very happy about that ... perhaps it was because our flight was delayed for over two hours, which would have made me miss the connecting flight, but it was late about an hour as well ... so I finally arrived home very tired but happy.

I am back at the quilting machine for a few days before I head off to the United States for the Zentangle accreditation workshop .... getting a bit nervous now about flying by myself all that way  but I'm sure it will be okay.

Will show you what I have on the machine at the moment when I have finished it. ..... Happy Quilting for now - Jane x

AMQF A Wonderful Success

The AMQF is finished ... it has been a wonderful 4 days ... a fantastic effort on behalf of Tracey Browning of Constantine Quilts and Sharon Parkinson of Patchwork On Parade - both of SA. A wonderful show full of interesting vendors, lovely quilts and great teachers ... Our Australian teachers have so much to offer and were absolutely wonderful ... I can't say enough about them - loL!  The International teachers were pretty cool too!

So I am travelling back home tomorrow and will be able to upload some photos on Wednesday.

Cheers for now ... Jane x

In Adelaide

Hi .. I am in Adelaide at the Australian Machine Quilters Festival ... the weather is absolutely devine, sunny, warm and beautiful. I am teaching this afternoon at 3pm ... and then a whirlwind of classes and sights to see until I return home next week.
Catch you all next week.

Hugs
Jane

It's Finished!

 Life Is Beautiful ... design by Helen Stubbings.  Created in Blue and White by Jane Monk!

I have finished ... it was only a  year ago that I started stitching this lovely quilt and I have finally finished quilting and binding it.  The picture is with the binding and hanging sleeve not yet stitched down. 

I have used this quilt to display my background filler patterns - 33 of them.

 Here is a close up

And more ....I love how the circles pop because i have only quilted around them ... they are not too big to worry about being unquilted.  It does look better in real life.

If you want to see more of my Zentangle to Fabric quilting go on over to my Zentangle blog here.

Happy Quilting and thanks for visiting....Jane

Some Eye Candy

I have been playing with depth, shadow and background quilting .... you will remember this from my last post ... it has progressed to a nice wall hanging - my Mum has her eye on it I know!

You will have to excuse my photography skills as I am not very proficient ... but you get the idea I'm sure.

On Saturday our Tasmanian Quilting Guild had it's AGM ... I showed this at the meeting and got a lot of great responses so thought I would show you on this blog too!

A close up of the background filling quilting ... see those berries and leaves .... they are one of my Zentangle patterns that I use in my drawing too.

The quilted leaves add further dimension to the picture.

The back ... a lot of people thought this was the front as it was the first part they saw ... it does look pretty nice too!

A bit of a close up of the back. 

I used batik for all of this little quilt (apart from the fabric for one leaf) so when I was quilting through the leaves on the front it was quite difficult to go through all those fine layers.  I didn't use any stabiliser for my leaves and I raw edge appliqued them with straight stitching as I knew I would be going over them further.

The holes you  can see from the needle punching through should close up once I wash this quilt ... which I will do because I like the holes to close up and the stitching to settle.   I also like that slightly scrunched look you get when there is a little shrinkage.  Although I have used NuWool 60/40% Wool/Poly blend and you don't usually get any more than 1-2%shrinkage with that if any.

So I hope you enjoy my little quilt and have a Happy Week quilting.   Cheers Jane

Do The Zentangle at Australian Machine Quilting Festival in Adelaide

This is just some of what I have been up to  ... I can't show you the whole thing because it is for my class at the Australian Machine Quilting Festival in Adelaide - only 15 days to go - I can't believe I will be there so soon.

If you are going to Adelaide between the 1 and 4 October make sure you head on over to Mawson Lakes and visit the show - it is for all quilters and will have a wondeful display of Machine Quilted Quilts - this part of the exhibition is by the Australian Machine Quilters Association.

I can tell you a bit about my class though.   It is called "Do the Zentangle" - I know I could have come up with a different name, but this is kinda cute - yes?

If you have always wanted to learn how to draw Zentangles, then I can show you how.  But I am a longarm machine quilter and I wanted to bring the two together... I have made fabric journal covers with Zentangles, fabric coasters and boxes with Zentangles, and I thought what do machine quilters do?   Machine quilters make patterns on fabric with thread ... so I played around with the patterns as background fillers, I also used some well known background fillers as Zentangles so it works both ways.    You will remember my green table runner a few posts back ... this was quilted with Zentangle patterns.    The portrait I am making here will be quilted with Zentangle patterns and I have also made some of  these above ... just to show you how it can be done with thread.

If you want to know more on how you can incorporate this style into your quilting ... come and do one of my classes ... there are two on offer at the AMQF ... one on Friday afternoon and the other on Saturday morning.   It will be fun!   You will learn something I'm sure!  You will go home with the knowledge that YOU CAN DRAW!  I love shouting that as much as I love exclamation markes! lol!

Now back to serious matters ... the obligatory kitty picture ... this is Jet this morning being a layabout catching the morning sun. A very handsome cat to be sure!

And a sneaky peek at my other little burning project ... don't you just love how the darker piece of fabric underneath the leaves gives depth and dimension ...  Anyway the sun is out and I have washing to hang out this morning then getting back to work in the Quilt room here.

Happy quilting for now .. Hope to see some of you in Adelaide ... Jane x

Pretty Girly Quilts

A little bit of pretty ... I don't have a daughter so I don't get to make pretty ... thankfully my customers bring me pretty quilts to quilt - this is just beautiful and I love the colours.  Made by Helen, quilted by Jane - thanks Helen for the lovely colour in this quilt it was a joy.

Just look at those colours - Kaffe and Brandon's fabrics I think.

And more pretty pretty pretty ... love the green and pinks together - they make a great combination in this quilt.

Mmmm ...

And a beautiful back on another quilt ... This fabric is georgeous (from Widebacks).

 Merlin on the weekend after a visit from two friends ... too much excitement in one day for a little cat!

And Jet waiting for Jacq to come back and play - he did have some fine jumping opportunities with his favourite toy.


Happy quilting to everyone for the week ... I am head down busy quilting again this week.   I am glad it is school holidays and I don't have to drive my son to classes ... at nearly 18 he is happy entertaining himself during the holidays - his last as he finishes year 12 this year.   We are doing the driving lesson thing which hasn't been too bad at all really. 

Oh and only 19 days until I am teaching at the Adelaide Machine Quilters Festival 1-4 October 2010 - very exciting ... they have a lot of classes on offer and have recently added a few more  - go on over and have a browse if you are going to be in Adelaide.

Hugs ... Jane