I'm Moving my Blog to JANE MONK STUDIO

I am moving over to my other blog Jane Monk Studio so I have everything I do in one place.    My main occupation/job is Longarm Machine Quilting for other people.   You finish your quilt top and bring it to me for quilting.  I can provide batting and backing as well as a fantastic range of thread colours and quilting patterns. 

I hope you can come on over and follow me at Jane Monk Studio ... there is lots of interesting stuff happening, and to celebrate the move ... I will be posting a giveaway next week ... something scrummy along the lines of my Quilting in the Zentangle style - you'll love it ... so come on over and follow me there.   Jane Monk Studio

Happy Quilting for now! 

Shawl/wrap from handspun fibre.

No this is not a quilt .. but thought you might like to see my finished shawl/wrap.  It is so lovely and soft and I have crocheted it with a repeated fan stitch ... from fibre I have spun myself.  The ultimate in satisfaction!

Drying Time

My brother's quilt is finally done ... I have washed it and am waiting for it to dry so I can iron it, pack it up and post to him.   Only a year and a half late!  He will be lucky to get it ... my mother has been eyeing it off and I really like it too!

Happy Quilting days ... Jane x

January 2012 - a busy holiday time

 In December I signed up for an International Postcard Swap.   Of course I decided to combine fabric and drawing ... here are a few I have made a start on.   I have tea dyed some cotton fabric, then I ironed it onto freezer paper which stabilises the fabric enough to draw on with a Pigma pen.   Next I will do all the quilting stitches on the fabric and batting layer (remember to remove the freezer paper before putting the batting onto the back of the fabric).

 Over the holidays I did a bit of spinning ... here I am spinning a laceweight - fibre is Bond (sheep) which I purchased from The Thylacine here in Tasmania - she does some beautiful dying.

 This same fibre is now becoming a very long scarf/wrap ... still not sure how much longer I want it to be, currently about 2metres.  I just love how soft this is and how the colours blended in, all soft and greeny/greys.

 This is some of the fibre I have spun during January.
Top Left - from Fibrefanatic Designs  yellow/chartreause Merino
Top Right - from Ewe Give Me The Knits  this is Mandie's Licorice Allsorts fibre which I have plied with a black Merino to give it this more licorice look.
Middle Right is the Blackwood (Green) Bond from The Thylacine,
Very Bottom is my very own Merino/Silk/Cat Fur blend - some spun and some still in the Batt stage that I have carded together.  It is very nice too!

 That big lot of lemony/chartreause has become this gorgeous shawl, a nice weight for winter, and it is big so comes down past my elbows when I wear it.

 A close up.

 I made another little neck warmer scarf.   The first one I made of these went to one of my sisters ... I decided I still wanted one, so made another - it crochets up really fast - less than five hours I think.This one still needs to be blocked as the edges are curling up.

 Currently on the wheel,  this beautiful blue Falkland fibre ... I have spun this very fine - probably the finest I have spun a whole lot of top.   I get about 40 - 50 wraps per inch.   Can't you just see this in a very fine lacy wrap - the colour is beautiful.  This is also from The Thyalcine.

On my spinning wheel at the moment - the last 100g of this lovely fibre.

So you can see that I have been doing quite a bit of spinning and crocheting this month.   I am also trying to teach myself how to knit (continental style) - but am giving myself the whole year to do that because I want to knit socks - woolen socks are the best!

I have also been drawing more in my big Journal for 2012 and will post some of that next week perhaps.

Happy Tangling/Quilting for now ... Jane x

I know I have double posted this post on my other blog ... but wanted to share with you all over here too!   I have also done the binding on my brother's quilt and a couple of others that are destined for Quilters Companion in July this year. 

Zentangle Inspired Quilting ... on DVD

It is here .... Quilters Companion DVD for the January issue of the magazine.

I have a limited number of copies available for sale - so let me know if you wish to have one posted to you.

The DVD runs for about 1.5 hours.  Lots of information and fun.

Happy New Year everyone.... Jane

A little Quilt & Merry Christmas

 Hi there everyone ... it has been a long year for me and I am taking a little break over Christmas and January 2012. 

I thought you all might like to see this little quilt that I quilted with intensive background fill for my customer Helen.   This is the second quilt she has made in this pattern and I have loved both of them.   I might have to make one myself!

EDIT to add quilt designer details:    I just knew there was a reason I liked this quilt ... designed by the very talented Kellie of Don't Look Now.  The pattern is called "Jessica's Garden".

I wanted to say thank you to everyone who has read and left comments on my blog ... it really is quite uplifting when someone comments and means I am not talking to myself - lol!

So I will see you all in the New Year when I will be back quilting for my customers.   In the meantime here is a little quilt I made with leftover quilted fabric and added a border of Laurel Burch Christmas Trees

Don't forget to check out the AMQF web and blog to see the listing of classes available for September 2012 big event.  

A safe and Merry Christmas to everyone.....Jane x

RICKY TIMS in ADELAIDE 2012

Yes, you heard me correctly.   Ricky Tims - musical quilter extraordinaire is coming to Adelaide, South Australia for the September 2012 Australian Machine Quilters Festival ... you don't want to miss a whole day with Ricky, learning about his quilty secrets and techniques ... I'm going!

Also ... this picture is a little sneaky pre-view of a project that I will be teaching for domestic machine quilters ... a 6 hour class that will be packed full of my quilting fillers and focus points.    I am looking forward to teaching in Adelaide and meeting everyone.   

Happy Quilting for now ... Jane

Custom Quilting & Teaching in 2012

I sometimes do Custom Quilting for customers.  These quilts take longer to do than the usual Edge to Edge quilts as the quilting is individual and more often than not, designed by me. Sometimes I can have the quilt  machine tied up with a custom quilt for two weeks at a time.

I do not have a computerised quilting machine - I use an APQS Millennium that is hand guided (this means that I move the quilt machine to create the stitches and patterns - it is all in my hands and head).  I don't use a lot of rulers or stencils.  I call it Freehand Custom Quilting and this allows me to use my artistic and technical ability.  

Next year I will only be doing a limited number of custom quilted quilts, and I already have four booked in.   So if you have something special you wish to be custom quilted by me, make sure you leave plenty of time and book it in well before you need it completed.    This also means that I will have a quicker turn around for Edge to Edge and AllOver quilts ... so call me to arrange an obligation free quote to have your quilt quilted by me here at Purrfectly Quilted.   (Contact: 0438 302 515) 

Also, I have been working hard to bring you a project that you can make using my Zentangle for Quilters style of freehand quilting on your domestic sewing machine.   January 2012 issue of Quilters Companion will feature my project and accompanied by a DVD ... I hope you all enjoy this project and the brief look at Zentangle for Quilters.  

I will be teaching at the September 2012 Australian Machine Quilters Festival, held in the city of Adelaide, South Australia - both a domestic machine quilting class and a longarm machine quilting class - This second AMQF Festival is going to be a fantastic event and even Ricky Tims is coming - don't miss it!

I am also very very happy to say that I will also be teaching at the Taupo Sympostium Fabric Art Festival in New Zealand, to be held in 2013...which is really not that far away.

Happy Quilting for now .... Jane

Orca Bay Mystery Quilt - Parts 1 & 2 done

 Over the weekend I finished off Parts 1 & 2 of the Orca Bay Mystery Quilt.  I just have to cut off all the little ears on those hourglass units.

I was amazed at how much fabric you actually cut off and I couldn't bring myself to throw it away.   There has got to be something I can do with those little tiny bits ... thinking....


So now onto Part 3 ... and I can't believe the next step is 350 half-square triangle units in Black & Neutral - 2 inches that will be 1.5inches finished in the quilt - cute!

I have sewn all of these blocks on my little Singer Featherweight - it is a lovely machine to do straight stitching on, it just purrs along nicely.

Happy Quilting this week ... Jane x

Orca Bay Mystery Quilt - I've made a start

Last night  I finally made a start on my Orca Bay Mystery Quilt.   1 little 2.5inch square hourglass block - only a couple hundred to go~!

Two little 3.5inch square blue string blocks ... only 70 to go.   These are a lot of fun to make.  I am using Carol Doak foundation papers to sew these on (because that is what I had otherwise I would have cut up an old phone book as Bonnie suggests).

These blocks will come to life this weekend I hope.

I can't wait to see the next step ... hopefully it will be the red blocks.

Happy Quilting for now ..... Jane 

Quick Coaster Mat Tutorial

 This is my tutorial for quick coasters to make ... a great handmade gift for  Christmas. All you need to make one coaster is six 5 inch squares of fabric.

Here I have four 5inch squares which are my "top" fabric and two 5inch squares which are my inside and back fabrics.

 Fold each 5inch square of top fabric in half.

 Lay each one down with the fold facing in towards the middle.   (So you have the raw edges on the outside)

 this is the third piece being laid down.  See how I am laying them down on top of each other.

 The last piece is at the top.   We need to tuck half of this under the first piece we put down.

 So lift up the top piece and fold back the very first piece we put down.

 Lay down the last piece.  Then put the first piece back down on top of this.

 There you have it.   The four pieces all tucked into each other so you have only four halves showing.   This is where you can have fun co-ordinating fabrics.

 Next step is to place the remaining two 5inch squares onto the stack.   First peice to go down will be your backing fabric, place it face down onto the stack.    Then, the inside piece so the right side is facing up.   This piece of fabric can be something like muslin - you won't see it.

 Turn the whole lot over and pin the in place.

 Stitch around the outside with a 1/4 inch seam.

 Trim off the corners.

 Open the centre hole and turn inside out.

Voila ... a little coaster.  You will need to iron it so it sits nice and flat.

If you like you can run a line of top stitching around the edge, you could even quilt it, embroider it, embellish it or anything you wanted to make it unique and special.

I hope this tutorial is easy to follow.   I love these coasters because you can throw them into the washing machine and wash them when they get grubby, and they are easy to iron back into shape.

Enjoy ... Happy Quilting for now ... Jane x

Orca Bay Mystery Quilt - my fabric selections.

 Orca Bay Mystery Quilt (Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville)   These are my Civil War fabric choices.

Blues

 Neutrals

 Black (some of these look navy on the computer but are really quite black)

Reds


I am going with the same colours as Bonnies.  I have been collecting these Civil War fabrics for about five years now, so I am very happy to be using them for something lovely and scrappy.   Can't wait to see the finished quilt.

The first block is hourglass units - 2.5inch square  Blacks and Neutrals - nice!   You can see more here on Bonnie's site.  Orca Bay Mystery Quilt.

Enjoy.

Bonnie Hunter's new Mystery Quilt - Orca Bay

I have decided to do Bonnie's latest Mystery Quilt.   I haven't done one since I did the Double Delight one in 2008 - my goodness was it that long ago.

Bonnie has uploaded the Introduction and Part 1 ... Look at my right sidebar at the little orca link ... it will take you right to the link.

I am using mostly Civil War fabrics I think ... I'm still deciding on which ones to use ... but I won't be starting to sew for a few weeks yet - at least I don't think so!

Anyone else joining in?

A collaboration

I finally got the binding done on my quilt ...

 This quilt was pieced by my friend Helen (The fabrics are all from my stash) and when she had finished piecing it I quilted it with the pattern Maple Leaf.   Finally getting the binding done and is now ready to be used.  

It is so sweet - using a whole lot of Civil War fabrics and quilters muslin in the cream squares.   Thank you Helen ... this would have taken me years to make without your help!  xxxx

A Wedding Quilt

 I love it when I finally get going on a quilt ... this one, however, is very very late!  It is a quilt to celebrate my brother and his wife's wedding ... it was in October 2010!  so they have celebrated their first wedding anniversary now - without a quilt.

This quilt became more concrete over the weekend .. it is now in one piece and waiting for the borders to be attached.   This quilt will be KING SIZE - whew ... a lot of sewing and a lot of fabric.   All beautiful green batik fabric.   The borders (two) will also be green batik ... my brother wanted a green quilt.   Hopefully I will get this to him and his wife before Christmas.

I have used the pattern Peppermint Twist for this quilt - just made it a lot bigger.    I can rename it Tasmanian Twist (I do like that name!)   Don't you just love how the secondary pattern appears ... just magic.

Happy quilting for now ... Jane x

Quilts Quilts Quilts

 This is a customers quilt ... lots of Japanese kimono fabrics ... with the beautiful "Ellie's Dragonflies" E2E pattern - I love how they flit all over the quilt.

 This is one of my own quilts - the batik strips of one colour are very washed out - it is a really vibrant quilt.  Easy to put together

 I quilted it with "Gothic Vine" E2E pattern with a lovely verigated thread.

 The backing fabric is also Batik - gorgeous fabric that I purchased from Brenda at Widebacks (I have Widebacks sample book and can order any of Brenda's delicious fabrics for you).

 This is Nancy's quilt - one of my customers.  Nancy hand pieces her blocks then gets me to choose the sashings, borders and put it all together.   Nancy thought her blocks were very very bright ... but was so pleased with the final quilt - it has come up beautifully and I must admit there was a bit of mathematical thinking to get them into order.

Look at these beautiful fabrics.   I believe Nancy purchased them at a recent quilt show and then more of the fabric from Fresh Fabric in Deloraine  Well worth a visit, especially if you are headed off to the Tasmanian Craft Fair on the first weekend of November.   I have put in a few links for you to check out.


The other information I would like to tell you is this:   The next Island Quilt Show is on Friday 27 to Sunday 29 April 2012.    If you are interested in my quilting a Custom Quilt for you to enter this show before March 2012 - you NEED TO BOOK NOW.   I will only be quilting Edge to Edge / Allover quilting for 2012 unless you have booked it in this year ... as I need to have a break from Custom Quilting and be able to get the E2E Allover quilting out in a couple of weeks and not be held up by the custom work.   Customers I have quilted for in the past four years have had very nice wins in the Tasmanian Island Quilts Show ... and two of them have been chosen to go to AQC as the pick of the State in 2010 and 2011.  

Happy Quilting for now ... Jane x

A double up post

Over on my other blog "Jane Monk Studio"  I have put a little story about a DVD coming out in Quilters Companion in January 2012 ... it is all about my Zentangle Inspired Quilting ... so hop on over and have a look if you are interested.
Cheers
Jane





I have edited this to add the photograph ... I thought you might like to see the finished table runner from the previous post.   I have done all the quilting in the small "tangle" squares on my domestic sewing machine.  I love the effect, I used the drawings I had done in my journal over the past year.