Quilting Owl

Happy Christmas to all my wonderful friends out there in blogland.  It has been an amazing experience venturing into this world in cyberspace and I really appreciate and value the friendship and wonderful comments from my loyal followers.  I hope you all have a really wonderful day today and enjoy the rest of the holiday season. Well the house is now cleaner than it was and somewhat tidy although I am sure that will not last long.  Santa has been and the tree is looking very tempting with lots of goodies for Peter and me under it - we are really just two big kids at Christmas!!! I thought I would share this special hand stitched gift I received from Lesleigh which now lives on the chair in our Studio.  Lesleigh stitches everything by hand and never uses a machine or iron and does wonderful work.  Thank you again Lesleigh for this beautiful present. Peter received a hand made card and lovely letter from one of his grandsons who is 7 years old which is n...

While working on some of our Christmas preparations today I kept thinking about the incredibly happy Christmases I had when growing up in the family home in Clovelly, Sydney.  This photo was taken on Christmas Eve circa 1967 (I am the one in pink with the alice band) just after the big exchange of Christmas presents.  There was always a large family gathering on Christmas Eve and that was when we usually opened our presents.  My magnificent Mother would put on a wonderful spread and then back up again the next day with a big sit down lunch for about 14 or more if we had a waif or stray to add to the family group.  Then on Christmas night neighbours and friends would come to join the party. Tomorrow (or I should say later today) I will do some cleaning, add a few more decorations, wrap presents and generally get ready for the big day - luckily I can leave the food side of things to Peter. Till next time Frances

I finally cleared enough space in our living room to put up our Christmas Tree.  This is a task which I really enjoy doing and usually have pangs of nostalgia as I unwrap each piece.  Most of our decorations have been handmade by friends, people who have worked in our shop or by myself and have been collected over the last 14 years or so since we moved to Far North Queensland.  Every year I get to add a few more and the most recent addition was a lovely gift from Karen - a new angel for the top of the tree. These are just a few of my most treasured decorations - a crazy patch boot a cross stitch and beaded angel Redwork Hardanger Till next time Frances

I have always loved baskets of all shapes and sizes and they have also proved to be a popular theme for me when designing quilts. My all time favourite quilt which I designed and made some years ago was "Blooming Baskets" which was published as a project in Australian Patchwork & Quilting Vol 18 Nos 1, 2 and 3.  When there is the odd cool night in Cairns this is the quilt I like to cuddle up with.  It was made as a class quilt with different forms of applique and was a very popular class for me. "Baskets Bright & Beautiful" was a quilt I designed and finished a few months ago and is currently available as a kit from Cairns Craft Centre. I believe that no Baltimore style quilt would be complete without a basket block and this will be going into my quilt. I love using baskets for projects and once I had all my hand stitching WIPs in lots of different baskets until they became too numerous and I ran out of space. Baskets are great...

It has taken me quite a while to get into the Chrismas spirit but it really felt like Christmas was just around the corner when I was out shopping today - there were gangs of young teenagers just released from institutions for their 6 weeks summer holiday, screaming kids, a queue out the door of the post office and the shops absolutely laden with merchandise. It was especially lovely to get these early Christmas presents from special stitching friends. Crystal owls for the studio   Owl pins to add to my pin quilt Now all I have to do is finish my shopping, write our Christmas cards, finish a few special Christmas projects and create order out of absolute chaos in the studio and house.  Thinking about all this has made me tired so I will do a Scarlet O'Hara because "tomorrow is another day". Till next time Frances

The usual suspects gathered on Sunday morning for the end of year get together of the Sunday Stitching Group.  Peter once again weaved his magic in the kitchen so there was yummy food to eat and lots of wonderful projects for Show & Tell to inspire us.  Here are some of the highlights! Heather brought along this fun "I Spy" quilt which she made for her grandson and which has been much loved and used. Karen has been busy making some Christmas wall quilts for gifts from a pattern in "Patchwork & Stitching".  It is always interesting to see the same design but in different colourways. Jenny was working on the latest block in the Baltimore quilt and she has used the broderie perse technique for the fruit in the design. Joan's quilt has moved another stage with her design and applique has been added to the light value blocks. Thora has now completed a quarter of the "Pies and Tarts" quilt by Sue Daley and it is certainly coming together nic...

Peter is good at surprises and found these really cute Christmas novelty thimbles to add to the collection.  Now I just need a stand to put them on.  I seem to have outgrown the one that is currently being constructed (a WIP) but maybe if I am lucky Santa will bring one for me. We went to a Christmas Gift Fair last week and I couldn't resist these owls.  The larger one is made from recycled fabrics and the smaller one is made of folded paper (sort of origami) and lacquered.  They are very different to the other owls I have collected so far. I couldn't resist a new doll "Lily" which I found at the Fair which was giving out "take me home" vibes.  Another one for the menagerie gathering in a corner of the Studio. Till next time Franes

With Christmas only 4 weeks away I decided it was time to add some Christmas decoration to the house and Studio.  I always feel nostalgic when I do this as so many of the quilts have a special meaning or were made for a specific purpose or to try a new technique. My absolute favourite is "In the Spirit of Christmas" which was stitched and appliqued by hand using lots of different techniques.  The original purpose for designing this quilt was for teaching lots of different applique techniques and it was a very popular design.  Some years later I made another version of this quilt where I changed a lot of the blocks and used only fusible applique and foundation piecing.  The new quilt was featured on the cover of Australian Patchwork & Quilting Vol 17 No 4 and as a project inside this issue. This Christmas Colourwash Quilt was made from a project in Australian Patchwork & Quilting Vol 7 No 10 and was designed by Susan Cooper. ...

The Sunday Stitchers entertained us yesterday with some wonderful projects they were currently working on.  There was Jenny's Jelly Roll quilt which she is going to add some borders to. Shirley W has been busy making table runners using Cathedral Window blocks which are going to make wonderful gifts. Thora has been busy making some bright and happy quilts for some her grandchildren - Thora was going to use this quilt as the pieced back but she has now decided to use it as another quilt top and add a different backing for both quilts. I had a quick project to show that I have just made which I called "Knees and Toes" because that is how I am going to use this coverlet.  It is just two layers without batting and has a pieced back.  Even in the tropics it can sometimes get a little draughty in the airconditioning and I just need something light to put on my knees when I am hand stitching.  The quilt uses two packs of Moda's "Louisa" c...

Santa arrived early at our house and brought us some wonderful new books.  I mentioned to Peter some time back that I would like "Quilts" - Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum and he also found Robert Shaw"s book "American Quilts" - The Democratic Art 1780 - 2007.  Peter has always been interested in Hawaiian quilts and we have added to our comprehensive library on this subject.  Now all I have to do is find some free time to sit back with a cup of coffee or two and really get into these wonderful books which are absolutely full of inspiration. Till next time Frances

I know that selvedge quilts and pin cushions have been very popular of late but Peter has found another use for the selvedges I cut from my fabric - he uses them for garden ties. There hasn't been many spare moments lately but when I can find one I usually add some stitches to my Pies and Tarts EPP quilt which is slowly growing.  I really enjoy playing with the blocks on the design wall and every time I finish another block I get to play a bit more and rearrange them all. When I feel less than motivated I play with fabric - what fun! I just found this photo taken at the last Sunday Stitchers meeting showing the progress Jenny has made with her Bali fabric applique quilt.  It is looking wonderful and I believe there is still another border to be added. Till next time Frances