Quilting Owl

It was applique time at Cairns Craft Centre today (or should I say yesterday as it is now the early hours of Sunday) and the girls braved very wet weather conditions to come to the Block of the Month Baltimore style applique class. I always get a thrill to see finished work by students and their different interpretation of my designs.  Kathy chose a dark background with some bright pinks, yellows and acqua and used the invisible machine applique technique.    Lesleigh (trying to hide from the camera) elected for a more traditional light background with some lovely blues and used the needleturn applique technique. Kay and Jenny were both very busy preparing their pieces for their first block.  Kay will be using the invisible machine technique and Jenny loves doing blanket stitch applique so has decided to use the fusible method. I am looking forward to next month to see their progress and if our wet season continues I will be spending lots ...

The third Sunday of the month is when Peter and I teach the "Cutting Corners with Rulers" class at Cairns Craft Centre.  This is an opportunity for the quilters to design projects using all those rulers and templates which accumulate in the sewing room. Linda is working on a table runner which features the 54-40 or Fight block and was using the EZ Tri Recs rulers - Sonjia's project is a Christmas wall hanging also using some of the EZ tools and she is looking very serious as she works on getting the point aligned - Joan has several projects happening which she has designed herself with the aid of EQ6 and was today working on some border blocks - which are to go around this marvellous quilt - Sonjia also brought some Show & Tell along - a lovely small quilt which she made from a project by Ruth Buchanan which appeared in Australian Patchwork & Quilting (Vol 18 No 2) called "N is for Nurioopta".  Sonjia chose fabric with a wine theme a...

The National Quilting Association  in America has officially designated the third Saturday in March as National Quilting Day.  According to the NQA we should "take time to reflect on the rich traditions of quiltmaking .." so I am going to follow this good advice and settle into a comfortable chair with a cup of coffee and enjoy these wonderful books from the V&A Museum. The  V&A quilt exhibition is just about to open in London and while we are disappointed that we wont be there to actually see the quilts in person at least we can console ourselves with the book.  From the quick peek I have already had it looks fabulous and I can't wait to seriously get into it. Till next time Frances

After a long and very hot summer it is nice to again have weather in the late afternoon that is pleasant for walking even if there is the odd tropical downpour in the middle of it. I walked along the Cairns Esplanade watched the late afternoon swimmers in the Lagoon enjoyed looking at the lush green hills and then I walked along the marina boardwalk and saw some of the tourists returning from their day trips to the Great Barrier Reef and then back along the Esplanade to complete my 6 km walk. As I walked along I thought about some of my uncompleted projects running ideas through my mind about border options and fabric selections - a very enjoyable and healthy hour. Till next time Frances

I always attach the binding fabric to the front of the finished quilt by machine and then I take a great deal of pleasure in hand stitching the edge of the binding down on the back of the quilt. It doesn't seem to matter what type of quilt I am making or what range of fabric has been used I always seem to form an attachment to the current project and I relish this final task.  After the binding is finished I often don't see the quilt for some time, if at all, so this process is like a farewell.  I guess I am just an obsessive quilter. Till next time Frances

I am keenly interested in quilt history and love reading about old quilts and Peter and I have managed to collect quite a library on the subject.  Santa was particularly kind at Christmas with a few more to add to the collection - A highlight of our trip to the USA last October was a visit to the  Daughters of the American Revolution Museum in Washington DC where our group was given a private viewing of some of their archival quilts.  We put on our white gloves and were allowed to get up close and personal with the antique quilts - what a treat!  Luckily Peter remembered to take some photos because I was too busy enjoying every minute of being with the quilts. Till next time Frances

The girls gathered this morning for the monthly get-together of the Sunday Stitchers at Cairns Craft Centre and as usual there was lots of talk while some made progress on their hand stitching and others planned and selected fabric for future projects - Quilts with a kids theme seemed to be the order of the day and Jenny proudly showed us her latest finished quilt top made from a Hot Possum pattern - Shirley was also busy blanket stitching a fun project for kids with Lesleigh taking time out from her needleturn applique to watch on - Joan had a new project in mind and was busy selecting fabrics that she hoped her friend would like - Jenny also showed us her purchases from her recent trip to New Zealand to visit family and friends.  She makes this pilgrimage every year and has her favourite shops which she likes to visit.  Till next time Frances

" There are painters who transform the sun into a yellow spot, but there are others who, thanks to their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into the sun."    Pablo Picasso I grew up as a family of six girls and our Mother assigned  a colour to each of us and mine was yellow. I had a yellow toothbrush and many of my clothes and school uniforms were marked with yellow cotton thread.  From that day, if anyone asked me what my favourite colour was I would always answer "yellow". It is a colour that makes me feel happy and if it is used with the right balance in a quilt it can certainly intensify the other colours and enhance the quilt. My favourite flowers are yellow roses - I love yellow fabric - new and old Now its time to get back to the machine to finish quilting a bright and happy quilt I have called "A Summer Place" and surprise, surprise it has some yellow in it!!! Till next time Frances

After a couple of busy weeks getting projects and samples ready for classes I decided  that today was the day to create some order out of chaos in the studio.  I was amazed when I actually saw how many projects I am currently working on. There were the quilt tops waiting for their final border - The pile of quilts that have been pinned or hand basted and still being machine or hand quilted - Its been a long hot summer with lots of cricket to watch on TV so there are the blocks that are being hand or machine appliqued - and the blocks that are being hand embroidered or hand pieced - Then I kept coming across drawings of ideas for new projects.  I try to keep these organised in notebooks but I can't always get out of the habit of drawing on any piece of paper currently at hand. Now I just have to finish off a few quilts so I don't feel so guilty about starting a new project.  Its a tough life but someone has to do it!! Till next time Frances...