Quilting Owl

It is always exciting to see a new quilter emerge and last Saturday it was a delight to photograph Sam's first two quilts.  Awaiting the birth of her first child, she has made her beginner's quilt in two different colourways and is now about to embark on the next stage of her journey and machine quilt these lovely tops.  The quilts were beautifully constructed which was quite an achievements for someone completely new to machine sewing.  Well done Sam! The next term for beginner/sampler quilts will start at the end of July at Cairns Craft Centre. Till next time Frances

Last September when we visited the Patchwork Meeting at St. Marie aux Mines in Alsace, France, we enjoyed walking around the village and loved the way they had decorated the shop windows.  I was attracted by these decorated sewing boxes with counted thread work designs and sewing accessories. At the Royal School of Needlework, Hampton Court outside London, we were taken into the archives and viewed these antique treasures - The DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) in Washington DC also exhibited some wonderful antique sewing accessories- Till next time Frances

On Friday night we went to the opening of Adrian Wolf's "Mug Shot" exhibition at the c.1907 Gallery, a contemporary art space in City Place, Cairns.  Adrian works at Cairns Craft Centre and the opening night of his exhibition was a great success.  This exhibition is on until June 4. On Saturday at Cairns Craft Centre it was class time again.  Lesleigh and Jenny have been working on their Baltimore blocks - Shirley brought along a small quilt she has just finished using small pieces of fabric from the stash and also her latest project - "Storm at Sea" blocks - Jenny also brought along her beautiful Fuschia quilt to share with us - Joan emailed me this photo of the wonderful quilt she has just finished  before posting it to the lucky recipient down South - Till next time Frances

At what point do you become a serious collector and not just a keen shopper?  I often think about this question as I look around our house and studio.  There is my thimble collection which began when I had trouble finding a comfortable thimble I could hand quilt with in the tropics and so I kept adding any new one I came across to the sewing kit.  It was not long before I started adding souvenir and novelty thimbles to this collection most of which are still in boxes waiting for a special display rack to be finished. In the last year or so I became very interested in pin cushions and seriously believe you can never have too many of these. Another thing I have noticed lately is the number of small embroidery scissors I have managed to collect. Now I am sure the tins that keep appearing must just be an excuse to buy chocolates or the other goodies and sewing paraphernalia they often contain. As for these owls, well they must have just followed...

Today turned out to be another "grey" day so I thought I would delve into the photo gallery and find some photos taken on sunny days around town to help cheer me up.  The weather in Cairns at this time of year is usually perfect but this year we all seem to have grown webbed feet and have almost forgotten what a sunny day is - at least everything is lush and green around the place.   The Lakes near the Cairns Botanical Gardens Trinity Inlet, Cairns Parkland at the Esplanade Till next time Frances

After an excessively long wet season - over 6 months of constant rain - it is probably not surprising that a lack of sunshine has contributed to my mood being somewhat in the doldrums.  I don't seem to be able to summon up the energy to finish off a lot of my projects so instead I thought I would indulge myself with the fabric stash and if the urge and inspiration came then I won't feel guilty about starting a new project - Then again I could just stop procrastinating, put on some stirring music like opera or an audio book and go back to the sewing machine and finish the quilting on the quilt I have made from this selection - I guess its nice to be spoilt for choice! Till next time Frances

This is the latest addition to our extensive quilt library.  This beautifully illustrated book showcases 55 wonderful quilts from a collection of over two hundred quilts housed in  The American Museum in Britain .  We were lucky enough to visit this museum which is at Claverton Manor, a splendid Georgian building just outside Bath, when we were in Britain last September.  On that occasion we couldn't resist bringing home this book:   This compact book gives an overview of the different styles of quilts in the museum's collection which is said to be one of the finest outside the US. Till next time Frances

This question has been at the back of my mind all day but I guess the answer is simply that I like to know a little about what interests people and learn a bit about their background.  I can never get enough of seeing the quilts and current projects that people are working on and the shows and exhibitions that are on in far away places. It absolutely blows my mind that there are people out there, sometimes on the other side of the world, who are interested in some of the same things as me and it is wonderful to be able to link up with them. If my time is at a premium I tend to pick the blogs with more photographs than text although there are some I read because the authors have a real talent with the written word. Reading blogs can use up a lot of time and often my favourite part of the day for this is around midnight or the early hours when I can't sleep.  It does eat into the time I would usually be reading a book although these days I listen to a lot of...

The Sunday Stitchers gathered at Cairns Craft Centre on Sunday morning and there was some wonderful Show & Tell for everyone to enjoy. Kathy brought the lovely quilt which she designed with its hand pieced blocks and wonderful country colours.  I have enjoyed watching the progress of this quilt and Kathy should be very proud of the finished result- Jenny just loves those New Zealand fabrics and had another quilt featuring them for us to enjoy - Thora's family keep her busy creating quilts and here is the latest one she is about to quilt for one of her grandchildren .  She also took the trouble to make a fabulous pieced back for the quilt - Kathy could not make the last Baltimore class but brought along a finished block which she has done using the invisible machine applique method - Sonjia was selecting embroidery threads to applique the small quilt she is currently working on - I really get a kick out of seeing the work they all do and this monthly get tog...