Quilting Owl

I have spent a bit of time in front of the television over the last few days watching the final cricket test against India so there has been a revival in the construction industry here with six more little house blocks completed.  My block count now stands at 17.  Today we celebrated our National day and Peter and I spent a lovely warm tropical day lunching with friends.  When we got home we drew the winner of the giveaway - drumroll please!!!  The winner is Eylte of Tea, Fabric and other things.  Drop me an email Elyte with your address and I will send the Patchwork Directory and a few other goodies off to you. I have also been on the receiving end for some lovely gifts from a few wonderful stitching friends - a lovely little hand embroidered project bag with matching needle case, a pattern kit for a little wallet and some very cute owls. Till next time Frances

In the current issue of Australian Patchwork & Quilting Vol 21 No 2, which we only received today, is my project "Floral Marathon".  Sometimes I agonise for a long time over what to make with a certain piece of fabric but another time an idea instantly springs to mind and in this case it was a quick and easy bed or table runner.  This was fabric with a large floral design and I hated the idea of cutting it up into small pieces so it became a runner which fits a king size bed. "Floral Marathon" by Frances Leate - AP&Q Vol 21 No 2 The Farmers Wife blocks have also captured my attention over the last few days and here are nine more blocks which takes my block count to 31. On Sunday my first class for the year was held at Cairns Craft Centre and a very keen and industrious group tackled a mini quilt with curved piecing.  I hope we get to see some of the results later in the Sunday Stitching Show and Tell. There is still time to leave a comment for the Gi...

Peter, on behalf of Cairns Craft Centre, has just given me a copy of the latest Australian Patchwork Directory for 2012 to give away on my blog.  To be included in the draw for this very comprehensive directory of Australian Patchwork Shops and other useful information just leave a comment or email me.  We will draw the lucky winner on Australia Day, Thursday, 26th January. Till next time Frances

The Farmers Wife block count is now 22 and this project is turning out to be a rather scrappy affair as I delve into my fabric stash at random.  So far no fabric has been repeated and I hope to keep following this theme. These are the six nice and easy blocks I finished this week.  I have been machine piecing all the blocks except for the handle on the basket which was appliqued by hand. Four little house blocks were stitched this week which brings the house count now to 11 . Other stitching during the week saw two more little class quilts machine quilted and bound - a small step forward.  I enjoyed hand stitching the binding while watching the cricket test with the Aussies in good form. Till next time Frances

I think I am becoming obsessed with these little houses and now can't look at any little piece of fabric without thinking if it will make a good window, door, walls or roof.  The basket of fabric pieces is now overflowing and I still keep my eye on the lookout for more - very distracting.  However it has been fun stitching the little blocks while watching the Aussie cricketers in winning form. A couple of recent finishes are these pin cushions to add the the collection.  The Mushroom House was a free pattern from here  and the other pincushion with flowers was a kit I purchased some time back and only just got around to finishing. There was also a birthday lunch at Pescis down on the Marina Boardwalk to enjoy this week. Take care Frances

There has been plenty of stitching going on here at Quilting Owl Studio and I have my first three "Building Little Houses from Scraps" blocks to show you.  I decided to hand piece these little blocks and have prepared a few more so they are ready to stitch on the go. These 3 inch little blocks are fun to make and you can get the pattern from Jenneke by clicking on the button on my sidebar.  I always knew there was a reason why I saved all those little bits of fabric and I have been tossing them all into a big basket to use in this addictive project. There has also been some serious machine quilting going on and I have just finished quilting this little quilt for the first class of the year at Cairns Craft Centre. Quilting "All Points" Till next time Frances