Quilting Owl

Well I have definitely been missing in action and now believe that there is some other being who steals time from me or else there are just less hours in the day now!!! I finally got around to downloading some photos from my camera and found some I had taken at a Sunday Stitchers some time back when we had a "To the Manor Born" show and tell.  This quilt is one I got immense enjoyment designing and appeared in Australian Patchwork & Quilting Vol. 23 Nos. 7, 8 and 9 and is also one of my class projects.  It was great to see some of the girl's work in various stages of completion. "To the Manor Born" by Frances Leate Lesleigh's version of  THMB Kathy's version with added hexagon border of THMB Thora's THMB wip When I made the original quilt I only intended at first to make a small medallion but it just kept growing.  Later I decided to make another version of the quilt centre with different fabrics and what a difference ...

I am still having a lot of problems with my left wrist and hand and at times over the last couple of weeks have been trussed up in compression bandages to reduce the swelling. This has given me a lot of time to spend hand quilting on a commissioned quilt for future publication in AP&Q. For distraction I have been indulging myself by playing and sorting out my growing thimble collection.  This has been time well spend and brought back memories of past travels and the many gifts received from dear friends.  I have also spent much time on the net researching the history behind some of the collection. The thimbles now have a new home and it is wonderful to finally have most of them in one location. I would also like to share this lovely dual purpose birthday quilt made by Shirley from West Australia who is a seasonal member of the Sunday Stitchers (Shirley and her husband, Tony, spend the winter months in Cairns). Jenni has been busy strip piecing with...

As the end of the first quarter of the year approaches we are very thankful in the Far North for a reasonably mild Summer unlike other parts of the country which have experienced floods, bush fires and heatwaves.  We always expect our norther summers to be hot, wet and humid so it was good to be able to get out and enjoy some blue skies the other day to walk on the Esplanade. Back in the studio I have been busy raiding my stash and scrap basket to make these blocks and have been having so much fun that I think I will make this quilt larger than first planned. I have also caught the hexagon bug - it must be because of seeing all the lovely work Shirley has been creating over at  Stitcherydo  - and these will be incorporated into a new hand pieced and appliqued medallion design which I am currently working on. Talking of medallion quilts, Lesleigh has been creating her own version of my new quilt, "To the Manor Born" and is doing a wonderful job.  A...

For a long time I have regarded my quilting style as traditional with a leaning towards blocks and borders while using fabric designs from the reproduction through to more modern styles.  I have an ongoing love affair with medallion or framed quilts and one of these designs has been published as a project in Quilters Companion's latest issue of "Precut Fabrics No. 2".   "Mary Mary Quite Contrary" by Frances Leate - Quilts from Precut Fabrics No 2 This design predominantly features the block "Contrary Wife" and as Mary is a name that predominantly features in the family the quilt is called "Mary Mary Quite Contrary".  My brief was for a precut friendly design so I selected twenty fat quarters all with a bright floral theme and started work on EQ.  Usually when I design a quilt I jot down a starting point and then let the quilt evolve but this time I could see exactly where I was heading and was able to draw up the whole 82" squar...

A wall quilt that I designed and had much pleasure in hand piecing and machine quilting has been published as a project in the current issue of Australian Patchwork & Quilting Vol 21 No 11. "Flowers in the Sun" by Frances Leate By precutting all the pieces and placing them in little zip bags I was able to take this project with me and stitch at odd times on the go and I was surprised by how quickly all the blocks came together.  Hand piecing and blanket stitch applique are my favourites for portable stitching. "Flowers in the Sun" AP&Q Vol 21 No 11 Till next time Frances      

I started sorting things out in the studio with a vengeance this week and the first job I tackled was making about 10 of the CWQ Quilt blocks that I had fallen behind with - and ta da!! I am now up to date with this project.  It was wonderful to spend a couple of days just selecting the fabrics and making up the blocks in this very enjoyable project.  Civil War Quilt Blocks 1-30 While I was sorting through a big heap on one of the tables I came across a couple of quilts that I had made using blocks I had candlewicked.  I really like Candlewick Embroidery and I used to do a lot of this and I particularly like the tone on tone look.  This quilt is called "Bouquets and Butterflies" and was made using tone on tone sage green.  The designs for the candlewicked blocks came from Book 6 of Jean Jensen's Candlewick Designs and then I designed the setting for the quilt and needleturned the orange peel blocks.  The design for the blocks in this ...

It is always exciting to see one of your own designs in print and so it must have been for Joan Taylor to not only see her beautiful quilt published as a project in the current edition of Australian Patchwork & Quilting Vol. 20 No 5 "Whirls of Colour" by Joan Taylor AP&Q Vol 20 No 5 but to also see it featured on the front cover. Joan began her quilting journey about 6 years ago in one of my Sampler Quilt classes when she machine pieced and quilted this beautiful quilt. Joan's first Sampler Quilt designed by Frances Leate She returned for another series of classes to learn some new techniques and made my "In the Spirit of Christmas 1" quilt with a few variations.  It took her a little longer to finish this project and she has done some lovely machine quilting on the blocks. Joan's "In the Spirit of Christmas" quilt designed by Frances Leate By the time she signed up for the "Colourscope" class with Peter and me she was...

The Sunday Stitchers got together this morning at Cairns Craft Centre for a post cyclone recovery party and as usual there was "Show and Tell" for us all to enjoy while Peter served up Raspberry Muffins. Thora has just finished the top of a Kaleidoscope block quilt which she began in the Colourscope Design Workshop Peter and I conducted some time back.  I just love the rich colours and Thora's design really makes a statement and I am looking forward to seeing the finished project after quilting. Some of the girls have caught the Civil War Quilt bug and Jenny had her completed blocks 1 to 5 to share with us. Kathy, our high achiever, is doing two of each block and I really enjoyed seeing the blocks in all the different colourways.  I think she has something special in mind for the second Seven Sisters block. I had a small mug mat which I made to give my machine a workout after I took it from storage.  I love these small projects for using up small fabric a...

My quilt "A Summer Place" is a project in the latest issue of Australian Patchwork & Quilting Vol 19 No 7.  This project began as a quick and easy Jelly Roll quilt but when I set out my blocks on the design wall I  just wasn't happy so I then decided to add sashing, applique and then a pieced border and "just like Topsy" the quilt design evolved and grew to a Queen sized quilt.  It is now about 5 months since I bundled up the quilt and project instructions and sent them off to Express Pulications so it is quite exciting to now see it in print. Also featured in this edition of Australian Patchwork & Quilting is an in depth article written by Peter about the design and construction of the Studio in our back yard.  A tropical climate influenced many of the design aspects in the construction of this building which was built to accommodate all the quilting and office paraphernalia which would no longer fit inside our home. You can read al...

The Sunday Stitchers gathered this morning (or should I say yesterday) at Cairns Craft Centre and had some wonderful projects to share with us all. Linda is finishing the quilting on a table runner that was designed for her by Peter using EQ6 in a class at the shop some time back - the blues are stunning and are so beautifully set off  by the beige sashing. Jenny has dived into her UFOs and now just has to finish stitching the binding on this lovely quilt using her much loved New Zealand fabrics that she collects every year on her visits over there. Shirley has been busy doing lots of classes around town and has these Cathedral Windows cushion and table runner that she made in workshops with Meg Orr from Sydney. Karen has constructed a quilt and cushions as a special commission made up of  fabric serviettes from a wedding.  I am sure the bride and groom will be delighted to have this wonderful memento of their wedding. Thora has also caught the...