Quilting Owl

I can't believe it is August already and while I never seem to stop stitching I haven't had as many finishes of late.  Maybe one of the reasons is my preoccupation with the wonderful quilt "1718 Coverlet" which I have been making from Susan Briscoe's book.  This project is very addictive and I have been enjoying hand piecing and needleturn appliqueing the blocks.  Unfortunately I now have to put it aside for a while to get on with some more urgent projects. At Sunday Stitching this morning we had fun with some of the quilts started in previous classes for my project "To the Manor Born".  I really love seeing how people interpret my designs and the power of colour and what a difference it can make. "To the Manor Born" by Frances Leate Lesleigh loves red and teal and what a difference it makes to her gorgeous entirely hand stitched quilt.  Now she just needs to finish the hand quilting. Kathy added to the project to make a lar...

Quilts from the Sunday Stitchers made by Jan and Jenny feature this week and first up is Jan with "Vintage Roses" that she began in one of my classes which she has now finished machine quilting.. Jan with "Vintage Roses" by Frances Leate Another very happy panel quilt made by Jan which she has again finished with her own very effective machine quilting. This quilt was made by Jenny as a gift to Joan who recently lost her little black dog, a long time friend.  Jenny has also machine quilted this with a bone motif on the background. To finish off I thought I would show you my one handed attempt at some hand quilting.  The quilt top was made for me by Jenny some time back and while I had done all of the machine quilting on the background and border I had put the quilt aside when I ran into some tension difficulties on the owl appliques.  For the last few days I have been racking my brain about what I could do while watching TV and came up with the idea...

Just thought I would share some finished projects from the Sunday Stitchers.  First up is Sonjia with her stunning version of my quilt "Just Kimonos". Joan has just finished this fabulous quilt as a gift for her brother Jan has finished machine quilting her version of my class quilt "Shades of Purple" which looks stunning in black, white and a touch of hot pink and also the top for this lovely red work quilt which is no longer a UFO. Till next time Frances

While it is still the calm before the storm, or I should say Cyclone Ita, I thought I would share some of the latest quilt happenings. My third sister, Anne, has been having a very rough time healthwise of late so I made a quilt to celebrate her 70th birthday.  It is often difficult choosing colours for other people so I opted for somthing bright and cheerful and was pleased to hear from her and her daughter how delighted she was with her present. "To Anne with Love" by Frances Leate Meanwhile I am still keeping on track with Barbara's Brackman's BOM "Threads of Memory" and here is Block 3.  The next temptation is to start on her Jane Austen Album quilt. "New Garden Star" Block 3, Threads of Memory Pauline has now layered her version of my "Night Owl" quilt and I am looking forward to seeing the finished quilt. Currently it is still calm outside the studio with just the odd shower of rain and I am now just waiting ...

It is good to have my blog up and running again although I had to take all the buttons from the sidebar till I found the one that had been hijacked. Here is some work by Roz and Pauline from a recent class beginner's class at Cairns Craft Centre. "Night Owl" by Frances Leate Finished quilt top by Roz Pauline's quilt just needing the border Jan has just joined the Sunday Stitchers and brought along these lovely quilts that she has just finished making Just a quick post and hopefully will have more to show soon. Till next time Frances

I thought it was time for those Civil War blocks I made from Barbara Brackman's BOM some time back to see the light of day again.  I had finished 52 and only needed to make the last one and then have some fun arranging the blocks on the design wall.  For the border I made blocks using up some of the stash fabrics and now I am working on the sashing. Now for some show and tell from the Sunday Stitchers and here is Dayna's absolutely stunning sewing machine cover which began life as some seminole pieced strips made in an earlier class. Jeannie just loves the project from my class "Come Fly with Me" and has made another version in a different colourway. I caught the Christmas bug late and just had time to make a dozen of these little purses to give to family and friends as gifts.  Talking of gifts, I received this little owl pincushion yesterday handmade by Kathy - how cut is this! My niece, Annette, also surprised me at Christmas with ...

The Sunday Stitchers' Group has grown in number throughout the year and last Sunday there was a lovely lot of work for us all to enjoy. Joan has been busy and has finished her version of my braid quilt and also a lovely cushion using the Gretchen block. Jeannie has finished the top for her vibrant version of my "Come Fly a Kite" quilt. While Helen has once again been very busy finishing some of the projects she began in class Helen's version of "All Points" Helen's version of "Jacob and Friends" Jenny always has something for us to enjoy and here is her lovely quilt for Zoe and this cut gift she presented to me which naturally uses Owl themed fabric - my first Christmas present. Till next time Frances

I was delighted when Helen showed me a couple of quilts she has now finished that she commenced in some of my classes in recent months.  "Just Kimonos" which was published in Australian Patchwork & Quilting Vol 22 No 12 is a present for her mother and will soon be on its way to England.  Helen's braid quilt has used some stunning new pre cut fabrics from Cairns Craft Centre. Meanwhile back in the studio I have been very busy flitting from one project to another.  There is the purple quilt which I am currently machine quilting in preparation for a class in January at Cairns Craft Centre. Then we have all the different projects in various stages of assembly which I store in plastic boxes. There is "the chair" with all the quilt tops and layered quilts waiting for their turn to be machine quilted and the partly quilted ones just waiting until there is nothing else more urgent before I finish quilting them. I always get around to fini...

Since I started the mammoth job of sorting out things in the studio time has just evaporated which is probably not surprising in the heat of a Cairns' summer and a task turned into a career.  Well furniture has been moved around, shelves have been added for all the UFO project boxes, magazines have been filed or archived and I still have a heap or two of papers or fabrics to go through but that can wait till another day.  I have just been checking out the camera and found some lovely work made by my students in recent classes at Cairns Craft Centre. First up is Helen's lovely quilt which is the centre block of one of my new  medallion quilts "To the Manor Born" - and here is Jenny's version of this same quilt. Jenny has also completed the top for her stunning Kimonos Quilt - and lastly here are some great tablemats made in a class last year with a seminole braid trim. At the moment I am up to my ears in machine quilting and writing patte...

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...