Quilting Owl

I have always enjoyed houses as a theme for stitching so here are a few from my cupboards, walls and friends. "Redlynch Village" by Frances Leate Machine pieced and quilted "Midsomer Madness" Hand pieced and hand quilted Jenni's house top Thora's little houses Before I became addicted to quilting and applique I enjoyed other forms of stitching such as blackwork and cross stitch and here a few from the walls. To finish I just love these Dutch houses. Till next time Frances

My little houses are now sashed and bordered and just need to be layered for quilting.  If time permits I would like to do a bit of big stitch Perle thread quilting and then add prairie points to the outer edge.  I have decided to name this quilt "Midsomer Madness" as some of the little houses were stitched while watching this favourite TV series and it was stitched here in mid summer. A couple of new books have arrived and are very welcome additions to our library.  These are Dorothy Osler's much blogged about book "Amish Quilts and the Welsh Connection" which is a great read and also Kathryn Berenson's "Marseilles - The Cradle of White Corded Quilting" which as yet I haven't had an opportunity to look at. At the last Thursday class it was Rachael's turn to put her blocks on the display wall and decide on what fabric to choose for sashing and borders for her version of the "Jacob and Friends" quilt.  Till next time Frances

I have finished stitching the blocks for my little village of houses, at least for the time being, and will now add some sashing  and then layer and quilt it.  This project is a lot of fun but also quite time consuming and I really need to get on to other designs. I have mentioned before that yellow is my favourite colour so it is not surprising that I just love yellow roses and these were a very romantic gesture from my wonderful husband for Valentines Day. Till next time Frances

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

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

There are a lot of distractions in the studio at the moment which means I haven't had enough time to truly focus on all the Christmas quilt projects and decorations I had envisaged creating.  I added a few decorations around me so that I don't lose sight of what is only just over a week away and I really must get out and do some shopping and write my Christmas cards. What I have been doing is playing with these fabrics and making some exciting new quilt projects for classes happening at Cairns Craft Centre in Term 1, 2012. While checking around a few blogs I did find a link to Jenneke and her wonderful blog Building Houses from Scraps  where you get to make a quilt in 2012 with 365 3" house blocks plus one larger one.  That is a block for every day of the year - how cute is that.  I just had to register and only hope I can keep up with everything else that is going on but I am always tempted by blocks with houses. Till next time Frances