Quilting Owl

Hexagons make a wonderfully versatile block whether on their own or as a pieced shape and here are just some I have played with over recent years. "Licorice Allsorts" by Frances Leate AP&Q Vol 24 No 10 "Christmas Tree Skirt" by Frances Leate AP&Q Vol 25 No 5 "Marmalade & Jam" by Frances Leate AP&Q Vol 19 No 8 Hand pieced hexagon UFO blocks by Frances Leate To finish here is some of Lesleigh's work - one of her earliest quilts and a more recent table runner where she has added some beautiful embroidery. Till next time Frances

I love making blocks and have succumbed to Barbara Brackman's "Austen Album Quilt" block of the week and here are my first four blocks "Austen Album Quilt" Blocks 1 to 4 I have also finished the latest block for the "Threads of Memory" BOM and here are the four blocks I have made so far "Threads of Memory" Blocks 1 to 4 Anyone would think it was my birthday or Christmas as some lovely gifts have come my way recently including this exquisitely crocheted beaded doily. and of course to add to the owl collection there is this lovely felt applique which is now hanging in the studio with other owls to keep it company. My thimble collection had been rather neglected of late so I was absolutely thrilled to receive these lovely additions and don't you just love the owl on the thimble in the centre. 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 ...

I have been thoroughly enjoying watching the olympics this week and this gave me the opportunity to work on projects old and new.  My very long time Double Wedding Ring project was brought out for an airing and I enjoyed doing some hand piecing to progress this quilt.  I am still not completely sure how large this project will end up but I am determined to finish it some time. As I have also been recovering from a particularly nasty bout of flu/cold I needed some comfort stitching and the machine pieced Farmers Wife blocks filled the bill beautifully.  I am still using an eclectic scrappy mix of fabrics and so far have not repeated a fabric in more than one block.  The block count is now 59 and I have passed the halfway mark. I like to vary my stitching so I have also been doing some nice and easy fusible applique with blanket stitch by hand.  These have been the perfect blocks to stitch while watching the games when I have enjoyed sports I don'...

I have had a great finish to 2011 today stitching blocks in the Studio.  I have decided that "Finish" is going to be my word for 2012 and this was inspired after reading what  Shirley  had to say last night and looking around at all the UFOs and WIPs I currently have.  That doesn't mean I won't be starting new projects but  just focussing more on finishing some of them. Here are the latest Farmers Wife project blocks which brings my block count now to 16. I am also completely up todate with the Civil War quilt blocks and only have one more to do which I won't be able to download until late tonight. A new owl has appeared on the inside of the Studio door, courtesy of Peter, to watch over me while I work.  It is a wooden cutout from Cairns Craft Centre which Peter has just finished painting.  I will sign off for the year and wish everyone who follows and reads this blog a very happy and peaceful 2012 full of lots of joy, hope and lov...

Santa was very kind to me and brought some wonderful new books for the library:  "Indigo & Sarasa" The Quilts of Shizuko Kuroha; "A History of Dutch Quilts" by An Moonen; and "The Quilters Hall of Fame" 42 Masters Who Have Shaped Our Art.  These are wonderful books and filled with lots of inspiration. Peter is always on the prowl for new owls to add to my collection and now I have this wonderful selection to add to the owl shelf in the Studio.  I also received a lovely hexagon mug rug from Suz over at PatchworkNPlay  which has an owl in the centre. Outside the Studio there are some pineapples just ready to be picked.  All Peter has to do to grow these is plant the top part of a pineapple and wait a few months - mind you at certain times of the year I think that if we planted a stick it would grow in the warm tropical earth. What with Christmas and preparing for classes in 2012, I had fallen behind with some of my ongoing projects but have managed to...

I have had a busy week but here are just a few bits and pieces.  I finished quilting and machined the binding on a soft blue baby quilt and now I just have to hand stitch the binding and finish stitching the binding on "Redlynch Village".  Next it will be time to write a few patterns - this job always ends up taking far more time than I would like as I would much prefer to be stitching. Earlier in the week I taught a class which included strip piecing log cabin blocks and here are a couple of blocks which I managed to photograph made by Karen and Jenny. Peter and I have invested in a lecture series entitled "How to Listen to and Understand Great Music" given by Prof. Rober Greenberg.  This makes extremely entertaining lunch time viewing and something I have enjoyed watching while stitching. I am currently finishing a large project with a deadline but somehow I have allowed myself to be distracted by these fabrics - I must sharpen my "focus" and get bac...

I have spent the last few days catching up with some of the unfinished projects in the Studio. I have fallen a bit behind with my Civil War quilt blocks and have now stitched the "Missouri Star" and "New England Block" - just blocks 21 and 22 to do. "Missouri Star" - Block 19 CWQ "New England Block" - Block 20 CWQ At the quilting class last Sunday I was able to take a photo of Sue's lovely version of the "Snowball Connection" quilt which she made in class at Cairns Craft Centre.  The border print fabric which she chose really suited the quilt and she has achieved a great result. My fun little red and white houses quilt has grown a bit and finally got its borders on and I have had a lovely day working on the machine quilting - still a long way to go. During the last week or so I have been experiencing a few problems leaving "comments" on blogs but I am still keeping up with all your happenings. Till next time Fr...

Peter has been shopping again and now we have these wonderful new books to add to the Quilt History and Block Library.  I am looking forward to taking some time over Easter to curl up with a coffee and delve into these books and I am sure there will be lots of new inspiration. Take care Frances

It has been a busy week with lots to distract me from starting a new project although I have been tempted several times to do this.  I kept picking up a notebook and jotting down ideas and playing with odd pieces of beautiful fabric and then I remembered that word "focus" and went back to my machine quilting.  Well I finally finished the "Tried and True" quilt and now just have to stitch down the binding and this will be another project off the work table. When machine quilting some of my favourite tools are these - a marking pencil with ceramic leads which disappears with the aid of the eraser and I wouldn't be without my Hera marker and unpicker. I have tried lots of different gloves and only use them in the Tropical Summer when I am in cool airconditioning but my current favourites are the Machingers which I use with the Walking Foot and the Ansell HyFlex Multi Purpose Gloves for free motioning quilting.  The HyFlex gloves come from the Supermarket and I h...

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...