Quilting Owl

I have always enjoyed making quilts designed around traditional blocks from my very first quilt, "Log Cabin Downunder" which featured a range of Australiana fabrics - to the sampler quilts which have been favoured by me as teaching projects.  I like to teach students as many techniques as possible in classes and these samplers offer a lot of scope for this approach. Or another style of block quilt is my very popular "Westward Ho" (Australian Patchwork & Quilting Vol. 16 No 8).  This quilt uses a traditional centre block with the "54-40 or Fight" Block alternated with my own "Corral" block. Another favourite class quilt is "Borders Abound" (Australian Patchwork & Quilting Vol. 17 No 3) which is a sampler of different border styles. When you make a quilt designed around traditional blocks it is nice to put a pieced border around it. I always seem to have many projects on the go at once and sometimes it is quite some time befo...

One of the fun things about being a stitcher is all the different sewing paraphernalia that we accumulate, or should I say "collect".  Recently I became interested in pin cushions and firmly believe that no stitcher can have too many.  I now look for interesting pin cushion kits on my travels. Living in a tropical environment with very high humidity some pins and needles tend to develop rust spots particularly after being handled so it is very important to think about what filling is best for a pin cushion.  Any ideas? Till next time Frances

When we visited France late last year we had the wonderful experience of visiting the Musee de la Toile de Jouy outside Paris.  An enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide made this tour and the prints we saw on display one of the highlights of our European trip. So you can imagine how excited we were to receive this book in the mail the other day. Now we can read the story of the factory, learn more about the techniques used to make these popular toile prints and find out about the lives of the people involved in the manufacturing process in pre industrial France. Till next time. Frances

I enjoy watching TV, DVD's and listening to audio books and while I do this I like to keep my hands busy so I very much enjoy doing some stitching at the same time. Hand pieced patchwork is portable, compact and lightweight and makes a wonderful project to keep your hand busy when nothing else needs your full attention.  It is often easier to piece complicated blocks by hand rather than machine and it is surprising how much you can achieve at a time when you would not normally be working at a machine.  On many of my quilts I mix hand and machine stitching and am always happy with the result. The other thing I like about hand piecing is that it is something I can do when socialising with family and friends. I also enjoy the portability of this form of patchwork and always take some hand piecing when I travel.  This photo of me hand piecing was taken in flight on Singapore Airlines on a recent trip overseas. This is the kit I usually pack when flying with my fa...

After all the Christmas and birthday festivities I thought it was time to get shed a few kilos and get back into a healthier regime and so yesterday afternoon I took off for my favourite walking location - the Cairns Esplanade. As I walked I was surrounded by inspiring sights - green hills, beautiful birds and butterflies, modern sculptures and boat loads of tourists returning from their reef trips. I am not a morning person so I was walking late afternoon and the weather was still a bit warm and humid which is to be expected at this time of year in the tropics. I am always amused when I walk past this sign which is positioned right outside the large children's playground! Further along the Esplandade is the lagoon and the marina but the battery expired in the camera so I will save that for another day. Till next time Frances

Some months ago I found a heap of collectors quilt pins in a cut glass bowl on my dressing table so I decided to make a quilt to pin them on and feature them in my Studio. To make the quilt I collected about 40 - 5-1/2" charm squares and cut then cut each square into 4 - 2-3/4" squares. I stitched the small squares together into rows of 5 squares each and made the quilt long enough so it could hang down the side of a bookcase. Now whenever we travel or go to a big quilting event I enjoy collecting more pins to fill the blank squares on the quilt. Happy stitching Frances

The studio is a big green shed in our backyard. Peter has his office upstairs and I design and make quilts in the large downstairs area. Outside our work area are lush green gardens, green hills and a courtyard to sit and admire the surroundings. Till next time. Frances