Quilting Owl

 Here is my Block 5 "Kansas Troubles" for the Civil War Quilt which I had a lot of fun making. "Kansas Troubles" - Block 5 CWQ During the last week I have been working on blocks for various projects including some "Winding Ways" blocks which I found deeply buried in a box under my worktable.  These blocks were destined to forever be a UFO but on a whim I decided to change my quilt design and turn a double bed size quilt into a wall quilt and hey presto the quilt top is complete and the machine quilting well on the way to being finished. For the last few days I have been feeling a bit rough (just a flu bug) so I have spent time curled up in a comfortable chair hand piecing while watching a DVD - yesterday it was "To Kill of Mockingbird".  These pink and blue pieces will be blocks for the final border on a quilt I have been making for about 18 months now which is a mixture of machine and hand piecing.  Most of the hand piecing has been done o...

The latest edition to our Quilting Library is "Inlaid Patchwork in Europe from 1500 to the Present" which documents and discusses 70 inlaid patchworks held by various museums and private collections.  We became interested in this patchwork technique some years ago and even more so after attending lectures by Annette Gero and also Pam Holland. We also managed to find this book secondhand on the Net which presents more than 60 quilts from mid eighteenth century to the early twentieth century. Another wonderful new book for the library is "19th Century Embroidery Techniques" by Gail Marsh. An Op Shop find was this Quilting Manual by Dolores A. Hinson which was published over 40 years ago.  I just love looking at the type of project popular at that time and the techniques used. Some wonderful reading and inspiration waiting for us here. Till next time Frances

All the usual suspects gathered yesterday at Cairns Craft Centre for a special "Sewing In" day to start the New Year.  There was lots of talking, sewing, eating, talking, laughing and did I mention talking!!!  Naturally there was show and tell for us all to enjoy. Kathy finished stitching the binding on this gorgeous cuddle quilt she has generously made for a person she has heard of who has lost everything in the recent horrific floods in Queensland.  Well done Kathy! Jenny brought along her finished quilt made from Bali fabrics for us all to ooh and aah over - we have watched the progress step by step and now it is finished and has been machine quilted by Sue Cann. In keeping with the spirit of the day Heather brought along a real UFO that she recently found buried in her cupboard - a hexagon table centre which she has now added some more hexies to it. Peter was responsible for the food side of things during the day and kept everyone well nourished with a won...

Stitching the "Seven Sisters" block for the Civil War quilt using the needleturn applique method slowed me down a little this week.  Also, the reproduction fabric I selected for the stars could have been of a slightly finer weave to get sharper points but I got there and its not even Sunday yet. Block 3 - "Seven Sisters"  Before Christmas I had a lot of fun making these cute little pincushions using bottle caps for the base covered with felt and filled with stuffing.  I embellished a few with embroidery and some day will finish the embroidery on the others and hopefully make some more for gifts. Till next time Frances

I have teased you with small sections of this quilt I designed some time ago but now I can show you the whole quilt which has just been published as a project in the latest issue of Australian Patchwork & Quilting Vol 19 No 12.  "On Parade" AP&Q Vol 19 No 12 This quilt was made with fabric from a Kansas Troubles range by Moda and I used lots of different reds, blues and beige print fabrics of similar colour value to add texture to the design.  It is a lovely cuddle size.  "On Parade" AP&Q Vol 19 No 12 Till next time Frances

In my Studio I am fortunate to have 3 design walls although there are times that I wish I had more with the number of projects I currently have in progress - my "focus" has been a bit dimmed this week. Two of the design walls are the front and back of an old office divider which has been modified with the addition of a wooden frame to add extra height and then covered with a pellon sleeve.  On this design wall is a project that is desperately waiting to go up the priority list because I know what I want to do next but can never seem to find the time to do it. On the other side is the top for a baby quilt in soft muted colours with a dash of my favourite "yellow" that is now in the queue for quilting.  Having it pinned up makes it easy to measure for wadding and backing and choose a binding. The main design wall is positioned behind my sewing machines and goes from floor to ceiling.  I joined two lengths of pellon with the edges butted t...

As the rain poured down outside it was good fun making Barbara Brackman's second block in the Civil War Quilt series.  I am glad this project is so popular and it will be great to be able to stitch along with everyone. Block 2 "North Star" The next job on the list was sewing on the binding of another small project in pretty mauves which I have been working on for the last couple of days.  This finished it was time to start hand stitching the binding and think of a suitable name for the mini quilt - still working on that! I also invested some time in selecting fabrics for the next project on the class "To Do" list.  I have been wanting to work with this wonderful floral fabric for some time and decided today was the day so chose a few fabrics from the stash to complement it.  I ended the day cutting and sewing lots of strips ready to work on tomorrow. All things considered a good Sunday despite the rain which is something we have seen a lot of in ...