Quilting Owl

After a wonderful but very busy trip south we are finally home in the beautiful Far North though somewhat exhausted from trying to fit in too much in a very short time, not to mention a few hiccups with delayed flight schedules.  The first thing on the agenda was the Quilt and Craft Show at Darling Harbour where once again the NSW Guild put on a first rate show.  I was lucky enough to meet up with quite a few friends who have given me permission to show their quilts which I will do in the next post when I sort through my photos. Looking down on the Guild Quilt Display At the Craft Show it has become a tradition for us to meet up with my sisters and family and we enjoyed a wonderful day visiting lots of stalls, lunching, laughing and chatting. Marie, Frances, Patricia, Maree (niece) and Margaret We also managed to catch up with Peter's son, daughters and grandchildren- Fliss, Jude, Peter and Leif Daniel, Peter, Kaen and Patrick Then it was off to Bri...

At the last meeting of the Sunday Stitchers I was presented with this wonderful gift by Jenny which will hang in pride of place in my studio after I have finished the machine quilting.  Jenny has been hand stitching this beautiful quilt for a few meetings now and these owls definitely have an individual personality. Meanwhile in the studio I have finally finished machine quilting "To the Manor Born" which will hang at Cairns Craft Centre as soon as I have completed the pattern. The back of "To the Manor Born" by Frances Leate Now I will look forward to when I can settle down and spend some quality time hand stitching the binding to the back which is a process I always enjoy. Till next time Frances

I just found these photos in my camera taken at the last meeting of the Sunday Stitchers and a very happy and industrious group they were. Sunday Stitchers at Cairns Craft Centre There were some amazing projects such as this vibrant and rich hexagon quilt that Deborah was working on.  Jacqui has finished her amazing yellow and black octagon quilt. I couldn't resist including this photo of a very happy baby Jude with the Hungary Caterpillar quilt made by Peter and quilted by me. Till next time Frances

This Hungary Caterpillar quilt was designed and pieced by Peter and machine quilted by me so is a joint effort. You can read more about Peter making this quilt  here  when he was inspired to do so by his grandchildren and has been waiting for the right opportunity to finish it - the arrival of Jude in March. "Hungary Caterpillar" designed and pieced by Peter Leate Today I had lots of fun sorting through and airing some of my quilts.  My quilts are usually divided into categories of those that are currently working and then the ones that are resting and these can usually be found layered on the spare bed. In amongst these quilts was this little Welsh quilt - a cutter with some cute applique added at a much later date (no doubt to hide some damage).  I purchased it when we were in Wales in 2009 from Jen Jones' amazing shop to add to my interesting small quilt collection.  The back of the quilt showing some of the hand stitching. Till next ti...

Here are some more photos of the lovely work produced by some of the Sunday Stitchers.  Kathy has made this colourful table runner from a free Moda pattern and also these lovely bags.   Jenny has finished the top for another table centre in a different colour palette. Back in the studio I have been layering and machine quilting this scrap quilt and also spending some time at the design wall for a new kit quilt for Peter with some coffee themed fabric. While in our home Peter has been recovering after tripping over this rather viscious looking piece of garden equipment which resulted in a nasty gash in his leg plus lots and lots of cuts and bruises.  After a week he is slowly recovering although still sufffering quite a bit of pain and discomfort. Till next time Frances

I have been spending more time on the computer than I prefer lately so have fallen behind with blogging but here is a quick catch up.  My design "Hampton Court" has been revisited as a project in a special magazine "Patchwork Keepsakes".  This quilt was inspired after a visit to Hampton Court Palace in 2009 and a walk around their magnificent rose gardens. Now for some show and tell from the Sunday Stitchers and first up is Kathy's wonderful apple core quilt - Jenny had a couple of quilts to show us - this lovely one had some very useful tips and a nice bright table centre Linda's version of "Mary Mary Quite Contrary" has reached the final border stage and is looking stunning with the deep blue feature fabric. and Helen has been very busy making some dolls. To finish off I couldn't resist showing this lovely Blue Ulysses butterfly which visited our garden the other day. Till next time Frances ...

As the end of the first quarter of the year approaches we are very thankful in the Far North for a reasonably mild Summer unlike other parts of the country which have experienced floods, bush fires and heatwaves.  We always expect our norther summers to be hot, wet and humid so it was good to be able to get out and enjoy some blue skies the other day to walk on the Esplanade. Back in the studio I have been busy raiding my stash and scrap basket to make these blocks and have been having so much fun that I think I will make this quilt larger than first planned. I have also caught the hexagon bug - it must be because of seeing all the lovely work Shirley has been creating over at  Stitcherydo  - and these will be incorporated into a new hand pieced and appliqued medallion design which I am currently working on. Talking of medallion quilts, Lesleigh has been creating her own version of my new quilt, "To the Manor Born" and is doing a wonderful job.  A...