Quilting Owl

While it is still the calm before the storm, or I should say Cyclone Ita, I thought I would share some of the latest quilt happenings. My third sister, Anne, has been having a very rough time healthwise of late so I made a quilt to celebrate her 70th birthday.  It is often difficult choosing colours for other people so I opted for somthing bright and cheerful and was pleased to hear from her and her daughter how delighted she was with her present. "To Anne with Love" by Frances Leate Meanwhile I am still keeping on track with Barbara's Brackman's BOM "Threads of Memory" and here is Block 3.  The next temptation is to start on her Jane Austen Album quilt. "New Garden Star" Block 3, Threads of Memory Pauline has now layered her version of my "Night Owl" quilt and I am looking forward to seeing the finished quilt. Currently it is still calm outside the studio with just the odd shower of rain and I am now just waiting ...

It is good to have my blog up and running again although I had to take all the buttons from the sidebar till I found the one that had been hijacked. Here is some work by Roz and Pauline from a recent class beginner's class at Cairns Craft Centre. "Night Owl" by Frances Leate Finished quilt top by Roz Pauline's quilt just needing the border Jan has just joined the Sunday Stitchers and brought along these lovely quilts that she has just finished making Just a quick post and hopefully will have more to show soon. Till next time Frances

We have been back from Hawaii for a couple of weeks now but have been having problems with the blog which hopefully will be sorted out soon.  I still need to work on the photos from the trip but here are a few other varied ones to share with you. First up are a couple from the Sunday Stitchers and Jenny has been working on a UFO from an earlier Baltimore quilt class. Lesleigh has placed her own interpretation on the block from the Nostalgia workshop and has made a very happy child's quilt. A lovely lady sent me a photo of her Mum's interpretation of  my project "Red Sky at Night" which was published as a mystery quilt in  recent editions of Australian Patchwork & Quilting. So far I am up todate with Barbara Brackman's "Threads of Memory" BOM which she is publishing on her Civil War Quilts blog  towards the end of each month. Block 2  Barbara Brackman's "Threads of Memory" BOM While I was in Hawaii I indul...

Once again I have succumbed to the temptation of making blocks from Barbara Brackman's new block of the month "Threads of Memory".  I thought one 12" block a month would not overtax the workload and then all I have to do is make them into a quilt!!!  The historical excerpts that come along with these blocks are always very enjoyable and informative and you can find out more about this BOM  here   Block 1 "Threads of Memory" Till next time Frances

It has just been brought to my attention that there is an error in the instructions for "Red Sky at Night".  In Part 2 on page 83 one of the photos does not have the correct layout to show how clues 2 and 7 are linked. The text is correct but clue 2 has not been positioned correctly and I hope there has not been too much reverse sewing happening.  The photo below is how it should look otherwise refer to the quilt photo shown in Part 3. Photograph 6 Clues 2 and 7 linked In Part 3 on page 129 the caption for Photograph 3 should have read "Corner Block for First Border". If anyone who reads this blog is making this quilt I would really love to see it so please email me a photo. Till next time Frances

For the last three issues Australian Patchwork & Quilting have been running a mystery quilt project and yes it is one of my designs.  In Vol 23 No 5 the mystery was revealed and here is "Red Sky at Night".  The quilt is all reds and beiges and it was fun playing with different textures in this simple colour pallette. "Red Sky at Night" by Frances Leate - AP&Q Vol 23 Nos. 3, 4 and 5 Also appearing in this volume of Australian Patchwork & Quilting is another project of mine "Nostalgia" where I delved into my stash and used lots of different fabrics.  I started with a basic colour pallette of red, purple, green and brown and then just kept adding different prints and textures.  Most of these fabrics reminded me of earlier projects where they had been used so hence the name. "Nostalgia" by Frances Leate - AP&Q Vol 23 No 5 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 ...