Leonie Bateman Designs

Sorbet Blog Tour

The name Sorbet conjures up images of all the different flavoured sorbet ice creams available at my local ice cream parlour here in Hobart . . .

The prints for this fabric line were taken from an old quilt top in my collection, dating back to 1937, however, the colour palette I've chosen for Sorbet brings together a lovely mix of soft, yet bright mix of colour, which teamed with low volume prints can capture a more modern feel that I find myself falling in love with more and more each day.

I thoroughly enjoyed working on this quilt I've called Musk Sticks.  The gorgeous Baby Pink Solid from the Riley Blake Designs Confetti Cottons range remind of those sweets we all enjoyed as children, and if truth be known, probably still do!

I've used the wonderful template set by Sue Daley Designs, one of the Classics in the range, which made this quilt a breeze to make. 

A perfect 1/8th Riley Blake grey stripe, the Baby Pink Solid and a zinger print, in this case, the black check from Sorbet, teamed with Penny Rose Shirtings and a couple of 30's from their Hope Chest fabric line, all together call for a stunning mix.  Kits for the Musk Sticks quilt are available here . .

These prints make me happy and make my heart sing! 

Sweet little dresdens on the lovely Sue Daley Linen for Riley Blake make me melt.

And who can go past scrappy churn dash blocks, using a mix of Sorbet, Penny Rose Shirtings and that fabulous stripe!

The pattern for this litte cutie is available here . . .

The wonderful team at Millhouse Collections have put together a gorgeous Look Book featuring Sorbet which showcases all of the fabrics, projects and other designs by Sue Daley using the line.

The delightful Elea Lutz, fellow fabric designer for Penny Rose Fabrics has made the most darling projects using my Sorbet line, so why not jump on over to her blog and take a look around.  She's the sweetest thing ever, just like the name Sorbet suggests.

 

Until next time,

Leonie ~ Leonie Bateman Designs

 

 

 

One of my favourites

Designing and making quilts is a passion of mine.  Each one I make I love, but there are some that really capture my heart.

In 2016 I designed a fabric collection with Penny Rose Fabrics, sister company of Riley Blake Designs, which I named Evandale, after a small historical country town in central Tasmania, the island state where I live.  This collection was a mix of prints that gave a great scrappy look, with warm caramels, blues, rich reds, pinks and mustards.

Most people know me for my love of wool applique, but this time I wanted to design in my other love, English paper piecing and needleturn applique.

The centre of the quilt features a floral applique worked in needleturn.

There are a combination of machine pieced borders and English paper pieced borders; these little sweeties are 1" diamonds, stitched together to form one large diamond of four, then appliqued onto the border background.

Flying geese borders, pieced by machine and twenty scrappy blocks surround the centre applique, made up of Eight Pointed Stars and KH Rounded Dresdens.  The Dresdens just sit and neatly touch the sides of the Eight Pointed Star which gives a great effect with minimal work. 

 

Once you finish a quilt, it's nice to take the time to stand back and look at your work . . . and here she is just before being sent off to be quilted.

 

 Check out that centre now its quilted!   Boy oh boy does it come to life!

So of course once she was completely finished she went on a photoshoot with Alison and Katherine to the township of Evandale.

She went everywhere, on the vines, by the river and through the fields . .

Can you see why she captures my heart?

Evandale is most definately one of my favourites.

If you'd like to make Evandale, the pattern, complete with pre-cut papers and acrylic templates can be found here and a gorgeous bundle of the collection here.

You never know, she may become one of your favourites too.

Have a lovely week everyone - Leonie

 

Sorbet anyone?

I'm so excited about Sorbet, my next fabric line with Penny Rose Fabrics, due for release November/December 2017.

The prints for this fabric line were taken from an old quilt top in my collection, dating back to 1937, however, the colour palette I've chosen for Sorbet brings together a lovely mix of soft, yet bright mix of colour, which teamed with low volume prints can capture a more modern feel that I find myself falling in love with more and more each day.

These prints make me happy, make me want to try every flavour Sorbet ice cream out there, and make me want to sew, sew, sew! 

One of the new designs I'm currently working on and hope to have finished up very soon is called Musk Sticks.  Combining Sorbet with low volume prints and a couple of 1930s prints, along with the beautiful Riley Blake Confetti Cottons, this new quilt design is my current favourite! 

The great thing with this new design is that you can choose whether to sew it by hand or piece it on the machine.  It will come with a range of acrylic templates to make it a breeze to cut out.

And then there are the smaller projects, which we all love to make.  Perfect for gift giving - or to keep for ourselves - they make for a sweet collection.

Along with this sweetie which I've decided to add a little hand quilting to with a DMC Perle 8 thread . . .



You can see that I've used a mix of shirtings - low volume - and a modern stripe with Sorbet and that it all just works!  And that's the beauty of this line.  It will sit with anything to allow you to create the look and feel that you want, whether it be traditional or modern.

Be sure to ask for this line in your local quilt shop.  I promise you'll love working in it as much as I am right at this minute . . .

Have a lovely week everyone - Leonie

 

We have a winner!

Congratulations to Instagram follower murraylee3 who is the lucky winner of our giveaway!

Lee will receive these gorgeous fabrics designed by Sue Daley and donated by Millhouse Collections and a Roly Poly of Confetti Cottons by Riley Blake Designs, donated by Essence of Cloth.

Email your postal address to the team at EoC at [email protected] and they'll get your lovely parcel off to you.

Thanks so much to all of you who took part in the fun giveaway.  There'll be more over the coming months so be sure to keep checking back often so you don't miss your chance to win!

This week in the studio I'll be finishing up a new quilt design using my upcoming line Sorbet, which is due for release around November/December 2017 whilst the EoC team will be busy with all of our club mailouts.

And I'll be sharing with you in next weeks musings, some snippets of this new line which I'm falling in love with even more each day!

So join me next Monday and don't forget to keep up to date through the week on Instagram.  Have a great week folks and hope you get lots done!

 

Leonie x

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to Monday's Musings

So here we are, the first of our Monday's Musing posts that I'll be sharing with you; from new designs happening in the studio, to new programs launching in my online store, Essence of Cloth which we & the team often refer to as just EoC.

What better way to start the week than kicking it off with a giveaway!   With thanks to the fabulous folks at Millhouse Collections, I have for you a gorgeous bundle of Sue Daley's Sundance fabric to giveaway consisting of twenty-one 25cm pieces, along with a roly poly of some fabulous Confetti Cottons to match from Essence of Cloth.

 

To be eligible to enter this wonderful giveaway, you must do, or have already done, three things:

1. Sign up to receive the newsletter at EoC - click here to sign up
2. Follow me on Instagram @leoniebatemandesigns comment done on the giveaway post & tag a friend -  click here to follow
3. Follow EoC on Instagram @essenceofcloth comment done on the giveaway post & tag a friend - click here to follow

The EoC Team will be checking you've done all three and the lucky winner will be announced next Monday 14th August 2017, here on the blog.  Good luck!

A new club launching over at EoC is my Under the Mistletoe Christmas Collection, which commences on the same day we announce our giveaway winner, August 14th. 

 A collection of five themed projects, with a bonus quilt pattern to complement the collection beautifully . . 

  So here's to a fun week to you all - I'll see you back here next Monday when we announce the lucky winner of the giveaway!

Cheers, Leonie

 

 

 

 

Monday's Musings

It's time to get this blog thing all happening again!  I've had a lot of people ask recently if I still write a blog, which goes to show that there are still people out there who enjoy reading them!

So each Monday fortnight, starting 7th August, I'll be popping up a short blog post on the fortnight's happenings, both here in the studio as well as the online store, Essence of Cloth.

I'll be talking about upcoming clubs, such as our Colour Me Happy Wool & Thread Club that launched a couple of weeks ago . . .

And sometimes about the process around my fabric design . . .

There'll be some hints and tips on working with wool . .

 

As well as the odd giveaway, because let's face it, who doesn't like a good giveaway!

 

So join me each fortnight and let's have some fun together!

Be sure to be the first to know when we have giveaways and sale items at EoC by signing up to receive the newsletter which you can do right here!

 Enjoy your week and I'll catch you next time - L

 

 

 

 

 

A recent gathering

It's hard to believe that a couple of weeks have already passed since the Gathering in the Barn.  I had ladies travel from five different states within Australia to attend over the two days, some who caught planes, trains, buses and even walked the last mile to get there!   Thankfully, quilters being quilters, one lady stopped and collected some keen attendees walking the last stretch!!   Now that's the spirit!

Weeks of preparation back home in the studio go on beforehand to make the event an enjoyable one for all ladies attending, and from the comments received, they did do just that - enjoy!!

So a lot of people ask, how do I do it?  Well, here's how it generally runs folks.  I load my car up so tight, not a thing moves an inch!  It's tight like a tiger!

With snacks packed and the music ready, the fun road trip begins!!  I take the four hour drive from Hobart, my home in Tasmania, up to the north of the state to catch an overnight car ferry across Bass Strait, a notorious stretch of water between Tasmania and Mainland Australia, one of the roughest in the Southern Hemisphere!  Here's a little peek at what it looks like in what I would refer to as calm seas!!

Thankfully, both trips there and back were smooth sailing this time!  I've had some doosies before, believe me!  

I spend two days setting up the barn, hanging quilts, decorating tables and ensuring all looks just beautiful in the Essence of Cloth pop-up shop for the ladies to enjoy.  This is one of the things I love to do most . . . making it all just perfect for the enjoyment of others.

Lots of luscious eye candy is always present, such as these lovely kits for Blueberry Pie . . .

And these gorgeous bundles of richly coloured wools . . .

And yummy kits for Raspberry Ripple, along with bundles of Houghton Hall and Evandale . . .

The ever popular Harrington quilt by me, and Chelsea by Sue Daley - two friends side by side . . . we'll be running Chelsea as a Block of the Month at Essence of Cloth . . . more on that later.

On the day, each lady received four of my latest designs . .

Blueberry Pie, a sweet little table topper . . .

Spot On . . . a fun, easy to piece cushion . . .

Raspberry Ripple, a lovely quilt with a combination of needleturn and wool applique

And lastly, Colville, a four block applique which also combines both needleturn and wool applique.

When it comes to catering, I can't go past Linda, Robin and Sharon who together put on a terrific spread of food as usual and I can't thank them enough for the wonderful job they do!  There was plenty of yumminess on offer from gourmet sandwiches, freshly baked scones, apple cake to cheese and fruit platters . . the choice was endless and super tasty!!

After pack down on Sunday morning, because let's face it, by Saturday night I was a wee bit weary, it was time to head on back to the tugboat for the ferry trip home.

Finally, a huge thank you to the lovely ladies who chose to join me on both days . . . the Friday ladies . . .

And the Saturday ladies . . .

It was a pleasure to spend both days with you all.

Next year will see me changing things up a bit . . . a new venue . . . a different time of the year and who knows, maybe even a different state!   So keep your peepers open as I take my Gathering on the road again, something that I've always loved to do. 

Until next time,

 

Leonie

Essence of Cloth

I'm excited to reveal to you my new online venture, Essence of Cloth  which will replace The Quilted Crow.  This has been many months in the planning and we're really excited with the result!  The new look website is light and fresh and still easy to navigate.

We're now pleased to offer:

* Capped pricing on Cotton Print Fabrics - $20 per metre

* $10 Capped shipping (Australia only)
* Free shipping on all orders over $150 (Australia only)
* Pre-Orders on upcoming fabric releases

Some of the loveliness you'll find at Essence of Cloth are these gorgeous low volume prints . . .

And these sweet little checks and dots . . .

Or maybe it's notions your after . . .

 An Etui Sewing Box Kit perhaps?

And we have pre-cuts too!  

There's also the option to be able to place a pre-order for up and coming fabric lines and notions so you don't miss out - just like my new line, Callington Mill that's due for release in March this year!

Don't forget!  Please make a note of some of the important stuff!

 

Our new website address:  www.essenceofcloth.com.au

 

Our new email address: [email protected]

 

Our phone number remains the same: 0499 773 253

 

And be sure to sign up to receive our regular newsletter and keep up to date with what's new and exciting at Essence of Cloth, or follow us on Instagram @essenceofcloth

We hope you continue to enjoy shopping in the online store and that you love our fresh new look as much as we do.

Until next time,

Leonie 

Evandale Block of the Month

After many requests to run Evandale as a Block of the Month, we're excited to be launching this program early February 2017.

There are a limited number of places available with the exact fabrics as shown above, so first in, first served!  Where we do need to substitute another fabric, we'll do our utmost to ensure that it's as close as possible to the original.

The cost of the program is AUD$39.50 per month for twelve months. 

There are many inclusions sent to you throughout the program and you'll also have the option of purchasing any extra notions you may wish to use with your Month One purchase to help you save on postage.

For further details on what's included and to register your place, click here.

We're sure you're going to love working on this one - she's a real beauty!

 

Until next time,

 

Leonie

 

 

 

Christmas Wishes

From my family to yours . . . may you enjoy a loving and peaceful Christmas with your family and friends.

Thank you so much for your continued support throughout 2016. 

There are many exciting things to look forward to in the New Year and I can't wait to share them with you all.  Have the most wonderful Christmas!

Until next time,

~ Leonie ~