It's Finished!

Today was very hot and humid but I managed to get the denim quilt finished thank goodness. It isn't a beautiful quilt but a utility one for my BIL, using some of his old shirts and jeans. I also left on buttons on the pieces I cut from the shirts and also used some of his pockets from old jeans.
Hopefully he'll like it. My sister thinks he'll be very surprised and I wanted to thank him particularly for his help with transporting quilts and goods for the bush fire areas as well as for East Timor. He's loaned his truck and been a big help with moving boxes of donated goods.
I'll try to get a photo of his reaction when he opens his present.
The quilt measures 55" x 85" which is a good size for him and it has no batting as the backing is a thick woolen fabric and it's fairly heavy.
I also managed to bind 2 of the quilts for Kinglake and will show the photos on my other blog at oz comfort quilts.
Hugs Jan Mac

A Day To Remember...

It's been 12 months since the terrible bush fires caused the deaths of 173 people and destroyed several communities as well as many houses, and there have been many memorial services today to honour those who died.
It's also my birthday so after a family meal last night I had a quiet day to work on some projects today. The main thing to finish is a quilt for my BIL's 60th birthday next Saturday. I'm making a denim quilt in a rail fence pattern with some of his shirts as the middle strip. I'm then stitching them down to a woollen fabric which will form the backing and the batting. It's to be a "knock-around" quilt he can use when he's off camping or driving. I also bound 2 of yesterday's quilts and will add the total of stash used soon. I also boxed up 18 scarves and a hat to send to Pine Ridge Reservation for the elders. The photo of the pink and cream scarves shows some lovely angora wool which was a legacy from my lovely Mum and I hope they love their soft warmth. The pile of quilts are those I finished earlier this week and I haven't worked out the stash used there either. There's always tomorrow for some of those jobs.
Back to the denim quilt as I'm working nights this week and need to get it finished before that, as sleep will be my main priority then.
Hugs Jan Mac

Finally Quilting Again

I received a lovely card this week from one of my quilting groups, Australian Quilters Association. The card read:
"Jan Congratulations! on your nomination for the Australia Day Awards. Your work helps many people in different places and lifestyles. We're proud to have you as a member of AQA".
What a lovely acknowledgment from my quilting peers.

I've finally managed to get back to finishing quilts off this week and have quilted 11 in the past 3 or 4 days. Today I quilted 4 tops and I still need to do the bindings before I can count them as done. This top is a really lovely ones with pansies fabric used for the blocks. It will be loved by its recipient so if you recognize it please let me know so I can add your name to the label.
Earlier this week I heard from the ladies who have helped me to distribute the quilts in the Kinglake and Marysville areas and they have asked for more quilts for the people who are returning to the mountain. Luckily I had kept some for this occasion as well as working on more during the Christmas break. I hope to take them down very soon so they can welcome the people who are returning. In the meantime I need to finsih off a few more of the tops which were doinated as well as constructing more quilts from donated QAYG blocks.
Busy, busy. Hugs Jan Mac

Sew Far This Week

On Monday I made a pair of sleep pants and a pair of shorts which used up 4 yards of fabric from the stash and they will be donated to Pine Ridge Reservation.
Yesterday and today I quilted 7 quilts altogether and I have bound 3 of them so far so I won't add up the fabric used from stash until they are all finished but the total is going up. Unfortunately I can't see a dent in the stash yet.
The first quilt is made from a selection of orphan blocks ranging in sizes from 6" to 12" and the other top was donated.
More later.
Hugs Jan Mac

Month End Total

I finished the month with a better stashbusting total than I'd thought. I had about a week away in total but still managed to make:
3 skirts
14 pillowcases
12 quilts
4 PJ pants and 1 PJ top
1 pr boxer shorts
7 bags
and overall I used up 118.35 yards of fabric from my stash. So I'm ahead at the moment as I'd only pledged to use up 100 yards for the year. Then I thought I'd try for 50 yards a month so I'm very happy with my progress.
Yesterday and today are work days but I still managed to make 7 more pillowcases to donate as well as cutting more out.
I made most of them today as yesterday I was surfing the net to find accommodation in Houston while the Quilt Show is on in early Nov. I'll have to use up much more stash before I go as I can see a big fabric buying exhibition ahead of me.
Better get off to work to pay for the trip.
Hugs Jan Mac

Maybe There Was...

Here I was saying that I don't have enough time but I did manage to quilt 3 tops yesterday before I went to work and today I bound 4 quilts, made a bag and also a large bag for some of our camping equipment. Altogether I used up 32.75 yards of fabric and here's one of the quilts which was made of simple squares of fabric.
I also bound the edges of a towel to give it a longer life and made 3 hand towels from a towel which was in good condition but had a stain on it. These will be used to make health kits to be donated.
So I guess you could say that I've made progress. I have work again over the weekend but I plan to make some pillowcases and then total my stash busted for this month. Despite going away for several days I think I will have almost reached my year's total of 100 yards already. If not, there's always next month.
Hugs Jan Mac

Not Enough Time

Yes I know we all have the same number of hours in our day but at times I wish for more.
We went camping with a great group of friends for 5 days and spent most of the time laughing.
Today was a day of catch up with the washing and sorting out of camping gear to be done.
My next week is going to be busy with work but I do hope to get some time for quilting as well. If not there's always another day for that.
I enjoy our camping trips and time to chat and catch up on my reading too so we are planning another trip soon.
I hope to have some finished quilts to show you soon.
Cheers, Jan Mac