Sunday, June 30, 2019

Weekly Catch Up.

 This first quilt was a donated top which I finally quilted and it's now ready to be donated to a patient at Peter Mac.
 I put together some lap sized quilts to be sold in the Peter Mac auxiliary shop to raise funds for programs for the patients. They are very popular and every one is unique and make great gifts . Having QAYG blocks on hand makes them quick to put together.  Most of the donated blocks will be made into larger quilts for their patients though.


 I finished another baby jacket  and it will also be donated to be sold in their auxillary shop .
 This cosmetic pouch was made from fabric donated by a patient from Peter Mac and it will be donated to be sold in their auxillary shop at the patient's request.

This week I have also been focusing on finishing more UFOs and I have more finishes to share tomorrow. It's been a productive week which is good.
Hugs, Jan Mac 

Saturday, June 29, 2019

A Rushed Project.

 DD  gave me 2 days notice to make this bear for Aidan's 1 month photos. She received a fox in a similar design for Jake and her friend was going to buy the same for Aidan but the maker was on leave. DD is very big on treating her boys the same and really wanted a similar toy for Aidan's photos to measure his monthly growth and she enlisted my help to make it.
 So I had to draft a pattern based on Pinterest and I  had 2 days to make it. She loves it and it resembles Jake's in style so their photos will look similar. Of course now it's made I can see ways to make it easier for next time.
Machine applique makes it fairly quick to get facial features done. The problem I had is that the body is a bit small, making it difficult to machine stitch it and enclose the arms and legs. I ended up having to hand stitch down one side of the body and across the bottom.  I made the deadline so all goid. DD issued me a challenge and she was sure I could make it but the time trial was added pressure .
Back to the quilts now.
Hugs, Jan Mac 

Monday, June 24, 2019

UFO Monday.

 I still need to add the last two borders but I am making progress with this UFO and plan on finishing it soon. The floral border fabric was donated via Peter Mac and the quilt will be donated for sale in their auxillary shop when it's finished .
It would have been finished today but we have our delightful little Jake spending the day with us. He is such a happy little boy and he just lights up the room, like his Mum. His vocabulary continues to increase daily and he constantly wants to count his cars and everything he finds. He's just turned 22 months of age and loves spending time with us so I was very happy to be feeling well enough to look after him today.
Hugs, Jan Mac 

Sunday, June 23, 2019

Not Just Quilts.

 The bag is made from a kit donated to me by Peter Mac and it will be sold in their auxillary shop.  I modified the pattern a bit and added the front pocket. The rest of the pattern had smaller drawstring bags but I think the larger bags or zippered pouches will be more useful so will use the remaining fabric for that.
 I managed to finish knitting 2 baby jackets also for sale by Peter Mac and I have started another one using the same pattern. Knitting the same pattern multiple times really does make it quicker and there's enough variation for me not to be bored.
I made 2 more fleece chemo hats in smaller sizes for Peter Mac to either donate or sell. Check out the cute "hand made" label I attached. I have more cut out ready to sell and will get them sewn quickly.
      There was a distinct lack if progress this week and I am really annoyed as I have been too sick to sew. Being perfectly well, I decided we needed to have flu vaccinations so we had them and I have been in bed for the week as a result, with flu symptoms as severe as getting the flu. I had a similar reaction about 4 years ago but was working nights at the time and thought it might have caused the excessive tiredness, no appetite etc. Luckily DH had no reaction at all but I think I won't have it again, even though it's recommended, as it might be my history of chronic fatigue that has caused a more severe reaction. Either way I am very annoyed that I have lost a week and been bed ridden by a reaction to a vaccine. I'm back to bed again now but hope to get back to sewing soon.
Stay well everyone.
Hugs, Jan Mac 

Tuesday, June 18, 2019

UFO Monday.

 I've started making bags from a donated kit for Peter Mac and with family commitments over the weekend, there hasn't been as much time for UFOs and cross stitching. However, while looking for contrast fabric for the bag I have started, I fojnd 2 more UFOs to finish.
     The hexagon heart block was one I started with an internet stitch-along. I only made 2 blocks and decided not to proceed so of course they became UFOs. I finished the first block as a baby quilt a few months ago and will make a baby or lap quilt from this one.

I also found these 4 blocks which were donated some time ago and these will be finished as a lap quilt for sale by Peter Mac, then I won't have to remove the embellishments if I made it a child's quilt.
   So no UFO finishes this week but I have plans for 2 in the near future.
Hugs, Jan Mac 

Sunday, June 16, 2019

Weekly Catch Up.

It's been a good week for finishes as well as spending time with our delightful grandsons and life is good. I still love putting QAYG quilts together and I love how they look.
This cat quilt top was donated by Lesley L.  from Rochester and it looks lovely now that it's finished .
This star top was made from lots of orphan star blocks and I have more to put together when I have time .
This lovely green top was donated by Jo from Qld, I think. It was a top twice this size originally and I split it into 2 and added extra borders so it's a lovely size for donation. All of these quilts are going to Peter Mac for their clients.
   Yesterday I donated 16 to Peter Mac and they were thrilled with them.
I also bought some Super hero fleece fabric to make chemo beanies for kids as Peter Mac call them their Super heros. I made one to try for size and they were happy with it so will get more made now.
I also received some fabric,  patterns and kits from Peter Mac,  to be made up and they will be sold in their auxillary shop to raise funds for various projects for patients . They had been donated at the request of Carol's DH as a way of thanking Peter Mac for the care they gave his wife. I feel honoured to be able to honour her memory in this way. She had bought the items, knowing she wouldn't be well enough to make them but her DH was wise enough to know that it was giving her pleasure to buy the fabrics and dream of future projects. I know that as quilters we often buy for the joy of planning pretty projects and I also enjoy sewing and quilting and then donating them to others as I really couldn't store all that I make.
I have shared photos of these finishes and yesterday, as well as the 16 quilts, I also donated: 6 baby jackets ( 5 made by Margaret H.)
             4 bags
             2 cushions
             2 aprons - 1 adult and 1 child
             1 fleece baby blanket
             1 fleece chemo beanie
             5 lap/cot sized quilts.
Peter Mac were thrilled to have so many items to sell and they will all help to raise much needed funds and I need to keep busy sewing thtough my stash as well as the donated items. I will have more to share soon.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Saturday, June 15, 2019

More Fabulous Donated Quilts.

 Sue V. from Victoria has very generously donated these 4 fabulous quilts and they will be going to Peter Mac for their clients . You would be thrilled to own any of these quilts and I know they will be treasured. Sue had even paid to have them professionally quilted and I am very honoured that she has donated them to Peter Mac.


Saying thanks doesn't seem enough for such a generous donation, and you might never hear from the recipients as they are facing challenges which will take precedence but please know that your donations do make a difference and they comfort the patients and their families.
  Many thanks Sue and my other generous blog readers for all your support. It also helps to keep me focused on getting more quilts finished too.
Hugs, Jan Mac 

Wednesday, June 12, 2019

2 More UFOs Finished.

 This first block was made by Sue McP. from Melbourne and it's such a pretty block that I made it into a cushion to show off the pretty stitching and embellishments.
 This cross stitched piece was one I made probably 20 years ago and never made it into a finished item so I made this into a cushion as well and this is my 14th UFO finish for this year.
 I used "cat" fabric for the cushion backing.
 This is my 15th UFO finish for the year and the hexagon block was found in the orphan block pile and I used it to decorate a denim bag I made.
This small denim bag was one I made and decorated with pink scraps stitched to batting and it's a cute little tote bag.
 
This baby jacket was knitted this week and there will be lots more made so I can use up some of my supplies of yarn.
All if these items have been made and will be donated to Peter Mac's auxiliary shop to raise funds for various projects for patients. It's great to be able to finish more projects and donate them to raise money for cancer patients' support services as I don't have room to store them and they will be better finished than languishing in a box.
Hugs, Jan Mac 

Monday, June 10, 2019

UFO Monday -12th and 13th Finishes.

 The first UFO was made from leftover blocks that remained after I made Jake a quilt 18 months ago. I found enough aqua fabric to add borders and binding and made a piano key border to use up the remaining blocks. It wasn't a very old UFO but it's good to have it finished and it will be donated to Peter Mac for sale in their auxillary shop .
This little quilt was donated years ago and I finished the buttonhole applique, and added borders. I had to get creative with adding lime green squares in the corners of the border as I didn't have enough of the darker green fabric .  It's brighter than it appears in the photo as it was a dull day when taking photos. This one will also be donated for sale by Peter Mac to raise funds for patient services.
     They might not be large UFOs but it's still good to have them finished and it's time to find some more to complete soon.
Hugs, Jan Mac 

Weekly Catch Up.

 I still love QAYG quilts and, thanks to my lovely supporters, I have a pile of these QAYG donated blocks to put together. They always make lovely quilts and these will all  be donated to Peter Mac to warm some of their patients.



 Last night we visited our two grandsons and I was able to take a photo of Jake wearing his new beanie. I'm happy with the pattern, and I have bought more lightweight fleece fabric so plan to make some more to donate to Peter Mac. 
 I also found this child's apron in my box of donations and added some ties so it's now finished. I didn't count it as a UFO finish as it didn't need much work, and it will be donated for sale in the Peter Mac auxiliary shop where they sell hand made items to raise funds for various projects for patients.
I was supposed to be cleaning up my sewing room but playing with the QAYG blocks became a priority and there's always next week. Lol
Hugs, Jan Mac 

Friday, June 7, 2019

More Generous Donations.

 I have such wonderful blog readers who support these quilt projects and I really appreciate all that you do to help the needy. This beautiful quilt top was donated by Jenny B. from New Zealand and it will makd a treasured gift quilt for Peter Mac  so I plan on quilting it very soon.
 Delys R. from Western Australia has also very generously sent another parcel of goodies. The pile of beanies for New Guinea is growing with the addition of these 5 from Delys.
 She also sent 41 QAYG blocks in pretty feminine colours and 14 suitable for males. Delys must have known that I have been working on making more quiots from donated QAYG blocks and these will be used up very quickly too.
 Delys also included some fabric and bias fabric strips which will be used up in future projects and add more variety to my scraps.
These are the blocks Delys included for the male's quilts.
Many thanks Jenny and Delys for your continued support of my quilt projects and helping to bring comfort to more people in need.
     I'll share some photos of finished quilts soon as well as a denim bag I made for sale in the Petef Mac auxiliary shop. It was fun to have a play with a different project for an hour and make something useful from my scraps. I try not to waste too much time on social media but I have enjoyed getting ideas for items to make for sale, by browsing Instagram and Pinterest. I need to get back to my cross stitch too but at the moment baby knitting is taking up my spare television viewing time.
Hugs, Jan Mac 

Thursday, June 6, 2019

Baby Time.

Not a great photo but this is the cushion and laundry hamper I made for Aidan. They chose a teddy bear theme this time and I machine appliqued the bears based on a wall decal they had for the nursery.
I'm also going to make some fleecy chemo hats for Peter Mac and I made a trial one for Jake using fire truck fabric I bought. The family came for a visit today to get out of the house and Aidan was perfect. Thankfully so far he's a better sleeper than Jake was and Jake is happy with me holding Aidan this time. As Aidan is a goid sleeper, Jake's world hasn't changed much yet and he's enjoying having his Dad home this week as well. It's lovely to see the new parents handle the new baby with such confidence and also have plenty of time for Jake.
We're living our role as grandparents and life is good.
Hugs, Jan Mac