Christmas Quilts

These are the only Christmas quilts I have now and one isn't really Christmassy but it is mostly red. I used to have one for every bed but when some of the Kosovo people were brought out to Australia for 4 or 5 months we befriended an extended family of 27 plus friends. An Aussie internet friend started a quilt drive from our online group, Southern Cross Quilters, to give a quilt to all 4,000 Kosovo people who came out to Australia. The family we befriended were returning to cold winter conditions and were unsure of whether or not their homes had been looted or damaged so I gave them all the red and green quilts I had made for Christmas quilts so they'd have extra bedding. These two are the only ones I've managed to make since then to replace the ones I gave away. I may make more in the future but I'm sure there will always be a need for more quilt donations so I may not keep these either.
It's just another nice way to bless others with our quilts and if they live in areas where they get snow (which we don't) then they will need them for warmth and not just decoration.
Not much time to report on my blogs this week as we've had visitors non-stop and then we had no internet access.
A couple of the family are going camping with friends for the New Year and I'll write when we return in a few days.
See you next year.
Hugs Jan Mac

A Huge Honour

Yesterday I was very surprised to receive a letter and certificate informing me that I was nominated for Australian of the Year Award 2010. I'm particularly surprised as if you nominate someone it's a very involved process which requires a lot of information about the person and is given to people well-known in the community for their work for others.
It's a huge honour and was totally unexpected so my family are thrilled. I was stunned but really pleased that the letter and certificate was signed by my hero, Adam Gilchrist, a former Aussie cricketer and current Chair of the National Australia Day Council.
I didn't make it to the finals but am very proud to be recognized for all the work I've been doing for others. How many times does a quilter get this recognition? Not very often I would think. I didn't need the award to encourage me to continue to make and donate quilts etc where others are in need but it's a lovely thing to do for someone. I asked the family if this means that living in a quilt factory makes it worth it. They said "almost"! I did manage to pack most of the quilting clutter away for Christmas and had planned to take a break from the donation quilts but managed to make another 2 QAYG quilts, from donated blocks, yesterday.
I don't know who nominated me but just wanted to say a very heart-felt thank you and Christmas blessings to all who have supported me to get the donated quilts where they are needed.
Hugs Jan Mac

Getting Ready...

Well Christmas is fast approaching and I've managed to reclaim the house from the Quilt Invasion. We've sent off all the boxes of rice bags etc and I'm taking a break from making large quilts during the hot weather.
I've been spending time on more hand work and have finished my third block of the Civil War Bride quilt. I'm really enjoying my applique again and plan to prep another block tomorrow.
Our youngest DD has arrived home for the holidays and we've saved putting up and decorating the Christmas tree for her as it's her job each year. I did hang up this wall hanging which is about 15 years old. I won the blocks in a draw at a local quilt shop and am surprised at how my tastes have changed since then. Now I would have used a red and green print for a border and a different fabric for the setting triangles. Anyway it still says It's Christmas!!
Hugs Jan Mac

More Hand Work

I spent most of last week packing boxes of rice bags, cloth shopping bags, school supplies and some extra quilts I've been finishing off. My BIL very kindly provided a truck and driver so I could get them delivered in time to be shipped off to East Timor as well as for the areas devastated by earthquakes. It's been a big job and I'm relieved to have them out of the house so I can reclaim some space before the family comes home for Christmas. We've finished our shopping and I'm enjoying some time to work on hand work while I watch the cricket. We decided to take it easy now that our weather has warmed up so much so the air con is making life comfortable. It's a stark difference between our living conditions and what I experienced in Timor last year where even running water and power were not standardly supplied.
Thanks to all of your generous donations we have been able to make a difference to many others again this year. I'm working on a hexagon quilt which will also be donated. I was going to plan this one but decided to just stitch and allow the process to happen. I passed along a few of these happenstance hexagon quilts this year and they all looked lovely whether or not they were planned with flowers and colour or just done randomly. I also finsihed my second block for the Civil War Bride quilt from Threadbear. Now I need to prep another block.
Hugs Jan Mac

Worn Out

I've had a good week with lots of work in taking photos of the quilts donated as well as finishing off many more tops. I've also sorted the two pallets of boxes of quilts, fabric and sewing kits which will be going to the bush fire areas.
I'm finally up to date with the photos of donated quilts and will load them to my other blog.
In my down time this week I've also been working on my applique and have started a new project- "The Civil War Bride" quilt by Corliss at Threadbear. It's her pattern of the Bird of Paradise quilt and I'll give more details later. Here's the first block and they all have lots of pieces to applique so my fingers are a bit worn this week.
I'm almost ready for Christmas and I'm looking forward to getting together with my family and hoping the weather isn't too hot. The string quilt here was a donated top and I just quilted it.

Applique Anyone?

This time last week I attended my first meeting of an applique group and remembered why I love applique. I have made 3 Baltimore Album quilts and still don't own one as I have given them away. I have also had 25 blocks made and ready to be finished off into a quilt as well as 2 borders for the same quilt. Actually 3 of the blocks just needed a small amount of stitching to get them finished and I think they have been stalled for 10 or 15 years.
I spend so much time making and donating quilts that I haven't finished off some of my old UFOs. After being in the company of other applique enthusiasts I've been encouraged to finish off a Baltimore quilt for me, but it will probably go to one of my daughters. Here's the blocks waiting to be trimmed and joined and I have decided to make new borders with a vine and rose pattern as I don't like the other borders I was working on. It's also unlikely that I'll be able to find the right fabric to match for the last 2 borders too so it's better to start them again.
I'm still working with donation quilts and have some more photos to show soon. I also met two lovely ladies from Colleambly with donations for the bush fire areas as well as receiving more boxes of quilts and sewing kits from Wauchope quilters as well as from Tasmania. I'm planning to do some hand sewing though now that the weather is so much warmer and I'll enjoy spending time on stitching the vines on my Baltmiore borders.
Hope you're all going to have some time for you during the festive season.
Hugs Jan Mac

It's Surprising

...how doing a little adds up to a lot. I've been making these crochet sqs every chance I have, especially when watching TV with DH as I don't have to look at them to get the pattern right.
I use 8 ply yarn or a mixture of lighter weights to make up to 8 ply, and a hook sized 4.5mm. I work them in rounds of 10 and then double crochet them together with sqs set 5 x 7. I surprised myself when I put two together over the week as I found I had enough sqs to make another full blanket and I'm well on the way to having enough for a 4th.
These are all going in the next shipment for people affected by earthquakes in Asia. I'm still quilting and I'll post photos here again soon. Thanks for dropping by.
Hugs Janmac

Deconstructing Quilt Tops

No I haven't taken leave of my senses but I have been taking some donated tops apart and making them bigger so they will be suitable for older children. These tops are really more lovely than the photo suggests and the kids prints are really bright and cute. I have several of these tops which are 32" x 37" and as they have been made by the same person, many of the fabrics are the same so it's not hard to make them look like they were supposed to be larger. I took the borders off 2 tops and then split one of the tops in half and then sewed a half to each end of the other top. Then I made new borders using part of each from the original tops. Clear as mud? Anyway I have made the 2 tops into one which measures 39" x 57" which will be more appropriate for an older child. I have also pieced a backing for it and now just need the weather to cool down a bit so I can get more quilting done.
I hope the donor isn't offended that I have reconstructed the tops but the child who receives it will be thrilled with the lovely prints and it's extra warmth.
Bye for now, Jan Mac

String Quilts

The Danish QAYG blocks from Annette Wandler came together really well and I joined them with red strips. Annette used a floral fabric and strings on half of the squares and they made a very pretty quilt. The other quilt was made from donated squares from several different quilters. They were from sqs which are 15" in size so I didn't need as many to make a quilt and I just had enough so it was meant to be.
I never get tired of working with the string blocks and have put a couple more together today so I'll have to post more photos soon. Hugs Jan Mac

Parcel From Denmark

I received a lovely parcel of QAYG blocks and a top for the bush fire areas and couldn't believe that it cam all the way from Denmark. A lady in Western Australia wrote an article about the bush fire appeal for a Danish magazine and as a result one of their readers has sent a parcel of blocks to help. The weather has become very hot lately which is far too early for our summer so I'm happy to be working in the air conditioning instead of being outside.
I'm also working night shift which is fine if I can sleep in the hot weather. At least I can sew near a fan as well to stay cool. I went to Melbourne yesterday for my AQA quilters meeting and it was very hot so I was glad to get home again but it was good to catch up with like-minded friends.
Back to the machine. Bye Jan Mac

Finally Finished

I'm finally finished with joining the donated knitted scarf pieces and have made 54 blankets from the 240 metres.
They took me a month to make and I'm very happy to have them finished as it's getting too hot to have all that warmth on my lap now summer is on its way.
Here's some of them in a stack and they will be ideal for either Timor, Samoa or the hurricane devastated areas in the Phillipines.
I really wanted to get the blankets put together quickly as I want them shipped out where they will be used as soon as possible. I'm also quilting more tops and managed to finish off 8 over the weekend, but have more to get ready for the next shipment.
I also have crocheted blankets to finish off so I'd better get busy again.
Hugs Jan Mac

Night Duty, Quilts and a Wedding

Yes life rolls on faster than I can blog at the moment. We had a lovely family wedding to attend two weeks ago and it was a wonderful time for our family to get together and celebrate. I've also been on night duty which means sleeping is a priority but I've still managed to get more quilts finished.
I did manage to get 12 larges boxes sent off for a shipment to the people affected by the tsunami in Samoa which has cleared my stack of quilts somewhat. They have asked me for as many quilts and blankets as I can send for the areas devastated by earthquakes as well as the tsunami so I've been busy putting together the blankets from the knitted strips shown in my previous blog. I sent off 21 blankets to Samoa and 132 quilts. Luckily I had a lot of quilt tops made from simple squares, which a workmate had sewn together for me so I'm finishing off these to be shipped off for the tsunami and earthquake areas.

I also managed to make another trip down to Kinglake last week and delivered a carload and trailer load of 96 quilts, two sewing machines as well as the remaining sewing supplies and magazines that have been donated. A Kinglake church group is also collecting books for their community to borrow so I cleared out quite a few paperback novels which has helped with my downsizing efforts at home. I also delivered the last of the donated hexagon kits from Hexagons of Hope and the ladies are very happy to have some handwork to do.
I've sent off 305 quilts over the last month and I'm still getting more ready to ship off so I hope to be able to see the floor of our family room soon.
I'll try to get back into my blogging more often now so that you can see that all your generous donations are getting distributed.
Hugs Janmac

Quilts Donated

Another busy week of getting quilts and knitted blankets finished. I donated 4 large quilts to the local women's refuge and the manager said that they are the envy of the other refuges in the state. The quilts are given to the ladies as they leave their care as a type of graduation gift and they are treasured because it is the first new item they own.
I also packed 132 quilts and sent them to be shipped off to Samoa for the tsunami relief appeal. I also sent off 21 knitted blankets that I've finished from the donated strips of scarves, I've put another 7 together this week and plan to get them sent off ASAP as another shipment will be going overseas to areas badly affected by earthquakes.
I'm uploading more photos on the other blog at Oz Comfort Quilts to show the beautiful quilts that have been donated to the bush fire appeal.
Hugs Jan Mac

Natural Disaster Areas

I delivered 73 quilts, crocheted blankets, cloth shopping bags and rice bags last week to be shipped off to East Timor. I also picked up large boxes of donated knitted scarves from the entry in the World's Longest Scarf competition. The lady said that there is about 240 yds of scarves. I've started joining them together in strips of 5 to make blankets which are about 42' x 70". They vary in width and length but I've managed to sort them into lengths and colours. So far I've finished 12 and I think I have enough pieces to make 50 blankets.
I've also been asked to send as many quilts and blankets as I can to be shipped off to Samoa following their tusnami and to the earthquake affected areas in Indonesia. I'm getting at least 2 done a day so I'm hoping to get them finished quickly and given out to where they are needed. I feel blessed to have such a lovely donation of knitted scavres which I can turn into something so useful. They vary but are mostly at least 12" wide so too wide to be used as just scarves.
The disaster areas have affected so many people that it's good to be able to help in some small way. I'm still workign with quilts for the bush fire areas so life is busy.
Hugs Jan Mac

Back From a Break

We had a lovely time with friends on our recent trip to Fraser Island off the coast of Queensland. The first photo shows the highway which is the beach and we camped just behind the sand dunes so we could hear the waves at night.
We also saw many whales frolicking and splashing off the coast and bascially just relaxed.
It was good for my DH to take a break and feel like he's recovering too.
Since we've been home for a week I've been busy getting another shipment of good ready to go in a shipping container to Timor. We took 15 boxes down on Thursday with crochted blankets, warm clothes school supplies, rice bags, cloth shopping bags and quilts. Many of the items have been donated and the Timorese people really appreciate all the support.
I've also been busy getting more quilts finished and will post more photos ASAP.
Hugs Jan Mac

Busy Times and More Donations

So much for my blogging updates! As well as working night duty I've been busy with family illnesses. My Dad has lost half his vision in one eye so that involved a rush trip to Melbourne to The Eye and Ear Hospital. We were hoping it would be correctable with surgery but unfortunately there is nothing to be done so we came home again at 3am. Then I was up at 10am to drive back to Melbourne to look after my DD who had the flu. I've managed to finish off some quilts but no photos yet so I'll show you the beautiful queen sized quilt that a group from Henty (NSW) made for the bush fire survivors.

Juanita Eime organized the group and sent the photos which show how much fun they had while making this lovely quilt. They used Bonnie Hunter's (Quiltville) pattern.

Juanita wrote:"The quilt was displayed at the local school for a couple of days (they gave us free access to the school to use for our craft group to create the quilt) and then it will go on Sunday to our local church so that the members who contributed fabric and their time in the early stages can see the finished product, then will spend some time at our local craft shop that gave us the queen sized batting to put into the quilt, and then it will go on display at the local casserole luncheon. There are so many people who have been involved with this quilt and we thought that this would be the best way for most of them to get to see it before it goes off to it’s new family.

I’m excited. The quilt is scrappy, but is very lovingly made and has been an amazing community effort including contributions of sewing by a 9yr old girl (my daughter), artistic input to arrange the blocks from a 12yr old boy (who also had lots of fun with the sample sandwiches for the machine quilting workshop that I ran one night to teach the ladies how to use their ordinary sewing machine to quilt a block. He actually can machine quilt now!), and we have had contributions of fabric from a wide range of people and sewing from others. It has really brought people together, and has helped to take the focus of our small community away from the drought and focus on helping others in need. We’ve been surprised by how this design came together and actually all love the quilt ~ so it will be given with much love. There was one lady involved who has sewn most of her life, but this is her first quilt and she has been involved in the process from beginning to end. I am so pleased for her. It has taken our group 5 get togethers at various times. I’ve been coordinating the quilt, and studying full time externally this year and have 4 children (9,7,5,2) to chase after! Completing the quilt has been a wonderful way to unwind after my exams this past semester.

Anyway, I hope that you are excited as I am that you have another quilt coming your way."
As you can see, making quilts has brought many communities together to help the bush fire survivors and they love to read the stories about their quilts' history.
Thank you for all your many donations.
Hugs Jan mac

Over a Week

I can't believe that it's been over a week since I last posted here. The time is going quickly with work and family commitments as well as putting more quilts together.
I'm mainly working with the donated QAYG blocks and have been very surprised that so many of you have been able to find their blocks in the quilts that are finished. I've made so many that I often can't remember which ones I've done.
I received a lovely phone call yesterday from a lady at Kinglake who had received one of the quilts. She wanted you all to know that your generous donations have helped with their recovery.
I think I have almost reached all the people who are still living in the area when I deliver the last lot of quilts to one of the schools for the parents who lost their homes. Then it will be harder to reach those who have moved and won't be returning to the area. I'm relying on hearing about them from other community members so we can get the quilts out to those who still need them.
On a family note, I did have a chuckle last night as our DS was talking about starting a vegetable garden and growing the vegetables that he and his housemates enjoy eating. He also loves using lemons in a lot of his cooking and suggested that he grow a lemon tree in a pot so he could take it with him if he moves. He didn't want to commit to waiting a few years until it bears fruit, so I suggested that he not get a pet if he thinks a lemon tree is too big a commitment.
I think it's a generational thing and I'm sure that many of you can relate.
Hugs until next time. Jan Mac

Another 14 Quilts

I posted off another 14 quilts last week as well as more knitted beanies that had just arrived. I know the people will really appreciate them as they are still in a state of shock in some ways and are not always able to make decisions about what they need. You can still see the effects of post- traumatic stress and some are becoming worried about facing another summer of bush fires and they can even tell you how long before summer is here again.
I've been busy with extra shifts at work again thanks to the flu season and have been putting quilts together in any spare moments.
Just after our last trip to deliver quilts we heard about many more families who haven't received quilts yet so I am getting more ready for another delivery ASAP.
Many thanks for all your help and donations.
Hugs Jan Mac