Comings and Goings

Carol Fordham delivered these 11 beautifully crocheted blankets made by 2 ladies in a Cranbourne retirement village. 

Wendy Brown donated these 5 lovely blankets and 4 lovely knitted scarves. 

Annette Pascoe delivered these bags of teddies which have all been washed and are now ready for their custom made jumpers. 

 Sharon Barnes delivered a large number of beautiful quilts and Kathie Williamson has sent another large parcel.  Unfortunately I ran out of time to photograph their lovely items and I'm going away tomorrow until the end of February so I will photograph them when I return.

  This week I delivered 42 quilts with 10 quilts going to SECASA and ECASA respectively and Norma Aitken is very kindly couriered them for me.  We delivered 2 bushfire relief quilts earlier in the week and we also donated 20 quilts to Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre which Beverley Brooks very kindly couriered. 

Many thanks everyone for your generous support. 

Hugs, Jan Mac xx 

Many Thanks Sue Graham.

Sue Graham from Safety Beach,  Victoria has very generously donated these 10 fabulous quilts and a bed runner. They are beautifully made and professionally quilted and will be ideal for the Quilt Drive for the bushfire affected areas as they are mainly very large.

Many thanks to Kaye Hardman who very kindly couriered them for me. 

 Many thanks everyone for your generous support. 

Hugs, Jan Mac xx 

A Gift Of Comfort.

 

As well as gifting quilts to the quilters who lost everything in the Longwood fires, we also took a care package of sewing items such as small rechargeable light,  cutting board and Rotary cutter, cross stitch kit, embroidery threads, sewing compendium, scissors,  rulers, templates, needles, threads, a lovely cup, notepaper and pen, pretty tote bag, all couple of small quilting kits and so on.

These 2 fabulous quilts were gifted on Tuesday to a quilter and her DD, as they have lost everything in the recent Longwood fires. Norma Aitken and Waverley Patchworkers very kindly donated these fabulous quilts and the hand appliqued one was made by Annie Andrews while the other beautiful quilt was made by Margaret Grinton.

Many thanks to Waverley Patchworkers and Norma for their collaboration in providing beautiful quilts for the Quilt Drive for bushfire affected communities. 

  Hopefully these gifts will bring some comfort. 

Hugs, Jan Mac xx 

A Visit To Bush Fire Affected Areas.

 

Yesterday my lovely friend, Norma Aitken, and I drove up to Euroa to deliver 2 beautifully made quilts and a sewing care package for a quilter who has lost everything. When we heard that she didn't even have a needle and thread we could imagine how much that would impact on us in similar circumstances. We both find hand stitching or knitting, or really any hand work, can be very calming and soothing when times are tough. Even if she doesn't feel up to it now, perhaps the soothing rhythm of stitching will help her to recover.

Norma is the Gift Quilt Co-ordinator for Waverley Patchworkers and she put together a lovely pack of hand stitching items, needles, threads, scissors, a sewing kit, Rotary cutter, small cutting board, some templates, hand made tote bag, small rechargeable light, cross stitch kit of Australian wildflowers and so on. Thanks to our past experiences we've learnt a lot about what can help with recovery and added notepaper kit, a small lap blanket, lovely Australian themed cup and the 2 quilts. Lex Collins heard we were going to Euroa and contributed a lovely hexagon kit and a lot of sewing supplies, paper piecing papers, templates etc.

We didn't want to intrude so we prearranged to leave the items with a local business and then supported the local Op Shop by purchasing some cotton shirts to make into future quilts. After lunch at a local Cafe we drove back through Merton, Yarck and Yea to get an idea of the extent of the devastation caused by the fires. We've visited lots of areas after bushfires and again we were surprised not by how many homes were lost, but how many they managed to save. These communities will recover but it will take time, support and a lot of stamina.

We wouldn't normally deliver quilts this early for natural disasters but we knew that this quilter has secured rental accommodation for 12 months, which is very fortunate, but with none of her treasures or the means to do some handwork, the days can be long.

Hopefully our small gifts will uplift her spirits. The beautiful quilts were made by Waverley Patchworker's members, Annie Andrews and Margaret Grinton, and we gave 2 so that the Quilter's daughter would also receive one.

It was a big day and I'm very grateful to Norma for doing all the driving as well as making up such a thoughtful care package. I hope these few photos give you some idea of the impact of the fires and we came home even more focused on the Quilt Drive to help these communities in recovery.

We'll be working with local quilting groups where possible and Oz Comfort Quilts is very lucky to be able to collaborate with Norma Aitken and Waverley Patchworkers to provide quilts for these communities. A lot of homes have been lost across the State and hundreds of quilts and special blankets will be required to ensure that people receive a gift of comfort as they reach the recovery stage. I'm anticipating gifting a quilt to the children affected, whether they lost their homes or not, as they have all be traumatised by the impact on their communities.

Many thanks everyone for your generous and ongoing support. 

Hugs, Jan Mac xx 

 

Crocheted and Knitted Squares

Oz Comfort Quilts is running a Quilt Drive for the bushfire affected areas as  well as crocheted or knitted squares,  and handknits such as beanies,  scarves,  fingerless gloves.

The squares shoukd be made in 8 ply and measure 20 cm (8 inches) square. I'm receiving finished blankets and Susan Iacuone is accepting any squares and will be making them up into blankets.  The address for the squares is Susan Iacuone,  PO Box 901, Castlemaine 3450.

 You're also very welcome to join the Oz Comfort Quilts Facebook group where more information and updates are given.

Many thanks,  Jan MacFadyen OAM 

People Are So Generous.

More donations have arrived with Dianne Daly sending another large parcel containing 2 lovely warm crocheted blankets,  4 beautifully knitted beanies, 6 Santa Sacks, 4 tote bags, a pair of shorts, 1 skirt, 6 soap pouches, 3 pencil cases, 12 bucket hats and a lovely nappy/overnight bags.

Rae Cretney donated a beautiful Australian themed quilt top with backing and binding and it will be finished and donated for our Quilt Drive for the bushfire areas. 

Christine Weston dropped off a large fleece blankets as well as a large knitted blanket and 3 knitted squares from Karen W. 

Barbara Dawson has donated a very generous financial contribution to pay for costs.

Many thanks everyone for your generous support. 

Hugs, Jan Mac xx 

The Weekly Wrap Up.

This week was busy with labelling donated quilts as well as sorting and packing donations but I  did manage to finish off 7 donated quilt tops as well as knitting 3 premmie's jackets for Life's Little Treasures. 

I love the fabrics in this one, using Bonnie Hunter's  free pattern, Scrap Bargello.

Even though we're running a Quilt Drive for the bushfire areas we'll still be supporting our usual organisations so I'm working on getting quilts finished in all sizes.

Many thanks everyone for generously donating your skills and time to help children in need. 

Hugs, Jan Mac xx