A Clan Quilt

This wonderful quilt top was made and donated by Gina E. from Melbourne (Vic). She has cleverly used all different checks and tartan fabrics and it is made from winter cotton which is warmer than quilting cotton. Gina it is such a lovely quilt and will really warm a needy person even if they don't recognize the tartan of their clan LOL. Perhaps it should be the Oz Comfort Quilts Clan.
 I had a lovely day at home yesterday with the rain falling steadily all day and the wood fire heating our home. I managed to put together a quilt top of string pieced blocks and quilted and bound it as well as finishing the binding on the 3 remaining quilts from a day or so ago. Then I still had some time left so I put together another set of QAYG blocks into a quilt. The lovely Lesley L (Vic) was meeting me in the rain to do a handover of bits and pieces so I wanted to have as many finished quilts ready as possible. Lesley and her willing group of generous quilters have been busy making more tops and backings for me to quilt and donate as well as more quilts they'd finished as well. One of Lesley's family members was going to take the boxes of donations back to Melbourne for me and it is a big save on postage costs.
  Although we got a bit wet in the transferring of boxes from car to car it was lovely to see Lesley again and know that we had helped bring comfort to more needy people as our winter weather has started with very wet and cold nights.
Many thanks for all your help. I was going to work on some of my many UFOs today but the pile of tops waiting for quilting is also beckoning.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Big Day In

 Finally a day at home to get some more quilts finished. Firstly I received a wonderful donation from Sylvia Cullen (NSW) who sent all of the fabric on the bolt. This will certainly help me get more quilts finished to donate. Yesterday I accomplished:
- piecing a top
- piecing a backing to match
- quilted 4 quilt tops
- bound one quilt.
All in all it was a good day. I'm off to paid work today but hope to finish off some more quilts very soon.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Victorian High Country

 A spur of the moment trip to the Victorian High Country last week meant that I had little time at home. We had a great few days camping even though winter is on its way and there was even snow on the ground up in the mountains. The days were beautiful and sitting around the camp fire at night meant that we had a relaxing time with family.
  We had some family visitors at the weekend as well as a family get-to-gether and it was also a lovely relaxed time. Today was spent getting some of my jobs done, posting wool off to a small group in inland Queensland, who knit for charity and are out of wool. It was good to be able to share some of my yarn stash and it's a great way of out-sourcing to get more things made for the needy.
I'm hoping to get more quilts finished tomorrow and will have some finishes to show soon. In the meantime I'm crocheting more squares for a blanket.
I hope you are all enjoying some crafting time.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Parcels From Afar

I'm not sure where this week has gone as I have been busy working and now have night shifts for the next few nights too. The weather is lovely and sunny here even of the wind has a winter bite to it and I'm still making crocheted. squares for blankets for the homeless and needy.
  I received more fabulous parcels from across the country and from across the world.
 Delys Rogers (WA) sent 5 more beautiful beanies as well as 15 QAYG blocks for me to use in donation quilts. The other parcel came from even further away- from Ulla in Finland! Ulla sent a master-piece quilt made from crumb blocks as well as maverick stars. It will bring so much joy to it's new owner but I don't know how she could bear to part with it. She has even made lettering around the borders to spell out words of comfort. I'll show a larger photo of it on my other blog as well as a couple of other finishes for this week.
 I hope you've all had a productive and pieceful week too. Today is the 30th birthday of  our favourite (and only) son, Aaron. Oh the memories of 30 years ago. LOL!

Have a great week, Hugs, Jan Mac

A Special Quilt

I was very happy that I was able to make it to my Melbourne Quilting meeting at AQA yesterday as apart from the usual meeting and guest speaker we were also able to view a very special quilt.
   One of our AQA members was told about an old family quilt and offered to show it to her. The quilt was made by Elizabeth Smith in 1835/40 and it was commenced when she was 8 years old and living in a tent on the banks of the Yarra River. The quilt is in very good condition and it was such a joy to see it up close and to see the lovely fabrics used. The quilt is a treasure and an important part of the history of our state, Victoria. It will most likely be displayed at either the National Gallery of Victoria or the Victorian museum so others can enjoy it as well. What a wonderful acquisition and many thanks to the family for being willing to share it with us.
It is being referred to as "Elizabeth's Quilt" and I'm sure there will be more info about this quilt in the future.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Sunburst Blocks

 This morning I put another set of QAYG blocks into a quilt suitable for a child. I've been asked for quilts for a camp for abused and disadvantaged kids again this year so I'm working on them throughout the year so there won't be a mad rush to get them finished.
 Then I decided to work on one of my many WIPs. I started this set of Sunburst blocks in a Chris Serong class at Dookie in May 2010. I thought they may have been older than that and it will be good to have them finished. I was actually going to get a new project of hand applique ready to take to my Melbourne AQA meeting tomorrow but I was strong and knew that I needed to finish something before I start a new project. I had carefully packed everything away when we had house guests and now I can't find all the bits I need. I know they are here somewhere but not in sight today.
Rather than waste the day tidying ( yes I know I'll still have to do it sometime) I decided to work on these blocks. There are supposed to be 13 of them and I made another 1 today to match the 5 I've finished. I'm not sure if I'll use Chris's pattern for the quilt or make them a little different. I plan to keep working on them steadily as I spent a lot of time today working out how to make the blocks again.
  It was a good day to putter around on some of my projects so stay tuned for progress. I will finish off my Stars on Sunday project but I was happy to work on something else for a change.
Hugs, Jan Mac

A 4 Quilt Day

Now I'm home again it's time to quilt.I quilted 4 donated tops yesterday. Today I finished the bindings on 3 of them and I also put together a QAYG quilt from donated blocks. Now I'm taking a break to watch the football and crochet some more squares.

 I think this lovely top was made by Lesley and her quilting friends from Kyabram way. Check out my other blog to see the rest of the finished quilts.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Hugs, Jan Mac

Delivering Quilts and a Train Trip

 I had a break from paid work and we had family to visit in Melbourne so we took a couple of days break and delivered 12 quilts for a camp for abused kids. DH has also always wanted to ride on the Puffing Billy train which is a 1900s train which has been restored and is run by volunteers. I have been on the train a few times but as it was on DH's Bucket List we decided to take an extra day for the train ride.
  It's a lovely relaxing trip and although the day was a bit wet and overcast for most of the day we did enjoy the journey. The train runs from Belgrave to Gembrook and most of the tourists only travel half way to Lakeside and then take the return train. The line from lakeside to Gembrook has only been opened since 1998 and I hadn't traveled that part before so we did the whole trip and we were lucky to chose this week to travel as they close that part of the line for winter as they don't get enough tourists making that part of the trip. DH and I were the only travelers to Gembrook on Wednesday, along with 6 train staff volunteers. We enjoyed a lunch at the Gembrook Bakery and then sat by the fire in the station until we made the return trip.
 We finished off the night with a Trivia night at a local pub and caught up with our youngest DD and her friend. We came 3rd I think thanks to the spread of ages we were able to cover more topics. LOL.
 It was a lovely break but the weather has certainly cooled off and winter will be here before we know it so I'd better get busy quilting for the needy again.
Hugs, Jan Mac