Finally a Finish.

 It's been a busy week with not much time for stitching but other fun activities instead. I went to Melbourne on Saturday and took our youngest daughter to see the Australian Ballet Company perform Giselle. I used to go fairly often but was surprised when I realized that I haven't been to the ballet since I married. Stephanie had never been so it was a lovely mother-daughter outing, with a nice lunch beforehand. I stayed the night and then back home for more night shifts.
     I did manage to quilt this donated top before I started work on Sunday but didn't get time to bind it until tonight. This top was originally square and too wide for the groups I donate to now. I took 1 of the rows of blocks off and re-added the border on that side. I used the removed blocks for the backing. I've started re-making some of the donated tops so I can get them finished and off to their recipients. I find it better to keep them to 50 x 70 inches in size as most groups like that size, and it means I don't have to spend as much on batting. We have a family wedding this weekend and then I'm working nights again so not as much time to sew as I would like but I guess I'll have to be happy with just one finish this week.
 Hugs, Jan Mac

Time For Some Knitting.

 I have three nieces having babies this year so it's been fun to knit some baby jackets. They will also get a baby quilt each but I needed some gifts for the baby showers too.
    My mother was a very talented knitter and, as not many knit nowadays, I thought they might enjoy some hand knits for the new babies. Mum made lots of garments for our babies and I plan on knitting for my grandchildren too. In the meantime I'm having fun knitting for my extended family's babies.
Hugs, Jan Mac

UFO Monday.

 It's only one UFO finish today but better than none. This was a donated top which was twice the current size initially. I made it smaller as most organizations need smaller quilts than one which will cover a single or double bed. I took blocks off and will make another top from them.
    I added borders, quilted it and stitched the binding, all this afternoon before I start working the next few nights. This lovely quilt will be loved by a little girl and will be donated. I still have more of my UFOs to finish as well as more from donations. I'm not going to make and donate as many as before as I need time to work on my own projects but I also want to get more finished quilts donated when time allows.
   I'd love to move closer to our children in Melbourne eventually and need to start downsizing now to motivate DH as well. Lol wish me luck
Hugs, Jan Mac

Margaret McDonald at Castlemaine.

 We were treated to a showing of Margaret's beautiful quilts as she shared her quilting journey. She is a very prolific quilter and also a very interesting speaker.l I was fortunate enough to take two classes with Margaret a couple of years ago and really enjoyed her classes.
  If you get the opportunity I can highly recommend her as a teacher and designer. She was very generous and gave us a free hexagon pattern yesterday and I hope to make something from it to share at a future meeting.
  We had a great time with quilting friends and I always come home inspired.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Castlemaine's Passionate Piecers.

 I attended the meeting for a new group yesterday, the Passionate Piecers. It was a lovely day, meeting up with friends, plenty of chatting and a lovely Show and Tell. Margaret McDonald was our guest speaker and she shared her quilt journey and many of her beautiful quilts. I'll share photos of Margaret's lovely quilts in my next post.
     It was another fun day to share with my stitching friends and I can't wait until we do it again.
Hugs, Jan Mac

A 14 Year Old UFO.

 Another old UFO is finished and I still have a few more blocks to make into quilts while I'm busy finishing more UFOs. These were from an internet swap in 2001. I didn't have enough blocks so I found another orphan block and added black borders to make it larger and also made another block with black and some blue fabrics.
  I made a backing and quilted it today., then finished stitching the binding by machine. It's good to have another finish and I still have a pile of UFOs to work with, so I hope to have more finishes soon.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Scrap Play.

 In between working nights and family commitments, I've been working with my scraps and sorting them so they will be usable. I have been busy making Half Square Triangles and Four Patch blocks in a variety of sizes. My bins of pre-cuts are getting full so I need to select a design and get busy making tops from them. The more scraps I sort through, the more I seem to find. At least it gives me more variety in my scrappy quilts.
 Back to play again.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Sunday Finishes.

 I seemed to have had a busy week but not a lot to show for it. More sorting and cutting scraps has taken precedence but there are plenty more to organize.
 I've also been making quilt backings so I should see some clear places on the shelves soon.
  I quilted these two tops this week and finished the bindings today so I guess that is some progress. At least the weather is a bit cooler so I hope to have more finishes to share soon.
 Hugs, Jan Mac

Re-creating, Re-purposing.

While I was sorting through some UFOs I found this donated quilt top. It was the size of a cot quilt but the colours weren't suitable for a baby so I decided to re-purpose it. There were also 4 spare star blocks with it. The blocks measured 6.25 inches square. I also found a border of butterflies in similar colours so I took the top apart and cut the butterfly border into 6.25 inch squares. Then I used them to re-create a top suitable for an older child, making it much larger.

I added borders then a half square triangle border using some of the original half square triangle blocks and making more to match. I would have preferred to use the same dark purple as the inner border but didn't have enough for the last border. I'll use the darker purple for a binding instead. I need to have a quilting day and get some more of the tops finished and donated.
Hugs, Jan Mac