A Finish and Mail Call.

 I quilted another donated top last night and finished the binding today. I spent most of the day sorting tops and backings and have a few more tops to finish soon. I also tidied up more scraps and made some more QAYG blocks.
    Delys R from WA has been very busy again and she sent another 9 QAYG blocks to help make some more quilts to donate. They are beautiful blocks Delys and I really appreciate all of your help with the blocks. I should have enough to make another couple of quilts very soon. I'm hoping to get a few more finishes before I work nights again this week.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Two Quilts and a Dress.

 I started the day with a 8.7 km walk with our youngest DD. Of course we talked non stop so the time went quickly. It's been so lovely to spend time together and I did manage to finish making the strapless lace dress, with a boned bodice, so I only gave to hem it now.
    When she left for home after lunch I decided to quilt a few more tops. The first one was a donated top from my Melbourne quilt group which we had pinned at our Gift Quilt Day, so I cross hatched the quilt using my domestic sewing machine.
    The second one was a cot panel donated to my Melbourne quilt group as well so it will also be donated to some needy people. I also made a few more QAYG blocks and hope to have enough made to put together another quilt tomorrow.
Hugs, Jan Mac

A Gift, A Finish And A New Beginning.

 I received 14 of these beautiful QAYG blocks from Delys Rogers in W.A and they will help me to make some more lovely quilts to donate. Many thanks for your lovely gift of blocks to donate on your behalf, Delys.
    I've also finished another crocheted blanket from the squares I crocheted on our last trip to Qld and this one will also be donated to the organization which works with homeless teenagers.
    My new beginning is a dress for my DD's engagement party. We found some lovely dresses earlier in the week on our shopping expedition but none really were exactly what she wanted so I decided to make one. I have a few days off between working nights, as soon as I recover from this week's work, and I made progress today. She came home from Melbourne for a couple of days so there will be lots of sewing and fitting taking place to make sure it fits correctly. I'm making the strapless dress and I'm up to stitching the boning into the bodice. I'm hoping to put the zip in tomorrow and get most of it finished.
I'll be off to bed early tonight as it's been a very big week.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Spring Sewing Day.

 I'm in Melbourne for a few days as I had a special sewing day with my Melbourne quilt ing group to make donation quilts. It was so busy that I didn't get time to take photos other than for some of our completed tumbler blocks. I had torn up an old phone book up to make foundation papers and I took a large box of scrappy strip pieces for them to use. When they had stitched down the strips we ran them through the Accuquilt using the larger Tumbler template. We need more quilts for males so the Tumbler shapes in masculine colors will make up some lovely quilts.
        While in Melbourne I'm taking the opportunity to help our youngest DD and her fiancé, with their engagement party planning as well as wedding plans. We had a lovely lunch yesterday at the winery they have chosen as their wedding venue. It was a fabulous spring day yesterday with clear skies and beautiful sunshine. Today we had spring showers but the blossoms are all out on display and we need the rain so I won't complain. Tomorrow will be a shopping day, looking for dresses etc so not much sewing but still fun to spend time with my DD.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Home Again.

 We had a lovely time on Moreton Island and it was so nice to have the place almost to ourselves. Having a 4 wheel drive vehicle is essential to travel on the tracks and beach and we were very surprised that there were so few campers. We enjoyed the warm weather blowing away our winter chills and we had our beach front campsite completely to ourselves too.
    From there we traveled to Noosa, on the Sunshine Coast, for my brother's wedding. Unfortunately it rained during the ceremony but the sun came out while photos were being taken. It was lovely to catch up with family again and share the happy couple's special day.
     We spent the rest of the week at Coolangatta re-visiting all the places where we had spent many family holidays over the past 35 years. It's lovely to be home again as I have a special quilt making day with my Melbourne quilt group on Monday. We will be working on making more donation quilts for varying organizations which help the needy. I also used the travel time to crochet more blanket squares and just need one more to complete another crocheted blanket to donate. We also visit Op Shops (Thrift Shops) while we travel so I can add to my yarn supplies for the blankets as it allows me to add more colorful bits and pieces so I need to make a few more squares for the next blanket.
    Thanks for stopping by and sorry I was unable to post last week.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Another Blanket Finished.

 I like to crochet squares for blankets while we travel as it keeps me awake and I can do it without looking at my work, so I don't get nauseated. I brought some squares with me and made lots more while traveling up here to Qld. Now we are enjoying some lovely warm weather and seeing the sights of Moreton Island before we move on to Noosa for my brother's wedding in a week's time. Hopefully it will be warmer at home before we return as our DD has told us it's still cold enough for a wood fire at home.
   No need to worry about that yet, so I'll just enjoy the warmth for two more weeks.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Ed

Life is a Beach.

 Surprisingly we have internet and phone access where we are currently beach camping so I thought I'd share our view. Not a bad way to wake up to see the ships cruise past. We are the only people camped in this camping ground and it's very quiet and peaceful. We are moving up to the north of the island today to see some of the sights and probably won't have phone access there. We can see the city lights of Brisbane in the distance here but the rest of the island is more remote.
  I'll check back soon but don't expect to see much quilting happening as I'll be taking some time to rest and recover from winter.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Finally!!

 Well after a 2 month delay while I recovered from my chest infection, we are finally on the road again. We had an incredibly cold night camping on our way up to Qld and are now waiting to take the ferry from Brisbane to Moreton Island.
   We are looking forward to some warm weather and beach camping for the next week. There is no internet or phone access but we plan to relax and unwind. I'll share some photos when we have reception again. Hopefully by then this wretched cough will finally be gone.
Hugs, Jan Mac