Mail Call.

I've been having trouble blogging as the post won't save so I'll try again. I received this lovely 1930s vintage quilt top which is in perfect condition. there are lots of lovely vintage fabrics and also lots of  lovely empty cream spaces which need lots of quilting. This one will go into the queue for quilting and I look forward to making it a beautiful quilt. I don't use these vintage quilts but like to have them for display and to treasure the vintage fabric.

The postman also brought me another lovely parcel of QAYG blocks from Linda of UK and NZ. Linda has used up all her remaining scraps and sent another 9 QAYG blocks as well as the few remaining scraps she had in NZ. These blocks are a great way to use up scraps of batting and fabric and also bless the needy.

 I hope you are all enjoying a peaceful time for Easter and spending some time recharging your batteries, doing what you love. I'm working on quilting one of my rescue quilts so I hope to have that to share soon.
Thanks for stopping by.
Hugs, Jan Mac

The Postman Has Been Busy.

 While I've been busy working night shift, my quilting angels have been busy making lots of QAYG blocks and quilts to donate to the needy. Ann G. from NSW sent two beautiful quilts and they will be treasured by the recipients. Vicky from New Zealand sent a beautiful set of QAYG blocks which will make a fabulous quilt. The blocks are individually quilted and different to the the usual QAYG blocks and will look lovely when made into a quilt.

Marijke from The Netherlands, also sent a huge box of QAYG blocks as well as strips for joining the blocks and yarn for the crocheted blankets. Many thanks to all of you lovely readers for supporting the quilt project for the needy. As soon as I have a break from working nights I plan to get some more quilts finished and donated.
Hugs, Jan Mac

My Other Passion.

 I love to rescue damaged vintage quilts or finish off other people's UFOs. Weird, I know! I love antique/vintage quilts but I don't buy them just to own and love them, although I sometimes do. My main passion is to rescue and repair/restore lovely old quilts to their former beauty. I love to add my own touches and feel connected to quilters who have gone before me.
    This first quilt is from the 1880s and is beautiful despite someone repairing the shattered fabrics in the 1940s by appliquéing fabric over the shredded pieces. As you can see she also had a very large stain of some sort. I have given her a good soak and she is drying now,prior to me taking off the 1940s fabric pieces and replacing them with vintage fabric from her era.
    The second top is from that era as well and had quite a large hole across 3 rows, as well as a mistake in the pattern, caused by the quilter mistakenly sewing the wrong end of the row to the top. I was going to leave it like that but it was an easy fix so while I took off one row to get fabric to make the repairs it didn't take much more work to fix the mistake. I plan to machine quilt the top soon and have another lovely antique quilt for display. The Clamshell quilt is hand quilted so replacing the shredded fabrics and filling in the areas without quilting will take a little longer but it is a labour of love.
I'll share a few more of my acquisitions soon.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Finally A Finish.

 Finally our hot weather has abated and I finished this baby quilt for my Great Nephew, Spencer. Unfortunately the family is moving to Papua New Guinea on Tuesday, which is sooner than anticipated. They have asked me to post it to their employers in Mareeba, Qld, and hopefully it won't be too long before someone visiting them can deliver it to them. As Spencer's Dad is going to be flying for MAF, facilitating medical transfers from New Guinea's Highlands, I thought a quilt of planes would be appropriate.

 Now I still have another baby quilt to finish for another niece's baby but thankfully they live locally so delivery won't be a problem. I'd better get busy with it though while the weather is cooler and before I work nights again this weekend.
Hugs, Jan Mac

A Lovely Long Weekend and Delivery of Special Blocks.

 We took four nights away four wheel driving in the Victorian High Country and had a wonderful time with family and friends. I never tire of our camping trips in the mountains and, although we had some rain, it settled the dust but didn't spoil our fun. We were lucky to be able to drive some of our favorite tracks and see beautiful scenery.
    When we returned I found a huge parcel of QAYG blocks made by Jeanette H. in Mildura. Jeanette made two huge piles of 12.5 inch as well as 10.5 inch blocks despite having injured her arm, reducing her sewing for 13 weeks. Luckily she's recovering and used the time to stitch up some pre-cut strips while she couldn't use a rotary cutter. Thanks for such wonderful support, Jeanette, with this current quilt project.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Monday in Melbourne.

I always enjoy attending my Melbourne quilting group and Monday was no exception. On display was the group's raffle quilt made from Liberty fabrics. The raffle proceeds will be donated to the Cancer Council. AQA will be holding a Biggest Morning Tea on Monday 16th of May, from 10am to 2 pm, and with a Liberty theme. Attendees are asked to make, bring or wear anything Liberty. The meeting will be held at the Uniting Church Hall, corner of Canterbury Rd and Valonia Ave, Surrey Hills. I will be traveling in May and will miss the event but I do hope that I win the raffle quilt.
     Monday's guest speaker was Desley Maisano, one of Melbourne's very talented long arm quilters. Desley shared her quilts, several of them being award winning quilts, and it was a wonderful display of her many quilts. I would have loved to see them all up close to really appreciate the fine detailed quilting but there wasn't enough time unfortunately. As part of her presentation, Desley also discussed how to prepare your top for quilting, how to choose quilting designs, threads etc. it was a very interesting day and I'm looking forward to seeing more of Desley's quilting at future exhibitions.
 Working night shifts has taken some time and we are planning on going camping over the weekend so I'll be busy crocheting blankets while we are away, instead of quilting, but I will be busy getting more quilts finished when we return.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Today's Special Delivery.

Today I met with the lovely Lesley L. from Rochester, as she had a large number of QAYG blocks to deliver. Lesley very kindly acts as a go-between, taking my batting scraps to Bev D. and returning the huge number of finished squares from Bev D. of Bendigo. Other quilters from Rochester and Ky Valley donate fabric scraps for Bev to make into blocks. She is always looking for more batting scraps so if you have any you care to donate, they will be very useful to make more QAYG blocks.

    Despite the heat this afternoon, I pushed through and quilted another donation top for my Melbourne quilting group. Our next meeting is on Monday so I hope to have at least 6 to deliver then.  They will then be donated to Peter Mac for cancer sufferers or to a group which helps support kids in Foster Care.

Hugs, Jan Mac

More QAYG Love.

 What's not to love about QAYG quilts. I never tire of them and receiving more blocks from my lovely blog readers means that I have a head start to getting more quilts finished. It's still hot this week but sewing was doable in front of the fan and AC today. The first quilt is made using 10.5 inch blocks and I made it a bit smaller for a teen. The second quilt was made from 12.5 inch blocks sent by Jo B. and both will be donated to Impact for women and children affected by domestic violence.
Many thanks everyone for your donations.
Hugs, Jan Mac