Old Habits.

 I tried to throw out the scraps left from using the Tumbler Die to use up some of my fabrics and make more donation quilts. I really did try, I promise!! But old habits were stronger and I did fish out the fabrics which were left over from the triangular sides and pieced them into more fabric which meant I could cut more Tumbler shapes.

I am joining them with alternate plain cream fabric and it will be a very low-cost quilt to donate as, apart from the cream fabric, it will be made entirely from scraps. You can't beat that so I guess some old habits are worth holding on to.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Debulking The Stash

 I've had a fabulous few days in Melbourne going to the Adele concert with my DD. We were very lucky to get tickets and it was a wonderful concert despite the crowds when we left. There was also more baby shopping and we bought fabric to make cot sheets and cute fabric with animals to trim them.
    I've also been busy going through the stash of fabric I still need to move and I've been cutting up lots and lots of fabric using my Go Cutter and the larger Tumbler shape. Usually I save all the scraps to use up too but I have so many that I am ditching them if they are smaller than an inch wide.

 I thought it would be easier to transport tumbler shapes rather than piles of fabric and it's a great way to use up some of my much older fabric. I have been gifted with fabric too over the years and while I can't spread my sewing out at the moment, I can at least cut Tumblers and stockpile them for when I have time to sew.

I can't throw out larger scraps though and I am using them to make into Tumbler shapes by stitching them on foundation paper using old phone book pages. Then I run them through the Go Cutter and I have some usable pieces to work with. I have also been cutting some smaller Tumblers to make a quilt for myself one day, although I will probably donate it as well. LOL
Back to the stash.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Still Quilting.

 I've been powering through these donated tops and it's great to start to clear the back load and get them donated. The first 2 are from my Melbourne quilting group and I have sewn the binding on but left the hand stitching for other members to finish off at our Gift Quilt Day on Monday.

 The green and orange quilt is ideal for a cot sized quilt and I have backed it with Winnie the Pooh fabric for a child friendly finish.

Still lots to do but I can see progress has been made.
Hugs, Jan Mac

QAYG Abundance.

The large pile of accumulated QAYG blocks is on its way down again now I have had some time to make them into quilts. They are such an easy way for me to get finished quilts donated and even just a few blocks from someone can make a difference.
   I was asked for some larger quilts for a drug and rehab centre and I managed to get all of these done in a couple of days. I have to rely on my DH to be the quilt holder now we have taken down the wooden holder I used to rely on so please excuse the feet in the shot. LOl

I had saved a pile of blue blocks for just such a quilt and I know someone will love it.

Thank you all so much for your support with these QAYG blocks and joining strips. I really appreciate all of your help and I have some more QAYG finishes to share as soon as I can get my quilt holder to stand still again. LOL
 Also thanks for your lovely comments and for stopping by.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Quilting Frenzy.

 Now the house is sale-ready, it's time to tackle some of the boxes of donated quilt tops in the shed. I figure if I get them made into quilts I can donate them so it's a win-win. Someone needy gets a lovely warm quilt to snuggle in and I have less stuff to move. LOL
  All of these tops were made by other generous quilters and I had the pleasure of quilting them.

 The owl quilt is bound but the binding is not stitched down as I prepared that for the hand stitchers to sew at our next Gift Quilt Day next week, for my Melbourne group.

This is where all the quilting is happening now. I find I'm using my industrial sewing machine more and more and it's an absolute workhorse. I have burnt out 3 sewing machines as domestic machines just aren't made for the amount of sewing and quilting I do so this one is ideal for all the QAYG quilts and tops I quilt. I've even started using it to stitch baby wraps, bibs and burp cloths.
   I have some more quilts to photograph and more QAYG finishes. Many thanks for your kind comments. I'm very happy to be back and still undecided on the Oz Comfort Quilts blog as I will have to start it again, so I need to make sure there will be time for that too.
Thanks for stopping by.
Hugs, Jan Mac

I'm Finally Back, Hopefully To Stay.

 Sorry I've been missing for so long but we have finally got the farm ready for sale. We have painted 5 bedrooms since Xmas and also had new carpet installed. The week the carpet was laid was the hottest week we've had. It was 42.5 degrees C (108.5F) and we had to move all the furniture out and then put it all back again. We were very happy to have that done! but it does look good and well worth all the effort.
  We should have it online for sale this week and in the meantime we will keep working on packing and sorting things we just dumped in our large shed. At least it will all be worth it as our DD and her husband are having our first grandchild, a Boy, and due in September. We are hoping to have sold and moved by then but sales can be slow in the country so we will see what happens.
   As part of moving the furniture etc we had to relocate my computer as well and that also meant I was unable to blog until it was all connected again. I have missed my sewing and blogging and yesterday was the first time I've had time for sewing since before Xmas. reading other bloggers has also been at a halt while were so busy too.
    It's good to be back though and I hope to have more time to focus on quilty things. I've also been contemplating re-opening my other blog at Oz Comfort Quilts as I have lots more quilts to finish and donate, from donated tops, blocks and fabric, and I have found two organizations near us in Melbourne who are very interested in receiving the Oz Comfort Quilts to distribute for us. Please let me know what you think? Or is it better to just keep everything here?
   Anyway I'll have more quilty bits and pieces to share very soon as well as some more finishes.
Hugs and thanks for stopping by, Jan Mac