UFO Monday.

 I'm working on some large UFOs at the moment but also trying to get some mire finished quickly so they can be donated. Now that I have access to all of my stored UFOs I found this set of blocks which will be my next finish. These blocks were from a swap I did in 1998 so it's time they were finished.  I think I have pulled these out a few times to finish them but the differing sizes made the job too big at that time. Now I really just need to make it work.

 These 2 blocks had 3 dimensional flowers that needed to be sewn more firmly.

 I hand stitched all of the flowers down to the background so they were more secure.

This is our last week of caring for Jake full time until his baby brother arrives so we are enjoying every moment and there will be more time for sewing very soon.
Hugs, Jan Mac 

Weekly Catch Up.

 It's been a busy week of social events with visitors dropping in and it's been lovely to catch up with family and friends. There was some time for quilting and these 4 tops were all donated. I think they were made by the Kyabram/Rochester quilters via Lesley L.

 This one is a great quilt for a Hawthorn footy supporter and a lovely shade of brown and yellow. The colours are subdued here as we took them late in the day.

It feels great to finally have time to get these tops quilted and donated and I shoukd have enough to drop off to Anglicare very soon. Our weather is cooling down a lot so the quilts will be very welcome. I'm also crocheting more blanket squares in every spare minute so I hope to have another blanket ready to donate very soon.
Hugs, Jan Mac 

Cross Stitch Tuesday.

 I've almost finished this square and just have to add the beads and finish a small amount of outline stitching on the dress. Then I can start the next block with only 5 left to complete for the set.

The DD who made them for me is coming to stay for a few days so I will put this project away until she leaves. In the meantime I am crocheting squares for blankets as organizations which help the homeless say that blankets are hard to come by and in big demand. If anyone has some scraps of yarn and some spare time, I will always be happy to receive any donations of granny squares of 10 rounds, made in 8 ply and using a 4.5 crochet hook.
    Have a good week everyone. My days will be filled with playing with Jake and being creatively productive when he sleeps. More to share soon.
Hugs, Jan Mac 

UFO Monday.

 This week my work on UFOs is a bit different as I have found a couple of my antique quilt tops which need restoration. The first us a top from the late 1800s which has some shredded red fabric and it's missing a block as well. There's also some damage to a few of the blocks. It's been a UFO for a long time so I decided it needs to be finished. I have taken the blocks and sashing apart and will make the repairs,  stitch it back together and quilt it. It would be considered a utility quilt and most likely was made from clothing remnants with the red sashing bought for the purpose .

 This quilt top was from the 1940s and some of the fabric has frayed as it has been washed,  causing damage. I am going to take it apart and remake the blocks, replacing the damaged fabric as needed. This one will be pieced by hand so it will take longer but it should be a worthwhile project to have it finished.

I enjoy finishing UFOs, both mine or other quilters', so these will be fun to get finished . Finding and being able to access my tubs of UFOs and fabric has given me a lot more options for finishing UFOs and I'm going to really enjoy working on lots of different projects, as well as finishing more donation quilts.
I hope you all enjoyed a peaceful Easter break as well.
Hugs, Jan Mac 

Weekly Catch Up.

 The first 6 quilts here were all tops made by members of my Quilting Group for our Gift Quilt Program and I only had to pin baste them, quilt them and then label and bind them.  The ladies who help me with this program are very talented with using scraps to come up with lots of different designs and mix in our older fabrics with the newer ones.

 The following 3 tops were donated by my lovely blog readers and I am very happy to get them out of boxes and ready to donate. This first lovely Pinwheel quilt was donated with its batting and I think it was donated by Lesley L. from the Kyvalley/ Rochester quilters.

 This top was probably made as a sampler quilt and it's very nicely constructed.

 The last top was donated too and it was easy to finish it up and add a scrappy red binding.

The most momentous news from this week is that we have set up shelving units in our large garage and all of my fabric etc is now accessible. DH was very worried about how much work was involved and how long it would take. Thankfully it only took about 3 days of work as he built the shelves while I stacked them with tubs and boxes. I was finally reunited with the UFOs that I wanted to finish as well as the antique quilts I want to restore. We will only be looking after Jake full time for another 2 weeks until our DD starts maternity leave so it's wonderful to know that I will be able to access my UFOs, donated tops and blocks and get them finished for donation.
    I'm doing really well on not starting anything new so far this year and now that all my fabric and yarn is stored together, I can see that I don't need to buy any for a while until I reduce my supplies. It was a lot of work to get it organized but such a relief to finally have it done. Hopefully I can keep being so productive with finishes and have more to share soon .
Hugs, Jan Mac 

Cross Stitch Tuesday.

 I thought I would be sharing a finish for this block by today but the border is more complicated to stitch than the others. Also I have been really focused on finishing more quilt UFOs so haven't been cross stitching at night. Not that it matters, as any progress is better than none.

I 've also been busily knitting as our new grandson is fue in about 6 or 7 weeks time. He will probably be small so I have made this cardigan and jacket in premmie size. I'm also using our childfree week to downsize my wool and yarn stash. I must have thought I would have 30 grandkids because I have acquired a lot of baby yarn which I will never need for our family, so I'm packing it up and sending it to Karen of Knitting for Brisbane's Needy, to be distributed to her supporters to knit for the needy. Many of the ladies are pensioners who love knitting so passing it on to them is like subcontracting to help more people in their communities, and allows them to keep knitting without putting a strain on their finances. It's also helping to clear my cupboards too so it's a win/win situation. Better get back to downsizing and a trip to drop off excess stuff at the Op Shop.
Hugs, Jan Mac 

UFO Monday- 3 Finishes This Week.

 Being sick this past week slowed me down a bit but I was really wanting to make some progress with my UFOs while we were having a break from child minding during the school holidays, so it was great to get 3 long term UFOs finished.
Ý This 5th UFO was made from donated blocks which have been waiting their turn to be used for about 10 years. It's been made from donated and orphaned blocks and a bright binding helps to tie them together.

 The 6th UFO finished was also made from donated orphan blocks as well as some I made to match and make a larger quilt. A bright border helps to give them a lift of colour.

The 7th UFO was made from a set of donated aeroplane blocks I received about 10 years ago. I made alternate blocks and the addition of a border has made a much better quilt. I'm using up lots of stash for these UFO finishes and with this last one , I used the reverse of the fabric for the borders as it had silver stars and detracted from the blocks. Getting these old UFOs finished, as well as using up older fabrics from my stash, has kept me motivated to get more finished, out of the cupboards, and donated. Now I have recovered, I'm planning on getting more boxes emptied and UFOs finished so check back soon.
Hugs, Jan Mac 

Surprise Donation From Western Australia.

 Wow!! Another fabulous parcel of quilts arrived from Maria W. and her lovely DD, Sandra, from Western Australia. Maria has very generously  supported our quilt projects for some time and she sent this beautiful pink quilt which will be treasured by its recipient.

 Maria's DD, Sandra, made the following 2 tops which Maria then quilted. They are lovely and bright and will bring more warm cuddles to their recipients.  All of these will go to the Peter Mac Cancer Centre where they will comfort patients undergoing treatment.

 Maria also included some left over black and white blocks, which will combine with others I have on hand, as well as a flimsy to become a backing for another top.

Thank you so much for your continued support of my quilt projects Maria and Sandra. Your lovely quilts will bring some smiles to people in need of a warm hug.
Hugs, Jan Mac 

Many Thanks Again Linda A.

 Linda A. from the UK, and currently holidaying in New Zealand, has been very busy crocheting and has sent another lovely selection of crocheted squares to be used for blankets for the needy. They will look lovely with the squares I have made this week so I hope to have another finished blanket to show and donate very soon.

Linda also sent an orphan block which is very fortunate as I am sorting through my pile of blocks to reduce the pile and get some more quilts made.
     Thank you so much for your continued support of my donations to the needy, Linda. All of the warm items donated make such a difference to the people supported by organizations helping the homeless and the Peter Mac Cancer Centre and Anglicare are thrilled with the donated quilts.
 Many thanks to everyone for their support.
Hugs, Jan Mac 

Cross Stitch Tuesday.

 Well I didn't manage to finish this block but I did make some progress so I am happy with that. I am almost finished back stitching the fairy and then need to stitch the border and add beading.

 Looking back at last week's photo I can see changes even though they are not as obvious now that the outline stitching is taking more time than filling in the fairy outline.

It will soon be 7 finished calender blocks, with only 5 to go.
Hugs, Jan Mac 

Weekly Catch Up.

 A really productive week meant that I quilted 5 tops for AQA to donate for their Gift Quilt Program.  I finished most of them on Saturday and really felt like I was on a roll. Then Sunday morning I was sick with the Rotavirus AKA stomach flu so nothing has happened since.

I've had no choice but to rest and recover so hope to have some more finished quilts to share soon. I will skip UFO Monday this week as I'm not up to taking photos etc, but hope to be back in action soon. It's school holidays here at the moment and luckily we don't have Jake to look after so I can just take time to recover, but I'm very annoyed to be sick when I had so many things planned.
Maybe next week will be better.
Hugs, Jan Mac 

Thanks Again Delys.

 Delys R. from Western Australia, has been very busy again and has sent 20 beautiful QAYG blocks as well as some lovely yarn. Thd blocks will be made into more quilts and the yarn will be crocheted to make more blankets.

Many thanks the for your ongoing and generous support, Delys. Everything you send is soon used up and donated to help someone in need. Our weather is lovely here at the moment but winter is coming and I have been knitting and crocheting more to get more warm things made to donate. The organizations I support say there is always demand for large blankets so the yarn will be used up quickly.
Hugs, Jan Mac 

Licorice All Sorts.

 Thanks to Linda A.'s (UK/NZ) donation if crocheted squares, added to what I had on hand here, I had enough to make 2 blankets to be donated to the needy. The variety of colours always reminds me of licorice all sorts and will bring warmth and comfort.

 I had a child's beanie to finish off and also a baby jacket and they will be donated to the needy via Anglicare. Speaking with them earlier in the week,  they said they gave already had demand for blankets and warm clothing so the blankets will be very welcome for their clients and I have some quilts ready to donate to them too.

Many thanks, Linda, for your generous donation of the squares as they will make a difference to those in need.
Hugs, Jan Mac 

Cross Stitch Tuesday.

 I was very surprised to see how much I had managed to stitch in just a week as I have also been spending time knitting and crocheting. It really helps to have a weekly accounting of progress with these UFOs and as you can see from last week's photo below, I am almost up to the border, beading and outline stitching.

 There are 12 of these blocks to stitch as they represent the months of the calender. I have completed 6 and will have 5 more to stitch when I finish this May block. I  have also found more finished cross stitched pieces which need to be made into finished items so there will be more cross stitch UFOs in my future for a while and my DD woukd like me to stitch a cross stitch piece for Jake with his birth details. I need to create the pattern first so that is still brewing in my mind.
Too many things to work on but at least I am never bored.
Hugs, Jan Mac 

UFO Monday - 4th Finish for 2019.

 This UFO was donated as a few made 9 patch blocks and lots of pieces of fabric cut, quite a few years ago. I love the small nine patches made from 1.5 inch squares and it's size and colours make it ideal for a male. It's great to have it finished and it will be donated to a male patient at Peter Mac Cancer Centre. I'm also really happy to have another large UFO off the shelves and it will make more room for some of the many sets of orphan blocks I have to put together as quilts.

There's some really pretty fabric in these blocks and it's a fairly simple design but effective. It didn't come with a pattern, just a few blocks were sewn together so I made up the design myself and it may not have been as the original quilter intended but at least it's finished.
Hugs, Jan Mac