More Donations Arrive.

 This beautiful heart quilt was very generously donated by Laurel Box from Vic and she and her friend, Judy McCoy, also made 40 QAYG blocks and also sent some bindings.

 Sue Palmer (Vic) has very kindly sent another 19 QAYG blocks to make more beautiful quilts to donate .

 One of my blog readers, Linda Ashworth from the UK, has very generously donated another 28 QAYG blocks and I am very grateful to receive them to make more quilts .

 Fiona Lazenby from Vic very generously purchased more printed media fabric and printed and stitched approximately another 100 labels which saves me lots of time.

 Maia Butler from NSW very generously donated another jelly roll top as well as 28 QAYG blocks.

Saying thanks for your help seems inadequate but I really appreciate your trust and generosity. I am starting to develop contacts for distribution, although it probably won't happen before mid March with the initial delivery, and just knowing that we are wanting to offer some comfort has already helped the communities to feel they haven't been forgotten. I think we're going to need more quilts than initially expected as some families might not have lost their home but the bushfires have traumatized the children and I would like to be able to give every child in the affected areas a quilt as we did in the Kinglake area . We will work with the schools and local communities starting in Victoria first.
 Better get back to quilting.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Three More Finishes.

 Three more large quilts finished and ready for donation now. This first large top was donated by Lynne Gourley from Tasmania and it's a fabulous quilt.

 This second bright and beautiful top was donated by Heather Mahncke from Vic and it is going to brighten the life of the recipient.

This last beautiful QAYG quilt was made from blocks donated by Margaret Bryant from Vic . The colours are brighter than the photo shows as it is often getting dark when we have time to take photos.
        I'm busy developing contacts for distribution and have heard some older ladies in their 70s and 80s have lost everything  and I can't imagine how that must feel to lose everything familiar after years of living in the one home . I'm also hearing stories of young children who have been traumatized by the fires and are fearful of them returning.
      It seems like we will need more quilts than originally anticipated so please keep quilting but I have to remember that we can only try to help everyone in need . Thank you all for your donations to date. You will make a difference and just hearing that we will be distributing quilts has lifted the spirits of those I have already been in touch with.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Three More Boxes of Donations Arrive.

 Heather Ayres from Vic sent these first 3 beautiful quilts and they will be so welcome when we start distribution of the quilts .

 Heather also sent these 32 lovely QAYG blocks to make another lovely quilt .

 Gil Wright from NSW very generously donated 2 boxes stuffed full of items to donate . She has been very busy and donated 5 small quilts to be donated for people's pets.

 She also sent 3 cot quilts which will comfort some small children .

 Gil also sent 10 lovely tops as well as some binding .

 She also sent some lovely backing fabric .

 Thank you so much Heather and Gil for your very generous donations.

 I'm working full time again now our DD has gone back to work full-time and there will be less time for quilting so I will be working hard at night and the weekends. Some very good news, this little bear has finally started taking breast milk in a bottle which means we won't have to drive him for feeds at lunchtime. Or at least not very often. He's also cutting teeth but he's a very cuddly and happy little bear.

 Jake is starting to renegotiate whether or not he needs a nap but today we reached an agreement and I had an hour when both boys slept so I worked on putting another QAYG quilt together.  What a great achievement. Lol.
    I've received quite a few PMs from quilters who are wanting to visit after making lots of tops or blocks and wondered if it would be possible for you to post them in smaller numbers each time instead. I'm finding that the steady trickle of tops and blocks being donated means that I'm not getting overwhelmed and I'm keeping up with them pretty well so far. 
  I've also been asked quite often how long I will be accepting blocks and tops and at this stage I can see that the quilt drive will run for some time as most people won't be in a position to receive quilts until about 3 months after the fires cease. Once I have more information I will certainly keep you informed.
 In the meantime I will keep busy quilting. Many thanks for your support .
Hugs, Jan Mac

In Between.

 As well as doing lots of quilting of donated tops for our bushfire quilt drive I have also been working on my normal quilting in between working on Oz Comfort Quilts . This first quilt was made by my DD for her little boy, Aidan.  She had a theme of teddy bears so it was fun finding suitable fabric for the central square of the blocks. I cut while she sews and then I press. She did a great job and I have quilted it just in time before she goes back to work tomorrow.

 I also managed to fit in quilting another 3 tops for my quilting group's Gift Quilt program as I want to continue with my normal quilting commitments as well.

The AQA tops are eady to work on as our ladies make up kits which already have backing, batting and binding provided so it's easy to finish them with everything provided.
I'm still busy quilting some larger donated tops so will have more to share soon . We're back to caring for our precious grandsons again tomorrow as our DD is back to work full time. I will be quilting at night now when I'm not too tired but getting lots of cuddles will be worth having less time for quilting. Family comes first.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Oz Comfort Quilts Finishes.

 I've been busy quilting so I can get donated tops finished and also adding borders to some as well as making backings. This first top was beautifully machine embroidered by Heather Mahncke and her mother, from Vic. I added borders and it's a lovely bright quilt which will be treasured.

 This second top was one of 3 donated by MaryAnn Kane from New Zealand and it's the last one quilted now. I like to get them finished as quickly as possible while I have time.

 This lovely bright top was one of 5 donated by Maia Butler from NSW and I have quilted them all now.

 This bright and cheerful child's I Spy quilt was donated by Margaret Bryant from Vic and she very kindly sent batting, backing and binding so it was quick to finish.

Lastly, another QAYG quilt made mostly from blocks made by Stephanie D in W.A. as well as some blocks made by MaryAnn Kane from New Zealand.
   Thank you all for your support with our bushfire quilt drive . The pile of quilts is growing steadily.
Hugs, Jan Mac 

More Arrivals.

 This fabulous queen sized quilt was donated by our long time supporter, Maria Wilson, from Western Australia. This quilt is just wonderful and will bring comfort to someone who has lost everything.

 Maria also sent 50 lovely QAYG blocks and binding strips so she has been very busy and the good news is that the changes to Australia Post fees meant that it only cost $18.50 for postage. Now the fees are the same across Australia, our interstate supporters aren't disadvantaged, so I am really happy about that.

Maureen Hull from Vic also sent 16 lovely QAYG blocks and they will make another lovely quilt for someone. I've been busy adding borders to donated tops as well as making backings and quilting so I will have more to share tomorrow .
Many thanks for your support everyone.
Hugs, Jan Mac 

The Postman Has Been Busy.

 More parcels arrived today and Yvonne Hamilton in the US sent these 2 lovely kid's tops with Paddington Bear fabrics. They will be sure to bring a smile to little faces and I will get them quilted ASAP.

 Heather Mahncke and her mother, from Vic , have again sent a big parcel with 3 more lovely quilt tops.

 They also included more lovely blocks and lots of them have beautiful machine embroidery so they will look lovely as a quilt.

 Margaret Bryant from Vic has also sent a large parcel with 35 fabulous QAYG  blocks made in blue with a touch of red. I will put these together with red sashing and hope to get them done soon.

 Margaret also sent a lovely I Spy top with backing, binding and batting so I will pin baste that one tomorrow and get it finished quickly.

Also in the parcel Margaret included $20 towards batting, as well as more sets of binding, some orphan blocks and a long strip of Chinese Coins which I can use to make wider backings.
     Thank you all so much for your help with our quilt drive for bushfire affected areas. As well as East Gippsland we will be distributing in the Corryong area before helping in southern NSW if we have enough quilts leftover from distribution in Vic..
It was a big family day today so I hope to get more quilting done tomorrow.
Hugs, Jan Mac 

More Donations Arrive.

 MaryAnn and Kevin Kane are over in Melbourne on holidays from New Zealand and they brought donations for our quilt drive with them. It was lovely to meet them and MaryAnn has been very busy making 3 large tops and also donated backing fabric.

 She also managed to make 14 QAYG blocks before she left home.

 As well as crocheting 17 squares and a part square she was making on the flight across. I quilted 2 of these lovely tops today and had a big day, quilting 4 tops and pin basting 2 more. It was too late for photos by the time I was finished so I will share some tomorrow.

Helen Stewart from Vic sent this lovely top as well as 30 QAYG blocks and it's great to have so much support for this quilt drive. I must count and box up the finished quilts I have ready to donate as the pile is getting quite high now.
  Hugs, Jan Mac 

More Oz Comfort Quilts Finished.

 This first quilt was made from blocks sent by Heather Mahncke from Vic and I added some from those I had on hand to make a larger quilt.

 These 2 beautiful floral pastel quilts were donated tops from Lex Collins. Lex handed them over yesterday and it was great to get them finished quickly and ready to donate.

I'm also busy making backings and pin basting more tops so there will be more finishes very soon.
Hugs, Jan Mac 

More Donations Arrive for Oz Comfort Quilts.

 I had my quilt meeting yesterday and more lovely donations arrived from our generous supporters.  Skye Bothma from New Zealand very kindly sent $55AU via paypal to help pay for batting  and Lex Collins from Vic made these beautiful floral pastel tops from a couple of charm squares packs.

 Karen Groves from Vic donated 6 lovely crocheted lap blankets .

 Jenni Kift from Tasmania sent a large parcel with a lovely quilt top.

 She also sent some sets of blocks  and lots of fabric shown below.

Many thanks everyone for your support of our quilt drive.
Hugs, Jan Mac