Merry Christmas Everyone.

I had planned to get this top quilted but stitching the hexagons took a bit longer than planned as family commitments leading up to Christmas took over but I'm very happy to have it ready for quilting.  It's a 9 or 10 year old UFO and it will be great to have it finished.  I gad planned to donate it but DH really likes it and wants to keep it so it will stay here for now. I th8nk It's the colours he likes as he'd like it to be bigger for him to use.

I also managed to finish 2 more donated tops and QAYG blocks as well as making 3 pair of shorts, an art smocking and a library bags for the grandchildren. 

I've really enjoyed using a bit of down time to sort through my UFOs and fabric scraps as well and I hope to get more UFOs finished as well as quilting more donated tops. 

Many thanks everyone for generously donating and supporting Oz Comfort Quilts and helping to bring comfort to people in need. I hope you all enjoy a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. 

Hugs, Jan Mac xx 

 

Not According To Plan.

Now we're nearing the end of the year and babysitting is over, quilt distribution finished and I have been wanting to get into some of my own sewing.  My DD has here to sort through all the boxes of my quilting supplies that didn't get unpacked when we moved 7 years ago. Hard to believe that it's been that long! Unfortunately we have moved into a smaller home and I just don't have the amount of storage room that we had on the farm.

    Going through the boxes gave me a chance to find my own UFOs and now it's time to get some finished.  I want to start something new too but haven't been able to settle down to it so I think that means that I need to clear some of these UFOs.  

The first one was an antique quilt pattern which I had stitched in modern colours. I'd made 6 blocks and decided that I  didn't want to make 3 more, especially as it will be a donation quilt so today I pulled out the blocks and decided to use just 5 set on point. I'm really happy that I got the top put together today as well as piecing the backing. Hopefully I'll get it quilted tomorrow. 

I actually pulled the blocks out on Wednesday and I have pieced sets of hexagons to stitch into the side and corner triangles.  It's about 58 inches square so it will be a good size for a donation quilt. 

I also found my Insanity quilt top which I started 10 years ago. It's main from half inch hexagons and it's supposed to be quite a large quilt.  I'm also working on La Passion which is made from half inch hexagons and it's also a huge quilt.  I really don't need 2 large quilts and I've  decided to finish this one and put it away for our granddaughter.  I'll probably make it about 40 x 50 inches and I have removed the outer border edged with red as I don't know where that red fabric is now.

I'll add to this piece and stitch it down to borders when it reaches the size I want. It's been a handy piece to take for hand sewing but I have too many other hand applique pieces that I want to work on. 

Things haven't gone to plan with these finishes but getting some older UFOs done is a big win. I used to try to finish one UFO a month but quilting the donated tops has taken more time. Hopefully I'll be able to get a few more finished soon.

Hugs, Jan Mac xx 
 

Two More

Ann Steele  donated these 2 very large quilts and Annette Pearce very kindly couriered them for me.  The second quilt had been made into a doona cover so I have detached that part and will add batting and backing before I quilt it.

 Many thanks ladies for your support. 

Hugs, Jan Mac xx 

Wrapping Things Up

Yesterday the staff member from the Alfred Hospital's Palliative Care Units came and picked up another 20 quilts for their patients.  This will be the last distribution for the year as most organisations take a break now until mid January.  I'm going to take a break too but will still receive finished quilts and other finished items. My time will be spent finishing off more donated tops to get them ready for distribution next year and I also plan to finish off some of my UFOs.  Most of those will be donated but I also have a few special hand applique quilts that I  would like to finish for me. I'm also going to sew some things for the grandchildren and it's a good time to evaluate what needs finishing and what I can repurchase.

I've been watching the cricket at night and getting quite a few booties made for newborns and premmies as well as quilting 2 donated tops.

We've finished baby sitting for the year today so I will also make time to add borders to some donated tops and get some more tops basted for quilting tomorrow. 

I also made up some burp cloths for babies with some flannelette fabric I found while I  was tidying up my sewing room.  Sorting through my sewing room should be high on the agenda for tomorrow too but I  hope to play with a couple of fun Christmas projects as well.

I'm off to India in11 day's time for a 2 week tour of Southern India so I'd better start thinking about what I need to pack too.

Hugs, Jan Mac xx 

The Monday Quilters From Macedon.

These 15 lovely quilts are the remaining ones I needed to photograph from the Monday Quilters from Macedon's recent delivery.  They thought that they'd made 49 or 50 but 8n fact there were 55 quilts finished since their last drop off in September. 

These fabulous quilting angels do a great job in finishing off the donated UFOs,  orphan blocks and fabric donated from deceased estates and Quilters who are downsizing.  They also made 177 drawstring bags and they are a huge help in getting so many of our donations finished and ready for delivery.  We filled their car again when they delivered these last week so I know that they'll be sewing up a storm after Christmas. 

Many thanks everyone for your generous support. 

Hugs, Jan Mac xx 

 

Time To Breathe.

I've almost wrapped up the year for deliveries from Oz Comfort Quilts and the organizations we support are closing for their summer break. Our precious grandson, Aidan, has graduated from kindergarten and will be starting school neat year.
 

We took the 3 hour drive back to Shepparton last Saturday for our early Christmas celebrations with our DD and her fiance. They put in a pool last year and the grandkids have been excitedly waiting for a return visit as they loved the pool.

We spent a very enjoyable 2 hours in the pool and the boys loved water bombing everyone and using their new water pistols. After an early BBQ with lots of lovely food, including pavlova, we made the long drive home. We were more tired on the Monday as we were distracted by watching the cricket against India on the Sunday. It's a long drive  but it was wonderful to have such great family fun, creating memories for years to come.

On Thursday Norma Aitken and I visited Monash Hospital Children's Wing to deliver quilts and stationery supplies for the children, from Waverley Patchworkers. Parking is always a problem but we were lucky to get a park right outside as we went early this time.

I'll still be quilting donated tops to get them ready for distribution next year but I'm also thinking about which of my UFOs I want to finish and which new project I would like to start. I'm saving the clues for Bonnie Hunter's Quiltville mystery and plan of getting started on that soon.

Christmas will be here in 12 sleeps the kids tell me and I think I might be ready! What about you?
Hugs, Jan Mac xx

Time To Sew and The Macedon Quilters

We were child free today and I'm wrapping up distribution for the year as most organisations take a break now until mid January so it was lovely to take some time to put together a top from blocks I've been working on for 18 months or so. I received a lot of hexagons and have been piecing them together to make flowers and then appliqueing them onto backgrounds.  I joined the blocks and added borders so it's now ready for quilting when I piece a back.

The Monday Quilters from Macedon came today to deliver 50 quilts and 177 drawstring bags.  These wonderful ladies are helping me to finish the donated UFOs,  orphan blocks and fabric into quilts and they're very creative in how they make odd numbers of blocks etc work. There will be lots of warm hugs and comfort for people in need because of their generosity in using their skills and time to help others. These are just 22 of their 50 quilts and I will share more photos soon.

 Hugs, Jan Mac xx