Donations, Finishes and a Special Day.

 What a busy but fun weekend. Jeanette House (Vic) donated 3 fabulous large quilts which will be treasured in their new homes.

 Jeanette wrote that she's  finishing off some UFOs and it means more storage for her but such a special gift to a person in need of comfort.

 Robin Walker and the Fishbowler Sewists from Launceston Tasmania donated the large top below and Norma Aitken from Waverley Patchworkers very kindly quilted this large top and the one following.

 Helen Stewart and friends donated this large top and Norma beautifully quilted it.

 Norma also dropped off 4 more quilts with the first 3 from Keep Us In Stitches quilters (Vic).

 This quilt is reversible with the elephant panel on the other side, shown below.  A lovely quilt to donate.

 Suzanne Moore from Waverley Patchworkers donated the next lovely large quilt.

 Barbara Dawson (Vic) donated 5 lovely kid's tops, as well as backing, labels and binding.

 Denise Ratcliffe (NSW) donated a very large parcel of string pieced blocks which will nake some lovely quilts.

Sharon Siacci of Beyond Meander Quilting  also quilted a beautiful bright top with flowers,  made by Sandra Still from NSW.

 Karen Bennett (Qld) donated the next lovely floral top.

 Jo Calder (Vic) donated the 36 larger QAYG  blocks in boys fabric and I have made 2 quilts from them.

 It was Aidan's first birthday yesterday and we gave Jake a gift as well. He's obsessed with Blippi, an educational channel, on Youtube and we gave him a Blippi costume and little cars. It was hard to take good photos as he was on the move.

 The birthday boy had cake for the first time and had a sugar rush and didn't sleep much yesterday but made up for it this morning. He's allergic to dairy and eggs and it was lovely to see him enjoying party food with the rest of the family.
   He slept so long this morning that I finished quilting 3 more tops for boys and hope to get them bound tonight. It was a busy weekend but a lovely family celebration and Aidan has cut 3 new teeth last week so he's his usual happy self.
Hugs, Jan Mac

UFO Finishes 6, 7 and 8.

 While looking for backing fabric I came across this first long time UFO. It was donated and I hadn't finished it as it's a table runner and quilts were needed. Instead of relegating it to the storage tub again I decided to finish it as a table runner and donate it to the Peter Mac auxiliary shop to raise funds for patient services. It didn't take long to find backing, then quilt and bind it. I have decided that I need to start making some Christmas items for them to sell much earlier this year so I don't run out of time.

 As a change from quilting tops I thought I would go through some of the UFOs I have received from Peter Mac and make more items fof them to sell. This table runner was made from 2 different abandoned projects and the Cobblestone blocks were fairly uninspiring so I  combined them with the hexagons from another donated UFO. All of the fabric was donated to Peter Mac and now it's a finished item, it will return to them for sale. I'm only counting it as one UFO instead of 2 as I still have a few blocks and hexagons to use. Lots of the donated UFOs are blocks in small amounts and, rather than turning everything into quilts which requires me making a lot more blocks, I'm making bags, table runners etc.

 I also found this UFO while tidying up and finished it too. I had started to sew a trim of "bear" theme fabric one Aidan's cot sheets and still had 2 to complete. At least this one is finished but I still have to find another one I'd started.

 They're only fairly quick finishes but it's good to have them done and a break from quilting.  We're full time caring for our grandsons again and enjoying seeing them grow and learn. Aidan has just started walking and talking and he's 1 on Sunday.

Jake seems to be getting much taller and his language skills are very good. I asked him to tell me a story and he said " Once upon a time, in a land far away,  there was a king and he's not happy". Not sure where that came from. He can spell his name and he's very happy that the parks have opened and he's able to use the swings and slides again.
   Not as much time for quilting now the boys are here again but there is always the weekend and nights for that,  and we love being part of their lives.
Hugs, Jan Mac 

A Special Quilt Donation.

 This time of isolation seems to have given lots of us the opportunity to sort through UFOs and forgotten projects and thankfully some quilters have donated some of their UFOs to our bushfire quilt drive. Jo-anne Starr from Vic has decided to donate a fabulous reproduction quilt, Maltaville. The pattern is by Margaret Mew from Quilt Station and the original quilt in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC, was made in 1847. Margaret drafted a pattern based on the original quilt and it measures approximately 88 inches square. There are 60 hand appliqued blocks measuring 11 inches as well as a large centre block. Jo-anne has completed 29 of the smaller blocks as well as the centre block, but she decided not to complete it and donate it instead.

Instead of an 8 x 8 setting, I've decided to make it 6 x 6 with the centre block and it will be a very special quilt to gift to  someone in need. Jo-anne's blocks are beautifully made and I hope mine can do them justice.

I only need to make 3 more blocks and I will have enough to finish the quilt. This is the first one I have made and the other 2 are both prepared and ready for stitching so they should be finished soon. I'm really enjoying taking some time for hand applique again and it's a lovely change from sitting at the sewing machine, but I only hand stitch at night. If I have time during the day then I keep busy quilting tops, binding quilts etc and the pile of quilts continues to grow.
Hugs, Jan Mac 

More Generous Donors.

 I feel so blessed to have such wonderful supporters, many who have donated more than once. Illene Tiziani (Vic) has donated 3 more beautiful quilts to bring comfort to people affected by the bushfires.

 Annette Pascoe  (Vic) donated  2 beautiful quilts as well as 11 QAYG blocks and 4 sets of binding.

 An anonymous donor from ACT donated 3 beautiful large tops, a large piece of wide backing fabric and a very generous monetary donation.

 Bernice Park from Tasmania has sent another large parcel containing 44 QAYG blocks and binding.

 Joanna Calder from Vic sent 36 large QAYG blocks and 3 orphan blocks.

 Josephine Menzies (Vic) donated 4 sets of binding  which I have already used for one of the donated quilts I'm finishing.

All of these wonderful donations means that we will have many fabulous donation quilts to comfort those affected by the bushfires and I am very grateful for your support.
Hugs, Jan Mac. 

This Week's Finishes.

 These two fabulous hexagon quilt tops were donated by the Casey U3A Quilters and beautifully quilted by Sharon Siacci of Beyond Meander Quilting (Vic).

 Sharon has very generously donated her quilting expertise and time to quilt some of the larger donated tops.

 The "sheep" quilt top is another cute kid's quilt top made by Marg Coulthard from Vic and it's such a bright and fun quilt.

 This lovely quilt top was made by Sarah Williams from NSW and it's a great use of charm squares.

 I also finished the 7th hand appliqued block for my Di Ford Hall's Lyre design based on an antique top in her collection. Now I only have 2 Lyre blocks to stitch and then swags on the borders.

Another hand appliqued block for Di Ford Hall's Poppy quilt which makes 6 finished of 16. I'm loving some slow stitching as it gives my body a break from wrestling tops through the sewing machine and it's nice to work on some different projects too.
Hugs, Jan Mac 

The Generous Donations Continue.

 Robin Walker and the Fishbowler Sewists from Launceston Tasmania have sent another 3 large parcels containing 7 more quilts, a bed runner and a large amount of fabric for backings. Robin and her group have been incredibly generous with the number of quilts they have made and donated and for our bushfire quilt drive and their quilts will be very much appreciated,  especially as it's getting much colder at night now.

 Jill Miglietti (Vic) dropped off 2 boxes of beautiful fabric and I have already used 2 pieces for binding 2 quilts I was finishing off today. Jill included a real variety of fabric colours and designs and they will be great for adding borders, bindings and backings.
    I've also been talking to people working for the bushfire recovery group and we're continuing to discuss which areas will soon be ready to receive quilts and it's apparent that quite a few are still not ready, which gives us more time to finish off more quilts.
Thanks everyone for your donations and support.
Hugs, Jan Mac xx