It's Surprising

...how doing a little adds up to a lot. I've been making these crochet sqs every chance I have, especially when watching TV with DH as I don't have to look at them to get the pattern right.
I use 8 ply yarn or a mixture of lighter weights to make up to 8 ply, and a hook sized 4.5mm. I work them in rounds of 10 and then double crochet them together with sqs set 5 x 7. I surprised myself when I put two together over the week as I found I had enough sqs to make another full blanket and I'm well on the way to having enough for a 4th.
These are all going in the next shipment for people affected by earthquakes in Asia. I'm still quilting and I'll post photos here again soon. Thanks for dropping by.
Hugs Janmac

Deconstructing Quilt Tops

No I haven't taken leave of my senses but I have been taking some donated tops apart and making them bigger so they will be suitable for older children. These tops are really more lovely than the photo suggests and the kids prints are really bright and cute. I have several of these tops which are 32" x 37" and as they have been made by the same person, many of the fabrics are the same so it's not hard to make them look like they were supposed to be larger. I took the borders off 2 tops and then split one of the tops in half and then sewed a half to each end of the other top. Then I made new borders using part of each from the original tops. Clear as mud? Anyway I have made the 2 tops into one which measures 39" x 57" which will be more appropriate for an older child. I have also pieced a backing for it and now just need the weather to cool down a bit so I can get more quilting done.
I hope the donor isn't offended that I have reconstructed the tops but the child who receives it will be thrilled with the lovely prints and it's extra warmth.
Bye for now, Jan Mac

String Quilts

The Danish QAYG blocks from Annette Wandler came together really well and I joined them with red strips. Annette used a floral fabric and strings on half of the squares and they made a very pretty quilt. The other quilt was made from donated squares from several different quilters. They were from sqs which are 15" in size so I didn't need as many to make a quilt and I just had enough so it was meant to be.
I never get tired of working with the string blocks and have put a couple more together today so I'll have to post more photos soon. Hugs Jan Mac

Parcel From Denmark

I received a lovely parcel of QAYG blocks and a top for the bush fire areas and couldn't believe that it cam all the way from Denmark. A lady in Western Australia wrote an article about the bush fire appeal for a Danish magazine and as a result one of their readers has sent a parcel of blocks to help. The weather has become very hot lately which is far too early for our summer so I'm happy to be working in the air conditioning instead of being outside.
I'm also working night shift which is fine if I can sleep in the hot weather. At least I can sew near a fan as well to stay cool. I went to Melbourne yesterday for my AQA quilters meeting and it was very hot so I was glad to get home again but it was good to catch up with like-minded friends.
Back to the machine. Bye Jan Mac

Finally Finished

I'm finally finished with joining the donated knitted scarf pieces and have made 54 blankets from the 240 metres.
They took me a month to make and I'm very happy to have them finished as it's getting too hot to have all that warmth on my lap now summer is on its way.
Here's some of them in a stack and they will be ideal for either Timor, Samoa or the hurricane devastated areas in the Phillipines.
I really wanted to get the blankets put together quickly as I want them shipped out where they will be used as soon as possible. I'm also quilting more tops and managed to finish off 8 over the weekend, but have more to get ready for the next shipment.
I also have crocheted blankets to finish off so I'd better get busy again.
Hugs Jan Mac

Night Duty, Quilts and a Wedding

Yes life rolls on faster than I can blog at the moment. We had a lovely family wedding to attend two weeks ago and it was a wonderful time for our family to get together and celebrate. I've also been on night duty which means sleeping is a priority but I've still managed to get more quilts finished.
I did manage to get 12 larges boxes sent off for a shipment to the people affected by the tsunami in Samoa which has cleared my stack of quilts somewhat. They have asked me for as many quilts and blankets as I can send for the areas devastated by earthquakes as well as the tsunami so I've been busy putting together the blankets from the knitted strips shown in my previous blog. I sent off 21 blankets to Samoa and 132 quilts. Luckily I had a lot of quilt tops made from simple squares, which a workmate had sewn together for me so I'm finishing off these to be shipped off for the tsunami and earthquake areas.

I also managed to make another trip down to Kinglake last week and delivered a carload and trailer load of 96 quilts, two sewing machines as well as the remaining sewing supplies and magazines that have been donated. A Kinglake church group is also collecting books for their community to borrow so I cleared out quite a few paperback novels which has helped with my downsizing efforts at home. I also delivered the last of the donated hexagon kits from Hexagons of Hope and the ladies are very happy to have some handwork to do.
I've sent off 305 quilts over the last month and I'm still getting more ready to ship off so I hope to be able to see the floor of our family room soon.
I'll try to get back into my blogging more often now so that you can see that all your generous donations are getting distributed.
Hugs Janmac

Quilts Donated

Another busy week of getting quilts and knitted blankets finished. I donated 4 large quilts to the local women's refuge and the manager said that they are the envy of the other refuges in the state. The quilts are given to the ladies as they leave their care as a type of graduation gift and they are treasured because it is the first new item they own.
I also packed 132 quilts and sent them to be shipped off to Samoa for the tsunami relief appeal. I also sent off 21 knitted blankets that I've finished from the donated strips of scarves, I've put another 7 together this week and plan to get them sent off ASAP as another shipment will be going overseas to areas badly affected by earthquakes.
I'm uploading more photos on the other blog at Oz Comfort Quilts to show the beautiful quilts that have been donated to the bush fire appeal.
Hugs Jan Mac