A Special Gift

 I am always surprised to know that someone is reading my blog and even more surprised that I have lovely readers who stop by regularly. I guess I don't think what I do is of much interest to anyone but me so it's always lovely to receive so many lovely comments on my blog.
Even more special is the number of very generous quilters from around the world who have continued to make and donate quilt tops, QAYG blocks and fabric, so that I can donate many more quilts to the needy. I show those quilts over on my other blog, at Oz Comfort Quilts, and you can see how generous my lovely quilting- blogging friends have been.
 Ann Birch is one of my lovely blog friends and she sent me a lovely surprise in the mail- a piece of pink fabric dated from the 1930s so that I can make more star blocks to add to my Sawtooth Stars blocks from that era. The fabric will be a perfect fit to go with the other blocks. Thank you so much Ann for your lovely gift and it will make several star blocks as they are only 5.5" in size.
  I also finished putting the embroidered quilt top back together again. It was a kit from the 1930s or 40s and as you can see from the third photo, it had been well used and the top was quite tatty. I have taken it apart and cut the blocks to a smaller size so that I could remove the worn pieces. I will most likely quilt this one using a simple crosshatch to prolong its life. I'm really pleased with how it has turned out and will get it quilted as soon as this next lot of paid work is done. I'm working nights again tonight for a few days so there will be a lot of sleeping done (I hope) and not a lot of stitching, or at least not as much as I would like. lol!
Thanks for your lovely gift Ann, and thank you all for stopping by again.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Mail Bounty and a Finish

 Today was very humid but I was determined to finish off a WIP before I work nights again tomorrow. The three-sided hexagon shapes make a striking geometric quilt and I started this pattern in a class with Lessa Siegele at the end of September this year. I really wanted to get it finished before it became another UFO stacked in a growing pile. lol
  It is going to be donated and I adapted the pattern and I'm happy that it is finished. My DH thinks it would look better if it was the same at the top and the bottom but I didn;t want to make more blocks so I decided to call it done!
  I also received a lovely large parcel from Maria Wilson and Linda Moore from WA. Maria sent two beautiful quilts to donate and you can see them over at my other blog. Linda sent these beautiful quilt tops and I plan to get them done ASAP. A very big thank you goes out to Maria and Linda for their ongoing support with donation quilts.
I also quilted another donated top today and will put more photos up on the other blog soon.
Thanks for stopping by.
Hugs, Jan Mac

A Week of Ups and Downs

 This week has been mainly taken up with paid work and as it is all night duty there has been a lot of sleeping happening. I did manage to finish stitching the yellow buttons on the tulip top and then when I washed it the dye ran and ran. I managed to remove the excess dye but the dark green fabric has mainly shredded and as this was the main offender with the dye run it is a bit of a disaster. I have out it away as more repairs will be needed now.
Some success was made with two other projects when I also stitched the binding on my 1940s Stars quilt and I have almost finished that. I've also trimmed down the embroidered flower blocks to remove the tatty pieces and now it's being remade into a smaller quilt with a new border.
  I'm off to work nights again for the next few nights so there won;t be much stitching happening then either. I'm looking forward to a break from paid work so I can work on more stitching projects, but it does pay the bills. lol
Hugs, Jan Mac

Oh Dear, Don't Look Now!

 I'm just back home after a lovely weekend with family in Melbourne and I didn't get a lot of time to stitch but I did get the chance to attend my Melbourne group's Sit and Sew. I seem to be working on many UFOs at once now and most of them are up to the quilting stage, or almost there. I am still piecing the vintage Sawtooth Stars but as I didn't take my sewing machine I also needed another hand piecing project. I'm up to hand stitching the Joseph's Coat blocks to the borders and also making the half square triangles for the outer border.
   I have been inspired to make a red and white quilt since I saw the Red and White quilt show that Linda recently held at Quilts in the Barn. I wanted to make a Pickle Dish quilt in red and white and started the piecing shown in the second photo. I realized that I can probably stitch that one on the sewing machine and I also wanted to work on the more intricate pattern by Chris Serong, shown in the first photo. This one uses diamond shapes and it will be much easier to make by hand-piecing. I couldn't help myself and just had to start piecing some of the arcs. It will be a long-term hand piecing project but I'm already loving the crisp white diamonds against the red of the arcs.
 As we arrived home, my paid work rang to ask if I could work an extra night shift tonight so I'm off to bed soon and the quilting will have to wait until I have some more awake hours. In the meantime I think I can work in some time for more hand piecing so check back to see my progress. I know I didn't need any more WIPs but I stitch for pleasure and I'm really enjoying the hand piecing projects I'm working on. Now I need to focus and not start any more new projects. lol!
Hugs, Jan Mac

Late Night Stitching

 Last night I got the Sawtooth Stars out again and made 14 more blocks. I was so happily sewing that I worked until 11.30pm and could have kept going but common sense prevailed. You can see the new stars compared with the old ones which had frayed seams and they were coming apart. I should have counted the number of stars before I took the quilt apart but I expect to end up with almost the same amount. I'm also using some of the sashing pieces to make more stars to replace those beyond repair and you can see one in the 4th row, second from the right. I'm also going to use some of the backing fabric to make stars and I am using some of the white/cream background fabric from the original quilt as well as cutting more pieces to replace those which are too small to use.
  I'm pleased with my progress and will probably use a much narrower sashing and may even set them on point. This is a "make the blocks and see what happens" project and I think it will be worth all the extra work to remake the quilt into something pretty and functional again.
  Thanks for stopping by and a big thank you to those lovely readers who have left comments. Everyone loves some feedback on their blogs. I usually comment on blogs too but have given up commenting when I have to type in two nonsensical words as more often than not, I get it wrong and it just wastes time I could use stitching. lol
Hugs, Jan Mac

Another UFO in Progress

 This UFO is one that I purchased from an antique dealer in the US and It seems to be from the 1940s or 50s. It is in very good condition and has never been washed but there are some fade marks on the top where it has been folded. It is entirely hand pieced but the points where the stems of the tulips intersect were not stitched and they varied quite a bit in size which made it difficult to finish them off.
  Finally I decided to applique a button over the intersecting stems to disguise their irregularities. I had planned to use the colour of the tulips or the green of the stems but it was difficult to match the right shade so I decided to use a soft yellow, typical of what was used at that time and I think it will make them look as if they were planned that way. Then I will be able to quilt it and get it finished to display.
   I've also finished quilting my 1940s star quilt top and just have the binding to hand stitch in place before I show a final photo. Oh and I need to make a label too. I'm also working on the Sawtooth Star blocks that I'm re-making using the vintage fabric so there's lots happening and I hope to have more finishes to show soon. I also have more UFOs and WIPs as well so I won't be short of things to stitch for quite awhile.
Thanks for stopping by.
Hugs, Jan Mac

While I Was Sleeping

 This week seems to have disappeared while I was sleeping and working night shift. I enjoy the work but it does cut into my quilting time. On the other hand it does pay for a lot of the donation quilts and I've been ordering more books to enjoy.
 Luckily while I was sleeping other lovely quilters have stepped up and have been very busy sewing and knitting for the needy. The first large parcel came from Kerry Shelberg (NSW) and she was also the very generous quilter who sent the mystery box a week ago. Kerry has been very busy and sent more fabric, many pieces of which were sewn into long strips for Chinese Coins quilts, as well as more large pieces for a top and backing. They will make more lovely quilts so a very big thank you for your help, Kerry.
 Ruth Crocombe from New Guinea has also been very busy with more knitting for the needy. She sent a lovely knitted vest for a child as well as two more knitted beanies. I can imagine how hot it must be up in New Guinea so I really appreciate all your lovely knitting for the needy too Ruth.
 I have also finished taking apart the embroidered 1930s quilt so I can make some repairs and then re-quilt it using a new backing, which will prolong its life. The top of the quilt was quite ragged and I will be replacing the borders as most of the fabric is too worn to be used again. I'll be checking the blocks too to make sure they are all in good repair.
  The last few days have been busy with family commitments so i hope to get some more stitching done very soon before I have more paid work.
Hugs, Jan Mac