Two More UFOs For 2015.

 As it's the last day of the year I couldn't pass up the opportunity of finishing two more UFOs, not that I'm marking them off a list. The fan quilt was donated as blocks and it didn't take long to join them, quilt it and add the binding. I bound it in pink to match the pink in the fans and to give it a lift of color.
    The second quilt was a donated top which I divided into two tops, adding borders to make it a good size for a teenager. As it was so hot today (41C again) I didn't stray far from the air conditioning. I have counted up the pile of quilts and have 17 of the 25 I want to finish by early Feb so I think I'll make the target. I have also been crocheting more blanket squares as it's cooler than quilting. I have another top almost quilted so hope to finish that one tomorrow.
 I hope you all have a very Happy New Year with peace, good health and many blessings in 2016.
Hugs, Jan Mac

The Postman Has Been Busy.

I received another fabulous parcel of 35 QAYG blocks as well as binding fabric from Penel B., of NSW today and they will be perfect for a quilt for a man or teenaged boy. I plan to put it together ASAP and add it to the growing pile of finished quilts for donation.

 A few days ago I also received a donation of the pastel quilt top from a quilting friend, Lorraine B. She received it from the maker who gad fallen out of love with it. It looks like it was made using a layer cake pack and the fabrics are lovely but they were combined in a way which had little contrast between the fabrics in each triangle, which made it a washed out looking top. It also had a few seams that hadn't been completely stitched so I thought I'd repair them and maybe add a border to give it some color. However, as I studied it and took apart the seams that had blown, I could see that it would be a pretty quilt if there was more contrast between the triangles. I took it apart completely and re-stitched it, pairing colors which had more contrast and I think it gives it a real boost of color even though nothing else was added. The first photo doesn't do it justice but I hope you can see what I mean. Now I just need to make a backing to match, hopefully tomorrow.

There is a well known fabric store with 40% off all fabric today so I took the opportunity to buy some more tone on tone fabrics to make more binding strips to finish off more QAYG blocks into quilts. 

Now I'd better get back to work. Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs, Jan Mac

A Special Donation.

 Today I received a phone call from a lovely local quilter, Sue V., who had made this fabulous QAYG quilt which she has very generously asked me to donate to Impact on her behalf. Thanks to Sue and my other blog readers who have donated blocks etc, I expect to be able to donate 25 quilts to Impact for victims of domestic violence, by February. I'm sure that with your help, Impact will benefit from donations of more quilts during 2016 too.
      I have also finished crocheting another blanket which will also go to Impact. Today was a busy day with family commitments and it was lovely to be able to catch up with Sue as well.
    Tonight I'm hand stitching one of my quilt tops and I hope to have it ready for quilting soon.
Many thanks for your fabulous quilt donation, Sue.
Hugs, Jan Mac

A UFO Day.

 The magic cupboard has been hiding, or containing some donated bits and pieces and I found these lovely Fan blocks stashed in a bag. There were 22 finished blocks and 20 fans which still needed to be stitched to the background. I also found some matching navy fabric as well as some floral fabric in similar tones. I un-stitched the navy and floral strips and will use them either for the second Fan quilt from these blocks, or in another project.
     I pressed and trimmed the blocks so they are all the same size of 12 inches and joined them in a setting of 4 by 5 which will make another lovely quilt to be donated to Impact. I will finish the other Fan blocks as well but will concentrate on getting this top quilted first.
      I do love to finish off donated UFOs and donate them to where they can bring comfort to those in need. Many thanks for trusting me with your donations and UFOs which I'm happy to finish and donate on your behalf.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Time To Make An Impact.

 I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and spent time catching up with family and friends. I worked nights up until Christmas Day so it was a busy time fitting some sleep in with cooking and enjoying the day with family. It went far too quickly but we did enjoy the day and tried not to eat too much. Lol
      Today was a bit cooler so it was perfect time to quilt another donated top as well as making another quilt from donated QAYG blocks. These quilts will be going to Impact, an organization which helps victims of domestic violence and the pile of quilts for them is growing nicely.  I'm hoping to get a few more finishes before the end of the year as well as some hand stitching while watching the cricket on TV.
 Hugs, Jan Mac

What A Difference.

 Last night I quilted until 11 pm as it was reasonably comfortable in front of the fan. Today was even hotter with temperatures of 43C (109.4F) at 11 am and after last night's sewing I was a bit slow getting things done today but I did finally get the binding sewn on the top I quilted last night.
   This was a larger quilt top which had been donated and I split it into two smaller pieces as it was too large for a donation quilt. I planned to add borders to make them large enough for older children and it's surprising what a difference adding a border makes to a quilt, especially a scrappy quilt. You can see the difference between the finished quilt and the second top. I think I'll add a red border to that one as it has more red in it. I like adding borders to most quilts as I think it frames the quilt or I often add them to make them a more functional size.
      When I stitched the binding I also found a small quilt, backed with flannel, which just needed binding so I got that one finished as well and it will be donated to a local hospital for a baby.
The hexagons are the hand stitching I have been working on when it's too hot to sit at the sewing machine. They are half inch hexagons and I'm enjoying working with them.
      Today was so hot with very strong and hot winds so we are relieved that there were no Bushfires and a cool change has arrived. I'm working nights again now so there won't be much happening other than work and lots of sleeping, but I have made good progress with the pile of quilts for the next delivery.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Yes It's Extremely Hot.

 Yesterday the temperature was 41C (106F) and today it was 42C (108F). Even though we have evaporative air conditioning, I over heat if I try to sew or quilt as I can never get the cooling breeze where I am working. I didn't get much done yesterday other than some hand sewing but today I really wanted to get some more donation quilts finished.
     I took one of our pedestal fans and directed it where I was sewing and put together donated QAYG blocks to make a quilt for a woman. I also found a donated top which measured 50 inches square. I really don't find square quilts to be very functional and usually try to make them larger by adding borders. With this top I trimmed the side squares down and then added dark red borders, wider for the top and bottom to make the quilt longer. I bound it with a light blue fabric to match the blue border between the different sized squares. The red is actually brighter than shown in the photo and adding borders has made it a size which will be more appropriate for an older child. These quilts are both going to victims of domestic violence.
     The very cute cot quilt was made by a member of my Melbourne quilt group. Marg C. makes beautiful cot quilts and I quilt them for her and then they are donated to kids with cancer or in foster care.
    My final photo shows the fabric strip I use to make backing fabric wide enough for a larger top. Linda, these strips measure 6.5 inches in width but any size would work. I can make them into Chinese Coins quilts, even if they vary in width and any leftovers will be used in other donation quilts. I'm glad that I decided to just get started sewing in front of the fan and it really wasn't too bad when I was distracted by sewing.
Many thanks, Jan Mac