Cross Stitch Tuesday.

 I didn't think I would finish this block this week as I've been busy working on UFOs and crocheting blanket squares blanket  at night. Then I was unable to find the right colour of beads to decorate the dress and borders. I had a nice bead which were a blue/green instead of the bright green suggested and decided to use them instead. Now that it's finished I'm  happy with the beads so it's good to have it finished and I will start a new block this week.

They need a good wash and press but there are 7 of the 12 finished now and I am keen to get the rest done. If I wasn't blogging my progress each week I'm sure that they would be neglected again and back in the box so I'm really pleased to be moving forward with this cross stitch UFO at last.
Hugs, Jan Mac 

UFO Monday.

 I'm working on some large UFOs at the moment but also trying to get some mire finished quickly so they can be donated. Now that I have access to all of my stored UFOs I found this set of blocks which will be my next finish. These blocks were from a swap I did in 1998 so it's time they were finished.  I think I have pulled these out a few times to finish them but the differing sizes made the job too big at that time. Now I really just need to make it work.

 These 2 blocks had 3 dimensional flowers that needed to be sewn more firmly.

 I hand stitched all of the flowers down to the background so they were more secure.

This is our last week of caring for Jake full time until his baby brother arrives so we are enjoying every moment and there will be more time for sewing very soon.
Hugs, Jan Mac 

Weekly Catch Up.

 It's been a busy week of social events with visitors dropping in and it's been lovely to catch up with family and friends. There was some time for quilting and these 4 tops were all donated. I think they were made by the Kyabram/Rochester quilters via Lesley L.

 This one is a great quilt for a Hawthorn footy supporter and a lovely shade of brown and yellow. The colours are subdued here as we took them late in the day.

It feels great to finally have time to get these tops quilted and donated and I shoukd have enough to drop off to Anglicare very soon. Our weather is cooling down a lot so the quilts will be very welcome. I'm also crocheting more blanket squares in every spare minute so I hope to have another blanket ready to donate very soon.
Hugs, Jan Mac 

Cross Stitch Tuesday.

 I've almost finished this square and just have to add the beads and finish a small amount of outline stitching on the dress. Then I can start the next block with only 5 left to complete for the set.

The DD who made them for me is coming to stay for a few days so I will put this project away until she leaves. In the meantime I am crocheting squares for blankets as organizations which help the homeless say that blankets are hard to come by and in big demand. If anyone has some scraps of yarn and some spare time, I will always be happy to receive any donations of granny squares of 10 rounds, made in 8 ply and using a 4.5 crochet hook.
    Have a good week everyone. My days will be filled with playing with Jake and being creatively productive when he sleeps. More to share soon.
Hugs, Jan Mac 

UFO Monday.

 This week my work on UFOs is a bit different as I have found a couple of my antique quilt tops which need restoration. The first us a top from the late 1800s which has some shredded red fabric and it's missing a block as well. There's also some damage to a few of the blocks. It's been a UFO for a long time so I decided it needs to be finished. I have taken the blocks and sashing apart and will make the repairs,  stitch it back together and quilt it. It would be considered a utility quilt and most likely was made from clothing remnants with the red sashing bought for the purpose .

 This quilt top was from the 1940s and some of the fabric has frayed as it has been washed,  causing damage. I am going to take it apart and remake the blocks, replacing the damaged fabric as needed. This one will be pieced by hand so it will take longer but it should be a worthwhile project to have it finished.

I enjoy finishing UFOs, both mine or other quilters', so these will be fun to get finished . Finding and being able to access my tubs of UFOs and fabric has given me a lot more options for finishing UFOs and I'm going to really enjoy working on lots of different projects, as well as finishing more donation quilts.
I hope you all enjoyed a peaceful Easter break as well.
Hugs, Jan Mac 

Weekly Catch Up.

 The first 6 quilts here were all tops made by members of my Quilting Group for our Gift Quilt Program and I only had to pin baste them, quilt them and then label and bind them.  The ladies who help me with this program are very talented with using scraps to come up with lots of different designs and mix in our older fabrics with the newer ones.

 The following 3 tops were donated by my lovely blog readers and I am very happy to get them out of boxes and ready to donate. This first lovely Pinwheel quilt was donated with its batting and I think it was donated by Lesley L. from the Kyvalley/ Rochester quilters.

 This top was probably made as a sampler quilt and it's very nicely constructed.

 The last top was donated too and it was easy to finish it up and add a scrappy red binding.

The most momentous news from this week is that we have set up shelving units in our large garage and all of my fabric etc is now accessible. DH was very worried about how much work was involved and how long it would take. Thankfully it only took about 3 days of work as he built the shelves while I stacked them with tubs and boxes. I was finally reunited with the UFOs that I wanted to finish as well as the antique quilts I want to restore. We will only be looking after Jake full time for another 2 weeks until our DD starts maternity leave so it's wonderful to know that I will be able to access my UFOs, donated tops and blocks and get them finished for donation.
    I'm doing really well on not starting anything new so far this year and now that all my fabric and yarn is stored together, I can see that I don't need to buy any for a while until I reduce my supplies. It was a lot of work to get it organized but such a relief to finally have it done. Hopefully I can keep being so productive with finishes and have more to share soon .
Hugs, Jan Mac 

Cross Stitch Tuesday.

 I thought I would be sharing a finish for this block by today but the border is more complicated to stitch than the others. Also I have been really focused on finishing more quilt UFOs so haven't been cross stitching at night. Not that it matters, as any progress is better than none.

I 've also been busily knitting as our new grandson is fue in about 6 or 7 weeks time. He will probably be small so I have made this cardigan and jacket in premmie size. I'm also using our childfree week to downsize my wool and yarn stash. I must have thought I would have 30 grandkids because I have acquired a lot of baby yarn which I will never need for our family, so I'm packing it up and sending it to Karen of Knitting for Brisbane's Needy, to be distributed to her supporters to knit for the needy. Many of the ladies are pensioners who love knitting so passing it on to them is like subcontracting to help more people in their communities, and allows them to keep knitting without putting a strain on their finances. It's also helping to clear my cupboards too so it's a win/win situation. Better get back to downsizing and a trip to drop off excess stuff at the Op Shop.
Hugs, Jan Mac