A Special Day and a Quilt.

We had a lovely family celebration on Sunday for my dear sister's 70th birthday.  Unfortunately one brother was sick and the other was unable to enter Victoria due to Covid restrictions but it was a lovely day to catch up with family.

I didn't get a photo of anything as we were busy chasing grandchildren,  holding the baby or talking to everyone but I did take a couple of photos of the venue as we left. My sister very kindly couriered 2 big bags of donated soft toys from Shepparton and they're currently being washed and will soon have a little vest each before being donated to kids in foster care.

For my lovely Mum's 70th birthday I had asked all the family to trace their hands and sign the block and we stem stitched the outline of each hand and I made a quilt for her. My niece decided to do the same for my sister and I put the quilt together after she had stitched all the hand blocks. She was very happy with her surprise quilt and I know that her grandchildren will love comparing their hand size as they grow older.

    The photo of the quilt isn't great but it's hard to take photos when the light is good during winter.

Hugs, Jan Mac 

Finishes.

This lovely quilt top was made by Vikki Hope  (dec) and donated by her lovely mother, Lauris. It will be going to a child in foster care and I hope that have done it justice on Vikki's behalf.

This lovely quilt top was donated by Marijke Sandee from Holland and it has very cute kid's prints for a young child.

 Maia Butler from NSW donated this lovely bright top,  backing and batting and it's lovely to have it finished and ready for donation.

I have received donations of school uniforms and some had the school logo stitched on them. It was too much work to remove them so I am repurposing the clothing. I don't think I shared this before but this is a pair of shorts that I have turned into a skirt for a young girl and I have several others in the works.

I also finished crocheting enough squares to make another crocheted blanket. 

Usually I have several pieces of knitting on the go and I have finished this little jacket for a toddler and it will go to kids in foster care.

We had a lovely time making cupcakes with the boys and Aidan couldn't believe his luck when he was able to participate too. Thankfully Aidan's dairy allergies have resolved and he can slowly be introduced to dairy products so he loved licking the beaters and Jake licked the bowl so much that he had butter mix in his hair. A fun time for all of us.

Hugs, Jan Mac 

Many Thanks Mary Anne, Norma, Faye and Helen.

Norma Aitken very kindly acted as courier to deliver donations from Mary Anne Rooney in Bendigo and the first 3 lovely quilt tops, backing and a large bag of batting were donated by Mary Anne's lovely mother,  Norma Vinnicombe. 

Mary Anne also donated 14 lovely burp cloths, as well as 57 lovely  QAYG blocks and 8 cosmetic bags.

Norma Aitken also donated 30 lovely QAYG blocks in 2 sets, with fabric for binding.

Norma Aitken and Waverley Patchworkers also donated 32 lovely beanies, a pair of fingerless gloves, 7 soft toys and 3 beautifully knitted children's jumper's.

Faye Eaton (Vic) donated a large teddybear and a large amount of fabric.

Helen Edgar (Vic) donated 21 beautiful Santa Sacks.

 So many generous donations will help so many people in need.

Hugs, Jan Mac 

Quilts, Teddy Bears, Santa Sacks and Baby Hand Knits Delivered.

Today I visited Backpacks 4 Vic Kids, which provide necessities for children in foster care, and delivered 52 quilts, 60 Santa Sacks,  32 teddy bears with their little knitted vests and lots of hand knits for babies and toddlers. I also picked up a bag of precut Santa Sacks so if anyone has time to sew and no fabric, I'm happy to pass some on if you can drop in to pick them up. 

I also met Melanie who is co-ordinating the Santa Sacks and she was very happy with those I delivered today. They have requested 6,000 for this Christmas as the number of children and families affected by the pandemic is much greater than previously.

I also met with Sally, the CEO of the organisation and discussed what they need for their clients and she also loved the teddy bears in their vests, which make them more special.

   So far this year we've donated 411 quilts to those in need of a warm hug and it's only been possible thanks to all of you for your support.

It was lovely to see how happy they were to receive our donations and know that many children in care will be very happy with their new clothes, quilts and toys.

Hugs, Jan Mac 

 

Many Thanks Heather, Maria and Marie.

Heather Pilcher (Vic) has very generously donated a huge amount of items including 7 beautiful quilts in a variety of colours and sizes.

Heather also donated 5 beautiful quilt tops,  fabric and bindings.

There was also a large amount of clothing for toddlers and babies.

Three beautifully hand knitted cardigans for toddlers. 

25 hand knitted baby beanies and 11 pair of beautiful hand knitted baby booties.

A beautifully knitted striped blanket which reminded me of Joseph's coat of many colours. 

20 fleece beanies in a variety of sizes.

75 QAYG blocks and a bag of cones of threads.

Maria Wilson from WA is a long-term supporter of Oz Comfort Quilts and she has sent another large parcel containing this fabulous quilt with appliqued little children,  and this will go to a little girl in foster care, at Maria's request and I can just imagine the look of joy when she receives it.

Maria also sent another 35 lovely QAYG blocks and binding. 

She also included some orphan blocks, lovely fabric and 5 beautiful drawstring bags. 

Marie Errington from Qld has donated another beautiful quilt,  in lovely shades of blue. It's beautifully quilted and will be treasured by its recipient. 

 Thank you all so much for your generous donations and support.  

Hugs, Jan Mac 

Time for Knitting.

Marg Coulthard (Vic) is a generous supporter of Oz Comfort Quilts and she has been busy knitting these 6 lovely pairs of baby booties.

These cute soft toys are wearing lovely vests also made by Marg Coulthard and they're now ready for donation to kids in foster care.

I finished knitting a jumper for a 4 year old child which will also be donated. 

We had some school uniforms donated recently and I couldn't remove the school logo from a pair of white shorts so I cut the bottom off the shorts and made it into a skirt by adding a gathered frill attached around the new lower edge. It only took about 30 minutes and it's a great way to repurpose clothing. The shorts were new and unusable as the school had changed its uniform, but now it's wearable and looks better in person.

 

I hope to soon have a contact to deliver quilts to families whose homes were severely damaged in the recent storms which affected the Dandenong Ranges so there's plenty of need for more quilts. 

Hugs, Jan Mac  

More Quilts from P's and Q's Guild of Victoria.

The Patchworkers and Quilters Guild of Victoria donated these beautiful quilts and I have photographed the remaining 18 quilts. They actually donated 46 quilts in total and they will be very welcome by those in need of a warm hug.

   The lovely circles of feature fabric in children's prints has even appliqued to the background squares and they make lovely I Spy quilts for children.

Thank you so much P's and Q's for your very generous donation of beautiful quilts to bring comfort to people in need of a warm hug. 

Hugs, Jan Mac