Lovers of Applique

I had a special day on Saturday when I attended an extra meeting of my group- the Castlemaine Applique Group. We meet 4 times a year but this was an extraordinary meeting as we had special international quilters as guest speakers.
Approximately 200 quilters attended and ay what is the largest applique group in Australia. Mary Koval, a specialist in reproduction fabrics and fabric designer from the US, spoke about her designs and how she became interested in antique quilts and fabrics. She has a stall at the Houston Festival every year and sells antique quilts and fabrics there. She asked for all quilters attending on Saturday to sign her memory quilt and most lined up as you can see in the photo.
Petra Prins, a Dutch quilter who designs fabric and also has a quilt shop in The Netherlands, spoke about antique Dutch fabrics and quilts and showed one of her new books, Treasures from Holland.
The next speaker was Nels Kooiman, who co-owns the quilt shop Den Haan Wagenmakers in Amsterdam, with Petra, also spoke about her quilting journey and how she had enjoyed traveling with Petra and being inspired when visiting other quilters.
The last speaker was Carol Veillon, who produces the French quilting magazine, Quiltmania. She spoke about how she started out to produce a magazine which is now sold with three translations to meet the need of quilters internationally.
All of the speakers were very entertaining and the fabulous quilts which were shown at Show and Tell were very inspiring. Carol said that she was very impressed with the amount of time and detail that Australian quilters spend when creating their quilts and said that she would be putting out a special magazine edition about Australian quilters and their works. There was a photographer who took photos of the speakers quilts as well as those shown at Show and Tell and we could all purchase a CD so we're sure to get some nice photos to remember the day too.
The day was very well organized and it was lovely to meet up with one of my blog readers, Ann Birch, from Vic.
I took some time to work on another block of my Civil War Bride quilt and enjoyed taking some time for hand work. Since then I've been busy dressmaking with our youngest DD so I'll show progress on that tomorrow.
Hugs, Jan Mac

A Day in the Country

It's been a week busy with family commitments but I did manage to hand stitch a donated star to a background fabric. It was easier to do this than to measure up and try to fit pieces to each side of the star which varied a bit. Now I need to add borders and make it larger with some added squares of fabric or other blocks.
I met up with Lesley Lowe again yesterday and she once again very kindly brought over a large number of donations from the Kyabram (Vic) quilters. They have been very busy knitting and the sweaters, beanies and scarves will be so appreciated as we are in the middle of our cold weather now. They also donated 9 quilts which are shown on my other blog as well as some quilt tops. The ladies have been very generous with their time and talents and the warm garments and quilts will help to make life a little warmer for the people who receive them.
I also sent off 6 large quilts to Cat to distribute to the people of Christchurch (New Zealand) who are facing many challenges in staying warm this winter after the earthquake. I did say that 500 homes won't be re-built but I got that wrong and it is actually 5,000 homes which must be incredibly hard on the Christchurch communities and I hope that the quilts will help to remind them that we are trying to support and send comfort.
Today I contacted a group of volunteers who are helping farmers recover in the Charlton area after the floods and they gave me a contact person who may be able to distribute quilts for me. However when I rang them they said that they had quite a lot of blankets donated and if someone was feeling the cold they were welcome to take a blanket. Having already sent 30 quilts for distribution I've decided not to send any more unless they would personally give them out to people who suffered damage to their homes. I only make two stipulations when donating quilts and that is that they aren't sold or stockpiled and I can't be sure that these things won't happen if I send more quilts as they kept talking about them as blankets and didn't seem to understand that they are a gift of comfort and not just for warmth. In the meantime I get so many groups in need of quilts and willing to distribute them correctly for me that I'll keep working with them at this stage.
Today has been a lovely sunny day and I was very keen to finish off a QAYG quilt I'm putting together but we had to cut fire wood so I took some photos so you can see where we live. We cut up any trees which fall down in storms and try to get them cut up before the ants move in a eat them away. We love the peace and quiet of living in the country with farming land on three sides of our farm and natural bush and river frontage on the other side. We've had koalas and kangaroos in the bush land near our home and we have plenty of noisy bird life around us as well as a group of magpies which have made their home here. They never swoop us and they sometimes come and tap their beaks on our glass door if they want some bread to eat.
My Dad has recovered from his surgery and now our youngest DD is coming home for some holidays and to have more lessons in dressmaking with me. She has many ideas for skirts and dresses that she plans to make this coming week so I anticipate another busy week, but I'll be trying to fit in some quilting time as well.
If I get off the computer I should be able to finish another quilt now.
Hugs, Jan Mac

A Huge Weight Gone

Not much sewing was done today as the sun was shining and spring cleaning was taking place. My father is having eye surgery tomorrow and coming to stay for a few days so it was a good opportunity to have a good clean-out of a bedroom for him. That meant moving a pile of quilts which are ready to post and then I decided to give the room a deep-clean and remove anything we no longer needed.
We had a huge TV which we weren't using so I rang a couple of refuges to see if we could donate it. It was too large to give to someone if they were going to be moving often but would be ideal for a refuge. Luckily one of them was very happy to accept it for their refuge for teens and young adults. The refuge is located near us and 10 minutes later it was gone.
It was a huge weight gone from us as it took up far too much room in a bedroom and wasn't being used and they were very happy to have it for their clients.
I did manage to finish off a QAYG quilt shown on my other blog and the lovely Kaite Matilda from NSW has been very busy and sent another 2 lovely warm beanies.
I may not get much time for sewing for the next few days but will be working on knitting etc in the meantime.
Hugs Jan Mac

More Comings and Goings

I don't know what happened to the rest of the week. I was busy getting as many quilts finished as possible for Christchurch as the news reports that 5,000 homes will not be re-built- the areas being considered too dangerous for future collapse. This must be devastating for those families who will have to relocate permanently and as Cat has confirmed, the conditions are fairly grim at the moment with lack of heating and constant tremors still being felt.
Thanks to so many wonderful donors from around the world, we are able to make life a little easier for people affected by earthquakes, floods and tsunamis as well as the homeless, with the donations of so many quilts and items of warm clothing.
Ulla has been very supportive with these quilt appeals even though she lives on the other side of the world in Finland, and she's also linked to my blog with news of how quilters can help by making a small financial donation via the Paypal link on my blogs, which will be used to pay for postage and other costs of finishing the quilts.
I have also received more wonderful donations from Sue Fleming (USA) who sent 35 QAYG blocks as well as some beautiful raspberry red binding strips to join the blocks.
Kaite and the ladies from her local patchwork shop in Bathurst (NSW), who sent 75 QAYG blocks as well as a beautiful finished QAYG quilt which is shown on my other blog for finished quilts.
The beautifully wrapped box came all the way from The Netherlands and was posted by Marijke Kleefman-Sandee. The post office staff wanted to know if it was my birthday and although it isn't Marijke and her lovely Mother sent a beautiful parcel of donations to gift other people in need. Marijke sent 8 quilt tops, with some binding and also 3 crocheted blankets made by her Mother. These are so lovely and will warm some people in in of comfort. I'll finish off the tops and post the photos as soon as possible.
Robin Walker (Tas) has again been very busy and has sent another beautiful quilt top with backing and binding and the batik colours are so beautiful that they will be loved by its new owner.
I did manage to knit a beanie for Christchurch and I also made a sleeping bag for the homeless which I will post more about soon. I am adapting the pattern so that it's more practical and easier to make. I have spoken with a group which helps the homeless and they said they would be a wonderful item to keep them warm on the streets, more than quilts which they worry about having stolen or getting too dirty.
Finally I did the family thing yesterday and went to see a country football match with my DH. There was a very cold wind and I was grateful for my warm hat and gloves as well as our thick coats. It reinforces the knowledge that the homeless are doing it tough as it was cold even when the sun was out.
Time to get back to the sewing machine again after I put more photos of finished quilts on my other blog at Oz Comfort Quilts.
Take care, Jan Mac

When Will It End?

Christchurch is again in the news with further tremors felt today. It must be very hard to try to go about your normal day when you've had a sleepless night due to severe earth tremors and wondering if this one will bring your home down. Parents report making a dash for their children in the night in case there is structural damage to their home.
The AAP News report said:

CHRISTCHURCH has been again been rattled overnight by a swarm of powerful aftershocks, knocking out power and forcing the closure of the city's airport.

• "It felt like one of the largest quakes we've had."

A number of aftershocks have struck the already quake-battered region including a 5.3 magnitude tremor, which struck at 8.34pm (AEST) at a depth of 10 kilometres.

One Christchurch resident told the New Zealand Herald that the quake came suddenly and brought a "violent rattling".

"It built in intensity and then the lights went out. It felt like one of the largest quakes we've had."

The quake was the largest to hit the region since magnitude 5.7 and 6.3 quakes last Monday and was followed by at least a dozen more aftershocks of magnitude 3.1 or greater centred around the city.

New Zealand's GeoNet monitoring service said the tremors were felt across the city, which has suffered three major quakes in the past nine months, including a 6.0 tremor on June 13 and devastating 6.3 quake in February that killed 181 people.

Police said there were no reports of major damage after the latest scare, although the Christchurch Press and Radio New Zealand said power supplies were down in a number of suburbs.

Christchurch airport said its terminal was evacuated after the tremor and runways were being inspected for damage.

The airport also closed briefly after the June 13 quake but reopened after a few hours.

Quake-weary residents of New Zealand's second largest city are stressed from the constant aftershocks, describing living in Christchurch as "purgatory".

"We do not know when the next one's coming, it's a recipe for people to collapse," a resident said.

The latest tremors come as New Zealand Prime Minister John Key revealed on Monday the bill from the Christchurch earthquakes had soared to $19.22 billion, far more than previously th

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/world/christchurch-rocked-by-51-aftershock/story-e6frfkyi-1226079554118#ixzz1PzqjmI6r
I hope and pray that these tremors stop soon so they can start to recover and feel safe in their homes again. The quilt shown is made from blocks donated by Cat in New Zealand. I used the leftover block and siggy squares on the back when I pieced a backing for the quilt and it will be soon winging its way back across the Tasman to be donated to someone in Christchurch. I've finished 6 quilts for them so far this week and plan to post a box of quilts off this week as soon as I find a large enough box.
I hope that the quilts will bring some comfort to their spirit as well as their communities as they try to re-build their city.
Many thanks for all your help with donations.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Comfort for Christchurch

Cat very kindly sent me some photos of her recent visit to Christchurch and the devastation is still very obvious. It must be very hard to face these sights of your city's damage due to the earthquake. The recent news reports state that many people are leaving Christchurch as they are feaful of more earthquakes. It seems that the uncertainty of rebuilding is also taking its toll.
Cat also sent me some blocks for a comfort quilt and I think they were from a swap she participated in online as the blocks have come from the US and the UK. I managed to get the blocks made into a top today and also used one of the remaining blocks for the back when I pieced a backing and I included the siggy squares on the back. I've quilted it and only have to stitch the binding on tomorrow and then it will be shown on my other blog.
This week is all about making quilts for Christchurch and I want to very sincerely thank those lovely people who have donated some money to cover the costs of sending more quilts.
I also received these lovely crocheted squares from Stephanie Driel (WA), which will be used to make more blankets for the homeless in Australia.
Today I finished the binding on a child's quilt, made another QAYG quilt for Christchurch as well as putting the blocks that Cat donated together and finishing the quilt, apart from binding so it's been a productive day.
Time to spend some time knitting now and put my feet up for a bit.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Our Weekend Break

It was good to make so much progress with the quilts for the past week as we had a wedding to attend and more family commitments over the weekend. The wedding was lovely, the bride was beautiful and we all had a fun time catching up with friends.
We also spent time with family while we were in Melbourne but we were happy to be home in front of the fire after a cold day with some rain. It makes me really appreciate my home comforts and keeps me knitting and quilting so the homeless will also have some comfort.
Today was busy with family events and my Dad's 86th birthday celebrations so not much time for quilting. I plan to get an early start tomorrow though and will have more quilts to show on my other blog too.
I also want to send a very appreciative thank you to those people who donated via the Paypal button on my blog. I was very reluctant to ask as I don't like asking for money and the whole process of using Paypal while not being a registered non-profit organization was worrying me. I thank you for your trust and I'll keep you updated as to where the money is used.
God bless,
Hugs,Jan Mac