Busy With Finishes.

As our lockdown continues and we can't care for our precious grandsons I'm keeping busy quilting donated tops as well as other items?  Linda Ashworth from the UK donated this very pretty pink top and it will be a treasure for a little girl.

Rita Tripodi (Vic) donated this very cute child's quilt top with feature I Spy fabric in circles.

Lesley Lowe (Vic) donated this lovely I Spy top for a child and it will bring a warm hug to a child.

This lovely top in batiks was another donated top and it's bright colours will lift someone's spirit. 

This lovely top was donated by members of Trinity Patchworkers (Vic).

Sandra Ray (Vic ) donated the lovely crocheted squares which I finished as a blanket.

Jo Calder's friend, Jean Harvey, knitted these lovely squares which I finished as a bassinet blanket for a newborn.

I also finished off a lot of donated fleece into blankets which will help warm lots of people in need. Many thanks everyone for your generous donations. 

Hugs, Jan Mac  

Many Thanks Jo B, Jo C, and Loreen

More lovely donations have arrived and lots of us must be keeping busy sewing while our lockdown continues.  Jo Butterfield from Victoria sent a large parcel containing 7 beautifully made library bags with matching pencil cases, 11 books, crocheted  circles and pair of crocheted slippers for a child.

Jo Calder from Victoria has been busy sewing and she donated 30 beautifully made soap pouches for toiletry bags.  They are the perfect size for soap bars and will be very much appreciated. 

Loreen Kelly from Victoria donated a large parcel containing 26 beautifully made Santa Sacks,  3 beautifully dressed teddy bears and a cat soft toy.

Thank you all so much for your generous donations.  Current needs are new toys and books for Christmas gifts for kids in care, also Barbie doll clothes, Santa Sacks, soap pouches, drawstring bags and there is an ongoing need for quilt tops and quilts.

I'm busy quilting as organisations have requested blankets and quilts for disadvantaged families.  As soon as I have enough for a minivan I will arrange for a contactless pick up and all of your lovely donations will be going to people in need as soon as possible with lockdown restrictions. 

Stay safe everyone and enjoy your knitting and sewing.

Hugs, Jan Mac 

Busy Distraction.

As lockdown continues here I've been keeping busy as a distraction while we can't see our family and we're really missing our precious grandsons so hopefully it won't last too much longer. In the meantime I am getting more quilting done. The first lovely quilt was made from donated QAYG blocks in a larger size and from lots of different Quilters.

Robin Walker and the Fishbowler Sewists from Tasmania donated the next lovely top. 

I needed some mindless sewing after working on the school jackets so I made a baby play mat from fabric strips that I had on hand.

This is a very cute donated top and makes a lovely quilt for a child. 

This lovely QAYG quilt was made from blocks donated by Marie Lee and the Victorian Quilter's Association and they make another beautiful quilt. 

Alison Watson from Victoria donated this top and I used some warm flannelette fabric donated by Carleen Richardson and the Tasmanian ladies to make a warm and cosy quilt.

Norma Aitken and the Waverley Patchworkers donated the fabric and batting for the next top and I stitched a small panel on the top to make another baby play mat.

I also knitted more cute jumpers for teddy bears and a monkey and these will be lovely gifts for little children. It's almost time for the agencies to pack Santa Sacks so I also need to get busy sewing some doll clothes for dolls I am donating.

I hope you're all keeping busy and staying safe,  especially if you're in lockdown again. 

Hugs, Jan Mac 

 

Many Thanks for Donations from Qld, Western Australia and Victoria.

The postman has been busy again this week with parcels arriving from Qld,  WA and Victoria. Marie Errington from Qld has sent another 2 beautiful quilts for children and they will be very welcome as our cold weather lingers.

Delys Rogers from WA has sent another large parcel with 10 teddy bears with their beautifully knitted jumpers and she also included some fabric.

Sandra Ray from Victoria sent a large box of beautiful crocheted garments including 37 beanies, 4 lovely baby jackets,  30 crocheted squares for a blanket,  6 pairs of booties and a crocheted toy.

Elaine Powell from Qld also sent a large box of donations including a flannelette top, binding and backing, a fleece top, batting, crocheted circles, scarves, 3 small quilt tops, batting and backing as well as yarn.

Thank you so much for your generous support everyone and please stay safe.

Hugs, Jan Mac 

 

Thanks Again Sue R. and Contactless Pick Up.

After the worrying increase in Covid infections it's lovely to have some positive news to share. Melanie from Backpacks 4 Vic Kids called and did a contactless pick up of a station wagon's worth of donations. There was just enough room for the driver. Lol. The majority was the school jackets as well as about 80 teddy bears/soft toys with their knitted jumpers, 37 Santa Sacks , some new books and puzzles, fleece blankets, and hand knitted garments. It was great to have some clear storage space as well as knowing that these will all make life a little better for kids in foster care.

 Sue Ross from Victoria sent another parcel containing a beautifully knitted child's jumper, 5 knitted beanies and a scarf as well as 3 teddy bears. All of Sue's donations went to kids in care, except the teddy bears which are waiting for their jumpers. 

Melanie was very grateful for the soft toys and took all that I had ready as they anticipate needing to pack 6,000 Santa Sacks this year, instead of the usual 2,000. The pandemic has had a catastrophic effect on lots of needy families and children which has placed a huge demand on their services.

I'm still busy knitting little jumpers and it's been lovely to get back to quilting donated tops again now that I have finished stitching the school jackets. I quilted a few kid's quilts today and will share photos when I finish the binding. 

I'm very grateful that family in Shepparton have received negative results for their Covid tests and I hope that you are all safe and well. Knowing that we've helped so many kids with our donations has brightened my day and I hope yours too.

Hugs, Jan Mac 

 

Hallelujah and Jake's Birthday.

I've finally finished stitching over the logos on 190 donated school jackets. It was tedious stitching so many small pieces and dark navy/black so hard on the eyes but it's a relief to have them done. They will all go to Backpacks 4 Vic  Kids for kids in foster care and it's lovely to know that lots of kids will now have warm jackets.

It was a sizeable donation too, worth $14,250 and kept a very large amount of new goods out of landfill. Now I can get back to finishing quilts and teddy gears to donate.

I forgot to report that our precious grandson, Jake, turned 4 last Tuesday.  We had him for the day on Wednesday and we had a lovely day.  He got 4 toys and 4 books, with the wrapping paper being Christmas paper which is indicative of our Covid times. Lol. I was very happy that we shopped a few weeks ago so he had presents for his birthday,  even though we couldn't have a party.

 We all had a super terrific day and he loves his lego. The latest restrictions prevent us seeing the kids at all, even though we could still provide child care previously,  so we're missing them terribly. Hopefully this won't last too long so all I can do us keep busy and now the jackets are finished I can get back to finishing quilts and knitting vests for teddy bears to donate.

Stay safe everyone and I hope it won't too long before we can see family and friends again.

Hugs, Jan Mac 

Many Thanks Jenny and Sue.

Jenny Benton from New Zealand has very kindly sent a lovely parcel of donations including a lovely quilt top,  3 Santa Sacks,  a drawstring bag, a quilt panel, a bag of half square triangles and 3 sets of pieced Chinese Coins strips to extend the width of backing.

Sue Palmer from Victoria has sent another parcel with this cozy double sided child's fleece blanket and a lovely flannelette baby wrap.

Thank you so much for your beautiful donations ladies. 

 Hugs, Jan Mac