Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Final Totals for 2011

It's hard to believe that the year is almost at an end and it's been more than usually marred by natural disasters with the floods here, and with earthquakes in New Zealand and in Japan. I'm sure that although there isn't much news from the affected areas now, that they are still working on rebuilding their communities.
The outpouring of support in the from of quilts from the international quilting community has hopefully aided in this rebuilding process as well as bringing comfort to those whose lives have been so badly affected by these disasters.
The very generous donations from people who read my blogs as well as those who are fellow-members of online quilting groups has allowed Oz Comfort Quilts to make and donate an amazing total of 543 quilts for 2011.
It was only possible due to all of your donations of time, money as well as QAYG blocks and quilt tops, fabric etc. The quilts have gone to comfort people in need due to the natural disasters as well as economic circumstances.
Thank you all so much for helping to bring comfort to so many people and I look forward to continuing to make and donate quilts to the needy in the next year. In the meantime I'll be taking a break for January and will be traveling to China with out youngest daughter. You'll be able to keep up with our travels on my other blog and I'll post more updates here when I return.
Please accept my heartfelt thanks for all your support and I hope that you are all blessed with a healthy and prosperous year for 2012.
Hugs Jan Mac

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Just in Time

I am very surprised that I am so organized for Christmas, especially as I'm going to be overseas in 10 days time and still have things to prepare for the trip. However I thought that I probably had time to just get a few more quilt tops finished so that they can be given to the needy for Christmas. I sent off another 6 quilts today and they'll be just in time for Christmas. I took a close-up of the first top to show how cleverly the quilter had used even the narrowest strings. It reminds me of the Lego quilt that is being shown on some blogs recently and Tonya from Lazy Gal Quilting has instructions for the quilt, based on an antique version. It is a great way to use up even those tiny slivers of fabric.
The other lovely quilts were all donated and the last one was I think a tablecloth originally but I took it apart and quilted it as it will get more use as a quilt.
Ulla said that she was sorry not to have done more and yet she sent some wonderful donations which were much appreciated and very unexpected as she lives on the other side of the world in Finland. I love the way that Blog Land allows us to connect and share our quilting stories.
I'm glad that I took some time off for family after the last quilt delivery as I feel renewed and ready to tackle to pile of tops and blocks again. On my other blog I'm also going to feature some of the blogs I read in case you need some inspiration over the holiday season. I'm going to Hong Kong and China with our youngest daughter and will document our travels on my other blog. I'll post more photos here when I return and get back into production again. I also need to add an update on the total number of donations for the year.
I hope you're all enjoying the holidays and taking time for family and you.
Hugs, Jan Mac






Sunday, November 20, 2011

One More QAYG Quilt


I finished off another QAYG quilts from donated blocks today and will be delivering all the quilts and Christmas items on this Wednesday. I still have to donate about 6 quilts to the local Women's Refuge for Christmas and then I've decided to take a short break from the donation quilts.
I have been working on them for so many year that I have many of my own projects and UFOs to finish and I've decided that I need to clean out some of my shelves to make room for new projects. Some of these UFOs will most likely be donated as well but it's time to have a play with my own new ideas as well as finishing off my half-done projects.
I'll be posting my progress on my other blog and will still show donation quilts here when I have more finished.
Many thanks for all your support with these quilt projects.
Jan Mac

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Donations from Kyabram

I met up with the lovely Lesley Lowe again yesterday and she brought over lots of wonderful donations for the needy for Christmas. She also brought these two lovely quilts to be donated and they will brighten the lives of two little children with a warm hug.
Cat also asked if I need more financial donations and I know that this is an expensive time with Christmas etc coming very soon so I have enough money at the moment thank you very much for asking. I may use some of the donated money to buy a few toys for boys as they are harder to make things for and I don't want them to miss out. I'll post if and when I purchase them.
Many thanks for all your help.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Two for Tuesday

I'm still plugging away on finishing off more QAYG quilts as gifts for the needy for Christmas. As the weather warms up here I'm hoping they will be happy to receive a quilt even though they may not be able to use it too often for a few months.
Thanks to everyone for making and donating QAYG blocks for these projects.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Time for Three

Having been away camping for 10 days or so it's put me behind a bit with production of quilts but I have managed to finish off another 3 QAYG quilts to be donated to the needy for Christmas.
It's been very handy to still have some QAYG blocks on hand to make more quilts in short time.
I hope you're not sick of seeing these QAYG quilts. Luckily I'm not sick of making them! LOL!
I hope to get a few more finished before I deliver them so I'd better get back to work again.
Hugs and thanks for stopping by.
Jan Mac

Monday, October 24, 2011

Two By Two

I love the way the darker joining strips make the colours in the QAYG blocks really zing. They look better than the photos show as they were taken when it was very overcast outside.
I'm steadily working my way through the donated QAYG blocks and finished these two yesterday and I have another two almost finished to show very soon.
I also made some fairy skirts to be donated as Christmas gifts to needy families and they are shown on my other blog.
Christmas is almost here and the rest of the year will just fly past with all the activities associated with the festive season so I'm trying to get as many quilts finished as possible while I still have time.
More to show soon.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Top Day


I've had some beautiful quilt tops donated recently and I'm getting them quilted as quickly as possible so that they can be given to people needing some comfort at Christmas time. Even though it will be too warm for quilts to be used I know that the recipients will appreciate the gift of a hug.
The first top was made and donated by Gina W. (Vic) and it will be a lovely quilt for a man as it's often hard to get enough quilts for boys and men as most of us have plenty of florals and pastels colours in our stashes.
Sue V. (Vic) also been very busy again and has donated 7 beautiful quilt tops and the pretty floral quilt is the first one I've finished so far.
The last quilt was made from donated string-pieced blocks sent from a blog supporter in Holland and I have enough to put together for another quilt too. I was thinking of adding a border to this top but it was large enough without and I didn't have anything which looked good enough so a bright binding has finished it off.
I have more to work on today so I hope to have more finished quilts to show very soon.
Have a good day and a very big thank you to everyone who has helped with these quilt appeals.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Thursday, October 20, 2011

QAYG Quilts Again

I have had a few family distractions this week and so far have only managed to finish off two more QAYG quilts.
They were made from a mixture of donated blocks and will bring comfort and warmth to a needy person.
I also received a donation of more quilt tops so I plan to spend some time quilting and finishing them into quilts to donate.
Thank you all for your ongoing support of these quilt appeals.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Monday, October 17, 2011

A Quilt Rescue

I was very lucky that Gina W. from Victoria, found this lovely Irish Chain quilt in her local op (thrift) shop, It was complete and had been partially quilted with the lover's knot in 4 of the plain part of the blocks. Another lover's knot had been commenced and they were all hand quilted. I pulled out that part of the quilting and as it was already thread-basted, I completed the quilting on my domestic sewing machine. I just did a simple cross hatch and then found some matching fabric for binding.
It's been washed now to freshen it up and is drying before joining the next shipment of quilts.
Thanks so much Gina for your keen eye in finding this quilt. It didn't take long to finish it by machine and it is now a lovely quilt for a person in need of comfort. I was very happy to play my part in this quilt rescue and I'm sure it will be loved by its new owner.
More finishes coming here soon.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Saturday, October 15, 2011

A Quilt For a Boy


This lovely quilt was a donated top and I think it came from the lovely Lesley Lowe of Kyvalley Quilters. It is a simple pattern but looks lovely with fireman prints in the blue squares. I have family commitments this weekend but hope to get some more tops quilted next week.
Many thanks for donating so many lovely tops, blocks and QAYG blocks which have helped make life a little easier for the needy.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Tops on Thursday

I've managed to get another three donated tops quilted and they are in the pile for delivery.
I'm off to paid work now so will chat more later.
Hugs Jan Mac

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

QAYG Anyone?

Two more QAYG quilts in vibrant colours to warm a needy person. It's always surprising how different they can look when a different colour is used for the joining strips. Even using blocks donated by many different quilters can all be made to play nicely when the joining strips are added.
Tomorrow will be a day for quilting more tops so check back soon for some different quilts.
Hugs, Jan Mac


Friday, October 7, 2011

A Slower Week

I don't seem to have done as much this week with family commitments etc taking precedence. I also had trouble with my sewing machine and I was worried that it was overheating so I had DH take it apart and do some more maintenance. I'm very lucky that he's a techie as I don't like to be without my machine for too long.
I did manage to finish one QAYG quilt and also put another top together from donated string pieced blocks. The blocks were made by Dini Negrijn-Peren from Holland and they are in lovely bright colours. I have enough for two quilts if I add borders and I thought it would be a good way to use the blocks and make more quilts for the needy.
I hope to get more done next week when the school holidays are over and will have more to show you very soon.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

More Bits and Pieces Finished

I've been busy with family commitments but have also managed to get some more things finished and ready to donate to the needy.
The first quilt is a Rail Fence pattern and the blocks were made QAYG which meant that they were easy to put together. Sixteen of the blocks were donated as well as more of the fabric so I made enough blocks to make a quilt of 24 blocks.
I also quilted another donated top which came all the way from Holland and was made by Marijke Kleefman. Marijke made and donated 8 quilt tops which was incredibly generous.
I also finished off a crocheted baby blanket as well as another crocheted blanket large enough for a single (twin) bed. The boxer shorts are made from the fabric I had leftover after making some PJ pants for my DD. I'll buy a top to match them and possible stitch a matching piece of fabric to the top to tie them in together as a Christmas gift fpr an 8 yr old girl. I have more things to finish off soon.
Thanks for stopping by.
Hugs, Jan Mac



Tuesday, September 27, 2011

A Mixture of QAYG Quilts

I've made good progress so far this week despite paid work and family commitments. I've been combining different sets of donated QAYG blocks and the last quilt was made from 2 sets of blocks from different donations. The lighter green blocks off-set the darker blocks and it looks much brighter than the photo shows.
The second quilt was made from a set of different blocks which didn't really fit with any of the other blocks I had to work with and looks much better on a bed than it does on the wall and will keep someone warm and comforted.
The first quilt was made from various blocks made with kid's fabric as the feature. The quilts are much prettier and brighter than the photos show as it was getting dark when I took the photos.
I'm hoping to get more finished tomorrow as well as quilting more donated tops, so check back soon for more finishes.
Hugs, Jan Mac


Friday, September 23, 2011

Six For the Week

I guess I should wait until Sunday to give the week's total but as we have family staying I may not get more finished this week. I've had a productive week so far and manged to finish off another QAYG quilt as well as quilting two more donated tops.
Thanks to everyone for commenting on the last post. The lovely quilter who donated all the QAYG blocks for the quilt I mentioned had no need to apologize for sending 34 instead of 35 blocks as I can make the quilts from however many blocks people care to donate. Mixing and matching is easy to do and the sashing and binding fabric ties them all together.
I've been making more quilts for kids using sets of 24 blocks set 4x6 and using bright kids prints so really anything goes if you have time and fabric scraps to make some blocks.
Many thanks for all your help.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Can You See It?


Three more QAYG quilts finished in the last few days and the first one was made from a set of 34 lovely bright blocks. I added one other donated block to make it up to a quilt of 35 blocks. Can you see the block which wasn't part of the original set? It's the 6th block down on the right hand side. I had trouble finding it too so I think it plays nicely with the rest of the blocks.
The other quilts were also made from donated sets of blocks and the different colours make them all look diffferent, from pastels to brights or darker masculine colours.
I also quilted some tops today and will show more photos when they are bound.
Many thanks for all the donated QAYG blocks which makes it so much quicker to get finished quilts out to needy people.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Just One More

I didn't get quilt tops finished yesterday as I'd planned but I did get a start on making some Christmas gifts for the needy and they are shown on my other blog. However I did manage to finish off this lovely QAYG quilt made from a set of donated blocks predominantly in green.
I also added the knitting pattern for the mini Christmas stockings to my sidebar on both blogs in case anyone is interested in making a few to donate.
I have paid work tomorrow but hope to finish off some more gifts and of course more quilts on Monday.
Have a fun weekend.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Back to Quilting

It's been good to get back to the sewing machine and get more QAYG quilts finished as the need seems to be ongoing in many communities. These bright and cheerful quilts may be the one bright part of the Christmas celebrations and I'm getting as many finished as possible in case they are needed as Christmas gifts for the needy.
I'm also working on making some soft toys and hope to have some finished to show soon. The spring weather is beautiful at the moment and it feels like summer is on its way again so I'm going to finish some donated tops tomorrow before it gets too hot to work the sewing machine all day.
Before we know it Christmas will be here so if you have some time and some yarn or fabric scraps perhaps you'd like to make a soft toy or a mini Christmas stocking to donate for the needy. I have the instructions on my other blog at Sew Many Quilts Too Little Time.
Even just one would bring a smile to someone's face at Christmas. The mini stockings will be filled with lollies for the needy and will most likely be the only gift they will receive.
Many thanks, Jan Mac