Quilts from Kyvalley and Girgarre

Lesley Lowe delivered more finished quilts from the Kyvalley and Girgarre Patchworkers (Vic) when we met to exchange finished quilts for Rochester. These lovely quilts are all lap or cot sized and their lovely colours and warmth will bring comfort to those who lost their homes to the floods or earthquakes. There was also many more tops and knitting yarn donated from the group and they will be used up as soon as possible and then donated where they are needed.
Also just a reminder that if you donate to Oz Comfort Quilts I show any finished quilts here on this blog and the rest of the donations are shown on my other blog.
As the nights are getting much colder I know that more quilts will be needed so I'm keeping the sewing machine busy and getting more quilts finished.
More to show soon.
Hugs, Jan Mac

35 Quilts to Rochester

Today I met with Lesley Lowe from Kyabram again and she dropped off more donations of quilt tops, and lots of knitting wool etc to be used for donations. I haven't had time to unpack and take photos yet but there were also lots of tops and finished quilts from the Kyvalley and Girgarre Patchworkers. Thanks to all the lovely donations of bits and pieces we have been able to donate 241 quilts already this year.
Lesley very kindly took 35 quilts back to Rochester with her and they will be distributed by the neighbourhood centre.
The first two beautiful quilts shown here were made by Ros Hawkins and the Southern Light Stitchers from Tasmania and the next beautiful quilt was made by Jo-Anne Dick also from Tasmania, and the people of Rochy will be so happy to receive them as the weather is getting colder now and they have no floor coverings in their homes after having to strip them out due to the floods.
The last lovely baby quilt was donated by the Kyvally Patchworkers and the last 2 QAYG quilts were made from donated blocks from quilters around the world who are supporting this quilt appeal.
Thank you so much for all your generous donations which are making a difference.
Hugs Jan Mac

Back to Work

It's good to be back home and finishing off more quilts to donate. These are today's finishes and I have another QAYG quilt done tonight so that will be photographed tomorrow. The green bindings are all the same on the latest quilts as a lovely quilter from the US made and donated a large lot of bindings from the same fabric. It is such a blessing of time to have bindings ready to go so I managed to get more quilts finished today. The last quilt is a donated top that I've finished off.
Tomorrow I'm sending a delivery of quilts to Rochester in Vic and will update the numbers when I see how many they can take.
Thank you all for your ongoing support which makes it possible to donate so many quilts. We have sent out over 210 to date this year alone.
Hugs Jan Mac

More Wonderful Donations

While I was in Melbourne at the AQC I received more beautiful things donated for the people affected by the floods in Qld and Vic. Jenni Omand (Vic) made the beautiful 4 quilts and they will be going to Qld for the flood quilt appeal. Jenni S (Vic0 has made and donated another 7 beanies for the homeless and they will so welcome their warmth as winter approaches. The Chinwaggers of Numurkah (Vic) have been very busy knitting and crocheting and have made these lovely lap blankets as well as scarves, sweaters, mittens and hats. Beryl from Melbourne (Vic) has also made and sent 12 lovely beanies in bright colours for children.
These will all help to bring comfort to those who are living in cars on the streets, many due to the floods in Qld.
My grateful thanks for all your generosity on their behalf.
Love, Jan Mac

Another quilt for Christchurch

This lovely kid's quilt was made and donated by Merilyn Francis from NSW. She has asked that it be donated to Chch and it will soon be on its way across the Tasman.
The lovely bright and fun colours will really warm the spirit for it's new owner and bring them some comofrt as well as warmth.
Thanks you all for continuing to support this quilt appeal for New zealand and Australia. As our winter approaches so quickly the people affected by these natural disasters will really be grateful for all the quilts that have been donated.
Many thanks, Jan Mac

Boys' Quilts for Christchurch

Paid work has been taking up some time for the last few days but I did manage to finish off 2 QAYG quilts for boys. These will be going to Cat in NZ to be distributed to families affected by the earthquakes in Christchurch.
Now that the weather is getting colder they will be very grateful for the warmth of a quilt as many still don't have any heating. We live in a more temperate climate but today was our first cold day for the year and it feels like winter is well on the way.
The last quilt was beautifully made and donated by Di Jobbins (NSW) and the St Mark's Quilters of Sydney and will be much loved by the person who receives it.
I'm sending another 7 or 8 quilts to New Zealand, depending on how many the travelers can fit into their cases, and they will deliver them to Chch personally for us.
I also received a very nice email from the Rochester quilter who helped to distribute the donated quilts in her township.

All quilts donated for flood victims are being given to the Rochester community house and the quilts are then given to locals via contact with the co-ordinator . Last Wed at a morning tea for flood victims - we gave out some quilts, and I couldn't believe how thrilled the people were to be given a quilt (lots of tears and even offers to pay!) and some great feedback from locals since then.
We really appreciate the quilts from Oz Comfort Quilts and congratulate you on doing such a great job - thanks again.

It's always wonderful to hear that the quilts mean so much to the people who receive them and I'm working hard to get more finished and distributed as soon as possible.
Many thanks for all your donations, Jan Mac

Quilts for Charlton, Victoria

The first quilt was a set of QAYG blocks made by Jan Kates (NSW) and they made a lovely bright floral quilt. The following quilts were all made from donated tops and I still have one more to bind. I've also been working on putting more QAYG blocks together into quilts.
Having just heard that Charlton in Victoria, although having help with the clean-up haven't received a great deal of support with donations, so the next delivery of quilts will be going to them.
I have more tops to quilt but paid work is cutting into my time for a few days so I'll get as many finished as I can to send to Vic, NZ and Qld. It's good that I have so many places to donate quilts to as it means that I don't have to store large numbers of quilts here at home. I will be making a couple of quilts for Japan after Easter as they have requested quilts be sent after the 1st of May.
Thank you for all your generous donations which have made it possible to help so many people so far.
Hugs Jan Mac

Quilts For Christchurch

Today I sent off another box of 6 lovely quilts to Cat. I finished the binding on the first two shown here which were donated tops and I still have 3 more to bind. The quilts were all large enough for adults and will bring warmth and comfort to the families who are still living in difficult circumstances in Christchurch, where they are still experiencing disruption to their power supplies and no means of heating in the majority of cases.
I'm sure they are worried about the health of their families as winter approaches and hopefully the quilts will warm bodies as well as their spirits.
The last quilt arrived today and will be on its way to Christchurch next week. Robin Walker from Tasmania sent a large bag of fabric as well as a lovely quilt made and donated for Christchurch. It is made from beautiful machine embroidered blocks in golds and greens and the workmanship is stunning. It's a really lovely quilt and I'm sure it will be loved in its new home.
Thank you all so much for helping Cat and I to send quilts to Christchurch while they recover from the devastating earthquake. I'm sure that receiving the quilts will also remind them that they are in our thoughts and prayers. Thank you also for your donations of money which makes it possible to send so many quilts to NZ and soon to Japan.
I hope you all have a weekend filled with fun and laughter and plenty of sunshine.
Hugs Jan Mac

Finished Quilts Donated

This week I received more beautiful finished quilts and they will really bring some joy and comfort to the recipients. The first quilt came with its own quilted bag, it was sent by Elizabeth Raymond (NSW) and will soon be on its way to Qld.
Janet Stewart and the Candelo Craft Group sent 4 beautiful quilts all in different colours and designs and they are so vibrant that they will bring a welcome bit of colour to their new homes.
The Colleambally Quilters have also been very busy again and have sent 5 more finished quilts as well as 2 sets of QAYG blocks.
The generosity of quilters continues to amaze and gratify me and I am so happy to be able to send these quilts on to people in New Zealand, Qld and Vic who have all experienced such turmoil in their lives and will really appreciate the warm hugs you are sending.
Thank you so much for your donations. I worked hard today and managed to quilt 5 donated tops so tomorrow will be a morning of binding and then more quilting. I'm going to be away next week attending the Australasian Quilt Convention in Melbourne so I hope to see some of you there. If any of the NZ quilters are coming to AQC and would be able to take back a quilt to post to Christchurch please email me as it will be a big saving on postage and every quilt will comfort someone in need. I'm also in the process of setting up a blog button to connect to Paypal in case any one would like to make a small donation to help with the costs for the quilt appeals.
Take you all for your continued support and kind words.
Hugs Jan Mac

It's All About the Kids

I had a great day of quilting yesterday and finished quilting 7 quilts for kids. Some will be going to Christchurch, some to Queensland and the last 3 will be going to a group which helps young teens prepare for their pregnancy. They were all donated tops except I made the red one bigger by adding a border with a bear print so it will fit a larger child.
I hope these quilts bring comfort to the kids who receive them as well as their Mums who will be able to wrap them in a warm hug from all of us. We had 3 children in 3 years on purpose so I always love to support young mothers who are struggling to raise children in difficult circumstances. Imagine if your children had nowhere safe to play or not enough food to eat, let alone being exposed to radioactive material.
I've found most women to be the same all over the world. We want to raise healthy children who will grow into responsible adults with the values of being kind to others, paying good acts forward and leaving their community better off and people happier for having known them.
Not too much to ask for surely and I've found this to be true around the world, from India, Afghanistan, East Timor and even in Turkey, the UK and the US. Sadly in some countries, trying to keep their children alive is as much as many parents can manage and by donating a quilt it may keep a child alive, particularly when they are under-nourished and their metabolism is busy keeping them warm instead of helping growth. This happens even here in Australia so any donation you make whether here or to another country will help at least one child and may allow them to become adults.
So the last two days have been for the kids and the next few will be for more adults as I get larger quilts finished.
Check my other blog for the latest lot of donations.
Very grateful thanks for having you in my life and allowing me into yours.
Hugs Jan Mac