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

Quilts for Christchurch

These three quilts will all be winging their way across the Tasman this week where Cat will very kindly pass them on to families in Christchurch.
I hope that the bright colours will bring them some joy as well as warmth and comfort.
The first two quilts are made from donated QAYG blocks and the last quilt was a donated top.
It's been very heartwarming to read how much the quilts mean to the families who have already received them in Christchurch when they commented on my other blog. I am very grateful that they took the time to write and tell us about their experiences and I hope that the quilts which will reach their city will soon bring the same comfort to others.
Love and hugs, Jan Mac

Quilts for Queensland

Today I managed to finish off 5 quilts which was very pleasing. The first 2 are QAYG but using 15" blocks so they went together very quickly. I have a few more of these sized blocks and will make some more to join them into a quilt.
The next 2 quilts were made from donated tops. The pile of quilts for Emerald is growing again and will soon be on their way to Qld.
I tallied how many quilts I'd finished for February and March and found that I'd done 71, which was similar to the 37 I finished in January. I was surprised as I was away for 2 weeks in March. Of course it was only possible to finish so many because of all the wonderful tops or QAYG blocks that have been donated.
I need to start working with the beautiful heart blocks which have arrived from Holland and Belgium to make them into quilts for Qld.
Thank you everyone for all your donations as we have been able to bring comfort to so many people having given out 175 quilts so far this year.
Love and hugs, Jan Mac

Quilts Leaving Soon

It was lovely to take a break and catch up with my quilting friends but I'm now enjoying getting more quilts finished and donated. The first two QAYG quilts I finished yesterday and the next quilt was a donated top which just needed quilting and binding. I also received the next quilt from a member of AQA and the last quilt shown was from Lesley Lowe from Kyabram (Vic).
I have almost finished another larger QAYG quilt and then plan to finish quilting some more donated tops. Where the quilts are sent depends on the donor's request or the thickness of the batting. These quilts will be going to Emerald (Qld). Check out my other blog for recent donations and comment on my question if you want to share your thoughts.
I received some lovely donations of money to help with costs of the quilts and I posted off another 5 quilts to Cat for Christchurch NZ yesterday. Unfortunately the previous arrangements for shipping to NZ have fallen through so I'll be posting the quilts using donations, to make sure they reach New Zealand and can bring comfort to those who have lost so much in their recent earthquake.
Hugs Jan Mac

Finishing Quilts for March

It's time to get back to the Quilt Factory and get more quilts finished and donated, especially now that winter is approaching fast and I know that Christchurch will soon be experiencing their cold weather.
I had a lovely time at our yearly retreat for Southern Cross Quilters and was very lucky to receive more beautiful quilts to donate as well as a very generous donation of money to help with the costs of postage and batting' This means that I will be able to send more quilts to Japan and New Zealand as well as here for our flood areas.
The first quilt was made and donated by one of the SCQ members, and I think it was Lola from Vic but there was a lot going on that week so I may be confused LOL. If it was someone other than Lola please let me know so that I can change the information. The quilt is so pretty that I'm sure Lola won't mind taking the credit anyway LOL.
Prue Ling (WA) and Edith Burgess (Tas) both made quilts in the theme of Carnivale for the retreat challenge and they very kindly donated them to Oz Comfort Quilts for distribution.
The quilts are beautifully made and so colourful that they are sure to brighten the lives of their new owners.
The last quilt was made by the group, ANZA Quilters in Singapore and they also very kindly sent QAYG blocks as well. The quilt is so beautiful and fresh with its crisp and co-ordinated range of colours that it will be treasured by the new owner and how cool is it that quilters from around the world very generously donate their gift of time and fabric to comfort others. One of the ANZA memebrs has also contacted me about delivering more quilts when she visits NZ this week and I know that Cat will be thrilled to receive more lovely quilts from around the world.
And last but by no means least, Jenni S. (Vic) has been very busy knitting beanies for the Homeless Connect Day to be held in Brisbane (Qld) in May and so far as made 15 of them. They will be so welcomed by the group who can give them to the people who were among the worse- affected by the floods in Brisbane and this will be such a huge help to making their winter a little more bearable. I am also working on a crocheted blanket and another quilt to send to this group too so I'd better get busy now that we're into April.
I'm very humbled and grateful for all your donations which have allowed us to help so many people around the world and I'd better get busy finishing more quilts today.
Hugs Jan Mac

Quilts For Japan

I've been very saddened like many others who have been watching the news about the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan and wondering what I could do to help from here in Australia. Luckily I received an email from one of my blog readers, Sandra Shigeno, and she very kindly shared some information about what types of quilts would be suitable for a Quilt Appeal for the Japanese people.

Sandra wrote: Typical Japanese quilts (futon) used every day for covering beds made up on the floor (tatami mats) are rather puffy and not quilted closely -- more like what we think of as tied quilts with a thicker batting than we would use -- and are usually made of large pieces of fabric, not pieced like a Western quilt.    Having said that,  Japanese quilters do spend hours on turning out exquisite piecing and quiltwork for show (as for a living room couch or to hang on a wall), but I've rarely seen what we Westerners think of as a "bed quilt" actually used for sleeping under, except in the homes of a few quilters themselves.    The futon quilts that Japanese use are what we would think of as single-bed size;  each person has his or her own individual sleeping space, even married couples, so there's no need for even a double quilt.   However,  in the summer, those thick quilts/futons are just too hot, so our Western type of thinner quilts would be just fine then.   Western-type beds are more popular nowadays than when I lived there; so the "Patchwork Tsushin" editor probably assumes that with more beds being used in Japan, that more people are becoming used to Western-type quilts.  They would be a lot easier to make, collect, and mail than trying to gather the same amount of the heavier Japanese futon!

As an added note,  Japanese prefer rather subdued colors more that bright ones;  even in their clothing, they don't like to stand out or look "different," so they wear a lot of browns and dark blues and earth colors more than anything else.Quilts with the dominant colors of dark blues and muted tones of complimentary colors would be popular.
The majority of evacuees seem to be older people living in small farming and fishing communities, and they would certainly be more conservative as to colors.   As mentioned on TV, most of the younger folks have in past years moved to larger cities to find work, so it is mainly the "elderly" who are left.

The request for quilts has come from the Japanese Patchwork magazine, Quilt Tsushin, and they are requesting any new or unused quilts to be sent to Japan after May 1st when it will be possible to deliver the quilts where they are needed.










Please post to:

Naomi Ichikawa
Patchwork Tsushin Co.,Ltd
2-21-2,Yushima,Bunkyo-ku,Tokyo,Japan zip:113-0034


Even the donation of just one quilt from all of us would make a huge difference to the people who have been so traumatized by recent events.

Hugs Jan Mac