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Monthly Archives: February 2009

Woodland Faeries for Victoria

 

Woodland Faeries wip for the Bushfire Survivors...ready for sandwiching and quilting

Yesterday I completed this cot sized quilt top. It is full of faeries frolicking in the forest…hope that is seen as a positive thing by parent survivors,  not a negative one.

bushfire quilt...for a baby girl

I  am planning to create  bedding sets for the families to use while they are waiting to rebuild or to restart their lives elsewhere. I see quite a few people are not going back to those towns although you would not know that judging by the commemorative service which seemed overly patriotic to me…I do hope we are not going to start whipping people up into a quasi American fervour of patriotism whenever disasters happen. Oh well it might just be me but my son and I were also a tad put out at the lack of participation by other religious leaders and also where was the representation of the  non religious in that service? Perhaps because it was a memorial service it had to be religious but I do not know if that is always so. Anyway this is just off the top of my head after watching the replay of the service.

Update on Oz Comfort Quilts

Jan of Oz Comfort Quilts has had some fabulous donations this week including several by local quilting superstar Lisa Walton…incredibly generous of this prize winning quilter to give her very valuable quilts to the cause.

Speaking of donations Borders Australia are working with the Red Cross to raise $200000. Any used books..in good condition will be donated to Libraries and schools etc and for each book you bring in or buy..Borders will donate the retail price of that book …up to $200,000. Way to go borders..am going through our garage later as we have heaps of books and dvds etc

Spot the goodies

I went to Spotlight on Thursday and indulged in their generous sale of spend $100 get $40 off and was able to get threads and safety pins

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some stunning fabric which am undecided whether it will be for a medallion quilt or a skirt with contrasting panels for myself.

I have been quite distressed this week with the death of my friend and other issues and am looking forward to getting some creative stuff finished. Thank you everyone who emailed and commented and also my wonderful flickr friends who were so supportive. Off to do some sewing now.

 

Hope your weekend was enjoyable and relaxing.

 

 

Quiet Spirit

laurel burch

Hand quilting a quilt for a young lady survivor of the bushfires…..

Through A Veil, Brightly

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This week’s “Friday Fassett Finds” is a stunning quilt which has been used as a curtain. This pattern is from one of Kaffe Fassett’s earlier quilting books and the blind is meant to have a stained glass effect when seen with light pouring through the window. I think you will agree that Amy of eyelovequilts has done a fabulous job of interpreting Kaffe’s design. I hope I can do half as good a job…I have almost collected enough vibrant fabrics to make two of these for our home.

light brings it to life


 

Getting Busy

Bush Fire comfort needed:

Monica at Beyond Pink and Blue has organised a great little gift bag appeal [click on the widget aboves] for children affected by the bush fires. These activity bags will contain new clothes and toys and activities all to fit inside a bag the size of a library bag.

My flickr friend has arranged a quilt block appeal ….the group already has over fifty members. This block is so simple anyone who can sew could do it. Tia is taking on the mammoth task of sewing the blocks together and assembling them into quilts and then quilting them.

Meet Me At Mike’s in Melbourne has a long list of things that can be donated in future like books, bedding……. mobile phone chargers are needed now apparently

Kerry Swain of The Cottage On The Hill in Nundle has already had a get together and the group is in the process of finishing six quilts to send to the red cross… yeah.. Kerry …by the way she has a wonderful place in the country where people can go for quilting retreats

eye spy

Above is some of the fabric I am cutting up to make children’s quilts and I will use some of it for the wonky stars for Tia’s group as well….there is lots we can do as well as the giving of blood and money initially. Like a lot of people it comforts my mind to use my hands in crafting …I do hope that whatever you do to understand and come to terms with this awful tragedy brings you comfort. Initially I wanted to find out all I could and see all that I could but after weeping tonight when I saw the faces of the dead and then when I read about what actually happened in Marysville..I need to be doing something.

Coffee and Contemplation

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As I walked up to the local shopping centre in suburban Sydney amidst the smoke which remained from the dreadful bush fires I could smell night scented jesamine and frangiapani and other strongly scented fragrances which in the short time it took me to get to the shops became quite overpowering. The scent was evocative of when we worked at the church and I helped with the funerals…a heady mix of lilies and gardenia

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I looked around our local centre for fleece blankets which I am going to edge with pretty fabric and also make matching sheet sets for babies and children so that when the time comes for the surviving children of Victoria’s Bleak Weekend of Hell On Earth to be rehoused…even temporarily ..that they have something that is their own and something to snuggle into. I have also asked my flickr groups to consider making toys and quilts in readiness for when the survivors are able to have them. We have already donated to The Red Cross and see that Channel Nine is having a telethon on Thursday night. They lost one of their own in the Kingslake fire…Brian  Naylor who was a newsreader for over twenty years before he retired with his wife. Both he and his wife perished however his daughter in law and the grandchildren escaped although the homes were burned to the ground.

The above photos were taken by talented young flickerian 19shell91 who lives in Bendigo which is one of the areas affected by the fires…luckily she is okay and I thank her for her generosity in allowing me to use her photos

I have not answered all of my comments on my previous post and I cannot get into reading any of the blog posts which are unrelated to this at present…they seem trivial somehow and disloyal, it is as if we need to go over this again and again…as if that might make it so it never happens again. The Royal Commission may help with that…I was so distressed to read about the disabled ..often in wheelchairs who died in their homes…how could they have stayed and defended their homes? I guess it swept through so fast that they did not even know it was coming…but I see that today for a while they were advising people to leave or stay and fight…how can children fight it and why should they? I think there should be some sort of mandatory evacuation  plans for minors and the disabled.

Coffee and Contemplation

It is nearly nine at night and the sickening scent of the mixed summer blooms is wafting through the balcony door. I will never enjoy that scent again. I am about to have a coffee and contemplate again what happened here…while watching people on television weeping as they find pieces of china in the ruins of their homes.  Those, the lucky ones who are allowed back to the remains of their homes…Marysville is now a crime scene…a whole town a crime scene…it is simply beyond belief.

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