How to get started making quilts...

Just before I start a little business.  I know not everyone reads the blog posts in their entirety so business first.  I will be on the road for the next three days, heading out at 730am tomorrow morning.  It is time to load up my car and head off to take my son back to boarding school.  Insert serious happy dance here.

 This is the final year of his schooling, the final year of anyone's school in this family! YAY for him and for this Mum. That makes the 8 hour drive a little more palatable! Something else that makes the trip a little more fun will be catching up with a recipient's mum on my way out of town on Wednedsay.  I will be back on deck on Thursday night so if I am a little slow answering emails or responding to facebook you will know why.  Mind you FEEL FREE TO CALL ME if you have any queries.  My son sits in the back of my 7 seater car with his headphones in and 8 hours can be a loooooong boring drive!  I am handsfree and legal so if the mood takes you............

Actually the next six weeks or so are going to be very busy with me getting ready for a couple of trips in early March.  I am off to Adelaide on the 28th of Feb.  I have been invited to stay with one recipient's family (so excited), will be attending a Pot Luck Dinner at Julie Ann's house (all welcome, recipients and Friends) and will be hand delivering the H quilt (yes, for all those who contributed blocks it is nearly completed but he watches the blog so no pics yet). I have one of two other things in the pipeline for that trip but too soon to tell all.

There are more plans on the drawing board but I will tell you about those closer to date.   For now though, suffice to say that I am going to have my hands full keeping up with the blog and the behind the scenes admin AND HOPEFULLY getting a little sewing in.  (Please.........I hope I get a little sewing in!)   Due to the schedule I know you will understand when I tell you that I have decided only to write Posts on Weekdays for the time being.  That at least gives me the weekends off from posting, if not from the rest of the admin. 

So now, on with tonight's post - How to get started making quilts...

If you don't know what or who an Aussie Hero Friend is then I obviously need to tell you.  That is what someone who helps or participates in Aussie Heroes is called.  We looked at lots of different names, but that is the one that most people seemed to like so that is the one we adopted sometime in 2012 I think.  Seeing as we have had so many new people "like" the facebook page I figured that it was time to write a post on how to get involved with us. Lately I have been getting a few emails from people wanting to know how to get started so here goes.

Most of the information you need is on the blog somewhere, but here are some more links to get you started.

By the way, do you like the new colours?

If you look at the blog and look under the heading on the white background you will see a list of titles. Those are pages and they include all sorts of information.  Click on them and check them out.

Quilt Specifics can be found here.   This covers size, composition,  and label requirements plus some suggestions re kinds of quilts to make.  

You have a choice with quilts.  You can either find out what requests I have on my list and make a quilt according to one of those requests, 

or you can make a quilt to your own preference.   

Either way I ask that you send me a photo of your completed quilt (if you can).  Photos are shared on the blog and the facebook page.  

If your quilt has not been made for a specific recipient then seeing a photo helps me to allocate it.  The colour or design might be perfect for someone on my list - you just never know.  Once you have finished your quilt and you are ready to post it off I strongly suggest that you check out the Posting Instructions on the blog here especially if this is the first time you have posted for us.  The instructions will tell you what to write on your green customs label and so on.

I will always ask you to confirm that you have actually posted your quilt.  You may email me and tell me that you are posting your quilt the next day or that afternoon but I would still like a confirmatory email so that I know your parcel is actually on its way.  I have learned the hard way that sometimes LIFE gets in the way or unexpected things happen and sometimes what you intend to do does not happen.  Occasionally that has lead to a box sitting in the back of someone's car or on their kitchen bench for longer than it should and on some occasions a recipient has not received their quilt at all. So, that is why I always double check.

Obviously I would always prefer that complete quilts are made as that is so much easier for me but I understand that is not always possible for a myriad of reasons.  If you can't make a full quilt you are always welcome to send me quilt tops that I will have made up.  

Depending on how many quilt tops I have on hand it may take a while for your quilt top to be completed and sent off as I prioritize which ones go to a quilter depending on the requests. If your quilt top will suit someone in particular then I will send it off to be quilted as soon as I can.  Sometimes I can take a quilt top I have been sent and personalise it with a bit off applique, perhaps a roo, or a silhouette of someone's hobby.

  If you have any objections to me doing that please let me know and I will respect your wishes.  Once a donated quilt top is finished and selected to send off I will post a picture on the blog.  I try to keep track of who sent which quilt top but it is not easy so please bear with me if I show your top and do not attribute it to you.  If you see your work on the blog you are always welcome to message me and let me know and I will edit the post to reflect your input quite happily.

If you can't send a quilt top then you are welcome to send me blocks.  We have a BOM program - Block of the Month - so you can choose to make BOMs and send them in.  They do not get sent to me but to my off-sider Caroline.  This is her address

Caroline Gunn

PO Box 2079

St Mary's NSW 2760

The next BOM will be revealed on the 3rd of February.  At the moment we are collecting Poppy Blocks (see here). Once received the BOMs will be made into quilt kits which will either be put together at sewing days or will be sent out to volunteers to put them together into Quilt Tops.  

 Past BOM tutorials can be found here.  

I think that just about sums up what to do if you want to get involved making quilts. 

Basically I can accommodate any level of contribution.  You can make both quilts and laundry bags or just one or the other.  

If you need any more information or have other questions please feel free to contact me.

Jan-Maree Ball

Founder and Coordinator

Aussie Hero Quilts (and Laundry Bags)

PO Box 248, Cherrybrook, NSW, 2126

friendsofAHQ@gmail.com

Phone 0422227019

OK, time for me to go and pack up the sewing machine - well, I have to have something to do in the motel at night!  LOL

Till next time.............keep spreading the word and happy stitching!  JMxx