Sending off some cheer

Good morning, everyone. How was your week? Usually I start here with something fun or happy, but this time I want to talk about the terrible things that are happening with our friends in Australia. There are terrible fires ravaging the country and many people have lost their homes, at least 25 people have lost their lives, and entire towns have been destroyed. You may have heard that half a billion animals have been killed as well. (If you need some more information, HERE is a link to a CNN story.) I saw one extremely frightening story that showed people being forced into the ocean by the fires. If you start looking around, you'll be overwhelmed by the scope of the disasters happening there.

Last week I saw Jo's post where she shared a very heartfelt request from a fellow Australian quilt blogger, Jan. Jan has begun a drive for quilt blocks that she can stitch up and distribute to people who have lost everything when the appropriate time arrives. It's summer in Australia right now, but we all know that winter will come, right? In her post, Jan also said she was accepting quilt tops and backing that she can quilt up and distribute.

Well. I have those. Far too many, too.  So. . . these three tops are headed for Australia:

Some of you might remember that my brother lost literally everything in a house fire less than a year ago.  It's hard, folks. It's hard to lose everything and rebuild.  It seems like it would be fun to shop for all new things, but it isn't. And there are things that are lost that can never be replaced.

I chose these three quilt tops because they're each a good size and they're all quite cheerful, and I figure that some people will really need some cheerfulness.  Check out this happy block:

Wouldn't that cheer you up just a tiny bit? This quilt is my Sewcial Bee Sampler from a quilt along by Maureen Cracknell and Sharon Holland. I just love it, and I hope someone else will really love it too, and get some comfort from it.

The block above is from my 100 patch scrap quilt. I love this quilt, too!  I actually hope this one goes to a teenager or a child, so they can look through all of the blocks and find some favorite patches of their own.

The final quilt is one that I named Garden Path. It has floral blocks and a lot of green. I thought that all of the green would make a nice quilt for someone who had had to watch so many things burn. I hope someone really, really enjoys it.

I love all of these quilts and am happy to send off the best from my closet to people who deserve a bit of cheer. I wish I could send more, but the postage to Australia is astoundingly expensive.  I put these tops into bags and squeezed out all the air I could, then packed them into a box. (There will be wrinkles--sorry!) The box weighs about 6 pounds and the cheapest rate I could find was DHL, for about $67.  The post office wanted nearly $100, so this is a bargain.  It's a lot to spend to send these off, but much, much less than I would have paid to have them quilted.  And where else could I buy relief for people who have lost so much so cheaply?

This was a downer of a post! Sorry about that, but I do really encourage you to go over and have a look at Jan's page and see if there is something you can contribute as well. She's already quilted up a several quilts! And if you want to make some financial contributions or help in other ways, I'll bet some of our Australian bloggers could help point you in the right direction on that, too.

Hope everyone around the world has a good and safe weekend.  Australian friends, we are all with you! Stay safe, and let us know what else we can do to help!