Fires in Tasmania

Jess from The Elven Garden has asked me to share this post with you.  As some of you may be aware, my home state of Tasmania has been devastated by some huge bushfires in the last week. Many, many homes have been completely destroyed and families have lost everything. The latest report is that about 200 homes have been either destroyed or severely damaged in the bushfires.  According to the Tasmanian Government, the best way to help is to donate money at either

St Vincent de Paul - 131 812 or www.vinnies.org.au, or

Red Cross - 1800 811 700 or www.redcross.org.au

If you're local, donations of the following are being accepted:

• Toilet packs
• Essential new clothing
• Necessities for children and babies
• Batteries (including 9V)
• Torches
• Lanterns
• First Aid supplies
• Sunscreen
• Aeroguard
• Blankets and bedding

My heart goes out to all the people and families affected by the fires. What I've decided to do is ask for donations of baby's and kids quilts to pass on to the families who have lost so much in the fires. If you can help out with this, please let me know and I'll give you details of where to send them.  If you have quilt tops that just need backing and quilting, I'd be happy to accept these too and quilt them up myself to give to the families who've been affected.

UPDATE: There is a register being set up of children who have been affected by the fires - all the donated quilts will be matched to a recipient via the register (based on gender and age), and delivered directly to the families in need. This will be an ongoing effort, so there is not really an accurate time frame I can give.

There is also a handmade auction being hosted by The Handmade Library - if you are interested in donating anything for the auction, you can find the Facebook group here.

Thanks so much,
Jess