Wow, is it Wednesday already? My gosh, where did that week go? I guess it’s only going to go faster as we approach Christmas and all the fun festivities ahead. My darling (MD) and I have decided to be traveling over Christmas. We’re putting our car on the train and training across the country, doing a bit of site-seeing, and then doing the reverse. Guess what I’m excited about.
• The three day and night trip on the train? – No.
• The wonderful scenery across this broad wide land? – No.
• The wonderful non-stop cuisine on the train? No.
• The incredible coastline that offers wonders of nature every 100 miles or so? - No

What I’m most excited about is - which sewing projects I’ll be taking with me. I’ll need something small and portable for the train, something to knit in the car (I can knit up a storm when touring in the car), and something to do on our days off from touring. “Sew” many decisions. Do I go to a UFO that’s screaming out to be finished? I don’t think so. I’ll be organizing new projects for this holiday.

Does this sound familiar? I wonder what you do when you’re traveling. Do you sew or just dream about the quilt you’re going to make on your return. I have a friend who does all her designing in the car with a sketchpad and pencil. What a wonderful way to enjoy a holiday, see the sights, and still not waste time away from creating.

Perhaps you’d like to go to our forum and tell us what you do to sate your quilting habit when you’re on holidays. To participate in free, fun online discussions, this site has a community forum all about Quilting located here -
http://forums.bellaonline.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=43

Here's the link to my latest article from the Quilting site at BellaOnline.com. Managing your Fabric Stash – stashing or collecting. What’s the difference? How to keep your stash up to date and relevant for the quilt you’d like to create.
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art797.asp

I’ve had some great feedback from you on this subject. Thanks so much for being in touch; it’s nice to know that we have a lot in common. Please visit Quilting.bellaonline.com for even more great articles and content about Quilting.

I’m gradually developing a format for our newsletters and I thought for the last week of the month I’ll have a monthly Quote and Monthly Tip section in the Quilters Quarters Newsletter. So here’s the inaugural quote and tip.

Quilters Quarters Quote for October:

Really I don't dislike to cook, but what you cook is eaten so quickly. When you sew, you have something that will last to show for your efforts. ~Elizabeth Travis Johnson

Quilters Quarters Tip for October: My friends at the animal shelter passed this one on to me – I thought it was a brilliant idea – we quilters don’t want to waste anything!!!

Cat and Dog Beds.
What do you do with your unusable and odd sized scraps that are no use to you? Here is a fabulous idea of putting those scraps to good use. Make a plain muslin bag about the shape of a pillow case, or you can use an old pillow case you no longer need. Pin the top edges to your sewing table (so it becomes the scrap bin). Fill it up with all the useless scraps you manufacture during your creating. When the bag is almost full, about ¾’s or so, sew up the bag really well and puff the scraps out evenly throughout the bag. These bags need to be soft but not stuffed to the top. They make great beds for cats and dogs. They can be washed over and over and they provide a nice soft spot for the animals to rest. Your local animal shelter would be very grateful to receive them. Perhaps you could contact your local animal shelter, ask them how many they would want and make it a project for your quilting group.

Well, I hope this newsletter finds you all well and busy with your needles. Cheerio for now and have fun quilting!!

Judie Bellingham (email: Quilting@BellaOnline.com )
Editor Quilting
BellaOnline