Hi everyone, another page is turned on the calendar and that means we’re now officially half way through 2009. I’m sure you’re all feeling like this last six months has simply flown by. I’ve been told by someone that knows these things, that when you have a feeling of time flying by, your state of mind is usually very content and (generally speaking) your are satisfied with your life. Now, doesn’t that make you feel better?

My daughter is back in the city again, her last course is underway. She’ll be staying with us on the weekend, and it will be lovely having her under our roof again. We do so love her company; she’s very funny and generous and has a delightfully cheerful spirit. For me, always a great dose of medicine.

I had a rather delightful and unexpected experience on Monday. A friend of a friend of mine showed me a quilt she had received from a friend’s mother, who had received this quilt from a nun she had known for many years. It was exquisite AND old. (Not often you get both eh?). It was a log cabin and each log cabin was 5” wide and had six blocks set around a 1 ½” centre square of black velvet. It was amazingly put together. I have no idea how old it might have been, but the fabrics looked very old. There was some wear, but altogether it is in very good condition. I was in awe of the workmanship of the maker, and the adeptness of needle that allowed such fine pieces to be joined together. The story behind the quilt is that it was made by a female, free settler who traveled to Australia on a migrant ship from Ireland. We have decided to pursue the provenance of this quilt and try to find out if the story is true. What fun!!

Back at the Bellaonline website, I posted the last two State Blocks the other day, Wisconsin and Wyoming are complete and there on the site for you to see. Here’s the link to Wisconsin: http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art1126.asp

It’s nice to have finished this series, and I’m looking to commencing another for you soon. Thankyou to all those readers who emailed me with their thanks for completing the series.

My gift to you today, is a couple of free patterns and instructions of fabric baskets. I love being able to put my scrap fabrics to use, especially in the kitchen, and these patterns work very well. Here’s the links:

http://www.kiwiquilts.co.nz/site/kiwiquilts/files/Kiwiquilts%20Tied%20basket%20pattern%20Dec%2007.pdf
Tied fabric baskets

http://www.ohfransson.com/oh_fransson/2008/09/how-to-make-a-charging-basket.html A electronic “charging” basket, but could be used for so many different things – just eliminate the slot for the cord!

http://ayumills.blogspot.com/2008/05/tutorial-fabric-basket.html a cute little rubbish bin for your sewing table, or very useful as a portable rubbish bin for your thread scraps.

Well, that’s all from me this week, stay happy and busy, and I’ll pop in next week.

Cheerio for now




Judie Bellingham, Quilting Editor
http://Quilting.bellaonline.com

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