Good morning all, well it’s morning here and already the temperature is rising to a pretty hot day. Unusual for this time of spring, but with climate change upon us, who knows what’s going to happen?

I might have told you about the birdbath that my darling installed just outside my sewing room recently. Well, the other day it was like peak hour in Paris – there were birds flying in from all over, fighting for a spot on the edge of the birdbath. MD keeps the bath clean and washes it out each day, and sometimes we have to refill it at lunchtime because it’s had a lot of traffic and there’s not much water left in the bottom.

It’s interesting to watch the “pecking order” amongst the native and introduced species. Of course the crows are so big, they can’t fit in the bath completely, but they do like to take their time drinking politely from the edge. The Banana birds (I suspect that’s not their proper name), that have very curved beaks come in and splash about, but always very cautiously. The Indian Minors are the funniest to watch. They sit in the bough of the tree above the birdbath and make all manner of noise before they dive with gay abandon into the bath, sometimes landing upside down.

There can sometimes be three birds in the bath together and it’s such fun watching them sloshing and shaking, splashing and flapping. This birdbath has turned out to be a great time waster for me, but probably very good for my soul, and certainly an avian tourist spot in the suburb. I can thoroughly recommend having one in your garden.

Last Sunday I posted an article on the Fons and Porter publications recently launched for Quilters. Here’s the article for your interest: http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art181443.asp

Take some time to hop over to the forum and make a comment – it’s your forum so please utilise it. Here’s the link:
http://forums.bellaonline.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=43

There’s so much to see on the web these days, in any genre of sewing you wish to explore. I’ve found some interesting bits and pieces for you. Hope you enjoy the browse.

http://www.cluckclucksew.com/2009/12/raw-edge-circle-quilt-tutorial.html a quickie quilt and a great tutorial

http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/sushi_pin_cushion love sushi? You’ll love this pincushion. (Who thinks up these things???)

http://www.stitchedincolor.com/2011/02/bottled-rainbows-ticker-tape-quilt.html this quilter is really something else – great unique ideas here

http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/3830/a-pin-for-every-purpose here’s a great little tutorial on the use of sewing pins and their various uses

http://kojo-designs.com/2013/07/diy-rainbow-button-decor/ a terrific use of colour and buttons

http://momspark.net/50-diy-shoe-makeovers/ for those with a shoe fetish – Knock yourself out!!

http://www.roserushbrooke.com/how-to-ruche.html here’s a tutorial on ruching, appliqué artists love this technique

http://www.positivelysplendid.com/2013/04/easy-table-runner-pattern.html a quickie table runner to put together

http://ellascraftcreations.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/design-transfer-tutorialmy-way-and-my.html here’s a great little tutorial on design transferring

Well dear quilters, that’s all I have for you this week. I do hope this newsletter arrives at a convenient time for you and that you get a few moments to have a cuppa and enjoy the chat.

Till next week, take care and cheerio for now

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

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