Good day everyone, it’s the middle of the week again, time to pop in and say hello. I was in my own little heaven momentarily yesterday.

In Queensland we have tropical fruits growing due to the sunny weather. We have avocados, macadamias, mangoes, paw paws and lots more yummy sweet fruits that are available throughout the summer months.

Here in Brisbane many households have a Bowen Mango tree in their backyard. These old trees aren’t very attractive to look at but every third season or so, produces the most amazing amount of huge sweet juicy mangoes. Anyway…… my girlfriend has a huge tree in her backyard, and gave me a bag of about 10 huge mangoes. You could smell them the moment you walked into the house.

So yesterday I spent a good hour peeling and cutting them and stacking them in containers ready to go into the freezer. But I had a problem. When you cut the two cheeks off, and then the two strips on the other two sides, what to do with the flesh that’s left on the big seed pod? You guessed, it, I sucked my way through ten mango seed pods till they were completely bald!! I had juice dripping from my elbows, my chin and all over the kitchen bench, the floors, my shoes, just about everywhere!! Yum Yum!! Now that’s my idea of heaven!

I had a lovely email from a reader who has made a wedding quilt for her son and daughter-in-law. It’s special because I designed the block to be written on by the guests who attended the special day. I’ve posted a small article and photos on my blog for you to go to. Here it is: http://whenlifehandsyouscraps.blogspot.com.au/

Last week I responded to another request from a reader about making quilts using triangle blocks. I hope it was useful for quilters out there who have some questions about putting triangles together. Here’s the link to that article. http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art182409.asp

Thanks also to all those readers who responded to my question about whether I should keep up with the pincushions. There was a resounding YES in your replies so I’ll keep giving you one each week. Forgive me if I come up with one I’ve had before – I’ve been posting a newsletter every week for the past 6 years, so I’m bound to come up with the same one at some time! Here’s you goodies for this week. Enjoy:

http://mydiychat.com/diy-projects/diy-pom-pom-rug just love this rug – the tutorial can be found at the end of the article

http://hopefulhomemaker.com/wp/2013/04/01/lone-star-block-tutorial/ a terrific tutorial on making the Lone Star block

http://www.cluckclucksew.com/2012/03/pink-classic.html another terrific quilt tutorial from Cluck Cluck Sew

http://cornflowerbluestudio.blogspot.com.au/2010/09/dont-waste-those-scraps-easy-crazy.html an easy crazy patchwork cushion cover to make using only scraps

http://www.patchworkposse.com/2013/10/clean-fuzzy-rotary-cutting-mat/ here’s some advice on cleaning up your rotary cutting mat

http://mydiychat.com/diy-projects/13-unexpected-ways-to-upcycle-your-thrifty-shop-findings some handy hints here

http://www.chicaandjo.com/2012/03/12/button-canvas-shoes/ just gorgeous

http://almastoller.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/tutorial-bottle-cap-stamps.html here’s a terrific tutorial for making easy stamps for fabric painting.

http://yougogirl.typepad.com/you_go_girl/2008/07/my-entry-2.html l here’s a great tutorial on MACHINE binding – that is – sewing binding on completely using your sewing machine.

http://www.bhg.com/crafts/sewing/accessories/adorable-posy-pincushions/ a sweet posy pincushion

Must away and get ready for my day. I do hope this newsletter finds you all in good health and finding some time to do a little quilting. Till next week, take care and cheerio for now


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

One of hundreds of sites at BellaOnline.com