Hello there, just me popping in to say hello! I wonder how your week has gone. I’m always telling you about mine. I sincerely hope that you are getting through the days with a smile on your face. There are lots to be glum about in the world, but in my book if I get up in the morning and I can stand on my own two feet, I'm in pretty good shape!

I know that’s an ostrich kinda attitude, but I’ll worry about the things I can do something about. On that note, my quilting Guild has decided to sponsor a local day shelter for the homeless. We collect a certain type of grocery (one that they have suggested) and bring it in on our monthly meeting day. Last month it was canned food (with the pull ring top), and this month it’s soda cans. I wasn’t sure about it when the manager of the shelter suggested soda cans, but he explained that they were easy to keep, helped with dehydration and most importantly, helped some to sate their thirst for alcohol and as a consequence, only drink soda.

So I expect my car will be overflowing again next Tuesday. I drive directly from the meeting to the shelter and there’s always some people there to help me unload. I wonder what your quilting group is doing for charity in your local area? I’m sure there are lots of stories out there and I’d love to hear them. I’ll start the conversation going in the forum and you can put your 2cents worth in any time. Here’s the link: http://forums.bellaonline.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=newpost&Board=43

Last Sunday I posted an article on the Inaugural Machine Quilters of Australia show here in Queensland last month. I took a number of “happy snaps” for you to see, but have also linked to their site, where all the winners are to be seen in all their glory. It was a highly successful show and great to see the creativity of these wonderful professionals. I was so absorbed by one quilt that I’m in the process of interviewing the designer/quilter and I’ll have that interview for you in the next few weeks. Here’s a link to that article: http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art1119.asp

Onto your gifts for this week. I discovered this fantastic bed caddy from the Sew 4 Home site. It’s a real beauty, especially if you are a bed reader, or someone that stitches in bed. Here’s the link:http://sew4home.com/projects/storage-solutions/400-bed-caddy

Also, I’ve had the need for a pincushion that is always handy and came across this grand idea – a wrist watch pin cushion. Only a genius could think of that. Here’s the link:
http://thelongthread.com/

Well, dear friends, I’ll be off now. I do hope you are getting some quilting done during your busy life – remember we must always make time to quilt.
Cheerio for now, and have fun quilting.