Hi everyone, it’s the Quilters Quarters Newsletter again. I imagine that some of you are finishing off the last of the Christmas shopping and cooking. I hear that in the northern hemisphere there’s been some pretty ghastly weather, with people being snowed in or snowed out (depending on your perspective!). I hope the weather breaks for the special day and the holidays for everyone to have a lovely time.

Christmas in Australia is rather odd to most northern hemispherarians (new word). It’s in the middle of summer and we usually have very hot weather. Here in my home town, we have tropical storms most afternoons which bring fury and torrential rain, then about one hour later, the sun shines and the humidity just about suffocates you. This means that a great many Aussies have a cold Christmas lunch with foods such as prawns, lobsters and all manner of fresh seafood, together with lots of fruits and salads. We usually still have the plum pudding with hot custard and ice-cream (the one hot dish on our menu this year).

Anyway, no matter where in the world you are, I hope you enjoy the holidays with your family and/or friends and that it is a very happy time for you.

I had my Christmas present last night – the best Chrissie present I’ve had in years! We used Skype for the first time and talked with our daughter who is about 900 miles from here. It was lovely to see her face and talk just like we were together sitting around the kitchen table. I got a bit teary there at one stage. I miss her so much, but this is the next best thing. We have always known about Skype, but didn’t have the equipment to be able to use it. That was until my darling bought a new computer. Can’t wait to get on tonight and have a chat!

Last Sunday I posted an article with lots and lots of links to Quilt Retreats and Tours on offer in 2010. I figured that some of you would be thinking about where to go and what to do in your quilting world next year. Pop over to the article by clicking this link: http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art2270.asp

We’ve had some happy holiday messages from some of our readers on the forum. I’ve added mine today too. Here’s the link if you’d like to add yours: http://forums.bellaonline.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/572108#Post572108

My gifts for you this week are more bits and pieces that I have come across whilst I’m surfing on the net. I hope you enjoy them.

http://sew4home.com/projects/pillows-cushions/464-last-minute-gift-pillows-relaxing-neck-pillow An easy pattern for a relaxing neck pillow

http://theluckyducks.blogspot.com/2009/10/scrap-buster-scrap-bags.html scrap buster bags

http://www.vivelyonline.com/2009/11/tutorial-line-and-cover-that-ugly.html line and cover a plastic container

That’s all from me this week. Again, many thanks for sending me your messages and comments. I love to hear from you, what ever you may wish to say. I will be back next week, making ready for the new year.

Cheerio for now
Judie Bellingham, Quilting Editor
http://Quilting.bellaonline.com

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