Hi Everyone, a busy week has passed and time for me to say hello to you all.

It’s been a sad week for my friend Di. She had to endure the devastating ordeal of having her much loved pet dog euthanized. Georgie (a Kelpie / Rottweiler cross) had been Di’s best mate for 14 years and she was a much loved member of the family. It will be difficult for Di to get used to a routine that doesn’t include Georgie. Every morning Di would take Georgie for a long walk. Georgie loved this walk as she was able to “read the news” of the neighborhood, who’d been where, checking out the familiar and unfamiliar scents around about. Another favorite activity they enjoyed was when the rest of the family had left for school and work, Di and Georgie would have a ½ hour lie down on the couch, both of them napping. (Georgie snored very loudly apparently).

I wish I could restore Georgie back to good health for Di, but that of course is impossible. But being a quilter (and we are the best problem solvers in the world), I can do something that might help Di come to terms with her loss of Georgie. I’ve asked Di’s husband and family to provide me with lots of photos of their loved dog, from puppy hood to her recent old age. I’m going to get these photos transferred onto fabric and I’ll make a throw-over quilt for Di to snuggle under.

I’ve included some sites I’ve found on the web, that give clear instructions on transferring photos to fabrics. I hope you find them useful.

http://www.qnm.com/articles/feature14/ this is a Quilters Newsletter Magazine article

http://www.sewnews.com/library/sewnews/library/aathis7.htm from the Sew News Library

http://store.quilting-warehouse.com/phototransfer.html a great site called Quilting Warehouse.com

Still feeling a bit melancholy, I’ve reproduced these quotes from well known dog lovers.

"Dogs are not our whole lives, but they make our lives whole." Roger Carras
"A dog desires affection more than its dinner. Well – almost!” Charlotte Gray
"A dog is the only thing on this earth that loves you more than he loves himself." ~ Josh Billings
"Acquiring a dog may be the only opportunity a human ever has to choose a relative." ~ Mordecai Siegal, Contemporary Writer

So... on a lighter note....My weekly article that was posted last Sunday, concerns the subject of Insuring your Quilts. A recent story raised my interest in this often contested subject. A quilter had lost a quilt whilst moving. On claiming compensation from the removalists insurer, the insurer would only pay “as if it was an ordinary blanket as the owner of the quilt had no evidence of true valuation”. I’ve also considered the types of values we all apply to our quilts; such as the economic value, social and sentimental value.

Here’s the link to that article:http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art24976.asp

I also set up a forum question about whether you as a quilter, insure your quilts. Please contribute to this forum. You may have some vital information that could be of use to all quilters who read BellaOnline.

Here’s the link to the forumhttp://forums.bellaonline.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=384743#Post384743

Have fun passing this message along to family and friends, because we all love free knowledge! I do hope this newsletter finds you all busy with your needles. Speak with you next week.

Cheerio for now



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

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