Hi all, it’s cold and wet and windy outside my window today. It’s the middle of winter for me, and the weather is performing its role perfectly. Mind you, winter in the sub-tropics is pretty bearable. We only put the heater on occasionally, if we are cold, we put another top on.

I’ve had a great day today. We had our monthly craft group that meets at the local Library. About 40 ladies attended and it was very noisy and the air filled with lots of laughing and good vibes. We enjoyed a great show and tell with a great range of fantastic creations. It’s a joy to be part of a group that just enjoys each other’s company, and the ladies are keen to see this gathering occur every second week from next year. So I’ll be doing my darnedest to achieve this for the group. Do you belong to a craft group? I’d love to hear about your group. Pop over to the Forum and tell us what your group is like.

Over at the forum I received a simply wonderful email from EthalMay, describing what she is doing with her patchwork and quilting in these tough times. It was a pleasure to read this email and it certainly gave me the motivation to do more for others. Here’s the forum link for you to read EthalMay’s comment.
http://forums.bellaonline.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=516205#Post516205

On Sunday I posted a wonderful interview with Kathy Adams, a really clever professional long arm quilter from Toowoomba, Australia. Kathy was very honest and forthright with her answers to my questions, and really enjoyed getting to know her. Kathy also has a fantastic website, where she has some amazing patterns available. Here’s the link to that article for you to enjoy:

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art5503.asp

My gifts for you today are Kitchen gifts you can make using your scrap fabrics. There’s a Kitchen Towel, a Potholder and some Coasters. Hope you enjoy these.
http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/?p=562 Patchwork Kitchen Towels
http://makesomething.ca/2008/12/31/patchwork-potholders/ Easy to make patchwork Potholders from scraps of fabric
http://www.marthastewart.com/article/quilted-coaster-set Coaster sets

Well that’s all from me this week. I hope those in the summer climes are enjoying the beautiful days. Keep your fingers busy and your minds thinking positively.
Cheerio for now

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

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