Welcome to the first issue of the Quilting Gallery Newsletter. Some of you may be wondering who I am and why I’m emailing you. Many of you will already know the answer to those two questions. Please read on …

I’m super excited to announce the Quilting Bloggers directory that I’ve built.

When I first launched the directory last week, there were 441 bloggers listed. Due to the magic of the blogosphere (i.e. wonderful bloggers like you spreading the word), there are now more than 620 Quilting Bloggers, representing 26 countries, 45 American states and 5 Canadian provinces.

You are receiving this Newsletter because you are one of those bloggers in the directory, or you subscribed to receive my blog updates, or you’ve subscribed to the Newsletter on the Quilting Gallery web site.

My plan is to send out the Quilting Gallery Newsletter at the beginning of each month with the following sections, subject to change, of course, News from the Quilting Gallery, Mishka’s Picks, Around the Web and Chuckle Time.

At the bottom of this message, you can unsubscribe from this Newsletter automatically, but I would be sorry to see you go and I hope that you will stick around for a few months to give it a try. Don’t worry, I won’t remove you from the Quilting Bloggers directory if you choose to unsubscribe.

If you have any suggestions, comments or questions, I want to hear from you! Send me an email at michele@quiltinggallery.com and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.

I hope you enjoy this first issue. Happy Quilting!

Michele (aka Mishka)
Quilting Gallery

News from the Quilting Gallery

I let the cat out of the bag above, with the most exciting news from last month, the launch of the Quilting Bloggers directory.

Do you need to make a change to your listing? No problem. Just find your listing, and click on the bubble-like icon that appears on the right side and fill out the form indicating the changes required.

Are you a Quilting Blogger and not listed? Submit Your Site!

Help spread the news! I’m hoping to have more than 1,000 Quilting Bloggers in the directory by the end of June. I’ve created some logos that you can use to help promote the directory on your own web site. Thanks for your support!

In other news…

• Beth, Elsie Ailsa agreed to be my Pay it Forward participants. I’ve started on their gifts and hope to finish them this month.
• Amy (Lilme2_99) won my 6-Month Anniversary Celebration gift. It should arrive on her door this week.

Mishka’s Picks

My favourite posts from last month… it was really hard to pick just two.

• Binding with Elmer’s School Glue features a 3-part video series on using school glue to create binding strips and to attach the binding to your quilt. I’ve tried this technique a couple of times lately, and it works like a dream.
• My favourite free pattern from last month is the Double 4 Patch for both its simplicity and its elegance.

Around the Web

Two great web sites worth visiting:

• Annie’s Quilting Stash produces a fabulous Podcast that I’ve been listening to lately while sewing. It’s just like I have a good friend chatting to me while I work. Very entertaining and full of interesting information.
• Real Women Quilt is an online quilting magazine filled with humour, encouragement, tips, and stories about Real Women, their Quilts, and their creative journey. Sign up for their newsletter, it always makes me smile when I read it.

Chuckle Time

Michael invited his mother over for dinner. During the course of the meal, Michael’s mother couldn’t help but keep noticing how beautiful Michael’s roommate, Stephanie, was.

Michael’s mother had long been suspicious of a relationship between Michael and Stephanie, and this had only made her more curious.

Over the course of the evening, while watching the two react, Mother started to wonder if there was more between Michael and Stephanie than met the eye. Reading his mom’s thoughts, Michael volunteered, "I know what you must be thinking, but I assure you Stephanie and I are just roommates."

About a week later, Stephanie came to Michael saying, "Ever since your mother came to dinner, I’ve been unable to find the beautiful silver gravy ladle. You don’t suppose she took it, do you?"

Michael said, "Well, I doubt it, but I’ll send her an email just to be sure."  So he sat down and wrote:

Dear Mother: I’m not saying that you did take the gravy ladle from the house, I’m not saying that you did not take the gravy ladle.  But the fact remains that one has been missing ever since you were here for dinner.

Love,
Michael

Several days later, Michael received a letter from his Mother that read:

Dear Son: I’m not saying that you do sleep with Stephanie, and I’m not saying that you do not sleep with Stephanie. But the fact remains that if she was sleeping in her own bed, she would have found the gravy ladle by now.

Love,
Mom

LESSON OF THE DAY… DON’T LIE TO YOUR MOTHER!!

Humour brought to you by Is it Beer Time Yet? (Note: May not be family- or work-friendly.)