Well hello there! It's Kirsty from Bonjour Quilts here with your weekend newsletter. Grab a cup of something cool or warm (depending on your hemisphere) and let's jump into it!

What I've Been Sewing...

My super scrappy rainbow Hello Hearts! quilt is back from the long armer (the lovely Jos, who's here on the Sunshine Coast where I live).

I'm mulling over navy or black fabric for the binding and cannot wait to see this one finished.

Once it's done I'll write up a blog post about how I incorporated scraps into the background fabric of this pattern.

Interesting Links around the Interwebs

Check out the winning quilts in the Modern Quilt Guild's Make-A-Difference Challenge.

The original autograph quilt. Adeline is a legend.

The Etsy 2023 Design Award Winners. A lovely collection of handmade goodness!

​An amazing cruise experience! If you're looking for a memory-making experience this holiday season, get yourself on this fabulous cruise adventure sailing from Singapore to Bali. 12 nights, 4 gorgeous countries (Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia) and 3 incredible quilting instructors (Angie of GnomeAngel, Nic of Craftapalooza and Andover Fabric Designer Giuseppe of Giucy Giuce). You can find all the details here and see the 3 beautiful projects you'll work on in the photo below. *swoon*

Reader Quilts

My favourite part of the newsletter! I love seeing the gorgeous quilts you've made from Bonjour Quilts patterns. Keep sending in your photos (just hit reply to this email) or tag me on Instagram or Facebook.

Roselyn's Diamonds in the Deep is a beauty. I love how the curves of the quilting design she chose contrast with all the angles in the log cabin blocks. 👌

Three cheers for Virginia's scrappy (but colour coordinated) version of the Scrappy Lattice quilt:

Rebecca's bold and colourful Scrap Magnet quilt looks amazing!

I really love what you can create with a family of FQs and the Mountainside quilt pattern. Cynthia shows us exactly how to do it!

Check out Christine's amazing Go West quilt - wow!

As always, thank you for sending in photos of what you've made. It makes my day to see these patterns come to life, and I know fellow newsletter readers love seeing these patterns made up in different fabrics. Keep sending them in!

What's Happening at Chez Bonjour!

After a couple of months wallowing in my perimenopausal funk, I feel like I've come out the other side of it this week. Less wine, more walks is my new motto! I'm very lucky to live in a place where walking is easy and really enjoyable:

I called into our local radio station this week (I have never done this before) and won tickets to their annual 80s August Party. Free drinks and dressing up in 80s gear? Count me in! (don't worry, I will remember my less wine motto.) I'm looking forward to engineering costumes for me and the hubby.

Me?

Here's hubby:

I'm planning to turn him into my 80s crush:

Phwoar! *me turning the air conditioning on in winter*

Ahem, moving on.

The cats, Tigger (orange) and Lulu (chocolate), send their love. Their nap positions continue to elicit laughs and awwwwws. 😃

All my best to you, my friends. Take care and I hope you can fit a little sewing into your schedule this weekend. It's good to slow down and think about how lucky you are to have such a wonderful hobby!

Until next time,

Kirsty x