Knock, knock, it’s the weekend! It’s time for another Bonjour Quilts update so get comfy, grab a nice drink and enjoy a relaxing read.
What I’m Sewing…
My secret sewing project for the Fat Quarter Shop is all done and photographed. I’m so happy with how it turned out – the Starry fabric line really looks great.
A bit of neon yellow (citron) makes any project look modern in my opinion.
When I finished the quilted block panels, before I sewed them into cushions, I had a memory lapse and left them on my sewing table overnight. I’d forgotten that the cats like to chew on batting (they don’t swallow it, they just maul it and spit it out). Thankfully the damage wasn’t too bad:
And the culprit didn’t move far from the crime. Or seem very concerned about his transgression!
Around the Interwebs…
Selections from QuiltCon 2025 is currently touring – here are the dates/places you can see them in person (with a few sneak peek photos).
Join up for Bonjour Quilts news and receive a free PDF copy of my When You Wish.. baby quilt pattern.
Best of all, you'll be the first to hear about new patterns, tutorials, sales and more.
How cute is this little handmade bunny in a carrot sleeping bag? And what about this lovely Easter basket tutorial by Peta at She Quilts A Lot?
I’ve noticed some patchwork sneaking into fashion – a fun way to use up some of those orphan blocks!
Here’s a very interesting mix of media for an artist to choose. I love this 3D embroidery – what a fun way to embellish just about anything. If you need ideas for high-impact colour palettes then you’ll love this artwork.
This one’s off topic, but it’s a great list of travel tips that the author has accumulated over 50 years.
Next week, if you’re receiving my newsletter, you’ll get all the info on this fantastic quilt pattern bundle titled Stars Aplenty. Gorgeous patterns and a great value offer.
Reader Quilts…
I always love to see quilts you’ve made from Bonjour Quilts patterns so please keep sending them in! Either email (Kirsty at BonjourQuilts dotcom), or tag me on Facebook or Instagram.
Michelle sewed up this beautiful Scrappy Posie baby quilt. You can find the tutorial for this quilt in this blog post.
Peggy adapted the Triangle Falls quilt pattern (made it a few rows shorter) to make this bright and beautiful baby quilt.
Look at the gorgeous rainbow Scrappy Lattice quilt that Phyllis sewed – isn’t it a stunner?
Anke added a brilliant spin to The Plus Side quilt pattern with a warm, saturated focal point on a neutral background. (Anke has patchwork shop if you’re in Germany!)
Chez Bonjour
It’s the end of the Term 1 school holidays, so our youngest two are at home and enjoying a lot of TV and video gaming.
Have you watched The Residence on Netflix yet? It’s a murder mystery series which both our younger boys (13 and 15) enjoyed watching with us.
It’s a really well done TV series – surprisingly fun and light for such a grim subject – and it kept us guessing right up to the end. I will say that it has a lot of swearing, so keep that in mind if you have a problem with f-bombs.
The reason I mention it is that the main character is a dedicated bird watcher, and there are several great scenes relating to the hobby. When we finished the series, our youngest announced he’d like to try some bird watching too. Brilliant, I thought.
We already have some binoculars and being in Australia there are more birds than you can poke a stick at!
Our son’s been out on several birding walks on his own, and with my husband and I – it’s become quite a fun activity for all of us. I find I’m always looking to the skies/trees when I’m out and about, and I notice bird calls a lot more than I used to.
There’s a local attraction near us called Maleny Bird World, so of course we had to take the youngest out there during the school holidays. We had a great day out and would recommend it to anyone in the Sunshine Coast, Queensland area. One highlight for me was the opera singing parrot, Coco. She could really belt it out!
Several of the birds are former pets that could no longer be cared for by their owners, so the aviary provides a valuable service. The former pets had their wings clipped by their breeders, so releasing to the wild is not an option (and is especially bad for non-native species).
I’d never considered having a pet bird, but if you’d asked me I would have assumed they are a very low key, hands-off pet. BIG mistake on my part. Hence why some get surrendered. So if you’re thinking about having a pet bird (or any pet, really) make sure you do your research first!
All these photos are from our Bird World visit. They also have a petting zoo with smaller farm animals for younger kids to pat. And there’s a duck pond with all sort of water fowl. I’m not sure what kind of geese these were, but they were not happy to see me.
I don’t know who this little guy is either but he’s very pretty and kept falling asleep, which was cute.
Bird World is incorporated into the Maleny Botanic Gardens so you can take in the lovely landscape and views when you’re done visiting the birds and farm yard animals.
Of course I couldn’t finish this newsletter without a couple of photos of the cats. They also asked to go birding, but we said no. Here they are wrapped up in my All The Triangles quilt:
Here’s Lulu, with her eyes actually open AND looking (somewhat) at me. Incredible.
This one is one of my favourites! Tigger just happened to be sitting in the right place (window-adjacent couch) at the right time (late afternoon sun) to create this golden beauty. Such a pretty boy.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Wishing you a safe and relaxed weekend, and Easter greetings to those who celebrate the occasion. Whatever you get up to, I hope you’ll find a moment for yourself to sew, or even just dream about what you’d sew if you had more time/money/patience/health. Dreaming is relaxing and restorative. And sometimes just imagining it is enough for now.
Sending love, I’ll see you next time,
Kirsty x
Your newsletters are always so much fun to read and look at. Your photos are amazing of all things wild and domestic. I look forward to receiving each one. Thank you Kirsty
Thank you for saying so, Sheila, it gives me a push to keep writing. I appreciate you dropping by!
Thanks for the pattern and for posa photo of my Scrappy Lattice Quilt. I loved the bird photos, as well. I feed the birds during our winter, but stop in the early spring due to black bears that come into the neighborhood. Love your very colorful birds, though. We certainly don’t see those here.
I love your Scrappy Lattice, Phyllis!! Thanks for letting me share.
Black bears? Oh boy. If I was a bird I’d think twice about visiting your yard. I guess you never leave the back door open then!
I always enjoy reading your posts and keeping up with the cats, but imagine my surprise when I saw my quilt! Thanks again for the pattern and inspiration!
Quilt on!
Peggy
It’s such a beautiful quilt Peggy, thank you for letting me share it!
wow, great photos and fun newsletter! Do y’all have the Merlin bird app on your phone? If not, you should try it assuming it works down under. It listens to birds singing and identifies them. Very handy as I, like you all, have become more aware of the birds’ songs while out bird watching. Have a great week :)
Yes! My son found Merlin and we’ve used it to correctly identify a bird or two. It has Australian birds/information as well. It’s great! We also have one called Frog ID from when he went through his frog stage, ha! Love the apps.
What a joy this post is. The birds are beautiful . It’s hard to realize they are wild. Thank you for sharing your quilting and extraordinary photos with us. You are so talented. Easter blessings to you and your family.
Thank you, Carolyn!
I also have a red Burmese, brown Burmese and just recently a chocolate Burmese. So much personality!
Oh wow, that would be lots of fun. They are such a lovely, cuddly breed and have such great personalities. We’re besotted!
I loved watching “ The Resident “ I usually watch Netflix while in my quilting room & I’ve also started looking at the birds here in my area in suburban Melbourne. We’ve got a Botanical Garden about 5 minutes walk from home so we get lots of native birds in the yard
I always enjoy reading your newsletter & seeing what mischief the cats get up to. Master Teddy , the ginger cat is my quilting buddy. He usually sits on my lap while I’m sewing.
It’s such a fun series! How amazing that you live so close to the Botanical Gardens, it must be a bird-watching bonanza for you (and for Master Teddy, who might need to show some restraint, tee hee).
I love the birds! We have some and they are the best ! Thank you for the wonderful news letters
Thank you, Renée!
Thank You for this funny newsletter Kirsty.
I wish you happy 🐣 Easter from Germany 🙋♀️
Thank you Ursula. I hope you had a lovely Easter in Germany – it was a good one here in Australia!
I loved every bit of this post and sharing your youngest’s new interest. The beautiful quilts and birds with all the colors lifted my spirits. Thank you for sharing with us!
Thanks Wendy, glad to hear it lifted your spirits. Everything feels pretty heavy around the globe these days so a brief reprieve here and there is necessary to stay sane. Take care x x
Thanks for a beautiful start to the Easter weekend! Not only are you a very talented quilter, but your photos belong in an art gallery – you should seriously consider doing a one-quilter exhibit! They are stunning and VERY well done!
Oh thank you, Debi, you’re very kind. I don’t get the ‘good camera’ out as often as I should. I really enjoy just strolling around and capturing some nice scenes – it’s a great way to remember the day.
Thank you for sharing your beautiful scenery and adventure
Such a great place to live
I love the cat photos always
Happy Easter to you and your family
Thank you Monique – the cats say hi!
Loved the bird photos along with the quilts. I enjoy the links you have of other artist.
Thanks!
Elizabeth
Thanks Elizabeth, I’m so glad you enjoyed the read.
Thank you for my weekend read. I absolutely loved seeing your bird photos as well as the cats. The reader quilts always boost me into getting into the craft room for a bit of sewing & the link to the Easter basket might well be my next wee project.
Thanks again
Best wishes to you & your
Arlene
Scotland (not so warm & sunny) xx
Thank you for dropping by, Arlene. I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Loved this newsletter…all the birds, wow! The colors and variety. You are blessed to live in Aussie land. As far as parrots go, did you hear about the cursing parrots at a zoo in England? I guess they turn the air blue when people come near their cage. What’s really funny is they all laugh together after ‘expressing’ themselves. PS you look great Kirsty…hope you are doing well!
Thank you Rose! If I had a parrot it would probably eventually become a curser as I’m known to let the odd word fly every now and then. All that time in the Army, you see :)
That was a really fun newsletter and so many beautiful photos, thank you Kirsty!
Thank you June!