Saturday, February 4, 2012

Connect the Blocks - Now!

My good friend (and fellow Sew Ho) Peggy has finally opened her online quilt shop called Connect the Blocks!
Last fall at Quilt Market in Houston, I had the privilege of touring all the fabric vendor booths with her and "helping" her choose fabrics for her store. Peggy's got a great eye for color and is an expert at working with batiks. Which is good, because she just happens to be specializing in them - along with cute notions and quilty/gifty stuff that you won't find anywhere else. And right now, she's got the neatest BOM - very unusual and colorful!
Hang on - you know how Weston, Missouri is the Home of the Largest Ball of String? Or how Austin, TX is the Home of the Largest Urban Bat Colony? Or how Murphys, CA is the Home of the World's Largest Gold Nugget?*
Well guess what Connect the Blocks is home of: the 40" yard! Apparently Peggy's mathematics education was lacking in content, or she, like me, was busy ditching class with the girl who liked stuffing half a dozen Fizzies in her mouth til they foamed out of her nose. But either way, Peggy thinks a yard is 40" and that's how she's selling fabric! Which means a half yard is 20" long instead of 18" and a FQ is 20" x 22" instead of 18" x 22!" Do you think I should tell her? Nah...she should have paid more attention in school!
And guess what? I was her first customer! As soon as she told me her website was up, I placed an order. And this is what I found in my mailbox 3 days later:
And inside...wrapped up all pretty like with a thank you note...
And in the round fabric Bali Box...
Gorgeous 1/2yd cuts of Bali Batiks. I can tell that just from the folded edges. I don't think I can bear to un-spiral these.
And in the pink tissue paper:
More batiks! And some bling for a shirt or tote! Cute cute cute!
I highly recommend Connect the Blocks!
*Oh. And if you didn't know about the Homes of... you're not spending enough time Here!

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

February 2012 Desktop Calendar

Month two in the year of the log cabin!
Valentine's Day - need something to remind me to eat more chocolate. With some strawberries. Or raspberries. Or maybe just chocolate. All that roughage just takes up valuable internal space that could be filled with more chocolate!
And don't forget - it's Leap Year! We've got a whole extra 24 hours to finish up those Valentine chocolates this month!
Click on the calendar to expand image to full size, right-click and choose Set as Wallpaper or Background. To really jazz up your desktop, right-click on your background and choose a color that coordinates with the calendar - you'll be the envy of your cubicle!