AND ANOTHER THING!

Ok, Let me climb up on my soap box for a second here.

All right. Everyone here? Can you hear me in the back?

(tapping on mike)

Ok.

I'm not sure about the niceties, or legalities of bitching on a blog, so let me change the names to protect the not so innocent.

To keep the blog interesting, and my blood pressure low, here's some pictures of Princess Petunia.

I had joined a site. A fabric - buying site.

It rhymes with Slab-Slanatic.

Let me tell you, I was so excited about this site. They billed themselves as a "Costco" for fabric. You would place an order, and once they had enough orders they would buy a bolt, and divvy it up amongst the people who had ordered, passing the savings on to you!

Fabulous.

Sign me up.

I ordered some fabric, it came, life was good.

I joined the "Stashbuilders" club, where they would automatically send me eight half yard pieces each month.

Terrific!

I was in heaven. I made a quilt out of the fabric they had sent.

Then one day, I accidentally ordered a big bundle of fabric. I say accidentally because I was never all that comfortable with their website, and one day was checking out what was available, and put some in my "cart". I clicked

to the next page, thinking I would find a summary, or an "Are you sure" page, but no. I had just ordered $52 of fabric.

Now yes, it was Dolce, which I loved, but $52 is a lot of money for something I wasn't sure I wanted.

Don't you go through the sites and pile things up in your cart, only to cancel it all out at the end?

I do.

So fine, I had accidentally ordered a big chunk of Dolce, but at least it was fabric that I loved, so no harm, no foul.

I'm rambling, I know. Bear with me.

So I had ordered this fabric in FEBRUARY.

That's right,

FEBRUARY.

And it never came.

I emailed, politely requesting an update, and didn't get a response.

I emailed again, and again,

and finally got an email that said "Will send it right out."

But no fabric came.

Now, in the meantime, my April auto-delivery came, money was taken out of my account for it, but no fabric showed up.

I emailed.

And emailed.

AND EMAILED.

Now, I am a patient woman.

I really am.

If they had just answered my emails, I would happily wait forever.

But with no answers, I started thinking scam, and shadiness, and bad thoughts.

AND RIGHTLY SO!

Because I never did get that fabric, and I never did get my April shipment, and I never did get an answer to my emails!

I disputed it through PayPal, and they got me the money for the April shipment returned, but told me that since it had been longer than 45 days, I was out of luck with that $52.

Hmm.

Well THAT would have been a good thing to know up front.

So for my patience, I was rewarded with losing $52 and never seeing that fabric that I had ordered, and I now have an unfair hatred of Dolce, (which is totally wrong, because it wasn't the fabric's fault, and it really is a beautiful, beautiful fabric line), and a mistrust of ordering things online.

A couple of weeks ago I was sick with the stomach flu. The night before. I had been drinking a lovely Riesling.

Then I barfed.

Last night I tried to drink that same lovely Riesling, and the smell took me immediately back to the bathroom.

That's how I feel about buying fabric now.

Thank you, Slab-slanatic.

Thanks a lot.

So here is my public service announcement.

You may now resume your regularly scheduled life.

Has it really been so long?

How come every time I vow to be a better blogger, I blink and it's a month later?

I feel like I have so much to tell you, but now that I'm at the computer... I can't think of anything. Does that happen to you? Or if you run into someone that you haven't seen in years, and they ask what you've been up to... and you can't come up with a single thing? No? Just me?

Fine.

So I've done some sewing, I cut out these triangles and played with them. This is an idea that's been rolling around in my head for a while. The gradation isn't quite there yet, I'll need to shop for a couple more fabrics.

Oh darn!

I like the greys at the bottom, it's the yellows I'm doubting. So much so that I'm missing a row of yellow, second from the bottom.

So there's that. What else?

A friend and I went to Big Sur last weekend. If you're not familiar, Big Sur is where we keep all the beauty in California. Beach and rocks and trees and geese just walking down the road.

We went to the restaurant that restores both our souls.

Nepenthe.

Even the sound of it is magical.

Good, good food, good wine or beer, sun and breeze and views to die for, and bluejays that try to steal your french fries. It's amazing. One part of the outdoor dining area has benches cut into the hillside, with cushions and pillows. you could just hang out there all day.

You know what else makes Nepenthe a life-changing pilgrimage?

It's owned by the Fassetts.

Lolly and Bill Fassett.

What's that? Who's their son?

Oh that's right.

KAFFE FASSETT Y'ALL!!

So I had to take this picture. I can turn anything into something quilty!

The ladies room in the restaurant is painted in a beautiful mural. I didn't get a picture of the mural, because I was trying to time my shot perfectly in between "visitors" so that I didn't look like a crazy person taking pictures in the bathroom.

So there's the top of my head in the mirror, and Kaffe's signature below.

They also have a fabulous gift shop, where I bought Kaffe's latest book, and a tote bag SIGNED BY KAFFE, or, you know, someone else who can write his name with a Sharpie. But I choose to believe it's really his.

Annnnnd... I've made some progress on THIS quilt. It's a Jacob's ladder pattern, done up in some Simple Abundance, Mill House Inn, Aster Manor, and a dash of Patisserie.

Yes, that's my air purifier, that apparently needs to be in every photo. It's also the thing that causes my blocks to blow around the room at night, no matter how many pins I might stick in them.

These colors are closer.

I used different white on white fabrics for the background.

You know I pride myself on being a modern quilter, a lover of all things wonky and graphic and colorful, but I LOVE this quilt! I think it is just so darn pretty! Can't wait to see it finished, see what sort of border it wants to have.

Please don't make me turn in my Modern Badge.