Despatch note ....

I may have been quiet, but I'm still shopping.  I recently placed an order with the Missouri Star Quilt Company, who I love for their fabrics, speed of sending me things, tutorials, etc., and  this is the despatch note they sent me when my order was on its way:

We just want to let you know that your quilting supplies have been meticulously gathered, placed on a red velvet pillow, and delicately escorted by 25 of our finest employees to our shipping department. Our master shipper has dutifully performed his craft, lovingly packing your order in the finest materials known to man.
Our team gathered to give your package the proper send-off it deserved. Tears of joy were shed, speeches were given, and there was even a farewell cake. Following the festivities, the whole group, led by our local high school marching band playing the song Leaving on a Jet Plane, ushered your order through downtown Hamilton, Missouri. No, we don't own a Jet Plane, but your package was placed in the care of a roguishly handsome man who is riding in a majestic horse-drawn carriage which is on its way to your home as you read this.
Although the products you've ordered will be sorely missed here at MSQC, we are overjoyed that they have found a good home. Take care of them, treasure them, and when you make something beautiful with them, make sure you share it with us on facebook, twitter, or just send us an email, we love to see what you make!.
*Note the above is a slight dramatization of what actually happened with your order, but seriously we did ship it, and here is the tracking info:

Isn't it great?

Because I know you'll ask, this is part of the order.

I ordered three charm packs of this scrumptious fabric collection and some toning fabric yardage.

New Year, New You

(Sponsored post) That's what Craftsy are offering us this weekend.  They are having a Flash Sale with up to 50% off their top online classes. To see what's on offer, just click on the picture above. This sale is only on until Sunday 18 January at 11:59PM MT I'm off to sign up for a paper piecing class I've spotted so I must dash .....

Christmas presents ...

... Hello?  Is there anyone there?  Is anybody bothering to visit me nowadays, since I'm such a bad blogger?  I hope someone is still calling in to see me, so I thought I'd show you pictures of a couple of quilty Christmas presents I received.

This gorgeous table topper was given to me, together with the little Poinsettia, by my friend Scrappy.  There may have been a box of chocolate penguins too, but they seem to have disappeared - in other words, we've eaten them.

The topper was made from blocks in a book called Victorian Quilt Block Designs, and I loved it so much I have now bought the book too! It's on its way to me and I should receive it either tomorrow or Tuesday.

This gorgeous angel was sent to me by Naughty Nancie. I think this is so cute that I am going to find it very difficult to undo it to use the fabrics, but I do have a plan for them, so I will have to take her apart soon. (The angel, not Naughty Nancie.)

I also received a lovely calender from my friend Gail (Lynn's sister).  The calender has stunning photos of Yosemite Park throughout the seasons.  Since I'm not sure of the copyright laws, I am not showing any photos of it, but, take my word for it, the views are stunning.  Yosemite was somewhere we didn't get to visit when I was on holiday with Lynn as there was a strike of government workers at the time I was there so the park was closed.  I hope I will get to see it with Lynn, Mr Joe and Gail in the future.

So, I'm sorry I'm still talking about Christmas, I guess it will soon be Christmas 2015, but I really wanted to show you the lovely gifts I was lucky enough to be given.  Thank you all so very much.

Happy New year and quilt patterns

Happy (belated) New Year everybody.

We had a great Christmas and New Year.  Today the family left, spare bedding has all been washed, leftovers eaten for lunch and now I'm enjoying the Sound of Music on TV.

Now, due to the clever-clogs at the EU, new laws have come into being which state that anyone who sells digital things such as quilt patterns in pdf format to a customer living in the EU must charge VAT at the rate of the country they are selling to.  This means that if I sell one of my patterns through Craftsy to someone living in an EU country, I must collect the taxes and then pay them to the appropriate country.  There are something like twenty-eight countries and therefore twenty-eight different tax levels, all requiring different tax reports, etc.  Really, dear EU clever-clogs? Who has time for that? Craftsy do not have a system in place to identify where a customer lives, so I am therefore having to withdraw my patterns from them, and I will now be selling them through a company who will deal with all the horrid paperwork, calculations, collections and tax payments for me.  As from tomorrow, you can find my patterns for sale over here at Payhip. I apologise to those people who have listed any of my patterns on their wishlists on Craftsy, but there is no way I can get in touch with you to let you know what I have been forced to do. I hope that's a bit clearer than mud, but you are welcome to email me if you don't understand.