Since I needed to make a decision on this fabric and hadn't heard back from Connecting Threads, I called. I'm sure they will respond but I need to get going on this project. The women I talked to said that they were told today (I'm thinking I wasn't the only one asking the question) that this fabric comes from Mexico. Because they have bad water ( her words not mine) they have to add something to the water to make the fabric. This additive gives the fabric a fishy smell, her term for what I called a petroleum smell. She said if I "air" it out the smell will come out. Also about the design she said all of their fabric has painted on designs. I've gotten fabric before from them ( christmas wall hanging kit) and I didn't notice that the design was painted on. This CLEARLY is painted on. She said it shouldn't come off with washing and using. Because this quilt project is for my loved daughter-in-law, I am returning the fabric. I have never purchased fabric that smelled. Well maybe Wal-mart but just once. Unfortunaltely they may have to give me a merchandise credit and I don't plan on buying from them, certainly not fabric. If anyone else buys it and "airs" it out, please let me know.

Yes, Marsha. I found a black batik on sale I wanted and when it came, it was about half the thickness of what I buy here. No wonder it was so cheap. I used it as a background for flags and it worked fine but their batiks are terribly thin and flimsy. I have other fabrics from them that are good, though. I just won't order batiks from them.

Until my arthritic wrists and fingers cannot hold a book at all, the web will not be a substitute. I suspect, no I am sure, that the people here on GW who are encyclopedic in their knowledge learn, learned, and re-learned from books (as well as experience and the web) Is it a generational thing, this difference between learning from reading a book and learning from the web? There's a lot to gry_'s comment about finding something again on the web (though one can become more skilled at bookmarking) and findiing it in a familiar book. The book can carry physical evidence of experience: the soiled pages of a frequently turned to topic (like my brownies, roast turkey and bread recipes in my first cook book; you could boil the book and get the nutritional equivalent of a meal) The penned notations in the margin (really, did my handwriting look like that 20 years ago) I really don't think I'd remember Dirr's comment about the edibility of the Kousa dogwood fruit "I'd rather have a Snickers" if I hadn't read it dozens of times over the years. Dirr's books are bedside reading all winter. Alas, the encyclopedias were actually too heavy for me to hold comfortably.. I think I'll need an adaptive pillow or tray to get through this winter. I love the internet; I spend a lot of time on it. But I suspect way deep down that I believe the learning from access to so much information is somehow inferior to learning from books. I think that's wrong and the wrongness will be proved repeatedly from research. But I'm talkiing about a prejudice born of hours of learning since childhood how to parse info in books, assimilate it and reorganize it for one's own use.....or come up with an original idea of one's own! What a great question!

Jasdip, I was thinking of bundling the beta, but it will work out to less than 50 c a piece. So far for pricing I have the following. Feel free to comment if you think it's way out there VHS (mostly Childrens) 50 c Dvd's $2 Cookbooks $1 , ones with fewer recipes 50 c Magazines 25 c or 5 for $1 Children's books 25 cent (in demand ones in good condition 50 c) Other books vary from 50 c -$2 depending on type newer end tables $ 10 each That's all I've got done so far. Pricing all the miscellaneous stuff is going to be a PITA to figure out pricing. What about old school puzzles? Some have never even been done. 25 c? 50 c? What about a China cabinet? I think it's Pine. I know in the past when I was looking I couldn't find anything decent under $100. Would that be too much to ask at a yard sale? I'll likely put that one online first though. This is what happens when you go to auctions that have stuff all together in one bundle. LOL It was easy in the city because I would just list stuff right away and no problem people coming to pick up. Some of this stuff has been sitting in boxes for about 2 years now because I haven't bothered with listing them online. I tell you though, you can make some good money this way if you are diligent. I think my best score was a lot I paid $7.50 for. It had these gorgeous wooden bowls, one was a John May. I love wooden bowls so I bought the lot for me. The bonus was the damaged sterling silver cream and sugar set that came in the same lot. I sold the two of them for $175. Not too shabby of a profit and I still got to keep my wooden bowls and a few other items. Sometimes I just get super lucky. I've also snagged a dresser for my son's room that all in with tax and buyer fee was 49 cents and an antique wooden trunk 75 cents. Still have to figure out the pricing on that one as well since the trunk will be going.