My experience: The Builder Depot can work out great if you're willing to put in a lot of time and buy a lot of extra tile (knowing it's still a good price compared to other options). There WERE significant variations in size of the 3x6 venato tiles we got (1/8" difference), and there were a lot of tiles that were yellow/brownish or otherwise not great. However, I would do it again, with a plan to 1. measure every single tile, or at the very least measure several tiles from each box and stack them to make sure there are no big/small ones, and 2. lay out the tile from all of the boxes, pick out the ones you don't like, and MIX them so the installer isn't using tile from one box at a time. It will take many hours, but the end result is worth it.

Thanks, everyone! It's nice to hear from people who've had good experiences. Now I'm even more eager to receive that lamp. Hope other people find this thread and get that free shipping, esp w/yayagal's code (not sure how long mine is good for). I think Fortunoff is having a huge sale right now, if I remember right... saw an ad in the NYT.

These two rose are identical, and are probably the same. My 'Amanda Patenaude' came from Sherando Roses in 2003; "Portland from Glendora" from The Uncommon Rose in 2008 (both nurseries are gone now). For me, the plants are about 5-6' high and they bloom a LOT. What others said about the foliage can be mitigated (a bit) with fungicide. This is one of my favorite roses and I highly recommend it. 'Sidonie' is very similar in form and habit, with lighter pink flowers. (Great to hear that your "Portland from Glendora" is still doing well for you, mcnastarana. I miss having the nursery, but I don't miss all the extraordinary time and work that went into it ... time that I am now using to reclaim my garden from the neglect that it suffered during my nursery-owning years.)

I think Bonnie (and quite a few others) consider 1/4 yard small enough to be considered a scrap and hence, cut it up. These people usually have bolts or many yards of fabric available to them. I'm not jealous as I'll never use up all the fabric I have (no bolts or more than 2 or 3 yds).......especially if I keep buying it! Sometimes I can't resist and other times it's needed. In any case, it's slowed way down from what used to happen. :-) I like having containers of various size blocks, strips, triangles, HST, extra blocks, etc to look through for inspiration when needed. It's my hobby......and I don't have any rules.......