Myer's is wonderful - we went after the spring swap - Terry's directions are RIGHT on target. i could spend a fortune - were it not for water bills. I drool every time we drive by - and we have been up there a lot lately, my b/f's daughter plays travel ball - as a matter of fact, tournament in hoover next weekend - he will have to steer me away from Myers! :)

Oh, what a mistake. I found a couple of hardy camelias at the Falmouth store. Now what? Do I plant them out, quick while the ground is workable, or try to harden them off somehow with an indoor-outdoor process? I have no halfway house for them, and they've been in the greenhouse at Mahoneys, so I don't think they'll be happy being plunked into the cold wet of a cape cod winter. Maybe I'll have to rig up some kind of leaf bin around them. One of them is already loaded with buds, though ... it's a variety that flowers in winter. I also got some tall "long tom" pots, which I'm always looking for, for cacti and other plants that like good drainage. I think most of what I bought was 1/3 off, but to be honest I didn't check. There were some nice fountains and large concrete pots left.

Mindy et al, I got that tall blue pot I had my eye on. It might have been $200 marked down to 40 marked down to TEN DOLLARS. I also got a big metal/copper bucket marked down from at least 150 to $37.50 (I don't think she did the math right. I'll have to check in the morning. I had wanted something like a watering trough near the bees, and this might fill the bill. Or we can use it for logs. That magnificient green pot. I met the nice guy who works the floor. I told him what I wanted to pay for it and without my knowing it he called the ?manager? anyway a woman, and she no way was she going below $160. I think the problem is there was no pink marked down price, so it was 75 % off 699. I really don't want to pay that much because I know I won't move it in freezing weather, and it may break. I'm only willing to risk 100 or less. If anyone can talk them down to $100 or less, I'll take you to LaPatisserie for lunch or Quebrada in Arlington for a cake. Could also do Lakota for a dozen cookies. There's a challenge for the bargainers out there! I'll pay you back in cash and could even meet you at Mahoneys to load and transport pot. Mindy, I saw two "maroonish" pots (one upside down, the other on top) on the pallet, next to the sky blue tall. Are those the ones you are talking about? If there was a salmon pot in the "transition room" I missed it entirely. I'm not looking at your post right this second, but I thought you said it had some branches dispayed it it. I'll look again, maybe when I check to see if the christmas tree is marked down. I wasn't too offended by the look of its branches. But then I had pots on my mind. Marie

No, I haven't personally donated a quilt. Never thought mine was quite the quality to do so, but still working at improving and hoping to reach that point someday. I have, however, been a donator of other goods for charity fund raising and seen how several quilting groups have done it and their failures and successes. It's going to depend a good deal on the venue. One of churches my husband was a member of had a huge winter craft show and sales. For many years it was very well advertised and attended. The church's quilting circle always had a raffle for a gorgeous, large, hand quilted quilt. They felt that they absolutely had to have a $500 return (modest, considering the materials, quality, time and work going into it) and it was raffled. Ticket sales started before the craft show and continued up until the number was drawn at the day of the show. They sold a hundred tickets at five dollars per. We won the last quilt ever offered. I'm suspecting that was because the craft show attendance kept dwindling. My DH ended up purchasing half the tickets so they would meet their goal.........not with the intent of winning. That was certainly the handwriting on the wall for the quilting group. If he hadn't.........they would have only received $250 for their work. Even though we spent $250 for half the chances, it was a steal. Now they just custom quilt for people who make the tops. What I am saying is this.....if you decide to raffle it, make sure you have some enthusiastic and aggressive volunters outreaching to sell the tickets. People don't beat a path to your door. Also if you plan on doing it at an 'event' don't limit your ticket sales to that timeframe. We have another annual fund-raiser here twice a year at a Christmas festival. Many groups and merchants (myself included) have donated to it and the prizes were bigger ticket items. There is radio and newspaper coverage and all items are displayed well before the event at the meeting hall and then auctioned with bids accepted both in person and by phone live 'on air'. The merchants and groups do it for the advertisement value, and it's a win/win for them and the community. The bidders are often businesses too wanting their name to get on the air. Major, major money is spent,and some buyers get real bargains, and some end up spending more 'for charity' than the products are worth. I think a quilt could also be a money maker at a Chinese auction if there were enough attendees. You know that most everyone will drop in a lot of their tickets for something like a quilt. I guess I'm saying they can all be good revenue sources, but it depends on active participation by a group and it depends on how many people you can reach which method works best. If I offered a quilt at a plain auction, I'd certainly put a reserve on it, and if it weren't met, then try a different approach. So many people really have no clue as to the value of a handmade quilt.