It has nothing to do with rich or poor, big house or small, professional or not. Just as IRL, people form bonds over their common interests and, of course, they will respond more to those they've known for years. Ditto ditto ditto. I'll add that yes, people are more apt to respond to photos. Decorating is a visual thing. I can offer almost NOTHING without seeing a photo. I also can't tell your style. I get really annoyed with the accusations of elitism and cliquishness. It's simply not true. Yes, there are people who've been here a long time. We've seen photos of each others' homes. We've seen various projects in the works, etc. Heck, I've never met AuntJen, but I "know" enough about her style from years spent on this board to see a Talavera Toilet and think immediately of her home. That's not cliquish, that's familiarity. I've never met Zipdee, but I know that when I see Jadeite green antique kitchen accessories, I think of her super cool retro kitchen immediately. Because she's in the "inner sanctum"? No! Of course not. It's because she routinely shares her progress with us, lets us peek at her photos, contributes frequently, etc. Lack of response on threads happens to everyone. It will happen more if the question is too vague. It will happen more if people can't see photos. It will happen more if we don't "know" your style. Hang around. Join in other conversations. Let us "see" your style, so that when you post a link to a dresser you're thinking about buying, we'll know if it would work with your house. Again, this is NOT cliquishness, this is familiarity. As far as the blogs, I don't see the big deal. People blog all the time about these things, and so what if FrenchDressing linked to hers? I honestly don't see what the uproar is all about.

I originally taught myself to quilt by reading quilting books. I enjoyed quilting, but there were a number of things that I just couldnÂt figure out no matter how many times I reread the passage, or read different books. Finally I took a class at a local quilt shop. Overall I thought it was worthwhile, but the time was somewhat inconvenient for me, a number of the other students had not purchased the right supplies  which slowed the class down  and quite a lot of the class was review from what I had already read. Despite all of this, I still enjoyed learning in person. Then I discovered this forum and I was rewarded with instant answers to my quilting questions, along with great camaraderie. Sometimes I would ask a question and get vastly different answers, which taught me that there are a lot of ways to do things. One day, someone on this forum mentioned Quilt University (www.quiltuniversity.com). It is an on-line quilting school. I checked it out and I am so glad that I did. I think IÂve taken at least half a dozen classes on line. I really like it for a number of reasons including: I can quilt when it fits into my life, rather than having a set class time; I can ask as many questions and get as much individualized help as I need, without feeling like IÂm holding up the class; I can pay attention (or not) to the questions that others ask depending on whether it pertains to my situation or not; The classes usually last anywhere between 3 and 5 weeks with 3 extra weeks at the end to finish the project, so there is plenty of time to finish or at least move forward on each project and ask questions along the way. At first I was skeptical about how much I could learn on-line, but it is amazing, with detailed descriptions and pictures and the ability to ask questions and interact with the teacher and other classmates, I have felt that I actually learned much more than in my in-person class. Back to your post about having to buy the fabric and pattern and smaller quilt sizes: before you sign up for a class you can look at the supplies that are required, so you will know what you need to purchase (you never have to purchase patterns) and you can see the size of the finished project, so in your case, you can find a class that will teach you to make a bed-size quilt  not a wall hanging. I hope this helps! Lola

I have bought a lot of pieces from RH for many years. I still really like all of them for their classic style. BUT, I am not drawn into their new enormous stores. Although beautiful like a museum, not inspiring for my home furnishing. And I am so underwhelmed by their source books. Page after page of feeling like you are looking at the same room. RH modern is just to expensive and scale of pieces is too large. Styles have changed to more color and pattern. I would like to incorporate that with my RH classic pieces. Not going to find much color or pattern at RH. So, I haven't spent the 100.00 for a membership. I think good point, it's not a Costco membership where you consistently shop there. There was a 400.00 side chair at RH I wanted to purchase and didn't because one, had to buy 100.00 membership to get price and two, there was 199.00 to ship it. Silliness!! At some point, I will likely buy a membership. There is a large piece I want. I really hope they get things in order in their house and stay in business!! The company is in trouble and is certainly looking at what to do now.

A couple years ago I purchased 2 Acer Ultrathin Laptops - Refurbished (Acer Aspire V5 573p-6896). These laptops have Intel i5 Processors, 4gb DDR3L RAM, 500gb Hard Drives, 1080p Touchscreen, Lighted Keyboard, 4 Speaker Dolby Home Theater, etc... with Window 8 installed. Both Laptops were in great shape and worked well (Every Feature Worked). I decided I wanted to Upgrade the RAM, maxing it out at 12gb. When I popped open the case I was surprised to find an Empty Slot for RAM and an Open Slot for a mSATA SSD Drive. Usually the manufacturers have 2 slots for RAM, both are used and if you want to upgrade the RAM you must replace it all! In this case, all I had to do was to purchase an 8gb Stick. Found another feature on these laptops I overlooked. These came equipped with a Thunderbolt Port Connection. These Ports were set to Replace USB (not sure if they still are or not)? It's my understanding around 7 devices can be run from One Thunderbolt Port (Daisy Chained). Whereas a USB, One Port, One Device! I decided to Upgrade both Laptops with a 256gb mSATA SSD Drive and keep the 500gb Hard Drives in the laptops and set them up just for storage (I did upgrade mine from a 5400rpm to a 7200rpm)! Both of these computers have turned into very nice computers with an SSD Drives for the Operating System (Upgraded to Windows 10). My Sister also purchased one of these Laptops. She too has been very happy with it. We paid $350 each for the Laptops. Then I paid around another $120 for the RAM and mSATA SSD Drive, Approx. $470 in each computer! All are still running great after 2 years!