Well, I received Gary's HUGE package today! I felt like it was Christmas! LOL! He shared so many beans, you should all thank him for his generousity! And please GARY, let me know of some varieties that you DONT have so I can send you back some good ones in return! sugarshane, gardenmom2, and Zebraman, if you do not mind, could you just send me an email or post to let me know that you are still in this and if your beans are sent out yet? No problems, just wanted to double check with the people who I have not seen active on the thead lately. Christy ***bonechickchris~Christy ***dirtdiggin~Toni ***booberry85~Becky sunnyk~Donna ***highalttransplant~Bonnie gardenmom2~Nichol ***grymntl~Bruce ***tormato~Gary sugarshane1313~Jim sassybutterfly 2008~Wendy ***dem pa~Don zebraman ***Daniel aka dirtdiggin Jr. luvgardening2/Nancy ***remy ***arroyogardener/Jamie ***reynal/Danny (*** seeds Received)

Thanks! So now the question is.... what "solid" do i go with. I definitely don't want the creamy white that is on now.. I was thinking a taupe that i am pulling from the rug or a lighter tan. Remember I will be re-finishing the set in a rich espresso color. And I finally was able to convince my dh to sell the armoir down the road and possibly buy a longer but higher buffet. I don't love the look of showing off my "stuff" in the glass doors- and also think by removing the top it will make the room look bigger. Final question- do you think fabric #1 or #3 in the last group would look ok as window treatments? I am waiting for my shades to be installed, but they are the silouhettes in the same white as the molding! TIA for your suggestions!

I am a fabricator: IMHO a seam at the sink is a less than optimum choice particularly on quartz. Properly done a full size seam on quartz is "nearly invisible". nearly invisible means you would not notice it unless you specifically looked for it. such a seam requires that the seam edges be properly prepared in the fab shop (no chips and absolutely square 90 degree edges) and a vacuum tool with jacking mechanism is used to pull the seam edges together at install. unfortunately the vacuum tool for installation can't be used on the narrow rails in a seam at the sink situation. I also have a basic objection to putting seams in the busiest place in the entire kitchen. For me it is also objectionable to have the seam in the edge showing in the sink cutout. some fabricators sell the idea that sink seams are better because they're shorter but IMHO it is almost impossible to consistently get a "nearly invisible" seam on a sink rail. Fabricators like sink seams because it eliminates the risk of cracked sink rails which can be very expensive for the fabricator and can occur even if the fabricator and installers do everything right. To me this is a quality shortcut. I hate (really hate) cracked sink rails but they happen even with install crews like mine that have 30+ years of experience. the only time we recommend seamed sink rails is when the customers sink is a very large (typically 3 bowl) undermount that requires a cutout so large the sink run countertop becomes too fragile to transport and install.

I find it interesting that JoAnn's refers to their more expensive fabrics as "quilt shop quality." Guess they are admitting that their other calicoes aren't as good. That said, though, all of my early quilts were made with JoAnn's $2.99-$4.99 fabrics - either on sale or with coupons - and even the triple Irish chain DS#1 has on a bed the dog takes over when he's at work is still looking good after almost 10 years of use. My theory on JoAnn's more expensive quilting fabric is that they don't expect anyone to pay that price, but are still making a nice profit when it is purchased with a 40% off coupon! I splurge at my LQS ($7.95-$8.95) when I take a class there, and I bought all of the fabric for DS#2's wedding quilt there. They were great about helping me with the colors and have been supportive throughout my making of it. (Pictures in another week or two!) I scout the internet too, thanks to all of the tips I've read here. I recently bought wide backing fabric from Eleanor Burns for $7 a yard. To really make it worth my while, I bought 5 yards of 3 different fabrics I was sure I could use. That brought my order up to $105 so I qualified for free shipping.