I realized when we went to Carowinds earlier this summer that my swimsuit is over a decade old. And I had to cut the tags off of it to wear it. I guess you could say that I am not keeping up with the latest in swimsuit fashion, huh? I ound that swimsuit on the right at SwimSuitsforAll.com. They have tons of Plus Size Swimdresses, and all of them are lovely.

Ok, I just had to click out of that window. They are having a sale, ya’ll. This could be a problem, because you know I love to shop, and really…..$30 for a swimsuit is not that much, and, and, and mine is so old, and I neeeeeeeeeeed one for Vegas, and ya’ll, $30. For a swimsuit. That covers the parts I want covered and doesn’t leave me looking like a frump?? Cheap! Oh yeah, I am so in trouble.

Ok, as promised, I have made a new page for my WIPs. I have only put the things I have talked about so far on it, and I will be updating it as I post more things. There are 13 items on it so far, and I think just to finish those, I would need to spend about a year just stitching. Who wants to look into Pigeon Forge vacation rentals for me? I think we all know I will get no such luxury here at home, LOL!

I’ve surely been posting about a lot of crafty type things other than knitting lately, haven’t I? I’m not quite sure whether or not it qualifies as a hobby or an obsession, but I do like to see where I am in the SERPs for certain keywords, and I just googled “cross-stitch cass”. I’m pleased to report that this site came up as number 2 and 3 in the results. And numbers 1 and 2 for “quilt cass”. *giggle*

Those are fun numbers for me to see, because although I can’t afford to hire a search engine marketing firm to help me, I still rely on those search engine results to attract new readers. Not that I don’t love those of you who have been with me since the beginning. I do. It’s just that I want new people, too. I mean, seriously, as much as I love to yammer on, a bigger audience is very heady stuff. It would be totally easy for me to get carried away, ykwim?

Ah yes, I’m sure you do. Since I think it was just last month that I told you where this blog ranked for that term. Still number 8, ya’ll.

And by small, I mean ones you hold with just your fingers instead of your whole hand. Like, short, mostly with eyes

This one has already hit the trash. That happened before I had my BIWYWL*. Seriously the BIWYWL* is fantabulous. Back to the piece…I didn’t start this one, I inherited it from another crafter who was purging her supplies.

This is needlepoint. The thing that makes needlepoint great for me is that I don’t need to haul a whole bunch of stuff around. The pattern is right there on te piece, so just some floss and the work and walk out the door.

Embroidered pillowcase. If you look far the the right, you will see there is a stain on this. It was in the wash load I mentioned a while back, and it did not come out, so this almost ended up in the garbage. However, since it is not in the work area, I elected instead to keep it, and I can make a pillow or quilt block out of it.

Behold, the stain-free match to the above pillowcase. Yay! I USED to have a SET of pillowcases!

*BIWYWL= brilliant idea which you will love

Do you ever feel like you’ve been living with your head in the sand? That’s kinda how I feel this morning. I just skimmed a press release for a furniture company, and these guys are practically in my backyard.

Press Release:

North Carolina Furniture Store Joins List of Nations Fastest Growing Private Companies

Internet furniture store Great Priced Furniture.com ranked in top 1,000 on Inc. Magazine list.
These companies are the elite. A mere sliver of the seven million or so companies in the U.S. that have employees.

Wilmington, NC (PRWEB) September 26, 2007 — Wilmington, NC based Great Priced Furniture has been recognized by business journal Inc. Magazine as one of the nation’s fastest growing companies. Ranked 990 overall, the online furniture retailer also ranked 48 nationally in the retail sector.

For almost a year, Inc. Magazine deployed more than 70 researchers, reporters, editors and interns on the ranking project to identify and profile the 5,000 fastest growing companies in America. To qualify, companies must have been U.S. based, privately held and be independent. Revenue in 2003 must have been at least $200,000, and revenue in 2006 must have been at least $2 million. “These companies are the elite. A mere sliver of the seven million or so companies in the U.S. that have employees.” said Jim Melloan, Project Manager at Inc. Magazine.

Great Priced Furniture was founded in 1999 and during the study period achieved sales revenue growth of 355.9%. Sales revenue in 2006 was $7.5 million.

President, Fred Rose attributes the company’s more recent growth rate to overseas sales. “We launched an international marketing campaign in the summer of 2006 and together with the weak dollar exchange rate, it helped spur our overall sales.” said Rose.

Great Priced Furniture specializes in selling high-quality, branded furniture from manufacturers such as American Drew, AICO and Stanley and schedule shipping to try and ensure customers receive their furniture in about one quarter the time of a transaction with a traditional furniture showroom.

“It’s a great honor that Inc. Magazine has recognized our sales growth.” added Rose. “But offering great products at the right price is only part of the equation. Efficient warehousing, shipping and delivery is also an important aspect of our customer’s buying experience. It enhances their overall satisfaction. Our new ‘state of the art’ warehouse facility in Wilmington is now an essential part of our strategy to handle our growth.”

About Great Priced Furniture.com
Great Priced Furniture employs 28 staff with corporate offices and showrooms near the Wilmington, NC Ports Authority. The company’s total freehold ownership is 20 acres including 35,000 sq. ft. of administration and warehouse space.

The online furniture store has built a solid reputation by offering a wide selection of premium brand name bedroom furniture, office furniture, living room furniture and dining room furniture. They have established strong working partnerships with leading furniture manufacturers including Broyhill Furniture, American Drew, AICO, Lexington Home Brands, Pulaski, Stanley Furniture, Kathy Ireland Home by Standard, and Hooker Furniture. All furniture sold via the online furniture store is backed by a 30 day, full satisfaction, money back guarantee — a first in Internet furniture retailing.

So why do I feel ostrich-like? I’ve never heard of them! One of the fastest growing companies in the US, right in my back yard, and I don’t know about them. Now I have to go do some research. There used to be a big outfit here called Rose Brothers Furniture, and I think maybe Fred Rose, who is quoted in that press release, may be one of the brothers. If it’s the same store, they will have awesome bedroom furniture. I’ll bet my mom would know, and if she doesn’t, well, the WPA is only a few minutes from us! Quit laughing! Any shopping would be for research purposes only!!

Welcome to the fourth edition of the [tag]Online Craft Club[/tag] [tag]Show and Tell[/tag]. I am sure enjoying this little meme, and I really hope you are, too! This week, I spent my crafting time on the same log cabin blanket I worked on last week. I can hardly believe that, because it’s so unusual for me to stay with a project for very long, but it’s true.

If you recall, when I dug it out, it looked like this:

And then last week, it looked like this:

And here is the picture I took this morning, with the piece I am frogging into it underneath:

At this point, I am thinking that when I get through with the yarn, it will at least be big enough for the baby a lap blanket. You may recall that this was part of the motivation behind changing my plan–to get it usable faster. And I’ll go ahead and admit that the temptation is strong to continue with this project for one more week. We’ll see what happens with that.

Clearly I need more time working on my stitching, and less time at my office furniture.
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I hope you enjoyed my show and tell. I’d love it if you play along with me. Here’s what you do:

Take a picture of your current project, whatever that happens to be. Or maybe one you recently finished. Or the materials for the one you are about to start. Let’s say materials for a project in whatever state it happens to be in at the time you snap it. On Friday, post the picture and tell us about your project. What you did, or what you are going to do. How much you are enjoying it, or hating it. You know–show and tell.

Just copy & paste the code below the graphic and get crafty with me!

<a href="http://www.cassknits.com/category/online-craft-club/"><img src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff136/cassknits/online-craft-club-sidebar-sized.jpg" alt="" /></a>

Be sure to come back and leave a comment so we know where to find you!

This one is supposed to become a cat. You’ll have to trust me on this. I’m aware it doesn’t look like one now, but it is indeed a cat. Will I finish it? Who knows.

This would be the Mary that goes with the Baby Jesus in the last WIP post.

Christmas stocking. Can’t you see the tree? Look harder, then, LOL!

This one is a dragon and a castle. I started it for DH’s second daughter longer ago than I can now accurately pinpoint. It’s not very likely that I will finish this. I am not quite ready to make the break yet, but this vessel sinks just yards from the dock.

This one is a Paula Vaughn with a wood swing and a quilt. Likelihood to finish is almost 100 percent, and it will likely move into the “hot box” after the carousel horse is done.

Oh! Don’t forget the Online Craft Club show and tell tomorrow. What will I talk about? Will it be one of these? Will it be something else you’ve already seen? Or have I been concentrating on a project you haven’t even heard about yet? These questions and more answered right here, tomorrow.

I was just over at Terri’s Fabrics, and saw something too cool not to share. You can search their fabrics by color. I haven’t seen that in any other online store, so I thought it was worth mentioning. Now, on to what I am actually supposed to be talking about which is bedding.

I’m going to tell you right upfront that they only ship to the UK. And now, I am going to make my American readers made, LOL. I spent a few minutes looking at teh bedding there, and the pieces they have clearly reflect the philosophy that our bedrooms should be peaceful, tranquil places, with elegant (some might even say opulent) furnishings. The quilted bedspreads are just lovely!

They also have a nice selection of duvet covers for the more budget conscious among us. So! go drool over the bed stuff, and then do what you know you must: look at the fabric. 😛