Sneak Peek | My Fat Quarterly Quilt

Tomorrow, Tuesday 1/31, issue 8 of Fat Quarterly will go on sale. I'll actually have two quilt patterns in this issue! My twins are giving a sneak peek of one of them above. I call this quilt Double Happiness, and it was made from Kate Spain's new line for Moda (Good Fortune) and it was so beautifully quilted by the talented Jackie Kunkel of Canton Village Quilt Works.

I'll reveal more of this quilt, as well as my other quilt from this issue, shortly. In the meantime, if you've received issue 8, I'd love to hear what you think!

Blogger's BOM | Block 5

Hello, and welcome to everyone participating in Jackie's Blogger's Block of the Month quilt-along! I've really enjoyed seeing the designs that have been posted so far, as well as all of the fantastic blocks filling the quilt-along's Flickr pool.

I'm excited to bring you January's block, the 5th block in the program. Because it looks like an hourglass, I call it the Sands of Time block. Finishing out at 8" square (8.5" unfinished), it's a quick & easy block to make -- something I thought you'd all appreciate as you catch up from the holiday rush.

Ready to get started? Here we go ... !

First, cut 8 - 1.5" x 8.5" strips from assorted prints. You don't necessarily need 8 different prints -- you can see that I used 5 prints here, and just repeated 3 of them.

Sew the strips together into two sets of 4 strips each. This will yield 2 rectangles, each measuring 4.5" x 8.5".

Find the spot along the bottom edge of your first rectangle that is 3" in from the left hand side. Mark it lightly with a pencil. Using your rotary cutter and straight-edge ruler, make a cut from the top left corner of the rectangle to your pencil mark. Repeat on the right side of your rectangle, making a slice from the top right corner to a mark along the bottom edge that measures 3" from the right side.

This sounds really confusing, but just take a look at the picture below. It's way easy, and only sounds complicated.

As you can see in the photo, you'll do the same steps with your second rectangle, but this time you'll be measuring in 3" from the left and right sides along the top edge of the rectangle, and cutting from the bottom corners.

See? It's actually very easy.

OK, from a background fabric, cut 4 rectangles measuring approximately 4" x 6". You'll see in a moment why it's not important that the measurement is exact, as long as you have enough surface area to square up the block later. If (unlike me) you're obsessive about not wasting fabric, trial & error should help you determine the exact measurement that you'll need to minimize waste.

Place your rectangle along one edge of your trapezoid as shown below, eyeballing that you have enough overhang on the top and bottom edges to allow this rectangle to "replace" the triangle you just sliced off. Again, this sounds more complicated than it really is! The pictures help ...

With right sides together, sew the rectangle to one side of the trapezoid, and press open.

With your ruler and your rotary cutter, and using the top and bottom edges of your trapezoid as a guide, trim the edges so that the height of your pieced block is back to 4.5".

Repeat these steps for the remaining 3 sides of your trapezoids. You should now have two strange looking pieced shapes that look similar to the ones in the image below:

Line up the two smallest strips and, with right sides together, sew the two pieces together. Press open. The height of the pieced block should now measure 8.5".

Now all you have to do is trim the width of the block down to 8.5". Be careful to center your block as best you can. The block should now measure 8.5" square.

And there you have it -- my scrappy Sands of Time block! I hope you enjoy making this block, and I can't wait to see all of your color and print variations. If you make a Sands of Time block, be sure to add it to the Blogger's BOM Flickr group. And, of course, I'd love it if you also added it to my Quilt Dad is my Homeboy group.

Big thanks to Jackie for asking me to be a part of this wonderful quilt-along. As a reminder, here is the full schedule of the other amazingly talented bloggers taking part in the Blogger's BOM quilt-along:

September - Sherri McConnell - A Quilting Life

October - Vicki Welsh - Field Trips in Fiber

November - Stephanie Dunphy - Loft Creations

December - Pat Sloan - The Voice Of Quilting

January - John Adams - Quilt Dad (<--------- that's me!)

February - Amy Smart - Diary of a Quilter

March - Allison Harris - Cluck, Cluck, Sew

April - Amy Lobsiger - Mrs. Schmenkman Quilts

May - Cathy Underhill - Cabbage Quilts

June - Pam Vieira-McGinnis - Pam Kitty Morning

July - Victoria Findlay Wolfe - Bumble Beans Inc.

August - Amy Ellis - Amy's Creative Side

September - Sarah Fielke - The Last Piece

October - Jackie Kunkel - Canton Village Quilt Works

October & November Quilting Bee Blocks

I've been working on getting a bunch of new things finished up and should be able to get some pictures posted soon, but in the meantime I thought I'd catch up on sharing some quilting bee blocks that I made in late 2011.

October was my last month in the do. Good Stitches charity bee. We made string x-blocks using this tutorial with bright modern scraps for the center part of each block, and any shade of grey for the background. I had a great time raiding my scrap bin for these blocks and, when all was said and done, I wound up making seven!

I had a bit of a panic attack when Amisha requested hexagons for her blocks from members of the Bee Tweet group, inspired by Rashida's quilt from the Block Party book. I had only tried making hexagons once before, for Tacha in the bee inspired quilting bee back in 2009. Let's just say that hand piecing was not my thing, and I vowed never to attempt English paper piecing again.

Lucky for me, Amisha didn't care how we made our hexagons, as long as we just made them! So, while I was at the Triangle Modern Quilting Guild retreat at Wrightsville Beach NC last fall, I cooked up my own way of completing the task. I used cardboard templates to cut and fold under the edges of the blocks, pressed the hexagons liberally, adhered the hexagons to the background fabric using fusible interfacing, and topstitched around all of the edges. I actually kind of loved making them, once I devised my own strategy to get them done. I also LOVED Amisha's palette -- Habitat prints by Jay McCarroll against a background of Moda Cross-weave in Natural.

With my group in the do. Good Stitches officially done, my only November bee commitment was for Bee Tweet. Jen (aka bettycrockerass, my favorite Twitter handle ever!) sent us all a kind of super awesome holiday assortment that wasn't red and green and traditional, but very hip and retro cool. Here's what I came up with:

Modern and improv-y log cabin variations -- my favorite kind of block.

As you can see, my quilting bee commitments slowed down towards the end of 2011, but 2012 is a new year with some new groups that I'll be playing with! Along with the continuation of Bee Tweet, here are a few new groups I'll be sewing for:

• Free Bee -- led by the always fabulous Lynne from Lily's Quilts, this group is filled with an eclectic bunch of modern quilters with an emphasis on free piecing.
• The Bee Bee -- I'm very excited about the row robin bee, where we'll all be sewing with one of my most favorite fabric lines: Melody Miller's Ruby Star Spring. (Note: The Bee Bee got its name from that fabulous large cross-stitched bee print!)
• The Traveling Quilts -- I've teamed up with my PIC (partner-in-crime) Heather to start this new group, which is kind of a new concept in virtual quilting bees. I think it's going to be GREAT (and with the likes of Jacquie, Ashley, Alissa, Monica, Amber, Elizabeth, Faith, Penny, and Kerri taking part, how can it not be??) I'm sure I'll be posting more about the Traveling Quilts in an upcoming post.

So what does that mean? Lots of great more monthly sewing (and monthly sewing posts) in 2012!

The #SSSwap

Before the holidays, I participated in one final swap for 2011: the #SSSwap (a shortened Twitter handle for Secret Santa Swap), organized by the super fun (and funny) Amy. Over 40 really talented quilters and designers signed up for this swap, in which we were free to swap anything we wanted -- handmade or not -- up to $15 in value with a secret partner.

It was great fun and a wonderful lead-in to the holidays. As you might expect, quilters and crafters also happen to be FANTASTIC gift-givers!

WHAT I GOT

I must have been a very, very good boy last year, because I was fortunate enough that Rachel pulled my name in the swap. Imagine my surprise when I opened my swap package and pulled out not one, but four gift bags!

Yes, that's one big bag for me, and a smaller bag for each one of my children! Now how thoughtful is that?! The drawstring bags were made using Jeni's great tutorial.

The smaller bags were filled with some fun goodies for the kids. (I am sure there were more things in the bag, but they made off with their bags before I could take any good photos. I tried to gather everything back up to take some pictures, but their gifts had already been cast to the dark, far corners of their rooms.)

As for my big, dad-sized bag? First, I LOVE that it was made with some of my most favoritest Joel Dewberry & Patty Young fabrics. And inside I found ...

AN AWESOME KNIT SCARF!

A NEW MUG RUN AND KNIT DISHCLOTH!

SOME FUN TOYS!!

(Including the LEGO guard at the top of the post, as well as these fun Superhero Squinkies to keep me company in my sewing room. It's not a well-kept secret that I'm kind of a LEGO and comic book nerd.)

Thank you so, so much, Rachel. Words can't really express how much I truly appreciate how thoughtful and generous you were to me and my family during the holidays.

--

WHAT I SENT

I had the pleasure of pulling together a holiday package for Elizabeth Hartman (who you probably already know from her amazing quilting blog, Oh, Fransson!) Here's what I packed up to try to surprise Elizabeth:

I also made a drawstring bag using Jeni's tutorial. I used a cheater patchwork Echino print and some solid Essex Linen for the top and interior of the bag. I also used a favorite woodgrain print by Joel Dewberry for the drawstring.

I also made this needle book, using this tutorial and some of Melody Miller's Ruby Star Spring fabric (love those bees!)

I stuck some coordinating floss and needles inside.

I hope Elizabeth enjoyed her gifts as much as I enjoyed making them for her! And I also hope there will be a #SSSwap 2 next year.

Happy 2012!

Hi everyone, and Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. I know it's been a bit quiet 'round these parts. I wound up unplugging and taking an unexpected (but much-needed) break from most things electronic over the holiday break.

We had a great Christmas here in the Quilt Dad house -- we actually stayed home for the first time, and it was a joy to see the kids wake up in their own beds on Christmas morning. After Christmas, we headed up to New York City, where we visited with family, saw the tree at Rockefeller Center, and took the kids on their (now annual) pilgrimage to the American Girl store on 5th Avenue. We stayed in the Big Apply -- more specifically, Brooklyn -- through New Year's, and returned home on January 2nd.

While I work on gettin' my groove back, I wanted to let you know that I put together a new block pattern to celebrate the start of the new year! I call it "Modern Starlings", and the free pattern is available over on the Generation Q blog. I was excited that Scott, Jake, and the crew at Gen Q invited me to be a Guest Block Designer as part of their Playdate series, and quickly actualized this block that had been rattling around in the back of my head for weeks. I think it's a fun block with a lot of potential -- Scott and I have even been batting around some full quilt pattern ideas using this block.

I hope you like the block, and if you make any, I'd love to see them. Be sure to add them to the Quilt Dad is my Homeboy Flickr group.

Oh, and P.S. thanks for all of the love on my Hey Girl post. I am so glad that it was able to provide some laughs to so many of you over the past few weeks. I literally received hundreds of positive comments via the blog and Twitter, and one really ugly, nasty, negative email from someone who I clearly offended. Oh well, you can't win them all. I haven't had any flashes of Hey Girl inspiration since before the holidays, but who knows ... Ryan may make another appearance here on the blog soon.

Hey, girl ...

Please tell me you've seen this site. If not, you need to go read it. Go on, I'll wait for you.

OK, now that you're back, let's talk a little bit about this Ryan Gosling meme that's been making its way around the internet. It involves photos of (of course) Ryan Gosling, accompanied by short statements that are about as likely to make the ladies swoon as they are unlikely to be coming from such a macho man. It's pretty clever. My PhD student wife saw Feminist Ryan Gosling, and Sara pointed me to Law School Ryan Gosling. And Fuck Yeah! Ryan Gosling is worth a peek. But, of course, my favorite is the Handmade Ryan Gosling one. Hilarious.

It's definitely been making its way around the quilting blogosphere. Amber got a blog post up about it. So did Monica.

Well, I don't know what came over me on Saturday night, but I couldn't stop thinking of new "Hey girls" for the quilting community. And once I started posting them to my Twitter account, I couldn't stop. I was doing some grocery shopping (yes, on a Saturday night. yes, I'm lame), and I kept pulling the cart over to tweet something ridiculous or read some of the other contributions that were popping up on my timeline. It was actually A LOT of fun. Contrary to popular belief, I was NOT drinking.

Jennifer (@Sweet_Liberty), Melissa (@yummygoods), and Amanda (@heyporkchop) all got in on the fun, too. And Michelle (@MichelleBencsko) and Jaclyn (@UrbanCrunch) took it a step further by flipping the script and coming up with some "Hey, guy" posts, more appropriate for us manquilters.

Due to popular demand, and for the benefit of those of you who aren't following along on Twitter, I've compiled all of my "hey girls" for quilters here on this post. I'll probably keep posting them to my blog -- hey, who knows when inspiration will strike? -- so it might be a good time to jump over and follow me.

In the meantime, get comfy and check out my "hey girls" from the past couple of days. Some of them, frankly, still make me chuckle out loud. Have a favorite? Let me know!! I'd also love to eventually put them all on photos, the way the real sites do, but that just seems like an awful lot of work. Anyone want to help??

--

Hey girl. Of course I want to watch Love Actually with you again. It's our annual tradition.

Hey girl. I think I'll call you Ric-Rac. 'Cuz you're cute & I like your curves.

Hey girl, you're way too creative to be wasting your time on something so monotonous. Step aside & let me cut those sashing strips for you.

Hey girl, of course I don't mind if all of our kitchen appliances have Hello Kitty on them. I love her too.

Hey girl, how did you know? There's nothing I wanted more than a mug rug. It's even better than those Dr. Dre headphones I asked for.

Hey girl, it looks like we have enough money left to buy either a new flat-screen TV or a Blythe doll. You decide, 'kay?

Hey girl, don't you worry about where you're gonna store all that new FMF next month. I've already started cleaning out my Xbox cabinet.


Hey girl, this infinity scarf is totally going to impress the guys at work. especially because you used AMH voile ... AND velveteen.

Hey girl, you're killin' it with those curved seams.

Hey girl, I talked to the guys & we'd love to open up our weekly poker game to the girls from your MQG. they're really cool.

Hey girl, I skipped my workout today & instead organized all of your quilting magazines alphabetically by title, & then by date.


Hey girl, I just love our bedroom this time of year. It's when we can switch from our mermaid quilt to our unicorn quilt.

Hey girl, I know you're unsure about it, but you know what I always say: you can never have too many ruffles.

Hey girl, wld u mind putting fabric in some embroidery hoops & hanging them in the garage? I'd love to look @ something pretty while lifting.

Hey girl, I just read that the price of cotton is going up. You know what that means: I'll start packing my lunch to bring to work.

Hey girl, I've decided 2 take up scrapbking. U left behind a lot of great stuff when u started quilting, & I wouldn't want them 2 go 2 waste.

Hey girl, I'm so glad you signed up for another round of that pillow swap. I think 14 is the perfect number of pillows to have on our bed.

Hey girl, I think it's cool that you hang out with that tall, mysterious guy at quilt market. I mean, he doesn't intimidate me. Much.

Hey girl, lets totally hit that quilt shop today. You know -- my favorite, with the comfy chair & the old Sports Illustrateds.


Hey girl, no one rocks a honey cowl like you do. No one.

Hey girl, go ahead & bring me what you're wearing to work tomorrow. I'll press it as soon as I'm done getting these FQ's ready for you.

Hey girl, I'm nearly done packing for my business trip tomorrow. Thanks for whipping up these drawstring bags for me: one for my shaving kit, one for my computer cords, & a third for snacks on the plane. Oh look, you already filled it w/ goldfish crackers. You're the best!

Hey girl, I'll turn this game down. Siri just reminded me that@QuilterPatSloan's podcast is about to begin, & I wouldn't want to disturb u.

Hey girl, I hope you like that pincushion in your stocking. I had my grandma teach me how to hand sew just so I could make it for you. xoxo

Hey girl, there's a bag for you on your cutting table. Notion were 50% off at Jo-Ann and I just couldn't pass that up. Rotary blades, too.

Hey girl, every time you tell me you're sewing with Innocent Crush, it reminds me of how I felt when we first met. It should be *our* line.

Hey girl, 2nite was supposed to be date night, but ... oh, OK! Invite the gals over for a sew-in. I'll whip up some fruit salsa & a pitcher of margs.


Hey girl, I know they look alike, but you totally posted a picture of that quilt before she did. She's obviously a poser. And fat.

Hey girl, I know we're short on floor space, so feel free to drape your quilt rows over my Bowflex. I think it looks festive.

Hey girl, I can't think of anything I'd like better to hang in my cube than some bunting. Our office colors are grey and grey.

Hey girl, you'll never guess what happened to me today. My boss asked me what my coffee cup was sitting on and when I said it was a mug rug, she brought me to HR for a harassment claim. Looks like I'm off this week -- I can help you sew!


Hey girl, it doesn't matter how big you make that quilt, as long as we can both fit under it while we watch The Good Wife.

Hey girl, go on and enjoy dinner with your friends. I'll stand on this Sample Spree line for 4 hours. I brought my Kindle.

Hey girl, I know you've got 6 bee blocks to catch up on tonight. Sounds like a Starbucks run is in order. Want whipped cream on your mocha?

Hey girl, I don't care how many times you make wonky log cabin blocks. They look rad every. single. time.

Hey girl, I know you agonized for nights over whether to use Kona Snow or Kona White. I think you made the right decision. You always do.

Hey girl, come here and check out this episode of Storage Wars. Is that a featherweight? I love when you teach me about sewing machines.

Hey girl, these christmas stockings have been in my family for generations, but we can totally swap them out for those ones you just made.

Hey girl, you still have 322 hexagon templates to cut out? Stick them in my briefcase. It'll give me something to do during my conference calls.

Hey girl, I know that girl in your bee asked 4 a really tough block this month. It's only b/c she knows u can make it better than she could.

Hey girl, I know you're busy, but could you crochet me a set of golf club cozies? With fox ears? That would be rad.

Hey girl, thanks for that Apple store gift card. I went to get my iPad 2, but instead left with a credit card reader. No no no, don't protest -- you've got those 2 craft fairs coming up.

Hey guy, I went ahead and had that flat-screen installed in your sewing room. That way, you can watch the game AND finish up your quilt.

Hey girl, of course you can leave all of your sewing stuff there. Who needs a formal dining room, anyway?

Hey girl, I love how you hung a wall of mini quilts in our living room. And kitchen. Think you have enough left to do my home office, too?

Hey girl, I think the crochet amigurumi vegetables that are on top of my dresser are getting lonely. Just sayin'.

Hey girl, I think my office Christmas party is the perfect occasion to debut that tie you made me from upcycled cloth diapers, don't you?

Hey girl, I love that u think highly enough of my mom to not make her holiday quilt from Jo-Ann fabrics. She may not notice, but I'll know.

Hey girl, my offer still stands to drive you to your quilt retreat. I can haul firewood, and I make a mean omelette. Just say the word.

Hey girl, I'm so glad we spent the day walking that craft fair together. And thanks for surprising me with that hand-screened American Apparel skinny tee. I love pictures of kawaii dessert characters.

Hey girl, I told my mom that a gift certificate to the @FatQuarterShop is like a gift for both of us b/c quilting brings you such joy. And when you're happy, I'm happy. Now come here so I can give you a hug.


Hey girl. You, me, a roaring fire, a bottle of wine, & your Hoop Bag. Add in the Pinterest app & we've got the recipe for a perfect evening.

Hey girl, I'm as excited as u are that Amy Butler's husband is designing fabric now too. And you're right: that is one ruggedly handsome man

Hey girl, I love my new shirt -- and I don't care what they say, kimono tops are totally appropriate for men. Plus, you made a matching one for my Blythe doll. You know the way to a man's heart.

Hey girl, I know #talknt is tonight, so I took the liberty of lighting some candles, pouring you a glass of wine, & hiring a sitter. Enjoy.

Hey girl, I only booked us a 2-BR condo, but of course I don't mind if you invited all the Yams to our weekend getaway. I'll take the couch.

Hey girl, there's nothing more relaxing than falling asleep in your arms as I listen to u debate the merits of Kona vs. Bella. Come closer.

Hey girl. Done w/ your workout already? I've got 10 min's left on the treadmill. Mind switching the TV to Project Runway on your way out?

Hey girl, come lay down next to me on this faux bear skin rug that you made. I <3 that u used Flower Sugar for his belly & inside his ears.

Hey girl. You, me, Buble, and the hum of your sewing machine. You sure know how to make a house a home. xoxo

Hey girl. I know that's your "super secret" sewing project for me, but do I spy a scoodie? Oh, it's going to be a very merry Christmas.

Hey girl, the Jo-Ann coupons are right over there under the new Anthro catalog. And yeah, I've already dog-eared the pages of things I think you'd look great in.

Hey girl. I brought you a bottle of champagne. Why? Oh, don't be so humble. I saw you got 25 comments on your blog giveaway. Rock star.

Hey girl, I can really see the difference in your quilts since you painted the room soft violet. It totally brings out your creativity. And your eyes.

Hey girl, I've noticed that you bind that quilt much faster when I'm rubbing your feet. So kick 'em up here & let me take care of the rest.

Hey girl, I'm at the park wearing the yellow knit Pikachu hat you made, all ready for the photo shoot. You're totally gonna make the Etsy front page with this one.

Hey girl. So that's called "oilcloth"? Sweet. Now you can sew *and* chill with me in the hot tub.

Hey girl. You know how much you love the new Nani Iro line? Well, that's how I feel about you. x 10.

Hey girl. That chick's blog comment was wack. Your free tute looks nothing like that one on the @ModaBakeShop.

And here are some of my favorites from my friends ...

Looking for a great Christmas gift?

In my 4+ years of sewing and quilting, I've discovered many tools and products that I absolutely love. One item I've never fallen in love with, however, is an iron.

It's almost ironic, because I am an almost obsessive presser. As I've mentioned before, I'm largely self-taught ... so I don't really have a sense of how other quilters do the very same tasks that I do. It wasn't until I started talking to (and sewing with) my fellow Triangle Modern Quilt Guild members that I realized just how obsessive a presser I am. I press every seam, after every run through the machine. I use spray starch like a madman. I like my iron hot, my seams neat, and my quilt blocks flat. You might think I'd prioritize a high-end, highly functional iron.

Not so.

Typically, I've purchased and used fairly low-end irons from big box retailers, and have never found one that I'd recommend or would even purchase again. In most cases they're ... fine, I guess ... but nothing to get excited about. I think that the game may have changed ...

I was recently contacted by the team at Panasonic about a new iron that is now available for sale: the Concept 360° Freestyle Cordless Iron, which seems to have been designed and built with sewists, quilters, and crafters in mind. They offered to lend me a sample of the iron to use on a trial basis, so that I could let them know what I think. Instead of just telling them, I thought I'd share it with all of you as well. After just a couple of uses, I am definitely impressed.

First, the iron comes with this highly practical & portable carrying case. 90% of the time, my iron just sits on my ironing board ... but, having just attended my very first quilting retreat, I can appreciate this great feature. Plus, for quilters whose sewing spaces pull double-duty and have to break down and store their iron and ironing board after sewing, this is an even more valuable feature.

Another reason why it seems this iron is made with quilters in mind is its unique elliptical shape. It doesn't have a pointy front end and flat back end like most irons. With no official forward or backward motion, I've found that this makes it easier to truly move the iron back and forth, pressing the full length and both ends of each seam easily.

I will say that the shape of the iron takes some getting used to. For me, ironing is a completely mindless task, and I didn't realize until using this iron that it's normal for my mind to drift off and for my body to fall back to routine motions. So, I had a few scares when I tried to set the iron down on it's backside -- of which this iron doesn't have one! I nearly dropped or fumbled the hot iron on more than one occasion but, once I trained myself to place the iron back into its dock, I didn't have any more issues.

And did I mention that this iron is cordless? I didn't understand what a huge convenience this would be. I have never been able to find a good ironing board / outlet / plug & cord configuration that didn't lead to some awkward movement or tangled cords. Having a cordless iron takes away those concerns completely.

I used to iron with steam all the time but had too many issues with irons spitting black gunk onto my quilt blocks, so I've only used dry irons for a long time now. So far, I've only used this iron on its dry setting, so I can't yet comment on its performance as a steam iron.

Overall, I think this is a fantastic tool for quilters and sewists. It currently sells for $99.95 on the Panasonic site -- not too bad by Rowenta standards, but certainly more than I am accustomed to spending on irons. However, with its unique design, cordless nature, and practical carrying case, I think it's a great value for the money.

Plus, I am excited that Panasonic is allowing me to offer you guys an additional $20 rebate on this iron through 12/21 (that's next Wednesday), while supplies last. That brings it down to $79.95, which may be a great idea for a last-minute Christmas gift -- and Panasonic is currently offering free shipping! To take advantage of this deal, simply enter the code FREESTYLEQUILTER (case sensitive, so be sure to enter all caps) at checkout.

Here's the link to purchase.

(For a not-so-subtle hint, feel free to forward the link to this post to your moms, dads, husbands, wives, or anyone who may be doing some last-minute shopping for you!)

Disclaimer (only because it seems like bloggers who review products are increasingly being criticized or scrutinized for their positive reviews of gratis products):
From time to time, I am contacted by companies, publishers, business owners, etc. to "test drive" or review their products. I only review or endorse products that I truly like, and would want to share with my readers. I am contacted about many more products and services than the ones that make it to my blog -- some I turn down outright, and others I try but choose not to review -- so you can be confident that I am only recommending products that I myself would (and do) use.