Hi Ceil,
Thank you for posting your experience with Connecting Threads. I too have been receiving their catalog for a while. I had many of the same thoughts as you so haven't as yet made a purchase.
To date, I've only ordered by mail from: 1, fleece sports printed fabric for a specific project where the fabric was not available to purchase locally, and 2, from a LQS out-of-state for a BOM program. For the BOM program, I've been extremely happy. I paid ahead on the BOM so had it paid off early. They also came up with a payment plan for the setting kit, which had several different colorway options. I had suggested that a payment plan for the setting kit would be great for me, and with the economy might work into other's budgets easier.
I've read several threads that talked about their Threads, so when my budget will allow I plan on ordering some.
Thank you again for sharing your thoughts and experience. I so liked how you thought this, and did that.
Pam M