Feb 28
Many of you may know my whimsical characters, FAITH, HOPE, and CHARITY from my past fabric collections. My ladies have been my voice and image for creating uplifting messages for many years now. Whether it be content for my Country Register column, Girlfriend Wisdom, or gifts products for Sisters, Girlfriends, or Quilters, the message is always positive. How could characters with names honored by these great virtues, be anything but for the greater good? Partner that concept with my love of color, and warm smiles usually appear!
Handmade from the Heart was inspired by YOU, all the quilters I have met at quilt guilds, at quilt shows, quilt shop owners, quilt retreats, quilt camp at sea, many quilting friends and family and my own childhood joy when my Mom let me make doll clothes on her treadle sewing machine. I have loved making projects with my hands my whole life. The quilting world has a great common passion; the love of making something, for someone, with their hands from the joy in their hearts.
I hope you enjoy the panel and all the pieces to take apart or keep together. Connecting Threads has done the best job to match all the coordinates. The palette is full and gives you lots of creative choices. Have fun, let us know what you are making, I love Show & Tell. The website has lots of kits and projects.
Joy & Blessings ~ JODY
Feb 18
Dear Connecting Threads customer,
We regret to inform you of a recent security breach at Connecting Threads—a troubling event that has caused inconvenience and concern for some of our customers, as well as our staff.
As a result of a vulnerability in a widely-used commercial website server software, between the dates of December 21, 2012 and January 25, 2013, a file containing some private information used on the Connecting Threads and related Crafts Americana Group websites was potentially accessible to unknown outsiders without authorization. As soon as the file was discovered, we implemented increased security measures and began working closely with law enforcement and the affected credit card companies to investigate the incident. Once we were reasonably sure of what had happened, we immediately informed the people that may have been affected by this incident.
Some of you are upset, disappointed, or confused, and we wholeheartedly apologize. Please know that we share these emotions with you. As with any theft, there’s the troubling feeling that even the most dedicated diligence is sometimes not enough. On every level, we work hard to ensure that your information is secure and that we are not only meeting, but exceeding the security standards required for online businesses.
The unfortunate truth is that breaches in data security are a widespread problem—and something that seems to affect all of us at some point, regardless of the strict security measures we insist upon. Many companies, both large and small, have been affected by the same flaw in the software that we relied on and other unforeseeable software flaws.
Still, that doesn’t prevent us from being extremely sorry about the inconvenience that this has caused some of you.
Please understand that we would never be idly silent on an issue as vital as your financial information. On the contrary, you deserve transparency—but also understand that it’s equally essential that we approach you with all the correct facts and not an empty, rushing alarm. As the investigation continues to develop, we’ve reached a point where we can wholly and accurately state the following:
The exploited file that we first discovered on our internet servers on January 25, 2013 contained information that included names, addresses, and credit card numbers of some, but not all, customers who had made a purchase on Connecting Threads or other Crafts Americana websites in late 2012 and early 2013; it did not contain information on customers who purchased from us solely through other means, such as phone or fax. The file was created through an exploitation of a flaw in the website server software; similar problems appear to have affected many other companies that use the same software.
As soon as the breach was discovered, we immediately made changes to fix the exploited server software and took the following steps:
- Notified and worked with law enforcement.
- Notified the credit card companies, via our payment processor, so that they could monitor activity on their end for anyone that may have used a card on our sites.
- Hired an outside firm to conduct an investigation and an audit of our systems.
Once we were to a point where we were sure about who was affected, we sent letters to all U.S. and Canada residents whose information was in the file that we discovered, and also informed several state regulators about the incident. The letters were sent on February 8th, so if your address is in the U.S. or Canada, and you have not received a letter within the next few days, your information was likely not in the file that was potentially accessed.
As an added precaution, your credit card provider may choose to reissue you a new card, regardless of when you shopped at one of our sites. Additional information on dealing with an incident like this is included in the letters we sent out, such as how to obtain free copies of your credit reports and the importance of monitoring your credit card statements. In the majority of cases, those of you affected should not be responsible for any fraudulent charges or fees to reissue cards. If you do have out-of-pocket costs, please contact us.
The security of our systems is extremely important to us, and we never want breaches like this to occur. We now believe we have solved all known issues with our systems and continue to pass PCI (Payment Card Industry) compliance testing. For those looking for alternative payment methods, we also offer PayPal on our sites.
If you still have any related questions, please email us at securityquestions@craftsamericana.com; in directing your concerns this way, we’ll be better able to respond in the thorough and timely fashion you deserve.
We feel privileged to be part of such a wonderful and dynamic crafting community, always priding ourselves on excellent customer service and first-rate security standards. Please rest assured: Through this difficulty, we are now even stronger and better able to serve our customers. Thank you, to each and every one of you for standing with us during this trying time.
Sincerely and on behalf of everyone at Crafts Americana Group,
Matt Petkun
Jan 29
I am so pleased and proud to be able to show off our first-ever published book Tiny Obsessions! This was a collaborative effort between Connecting Threads and Vicki Bellino and it's absolutely adorable if I do say so myself! It all started with an idea...
Read more...
Jan 23
This week's tip is so easy, and really fun to do!
Customer suggestion: Take some empty soup cans, paint them your favorite color, and hang on the wall for easily accessible storage.
Read more...
Jan 16
I don't know about you, but the space in my house that I've been
allotted for my sewing room is pretty tight. In fact, I share my sewing
room with our guest bedroom. Fortunately, we don't often have guests
over who stay the night. However, I just found out that we are expecting
some out of town guests next month, and it became glaringly obvious
that I needed to do something about storage for my in-progress projects.
Read more...
Recent Comments