Yay, it’s time for the Chronicle Books 40% off sale! It’s going on through December 10 — check out their site, visit their San Francisco store in person, or call 1-800-722-6657 to order. This sale happens twice a year, so be sure to join their mailing list for the heads up. Last summer I ordered a bunch of the Denyse Schmidt notecards (discounted to $8.37 for a box of 20!) for my wedding thank-you notes. This year I have a couple of holiday gifts in mind which shall remain secret for now in case the recipients are reading this…

Every time I do new book reviews over here, Chronicle titles are front and center, but here are some of my all-time favorites I haven’t mentioned yet.

Off The Wall has tons of cool midcentury wallpaper patterns that I’d love to track down in real life. In the meantime I have all the ones I like best (and there are many) bookmarked.

Fabulous Fabrics of the 50s keeps me on my toes at thrift stores and estate sales, hunting for that perfect atomic or floral pattern. I probably checked this one out of the library ten times before Alex and Heather surprised me with it for my birthday!

Denyse Schmidt Quilts is a beautiful collection of projects and photos to pore over. I have been so inspired by the cool mix of housewares, gifts, and (of course) quilts since I got this book, but I think any new sewing projects are going to have to wait until January… and the oven mitt is first on my list.

Back to the sale — if you want to cut to the chase and check out all 149 of their craft books, here you go! And one more thing: in addition to the discount, Chronicle is giving away a free copy of the World Almanac Daily Calendar with every order.