I love blog hops! Woohoo! They also give me the chance to sign up for the new designer's newsletters at the same time. Love that part of it, otherwise I keep on forgetting to do so.
We don't officially go live until 8pm and the OP will be updated with the first link and then the hullabaloo will commence!
Last year (or was it the year before?) they changed it to the first Saturday in October since Nov was so close to Holiday specials, etc.
For those who are watching the thread, we are officially live. All blog posts and download links are active throughout the hop. Enjoy a smooth ride through the freebies!