No test.....this fix works!

Please comment because I believe the solution has arrived to our email/comment dilemma.  Big Thanks to Pat at  Amity Quilting    This is a link to her "home grown fix" to our communication problems. 
  You must change your settings and then change them back to where you really want them to be.  It took me a few tries but I got it finally. 

  From Amity Quilter  blog......" from Gayle of Mangofeet blog.  She advised that she has fixed her Blogger comment issue by going into the settings and adding a gmail address into the email comment block.  She received an email at that address requesting confirmation of this as a new 'subscription' for comments, and once she confirmed she started receiving comments again!"

Once you confirm and get email at the "other address", repeat the process and change it back to your original email.  And all should be restored to our original programming :)

  I am so glad that quilting bloggers are so resourceful because our Blogger support is on another planet.  Thanks, Gayle and Pat. 
Happy stitching.  

Some assembly required

 Buzz Saw blocks assembled for the center section!  I apologize  for the photo....it is pouring rain outside, so I threw the top over the bed.  The colors are great and wow, this thing is big.
  The borders still must be added.....but they may have to wait a while.  There are 3 boxes arriving today that will require some attention and a little assembly  :)

  As a side note.....has anyone else noticed that favorite blogs are not being picked up on the dashboard reader?  I have noticed several and I am finding the same problem now on Bloglovin'.  What a pain to switch back and forth.  I am also trying Feedly to see if things are better there.
  Happy stitching.

Bloglovin"

Since google reader is going away.....I am claiming my blog
Follow my blog with Bloglovin

I will probably go back to  read my daily blogs on the blogger dashboard at home.  Bloglovin' does have an iphone app for reading on the go.  If you are using ipad, know the google reader will be going away this summer, so you will need the app too, I think.  All this technology mushroom / explosion that happens too fast is taking a toll on my brain!   Don't you think those geeks could just leave us quilters alone for a while?   I am going to relax and do some free motion quilting before they try to take that away from me.   Happy stitching.  

4 patch methods

    I heard from a lot of you about the last post on reducing your usage on the Picasa Web Albums.....so I know many were busy the last couple of days resizing photos.  I have an album with 700 photos to resize, so yes, it takes a while but is worth the effort.  Hang in there!  One more hint.....while you are re-sizing photos, you can also add text for marking your photos in the Creative Kit online.  Most of my older photos are not marked, so I am taking the time to add my blog addy to them.

   Guess we all know how to make a basic 4 patch unit or block....cut 4 squares the same size, sew 2 together, then sew the 2 patch units together and you have a 4 patch.  Both the patterns I am working on call for 4 patch units, and I used different methods on both for each of them.  So I thought a little comparison would be good.

  First,  there's the  the mystery at Quiltville called Easy Street.  I know I said I would not do another mystery, but here I am in the midst of part 1.  I decided not to use gray, and  I chose a light blue.  Bonnie's preferred method of making 4 patch units calls for sewing the strips together, and matching the long strips in pairs before cutting  the 2 patch units.  Once cut they are already matched and just need to be joined and pressed.  She gives  excellent details and photos on her blog.
   Pros to this method....everything is matched up, and by working thru  the directions correctly the intersection seam does swirl and lie flat.
 

   Then there is the method  from Missouri Star Quilts that makes 4 patch units from pre-cuts or in my case
 5" squares.   It can also be adapted when working with jelly roll strips.      

   This technique worked perfect for this scrap quilt because I was concentrating on value rather than color.  I wanted 4 patch units  of light fabrics, and units of dark value fabrics.
  Rather than explain the whole technique, check the link above for the tutorial.  My photo shows the final cuts for the 4 patch units....all are different and very scrappy.  Perfect for this!
  Pros to this method.....quick,  working with large sections, produces very scrappy units, and you are not sewing small pieces together.

  I think there is a time and place for each method depending on what you are trying to achieve.  No cons to either method really.    I am about ready to put a block together for the scrap quilt....maybe tomorrow.  Happy stitching.

Need more photo space?

  Whether you know it or not, you have a Picasa web album space on Google if you have a blog with photos.  That is where the photos we upload to our blogs are stored......and if we go over the limit in size there is a charge.  One of those very pesky things that is in the very tiny fine print that we probably never got to reading when our blog was set up / modified in blogger changes.   I don't have ads on my blog, so why would I want to pay for photo space?   All those monthly charges are less fabric and thread I can purchase!
So here is how I am solving the situation for now......

  1.   Find your web albums.....picasaweb.google.com  is the place to look.   Check the very bottom of your page and you should see  the amount of storage you are using.  I was around 60% and figured out how to reduce this without deleting photos.
   2.   This is time consuming but worth the effort.  Click on an album and bring up a photo.  On the right hand side of the page you will see the photo size shown.  If it is over 800 x 800 pixels you are using storage space.  So click on "Actions", and then on "edit in creative kit".  This will bring up the online editor and your photo.
  3.   Click "Resize"  on the left side of the page.  Change the largest pixel size to 800 and mark the "keep proportion" box.   Click apply.
  4.   Then you need to click on "Save to my Album" in the upper right corner.  A pop up box appears.....I choose "Replace"  photo in the album.   You will be returned to your web albums.
 
  I am working my way through the albums.....don't ask me why so many because I do not know.    My usage  is being reduced bit by bit, and I have 2 more large albums to go through.   As for current and new photos that I add.....I am making sure the upload size is reduced prior to putting on my blog.  But that's another story and there are much better explanations on other blogs on how to accomplish that.    

Have you been scraped?

    Has your blog been scraped?  Not scraps, but scraped by the Wicked Witch and the Winged Monkeys? Or maybe by some other unsavory sites on the net.
   As bloggers we put time and effort into our posts.  We take photos---or in my case, try to take decent photos---and create tutorials to share what we love with others.  We log our efforts at home and share our travels, review our favorite books and quilt shops.  We give quilt show tours.  All because we love fabric and quilts and sharing.  And yet, their are some bad guys out there, lurking and leering at what we do.   They are "scraping" content from blogs--including photos--- to post on their sites to increase traffic on their site.
     I was reading a post at Happy Cottage Quilter  (be sure to follow her links) and found  a quick mention of this.    Then I clicked over for more information to betweennapsontheporch .  She has a long article on how to stop the scrapers from stealing your blog posts and photos.  It is worth the time to read, even if you don't worry about this stuff.
     The bottom line.....I found some of my blog content has been scraped and is on some very ugly sites.  I may not get it removed, but I have taken steps to prevent ---at least to discourage---the winged monkeys.  Most of us are now at least marking our photos, in hopes of preventing others from taking credit.   And just for good measure, I am calling in a favor from my old friend......Thanks, Shannon, for sharing a Clint photo.
Happy stitching....and be safe out there.