Cyber Theft

That title gets one's attention, right? 

I will tell you from the get-go that this post is gonna' be long-winded, so to keep you interested I will intersperse some random pictures of my quilts into the text. *wink* 

Picnic at Daybreak.

Since 2009, I have occupied this small space in the interwebs, recording my quilt-making journey since retiring from full-time teaching. I'd spent a significant portion of the previous 30 years journaling the old-fashioned way with my high school students. With hushed classical music playing in the background, we spent a few minutes each class period writing in journals; I was 'modeling' the behavior of daily writing, and whether or not they were earnest in their efforts, at least they were seeing me faithfully scribbling away each day.

Knowing myself as a slacker, I knew I would not be so devoted in my writing once I left the classroom, and for this reason I opted to try blogging. With others potentially waiting to read what I wrote, I would have to be accountable for regular posting. I chose to focus on one of my favorite topics - quilting. For years, I'd stressed to students that the best writing comes when it's about the topics for which one has a passion. Since I intended to do a lot of quilting in my retirement, I would also be accountable to myself - I couldn't write about quilting regularly if I weren't making quilts regularly.

And that is what I have done since the first post on August 19, 2009, a whopping 13 years ago, almost to the day. Last Friday was my blogging anniversary. Hooray!!

Charm About You.

So what all has happened in the last 13 years? First, I have learned that keeping this blog has come to serve additional purposes. It helps me remember what all I have made and when I made it. One bonus is that faithful, regular posting provides me with a complete record of all my work. Plus, I can sometimes glean other details about the past 13 years, like when we went to a certain place, or who of my quilting friends made this or that. More than once I've had a friend tell me they used my blog to look up when we worked on a specific project. 

These are the very pleasing benefits to sharing my little quilt-making journey with the world. Oh, there are more - I connect with other quilters from all around the globe; I actually email and message some; I have learned some techie skills that I would never have learned had I not been blogging; I have expanded my quilting community through Pinterest and Instagram; and I have gained so much inspiration! My quilting plans continue to expand as I see more and more gorgeous quilts I want to make. All good things.

Lady of the Lakes.

And with the good, we also have some bad. Initially, what we think might be bad, actually isn't. For a long time I have been aware of people posting pictures from my blog on Pinterest. Let me tell you, that is a very weird experience to be casually scrolling through Pinterest and suddenly see one of your own pictures pop up there! 

When I click the picture and it takes me to my own blog, then I know that someone liked my quilt well enough that they wanted to save it to their Pinterest boards. This is legit. After all, I am the one who shared my picture with cyberspace. I certainly love looking at the quilts of others, so it seems a fair trade-off. Heck, I probably have gained a few readers/followers because of Pinterest.

English Elegance.

The truly negative part is when clicking on the picture does NOT take me to my blog. On several occasions, twice very recently, I have learned of someone claiming my pictures as his/her own. This is dishonest. This is theft. And sadly, this is common.

When the hijacker has a name, it is probably a fake one; more often he/she is using a generic group name to hide behind. In either case, anyone who comments to say that the picture isn't theirs soon finds themselves blocked from further interaction on the site. 

The two pictures most frequently hijacked from my blog are one of my late grandmother standing beside one of her quilts (click here to see), and one of my scrappy Long Road Home (click here to see). Both were posted on my blog before I began adding my watermark blog name on top of the picture (they are so marked now). I learned that doing this limits (but does not halt) the likelihood of photos being swiped. 

My most-often reposted picture; Grandma standing with one of her quilts.

I share all this with you to make you aware - in case you aren't - that not all you see on the internet can be believed. Shocking, right? If you see something you like on a blog or on any of the numerous social media sites, go ahead and save it or share it, and give credit to the creator of the item when possible. 

Another oft-reposted picture; Long Road Home.

If you see something that seems suspicious, it is probably healthy to be skeptical. If someone is taking one of my pictures and claiming it as their own, then you can be sure that it is happening elsewhere. I hope they aren't using my pictures for some nefarious purpose, but who knows? In the least, they are misrepresenting themselves and souring my blogging journey.

I have no take away from this. I will continue to blog. I will continue to watermark photos. I am going back to those old posts to replace pictures with watermarked ones. 

If you have stayed with me through all of this, thank you. I knew from the start that it would be long. Hopefully it has also been informative. I would be glad to learn of ways others have combated similar theft, but I accept that I cannot prevent it, nor do I care to devote valuable time to curbing it. 

I just hope that at some point karma steps in on those dishonest sorts.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Inspiring Others

About a week ago I had an email from Denise. Remember when I used to have two women come here for quilting lessons?? Claudia and Denise. We no longer do lessons together - they got to be really good, and no longer needed lessons! The two of them share another hobby besides quilting - professional dog showing and training. I will hear from one or the other of them occasionally; today you will get to see what Denise has been doing.

On more than one occasion, when I have pondered giving up blogging, Denise, who reads faithfully, has encouraged me to keep going. I really appreciate that encouragement, and her email serves to encourage me further. She wrote to tell me that one of my recent projects inspired her in a way she could use the fabric shown below.

She referenced my Scrappy 4-Patch quilt as her inspiration. I used alternating red and white triangles to build 'economy blocks' around each 4-patch which helped to separate and contain the random scraps. Here's the quilt.

Below is a picture taken during the early construction of the quilt. The 4-patches are totally scrappy, and the added triangles provide order to their haphazardness.

With those images, Denise was brilliant in determining that she could use her barns in place of the pieced centers, and build out with triangles.

She started by cutting squares from her panel. I don't know her sizes, but any dimension would work.  

The next step is to add the inner triangles. I made mine a bit large and trimmed to size. That's just personal preference, though. More precise quilters might not need to do that.

Then, of course, you add the outer triangles. Then repeat in the opposing color-way. And repeat until you run out of barn pictures!

I think this is an ingenious way to handle a panel such as the one Denise had. It will be a gorgeous quilt, and very appropriate for the southern Ohio counties in which we live - very rural and home to several growing communities of both Amish and Mennonite.

Bravo, Denise! Well done! Please send pictures when you finish your flimsy. And thank you for thinking to share with me. Knowing that you took an idea from here to solve a puzzle you'd been working on makes my day!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Meeting On-Line Quilters

Blogging for over ten years has given me a unique glimpse into a world of quilters and other makers that I would never have otherwise encountered. This blogging journey has been ever so fascinating, and has immersed me in quilting world-wide. Technology has afforded me access to a tremendous diversity of quilters - all ages, all styles, all backgrounds, and all methods.

One Canadian quilter I follow, Benita of Victoriana Quilt Designs,  invited me and many other bloggers to join in on a meet-and-greet event which will be ongoing through September. If you visit each blogger, there will be ways to enter give away opportunities to win all manner of quilt-related prizes. The event officially kicks off tomorrow, Tuesday, September 3,  and lasts all month. Consider this your obligatory "tease." You can click here to read Benita's official tease as well as peruse the list of prizes she's compiled.

Look for this Meet and Greet coming up tomorrow!!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Blogging Is So Cool Sometimes

I've been putting my thoughts down for this blog since 2009, with an abbreviated stint even earlier. For the most part, I've remained steady at it. I've had some hiatuses (hiati?) from time to time, but I try to force myself to be reliable in my posting. (Self-discipline - something I've always struggled with.) *grin*

So let me tell you why just now, out of the blue, I think blogging is so cool.

In the last 3 or 4 months, I have had some really cool things happen; things that wouldn't have happened had I not blogged.

Cool thing #1: After the several posts I did about cleaning out Grandma's quilting closet, I received an email from a woman who'd recently published a book on her grandmother and the gifts she makes for her great-grandchildren. We are now in the process of trying to coordinate a give-away of her book through my blog. Isn't that awesome?

Cool thing #2: Again, after the several posts about Grandma when I'd reminded visitors that I had a tab at the top which features some of Grandma's quilts, I had another email. This time the sender inquired about the pattern of one of Grandma's quilts. It is one that his mother (or wife? or m-i-l?) had made and lost the pattern for the last 4 blocks. He wondered if I could locate the pattern or take a picture of the blocks in question to send to him. He expressed that this is a quilt that is something like a 40-year-old UFO because of these lost block patterns. I am still in the process of trying to find what he needs.

Cool thing #3: I was catching up on some reading of blogs that I'd not had time for since starting back to school. One that I enjoy is Material Culture by Barbara Brackman, well-known author, fabric designer and quilt historian. One post that I read featured quilting bees in primitive paintings.You'll have to go to the post to see the picture in question, but Barbara wondered why a quilter would be holding a spool of thread up to her head like a cell phone. The painting was Civil-War era, so it was definitely NOT a cell phone. One reader left a comment explaining what the woman was doing. When I looked, I saw it exactly, and then I noticed something more, so I made a comment, too, explaining my theory. Last night, I revisited that post, and Barbara has updated with my theory! Whoa! Barbara Brackman! That's like having a rock star notice you sitting in the front row of a concert! Yeah, that's cool, for sure!

Cool thing #4: A woman emailed me after she saw my picture of The Dressmaker's Quilt, in my finishes. She had been looking for the pattern and said that it was no longer available. She'd tried every avenue she could think of to find the pattern, and wondered if I would send her mine. I am in the process of finding said pattern to put in the mail to her. (Is it against copyright laws to copy a pattern if the pattern is out of production?)

Cool thing #5: Another blog that I enjoy immensely is Humble Quilts. While catching up, I happened upon a post that she put up for a friend who was searching for that fabric. You know you've been there. Busy cutting and stitching away on a project, and then you realize that you are short on one fabric - and it has to be that fabric. No substituting! Well, I had about a yard of that fabric, so I commented to Lori who in turn put me in touch with her friend. Now I need to get that fabric in an envelop and mail it off to Canada, of all places!

Now you know why I think blogging is so cool. Barbara Brackman talked about the social aspect of the quilting bees that our ancestors enjoyed. Today, quilters have a 21st century method of socializing through quilting. I love it. Blogging has definitely enhanced my quilting experiences.

Saturday Delivery Excitement

The US Postal Service came through for me yesterday, as the package from Miss Rosie and her person, Carrie arrived yesterday. I was uber-excited to receive it, as I had been keeping an eye out for it. :D

Inside, were the most scrumptious goodies. First, the book and fabric pack that Carrie gave away for the comment in the 'post-project clean-up' discussion.

A lovely note from the generous Carrie, and the book Simply Charming by Tara Lynn Darr. Let me just say right now that I love this book! It is entirely possible that I will make most, if not all, the projects in this book. They are darling!! Traditional blocks, stash-friendly, and small - what's not to like??

Along with the great book came this Fat Eighth bundle of Collection for a Cause Faith. BEE-YOO-TI-FUL!!! Again, just so scrumptious I could dive right in and start gobbling it up!! (Much restraint on my part to finish the project I'm on before daring to indulge!!)

And in true Carrie and Rosie fashion, their generosity knows no bounds...bonus goodness was included.

Not one, but two! charm packs of Lily and Will. Gorgeous designs and colors! The roll of French General FaLaLaLaLa just puts me over the top! I've been a fanatic for FG ever since they came out with Rouenerries (did I spell that right?). Can you believe my incredible luck??

One of the reasons I began reading blogs was seeing the photographs of the amazing projects that quilters were working on and completing. Then I found a few that I consistently admired, so I 'followed'. Next, I began writing a blog, and it's just blossomed from there. It was ages before I ever left a comment, but soon I was regularly commenting, and then that led to entering giveaways.

My goodness gracious, getting to talk to other quilters from all points around the globe - that's just like living a dream! How else would I ever have corresponded with one of my 'favoritest' designers - Carrie Nelson?!? That's how great blogging is; it brings people together. I'm a small-potatoes blogger compared to a lot of others out there. Regardless of how involved a blogger wants to be, the access one gains to hundreds of other quilters, designers, authors, shop owners, and more, is nearly unlimited. What resources, too; if I ever find myself stumped about something, the answer is just a blog question, comment or search away!

Ehhh, pardon that tangent!

Thank you so very, very much Carrie and Miss Rosie for the wonderful chance to win goodies in your giveaway! I love the book and the fabrics; your generosity is incredible!

Happy quilting, friends!

New Blog Design!

OMG!!! I am certainly the slowest learner of all times. I have spent the better part of 2 hours trying to create a new look for this blog.

Finally, after playing the tutorial from Shabby Blogs for the umpteenth time, I figured it all out.

Whew.

I'd be interested in knowing how you like it. (*hinting for feeback*)

Jayne

It's May Already!

Goodness Gracious! Where on earth did April go so fast? Weren't we just playing April Fool's pranks a few days ago? It's true that time flies when you're having fun.

I managed to get my Tagalong Schibbles entered into the Schnibbles Parade - I will get the hang of this yet! I "get" quilting and related topics, but I seem to fail miserably at "getting" computers, sometimes. And the things I don't get seem to be some of the simplest things. You can look at the parades here and here.

I had a mini-catastrophe last Thursday when my laptop had a crash that warranted a process that took me back to the factory setting. This is a nice way of saying that all new programs, pictures, videos, documents, bookmarks and such are gone. It will take awhile to get things restored. Sadly, some material is lost forever, but I remain optimistic that I can get it mostly recovered.

Here is one more look at the aforementioned Tagalong Schnibbbles entered in the April parade.

It is made with 2 charm packs of Butterfly Garden by Kansas Troubles for Moda. I really enjoyed making this pattern, and am very pleased with the look of the fabric.

The May Schnibbles is a free choice! How exciting is that?? I have quite a few of the patterns, and have an idea of the one I am going to pick. When I make a decision on the fabric, I will tell you all about it.

I mentioned that this was prom weekend for our 17-year-old daughter Emma. Her dad and I were on the kitchen crew for the all-night party, and are feeling the effects of a long night all day today! We got in at 4:15 am! Here is our little girl and her date, looking all grown up!

She reports that it was a fun, fun evening of activities - dinner in a nearby city, the prom, the all-night party.

Now back to quilting and blogging. I have begun adding buttons over there on the right margin. I visit a lot of blogs who appear to have quite a lot of traffic. The buttons provide some interest beyond just what I write and the pics I post. Upgrading, let's say.

Fabric Giveaway from TCC and Joanna Figueroa

In an attempt to step up my blogging, I am teaching myself how to network with other bloggers and share information. This is my first attempt at telling others about a fabric giveaway. We'll see how well it works...

If you love the fabrics of Fig Tree Quilts and Joanna Figueroa, then you will want to stop by here to enter a giveaway.

After a Long Absence

My sister Sandy is not a quilter, but I am sure she appreciates their beauty as well as the time it takes to make them. Even so, she does follow my quilting blog and yesterday informed me that it had been awhile since I'd updated. Hmmm...10 days, to be exact. I have good excuses! It's been a busy time of year, and we have had the most amazing April weather (so far), too many other things seem to have taken precedence over blogging!

So, 'Hi Sandy!,' and here we go.

I mentioned in the previous post that I bought a couple of Charm Packs in Coshocton for the April Schnibbles called 'Tagalong.' I've finished the main part of it and have cut the inner border, but have not yet attached it. Then I still need to cut and arrange the corner blocks and the outer border. Here is my Tagalong so far:

I'm using a Kansas Troubles line called...hmmm...something with Butterflies in it...I will clarify when I post the finished project.  *Edit: Butterfly Garden; if I'd just looked back at my previous post I would have found it. duh... I just love the pattern. It is a smaller version of 'Tag Sale,' which I made several years ago and which I keep on my guest bed. I hand-quilted Tag Sale, but I am not sure which way I will quilt Tagalong.

Another activity that  has taken up some of my time is my two-day Shop Hop experience with my quilting friends from Frankfort. I've only been with them since last July, but I always have such a great time with these girls! Before I entered the picture, they'd been meeting every other Friday morning for quite a while. (I should ask them how long.) Anyway, I sure am glad they've accepted me into the fold. 

We went to a 7-shop hop in northern Kentucky and western Indiana - just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. We stayed in a lovely town - Madison, Indiana - at Clifty Inn, a state park overlooking the river. Over the next several days, I plan to blog about the shop hop, as I was a good blogger and took pictures at every shop.

I will tease you with 2 today. Here you see my mound of purchases piled onto my ironing board. I mostly bought fat quarters, as I had no real burning desire to add major yardage to my stash. In addition, I bought a purse pattern, a book, a sweet little snipper scissors, and grommets for the purse pattern.

I seem to be in a reproduction fabric mood lately. It's been awhile since I picked up any brights/moderns.

Here is a shot of our hotel, the Clifty Inn, located just outside Madison, IN.

The Next Big Finish

I am so very close to taking the second baby quilt out of the quilt frame! I might even get the final stitches into it before turning in for the night. It would be a hugely satisfying accomplishment, let me tell you.

And, the near-completion on this quilt has led me to begin thinking of the next UFO on my list. Here is the fabric:

I believe it is a combination of Amy Butler and Joel Dewberry fabrics from about 3 years ago. In my UFO list on the right, I am referring to this as Erin's Urban Chic quilt, as it is for my older daughter Erin's Columbus apartment. I have it finished up to the borders. The pattern I used was ... maybe Turning Twenty?? I'm thinking it was a different one, but equally fast and simple. Anyway, here it is:

I should be ashamed of myself for taking so long to finish this quilt. Erin  helped me pick out the fabrics she wanted featured in the borders and on the back. It should have been done at least a year ago. Anyway, as soon as the baby quilt is finished, this is the one I am going to finish up next.

About the quality of my photos...I do not have a photo editing program, so what I've used on this blog so far has been straight out of my camera. I anticipate that in the next week or so I am going to have an editing program, so I will work hard to learn how to use it. Eventually, the quality of my photos should show significant improvement.

Always Learning

The picture above features two quilts that have a romantic, floral, shabby chic look to them. The quilt on the bottom I hand-pieced about 6 years ago. To make it even more special, it was hand-quilted by my grandmother. The pattern is called "English Elegance," and was the cover of a 1999 BH&G American Patchwork and Quilting magazine. I made it entirely from my stash, with no special purchases except for the backing. The quilt folded on top is called "Tag Sale" by Carrie Nelson of Miss Rosie Quilts. I saw it on display at a nearby quilt shop, bought the pattern, and used a fat-pack I had on hand. I machine-pieced and hand-quilted it. Both quilts were long, drawn out projects, but I am so glad that I finished them. They reside in my guest room.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
It just seems natural that a retired teacher would be interested in learning. In thinking of all the the things I want to do in my retirement, learning stuff takes a major role. Learning to blog effectively is one of the items on my list of things to learn, and since my first post on Wednesday I have done quite a bit of self-directed study of the ins and outs of Blogspot. I am confident that I have the blogging part down; the daunting aspect of this is the photography. So, with the help of daughter Erin, an artist with the "eye" I lack, we have taken several dozen pictures and she has provided pointers for what she considers necessary for the most pleasing pictures. However, there are two schools of thought at play here: her desire for artistically placed quilts and my desire to see the whole quilt from a quiltmaker's standpoint. So, the pics we took today are all to Erin's liking, i.e. they are artistically pleasing. And while I like them, they do not offer the quilter a good full view of the quilts with borders. So there are still things to learn.

Here is an update on my quilting activity since the previous post. On Thursday, I did little more than dig out a project to take with me on Friday morning to my quilt group. It was fun digging through some long-forgotten UFOs, and I have a bit of renewed interest in finishing a few!

So Friday morning, off to quilt group. I took the "row-a-month" project (begun in 1998!), of which all that remains to be done is the applique row. I have decided that my method will be needle-turn applique, and in the 3 hours we worked, I got one bird done. (Note to self: take a picture of this progress to post here.)

Once back home, I pulled out the batik circle quilt. The top was finished except for the borders, for heaven's sake! So down to work! I finished up those borders and now have a lovely, cheery bright quilt top for a twin bed ready to take to my long-arm lady.

As the evening wore on, I wanted to watch a couple of shows with my daughter, so I set up the quilting frame and Ott Lite. I managed to finish 3 blocks on the baby quilt, bringing the total completed blocks to 18. My fingers are just so sore, it is hard to do more.