OOPS!!!!

First off, I'd like to thank Lindsey, Lori and Renate for their comments on the cute picture of Charlie - the picture wasn't about the picture, or even getting a picture posted, but about discovering how Blogger and Picasa work.  Read on to share in my adventure!

A few days ago, I was searching the web to see if I could find a web-based storage for our photos – you know in case we have a house fire and everything is destroyed, and there’s no way to recover those photos, even those ones backed up on CD and an external hard drive.
I
In my search I came across Picasa.  I’d heard of it, but hadn’t explored it at all, as I hadn’t felt the need.  When I discovered Picasa, I found a whole bunch of photo albums, of MY photos, that I didn’t know existed.   They were labeled with things like ‘Pieces on My Mind’ and ‘Blog Photos’ and ‘Windows Live Writer’.  At this point in time, I had no idea that there was a difference between Picasa and Picasa Web Album.

So, as I looked through these ‘new’ albums, I thought: ‘what a waste of space, almost every photo is in here 2-3 times.  I can much more effectively use this to store the albums that I have on my C: drive as a back up – you know just in case we have a house fire and everything is destroyed, and there’s no way to recover those photos, even those ones backed up on CD and an external hard drive.’
I therefore proceeded to delete the ‘unnecessary’ albums, thinking I was doing such a great service to the world at large in saving all this web space for others to save their photos.  Oh, and BTW, Picasa Web Album space is limited, and if you have too many photos, you have to pay for the privilege to keep putting your photos on there – another good reason to free up space for all the other folks out there who want to save their photos on Picasa Web Album. 
There was a warning – photos would no longer be available on Google +, but what’s that to me?  I don’t use Google +……………….do I?
Then I got an email message:  ‘What happened to all the photos on your blog?”              Well, what did happen to them?                I wanted to blame Blogger.  After all, shouldn’t they be taking care of me, and my photos!
But it turned out it’s all me!!!  I’m an idiot.  A little in my defense, the warning did not state that photos would be removed from my blogs, nor did it state that they were not recoverable.  As I searched and read and asked questions and dug through chat groups,

I discovered that, in fact, both of the above are true.  Actually, the Picasa or Google or some ‘official’ site stated that the warning tells us that the photos would disappear from blogs.  In fact, it doesn’t, because I went back and checked (aborting the mission of deleting an album very, very carefully so as not to lose any more than I already had).
The only way to recover photos deleted from Picasa Web Albums, which are apparently automatically created for Blogger blogs, with every picture ever posted from personal files, is to – blog by blog – repost with pictures.  Photos from web-sites are not preserved there, so they were safe from the purging that I did.

Well, lesson learned, and new things discovered.  In case you’re wondering, Picasa is a down-loadable program for storing and organizing photos.  Picasa Web Album exists within Google to ‘link’ photos from your hard-drive files to your blog-writer.  You can also use PWA (isn’t that an airline?) to create your own albums to store your photos in a safe environment where they can be found any time – you know in case you have a house fire and everything is destroyed, and there’s no way to recover those photos, even those ones backed up on CD and an external hard drive.  You do have the choice who can view the photos on PWA, so you don’t (I think in all my naivety) have to worry about snoopers.  But I won’t get into that, at least not on this post.
Also having downloaded the Picasa program – I’ve already decided I don’t like it much.  I think I’ll stick to Windows Photo Gallery – at least I know my way around there.
Anyway, I’ve reposted a few blog posts, complete with photos, and they appear to be working.   It took about 2 hours to get done what I did get done, and that’s as far back as Windows Live Writer will take me.  I deleted a few really unnecessary-to-keep posts, and I’m back to Jan 24.  Oh, my!!!!  What a task ahead – if I bother to do this.  I really do wonder how important it is to keep all the photos in all the blogs for about 3 years.  Not sure that I’m going to worry about it much.
Oh, and I’m going to go out and buy a fire-proof safe for the CDs and external hard drive – you know, in case we have a house fire and everything is destroyed………………..
Whew!!!!!!!                                       Blessings, Peg

Testing, Testing

I’m running this test to see what I can do about a big oops that I did yesterday. 

Just a picture of Tobin to see if I can get my blog pictures working again.

Sharing….

My Stash
Pat Sloan at the Learning Center on the Quilting Gallery has been doing a series of organizing tips for sewing spaces.  And I’ve taken another look at my stash:

It’s not very large, and I have some organization to the fat quarters (top pic) that makes sense….at least to me!  Sometimes I think I’d like to have walls of fabric like those seen in some of the studios featured on Pat’s post, but then I feel guilty at the fabric just sitting there doing nothing – and when I want to start a new project, I have to go and buy more fabric.  Most of what I have is leftovers, and actually there are times when they’ve come in handy to fill out a corner here and there, to do a Quilt-along, to practice a new technique.  Anyway, it works for me!
I’m linked to The Learning Center, trying to win the BIG prize LOL!
Happy organization!                    Blessings, Peg

WIP Wednesday–Feb 22

This week has been quite productive.
For Friday Night Sew In I got 18 of these done:

Another 44 to go, 2 other shades of green, and I can start to assemble.
I also reworked 4 of these blocks to put in the green pieces (instead of pale yellow):

This is a BOM at our LQS, and last week we decided I needed to liven up the centers of these blocks.  So today I have 8 of these:
on the worktable – and a start has been made:
The color doesn’t show well in this last picture, but believe me it does look a lot better!

But I want to show you what I got!!!  It took a couple of weeks with several phone calls to the company in the US, but it finally arrived at our friends’ in Bellingham, WA and we made the trip down on Sunday to pick it up:

Yes, it’s a stitch regulator for Big Bertha!  I could hardly wait to get going with this, but sadly Monday was just too filled with other things to do.  But yesterday CC got attached to BB:
And I wasted no time in loading a strip of batting, just to see if it actually worked.  This is what I did:
Hallelujah – even stitching, and I can take my time and think when I want to change direction, and the tension looks good!
So this afternoon, I hope to load a quilt on again and really try this out!  But we’ve discovered Leader Grips and Grizz is quite anxious to see if he can put together a set of these for me.  Hmmmm…..maybe we’ll go shopping this afternoon instead………….

Anyway, it doesn’t look like much, but when I’ve had to frog and frog and frog again on some of these blocks (especially the first picture), I’m actually feeling like I’ve made progress on these WIPs. 

I’m linking to WIP Wednesday at The Needle and Thread Network.  Why not check out what all the other Canadian Quilters are doing?

Oh, and look what else I picked up while in Bellingham.  Stopped at Joanne’s Fabrics just in case there was something there that I absolutely had to have.  Well, there was. This Shape Cutter, for cutting strips was 1/2 price – how could I possibly pass that up?

Happy progress!                    Blessings, Peg

FNSI Results

It apparently was meant to be frogging time around here.  I started on Thursday working on these:
The first 36 45-deg seams almost all have to be redone.  So I was prepared to frog more on Friday.  But actually it went better – maybe because I was steeled for it……..  Anyway, only a few needed to be frogged and redone.  In the end I got 18 more completed and trimmed to lovely 8 1/2” blocks.

That felt so good that I thought I’d go on to doing these:

At our last BOM class at the LQS, we decided that the center 6-patch just didn’t stand out enough (with pale yellow background where the green is now).  I’d previously taken them apart, ready to sew the center.  Well, it didn’t go so well.  I guess my 1/4” seams were just slightly different and……  I frogged and resewed and frogged and resewed.  Unbelievable!   But I did get 4 done.  Much better don’t you agree.

So not a whole bunch done, but at least it’s progress!

Linked to FNSI over at Handmade by Heidi – do stop on by and see what everybody else is doing!

Blessings, Peg

Nosey Parker - Crafting

I’m not a great crafter, don’t have the fantastic imagination that the crafters around me seem to have, but I do like some crafts and have tried my hand at lots of others.  So when Nosey Parker invited us to share about crafting in our lives, I thought I’d get in on the action.
1)  What are your preferred crafts? Do you have one primary one that you do most of or do you dabble around in many different crafts?
Right now, my preferred crafts are quilting and cross stitch.  I have enjoyed needle work of many kinds over the years – crocheting, a little bit of knitting, embroidery, sewing.  Also tried ceramics, tole painting and various others here and there.  When I discovered counted cross-stitch, I fell in love, and found that the most relaxing activity for me (and I could keep my hands busy NOT eating when in front of the TV).


About 10 years ago, along came quilting – and I fell in love all over again.  Sewing is not as relaxing for me, but putting together those puzzles and seeing the finished product is heaven!
This is the Row by Row taught at our LQS,  with lost of different techniques incorporated:

2)  What avenues inspire you most in your sewing/crafting that we might like to check out?
My first inspiration is the quilters around me.  Now most of you won’t be able to check them out, because you don’t live here.   But quilt bloggers have more inspiration than I can even begin to try out.  And you all can certainly check them out.  Some of them are listed on my side-bar, just for your convenience!
3) Are you a one project at a time person or do you have "craft ADD" - OR are you somehow like me and have a combination of both?
I used to be a one project at a time person, but that doesn’t always work well in the quilting world.  Especially when doing BOM’s or QAL’s.  So I’ve got projects lined up.  Right now – 2 BOM’s, 2 surprise projects started, 1 request fabric purchased, another request pending, another surprise project brewing, a small wall-hanging started waiting for me to find just the right fabrics to finish it up…..and a cross-stitch project started, with another to finish this year yet. 
4)  What is/has been your longest ever Work in Progress (WIP)?
My longest ever project is a cross-stitch that’s on the go, started several years ago, and fits in between other projects.  A local artist gave me a photo of a painting, and permission to transfer it to a cross-stitch pattern.  The finished project will be about 20”x30”.
This first picture is just a small piece of the pattern:


And this is what’s complete so far – about half:

5 ) What are some of your crafty projects that you've made recently (or not so recently is ok to) that you'd love us to see?
A couple of quilts – Harley T-shirts into a king-size quilt for friends, and Homespun Harmony wall-hanging for myself:

A cross-stitch Christmas stocking, and machine embroidered door-hangers:




6) Do you have a piece of fabric or craft item of any sort with a story behind it that you'd like to share?
Our family adopted the German tradition of Christmas plates (instead of stockings) from Grizz’s family, and each year our children would get their plate in their bedroom on Christmas morning.  Our daughter wanted stockings, and often voiced that desire clearly and loudly.  When she was 15 years old, I cross-stitched a stocking for her for a gift, and put a note in the package saying she’s get the stocking of her choice every year for as long as she wanted one.  That lasted about 15 years.  So she has a lot of stockings, that she uses for decorating her home.  Below are some pictures – the first stocking she received, a nativity scene that she chose, a hardanger (when I was trying out that craft), a knitted stocking designed by my sister.







So, that’s my crafty story – what’s yours?
It’s FNSI today – so I’m going to go and get a head start!
Happy sewing/crafting!   Blessings, Peg

WIP Wednesday–Feb 15

Hi everybody – first I’d like to wish you all a belated Happy Valentine’s Day!  Hope you all were able to spend time with some or all of the people that you love!  A couple of days ago Grizz and I went for a drive and spotted swans in a nearby field!  There’s something so lovely and graceful about swans – and apparently they mate for life and both male and female (cob and pen) take care of their young, and they live in herds – or bank, bevy, game, team or lamentation (who’d have thought it HUH), and are a symbol of loyalty and teamwork.  So I thought this was an apt picture for a post-Valentine post – here’s wishing you all have those in your life on your team, loyal and loving.

I’m making progress, in between work, physio and all the other ‘stuff’ that makes for life around here.

Remember all those little bits that I had cut out last week?  Well, some blocks are made from that – here’s just a glimpse (the projects are surprises after all):

 

I’m really excited about both of these.  The first one – 10 blocks completed, 10 more being done by my SIL and then we’ll get them sewn together.  The second one – 4 blocks to make one large block, the first of 16 large blocks of this type.

Also went shopping on Saturday for some fabric to make table mat and place mats for my sister.  Here’s what came home:

This will eventually become a triangular table mat, and some kind of shape of place mats.  Really looking forward to this!

In closing here’s some shots of the full moon of a few nights ago (taken by Grizz):

 

It was a brilliant evening – followed by a lovely day of sunshine!

I’m linking to WIP Wednesday at TN&TN – a place for Canadian bloggers to share their handiwork.  Why don’t you head on over and see what everybody else is doing!

Happy times!              Blessings, Peg

Test drive to see if I can restore photos

New Blogger Giveaway!

Wouldn’t you all just love a little post-Valentine’s Day giftie!  Well Whimsical Mermaid may have just the thing for you!  Her give-away is being drawn Feb 15 – so why not head on over and meet a new friend, enter the draw, and enjoy her whimsy!

WIP Wednesday - February 8

Small steps, baby steps.  That’s all I’ve been able to take these last few days.  In between a trip to see my parents, an RV show, a dinner and cards evening, physio appointment, housework, shopping……well, it all subtracted from sewing time.

So all I have to share with you all is this:

Squares diagonally sewn to make HST patches – the first steps in the blocks for Secret # 1 (or 3, depending on how you look at it – start date or delivery date).

These came out of the cutting day spent with my Sis in Law where we produced these piles:

 

As you can see in the top picture, the sun is shining brilliantly here again today – the groundhog appears to have been right and spring is on its way!  Heading out to enjoy some of that sun, and get some more shopping done!

I’d like to ask for some help – I’ve had a couple of requests for small quilt projects (that won’t take long to do once I get going), one of them being a triangle table mat/runner.  Does anybody out there have a pattern, or know where I could get one?

I’m linked to WIP Wednesday at TN&TN.  Head on over and see what the rest of Canada is up to!

Happy baby steps!                   Blessings, Peg

Another test re restoring photos

Busy, Busy, Busy

At last, all caught up!  Emails read and answered, FB posts and comments enjoyed, Blogs all caught up.  Now it’s time to get my own blog up to date.

Last week Wednesday we headed out – destination: Kelowna; purpose: cardiologist visit with my dad.

We took the long way around.  Leaving home with just small patches of snow around where the plows had piled it up, we went through snow country.  At Manning Park Lodge, we stopped for a hot drink, and saw the skiers lined up waiting for the bus to the slopes:

And noted the snow that had fallen off the roof

It was a gloriously bright day, and we enjoyed our little walk in the snow.  As we continued east, and arrived in the South Okanagan, there was much less snow:

A stop at Osoyoos, and we turned northward.  Arriving at Kelowna, it was almost spring-like:

After a stop for a late lunch, and some shopping we finally made it to Mom and Dad’s in time for dinner with them.  Why did we make a usual 4-hour trip into an 8-hour trip – you may well ask!  The stop at Osoyoos was to pick up this little gem:

We found it on Craig’s List, a good price, and a good way to get back into a regular exercise program for both of us. 

And the day and a half with my parents was great!  We often do the return trip in a day, and it can be exhausting – but we had the time to spend, and enjoyed my mom’s wonderful cooking, and played some games with them, just (mostly) relaxing.  My dad’s visit to the cardiologist was encouraging, and we’re anticipating good results when he goes back for further testing.  All in all, a great three days.

Returning home Friday afternoon, there was a parcel in the mail.  Back in December, Alderwood Quilts sponsored this giveaway.  It was just one of many that I entered.  All Sue asked was that we submit a photo of a Christmas quilt – and on December 10, lo and behold, my shower curtain was on her blog. I learned on arrival home from our early January trip that I had WON this fabulous pattern:

 

The color-way that really caught my eye was this:

and now with its arrival, I can start searching out fabrics.  How gorgeous is that!  Thanks, Sue, for this most welcome prize.  I can hardly wait to get started!

Saturday we met friends to go to the RV Show.  They’re shopping, and it’s so much fun to go along and look at all the goodies out there!  They came home for dinner, and another couple joined us, and we ate and laughed and played cards until bed time.

So it’s no wonder I haven’t had much time for blogging. 

Or sewing either!  Must go ride the bike and then get at the machine, or I won’t have much to share on WIP Wednesday!

Happy, busy life!                Blessings, Peg