BOB's Tuesday Toast - 4/30/13

Here’s to Quilt Bloggers -

Who use light colors for the words on their blogs -
With little or no contrast with the background -
Making them difficult to read, too -

May they someday learn the value of contrast -
And never need tri-focals either - ;))

===

I may have a fix for this one -

It’s a bit more complicated -

Than the one I told you about last week -

And may or may not work on your computer -
I have Firefox - and if you don't - it may not work -

But here goes - ;))

At the top left of your screen should be a list -

File - Edit - View - History - Bookmarks - Tools - Help

Choose Tools -
You should get a drop-down box with another list -

Choose Options -
That should take you to another box with tabs across the top -

General - Tabs - Content - Applications - Privacy - Security - Sync - Advanced

Choose Content -
You should get another box with a list of stuff -

In the middle of this list is - Fonts and Colors -
And to the right of this are two choices - Advanced and Colors -

Choose Colors -
You can change the colors for the items shown -
By clicking on the color box and then clicking on a different color -

But you’re looking for the box and line at the bottom that says -
- (Box) - Allow pages to choose their own colors, instead of my selections above

EUREKA!!

UNCHECK that box -

Click on OK at the bottom -
That should take you back to the Option Box -

Click on OK again -
That should take you back to where you were -

And the pages will NOT be allowed to choose their own colors, instead of your selections - ;))

This should obliterate any weird textures -

Or funky backgrounds -

On some blogs -

But it should also obliterate -

All of the COOL colors and backgrounds -

On others -

So to change it back to “Normal” -

Go to Tools - Options - Content - Colors - and CHECK the box -
To ALLOW pages to choose their own colors, instead of my selections above

Then click OK - OK -
To get back to where you were - ;))

This sounds harder than it actually is -

And may be a hassle -

But it IS an option - ;))

And - it may not help with the blogs -

That have moving and/or scrolling bits - ;))

All I can say is -

Some blogs are REALLY hard to read -

And -

I - for one - WON’T read it -

If I CAN’T read it -

Unless I REALLY like your blog -

And then maybe I will - ;))



But then again - it’s probably just me - ;))

Design Wall Monday - 4/29/13

DESIGN WALL MONDAY - 4/29/13
Check out all of us who link up with Judy L. at Patchwork Times on Mondays.
We have some awesome stuff on our walls!
Well, THEY do - ME - not so much sometimes - ;))
===

If you read yesterday’s Sunday Squirrels -

Squirrel #1 - A 9-Patch Experiment won - ;))

I have a collection of 5” charm sets -
And a bunch of pre-cut 10” squares -
That I have yet to use -

But most of the patterns that I see -
Call for the 5” squares -
To be cut down to 4-1/2” squares - ;))

And I REALLY don’t like the idea -
Of cutting them down -
So that they can finish at 4” -

Just because 4” is an easier number to work with - ;))

If you do some MATH -
And I know that it’s a four-letter word for some of you -

BUT -

If you do some MATH -
You will see that a 5” charm = 5 x 5 = 25 square inches of fabric -
And a 4-1/2” x 4-1/2” square = 20-1/4 square inches of fabric -

And that makes 4-3/4 square inches of WASTE on EACH charm - ;))

The WASTE on 6 charms would be 28-1/2 square inches -
And another WHOLE charm is only 25 square inches -
So for every 6 charms that you cut down to 4-1/2” -

You are WASTING MORE than ONE of them - ;))

That’s a LOT of fabric! -

On top of the fact that they are ALREADY pre-cut at 5” -
So why do I need to WASTE my TIME as well -
Cutting them down to a DIFFERENT size? -

Because the MATH doesn’t work? -

REALLY??? - Come on!!! - ;))

SO -

My brain said that I didn’t want to do that -
And that I could do SOMETHING ELSE - ;))

I could do an EXPERIMENT -

I could use them AS IS -

At 5” x 5” square -

And see what happened - ;))

So I did - ;))

It may have been done before -

But I call it my Lazy Lefty 9-Patch - ;))

It's a traditional block -
Made in the traditional way -
But with a slight twist -

It's NOT symmetrical - ;))

============
Note - these instructions are written in LEFTISH.
If you are right-handed - just reverse the directions.
============

Match a BROWN and MUSLIN 5” square -
And cut three strips -
1-1/2” - 1-1/2” - and 2” (the left-over) -

Sew the 1-1/2” pairs together -
Make two sets -
Press them open -

And match the BROWN wider strip to one side of one -
And the MUSLIN wider strip to the other side of the other -

Sew them together -
And press them open -

Making sure to match the wider 2" strips (on top) -
Cut them again into 3 strips -
1-1/2” - 1-1/2” - and 2” (the left-over) -

Sew the 1-1/2” strips together -
Making two sets -
One with the BROWN-MUSLIN-BROWN strip on top with the BROWN 2" patch leading -
One with the MUSLIN-BROWN-MUSLIN strip on top with the MUSLIN 2" patch leading -

Press them open -

And match one 2” sewn strip to one side of each of the 1-1/2” pairs -
Pay attention as they are NOT interchangeable -
One end patch on each 2” strip is longer than the other -
That’s where the extra 1/2” went - ;))
Sew them together -

Now you have two Lazy Lefty Nine-Patches -

One positive -
One negative - ;))

They should measure 4” -
And should finish at 3-1/2” - ;))

The center square should measure 1” x 1” -
And -
One corner square should measure 1-1/4” x 1-1/4” -
And the opposite corner square should measure 1-3/4” x 1-3/4” -

The other sections will measure odd bits -

But who cares -

The blocks are what they are -

And THEY WILL ALL BE THE SAME - ;))

Remember my Rule #5? -

Rule #5 - Sometimes Blocks don't have to be the RIGHT SIZE -
they just have to be the SAME SIZE!

Well -

As long as they all measure 4” -

And all finish at 3-1/2” -

I can work with that - ;))

I figured that they may not play well with other sized blocks -

But they should play well with themselves each other - ;))

So I chose an assortment of 10” squares -
And cut a bunch of 5” muslin squares -

Each 10” square can be cut into 4 - 5” charm squares -
And with 4 matching muslin squares -
I can get 8 blocks -

So the experiment continues - ;))

============

SPECIAL NOTE -

I made my 9-Patches using Billie Lauder’s method -
She calls it her Nine Patch Units - 2 from 2 Method -
Quick Quilt Tricks - 2nd Edition - (c) 2002 -

Because I did NOT cut the 5” squares down first -
So that the measurement was easily divisible by 3 -
And cut the strips at 1-1/2” - 1-1/2” - and 2” -
And -
Because I chose to place the wider strip to one side -
My 9-Patches are NOT symmetrical - ;))

IF I had placed the wider strip in the middle -
The 9-Patch probably would have been symmetrical -
But I would not have been able to use Billie’s method - ;))

============



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Sunday Squirrels - 4/28/13

Told you on Friday that I saw some new “Squirrels” -

BIG ones - ;))

And these BIG guys have been calling my name - ;))

Squirrel #1 - A 9-Patch Experiment -

Squirrel #2 - A book -
Quilts to Warm Today’s Home -
By Nancy Rink -
(c) 2012 - Leisure Arts, Inc.

THIS Squirrel has the border -

That I want for my Floral Applique -

I had the idea a long time ago -

But she has the “How-To” - YAY!!

Gotta dig that one out again -

And change out the corners -

BOB doesn’t DO mitered corners - ;))


Squirrel #3 - Another book
Sliver Quits -
By Lisa O’Neill -
(c) 2012 - C&T Publishing, Inc. -

THIS Squirrel is ingenious! -

Gotta make one of these - ;))


Squirrel #4 - These guys -

Can you tell what these are?

Yeah - they’re new dies -
But which ones?
Who knows?

Some marketing genius decided -
That I didn’t need to see NAME of the die -
Or a picture of it -
On the packaging -

Unlike this one -
This package tells me -
EXACTLY what it is -

Half-square - 2” finished triangles
Cuts 12 shapes -
Use with a 10” x 10” cutting mat -

Silly me to expect the same information -
On these new ones -

He -
BOB knows that it wasn’t a SHE - ;))
Probably figured -
That I could tell which ones they are -
By simply reading the labels -

OK -

If I can FIND the labels - ;))

Oh - here they are! -

One is on the side -
One is on the end -
That’s consistent, huh? -

How convenient! -

Yeah, RIGHT!! - ;))

Anyway -

I’ll put my own label on the dang things -
Thankyouverymuch -

And I’ll show you them later -
When I actually USE them - ;))

But right now it’s time for some -

Eenie - meenie - miney - moe - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

BOB has a prescription -

BOB has been going around -

And around -

And around -

With the doctor’s office -

And the pharmacy -

And the insurance company -

Trying to get a prescription filled - ;))

It seems that -

The pharmacy can fill it -

If they have prior authorization -

From the insurance company - ;))

The insurance company will provide -

The prior authorization -

If the doctor’s office -

Will answer some questions first - ;))

The doctors’ office called BOB for the answers -

To the questions that are in THEIR file -

Say whaaaaattttt????

Why are you calling ME?? -

YOU have my file!! -

YOU answer the dang questions!! -

Dealing with the insurance companies -

And -

Getting the authorization is YOUR job!! -

That’s why I gave you my insurance cards -

When I came to see you -

In the first place!! -

I repeat -

The insurance authorization -

And billing crap is YOUR job!! -

BOB has been waiting THREE WEEKS -

For some meds -

And is NOT HAPPY!! -

BOB has insurance -

So that BOB can go to the doctor -

The doctor can write BOB a prescription -

Fax it to the pharmacy -

And BOB can get it filled - ;))

BOB doesn’t care about -

All of the crap in the middle -

That’s YOUR job -

And if BOB has to do YOUR job -

BOB wants your check - ;))



But then again - it’s probably just me - ;))

Progress Report - 4/26/13

My LHQSQ is up to 85 blocks -

And counting -

But lately -

I've seen a couple of new Squirrels -

BIG ones - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Quilt Top Assembly - Again

Occasionally I run across a blog -

Where the blogger is blogging about -

Having finished the quilt blocks -

And the layout -

And is not looking forward to -

Sewing the blocks into long rows -

And then sewing the long rows together - ;))

Me neither -

I do NOT like sewing blocks into long rows -

Or sewing long rows together -

So I don’t - ;))

I recently left a comment on a blog -

I don't like sewing blocks into long rows and then sewing the long rows together. I prefer to sew the blocks into 4-patches or 9-patches - depending on the number of blocks in the quilt - then sewing those into bigger blocks until I only have 4 or 9 "chunks" to sew together. We sew "units" into blocks - so why not treat each block as a "unit" and just sew it into a bigger one??? - ;))

I do this all of the time -

And posted about it before -

But I forget sometimes -

That new readers -

May not have read all of my old stuff -

So check these out -

First the basic idea -

LHQ - Quilt Top Assembly - HERE -

And then how I did Orca Bay -
In two parts - ;))

Design Wall Monday - Orca Bay - 2/13/12 - HERE -

Orca Bay - 2/18/12 - or -
LHQ - How to Assemble a Quilt in Chunks - HERE - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

BOB's Tuesday Toast - 4/23/13

I think that for the next few weeks -

On Tuesdays -

BOB will offer a small toast -

To Quilting Bloggers -

Everywhere - ;))

It will be called -

BOB’s Tuesday Toast -

Here is the first one - ;))

===

Here’s to Quilt Bloggers -
Who use small fonts on their blogs -
Making them difficult to read -
May they always have 20/20 vision -
And never need tri-focals - ;))

===

BOB wears tri-focals -

And finds these blogs -

Extremely difficult to read -

BUT -

BOB has a trick -

That she uses on these blogs - ;))

It works on her laptop -

And may or may not work on your computer -

So she offers it here hoping -

That maybe it does - ;))

Try this -

Hold down the CONTROL key -
Bottom left corner on my laptop -

AND -

While holding it down -

Hit the PLUS key once or twice -
Top row after the number keys -
Or the ADD key if you have a numeric keypad -

It should enlarge the text a bit with each “hit” - ;))

Then -

To return back to “normal” size -

Hold down the CONTROL Key -

AND -

While holding it down -

Hit the MINUS key once or twice -
Top row after the number keys -
Or the SUBTRACT key if you have a numeric keypad -

It should reduce the text a bit with each “hit” - ;))

It works on my laptop -

And I use it -

If I like the blog -

But not the size of the font - ;))



But then again - it’s probably just me - ;))

Design Wall Monday - 4/22/13

DESIGN WALL MONDAY - 4/22/13
Check out all of us who link up with Judy L. at Patchwork Times on Mondays.
We have some awesome stuff on our walls!
Well, THEY do - ME - not so much sometimes - ;))
===

Yesterday was a designated “Play Day” for me - ;))

I had so much fun -

That I think that I just might designate Sundays -

As “Play Days” from now on -

And change my “Cut and Kit Day” to Saturday - ;))

So -

After I put up the last three LHQSQ blocks on the wall -
(I’m up to 85 in case you’re wondering - ;))

I decided to re-try a technique -

That I had tried a while ago -

With little success - :))

But now that I have SusieQ -

And she is MUCH better at keeping track -

Of my 1/4” seam allowance -

I thought I would give this one a go - again - ;))

I first saw this technique in Billie Lauder’s book -
Quick Quilt Tricks - 2nd Edition - (c) 2002 -

She called it her Nine Patch Units - 2 from 2 Method -

Then I saw another version - HERE -
Moda Bake Shop -
9-Patchtastic Quilt -
Monica/Happy Zombie
May 2009 -

Anyway -

I made these -

MY way - ;))

I’ll tell you more about them later -

I have a couple of ideas for what I want to do with them -

So stay tuned -

In the meantime -

I’m going to make some more - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

LHQSQ - Blocks #83 - 84 - 85

Three more 6” sampler blocks -

That you can make using -

2-1/2” squares -

And anything else -

That finishes at 2” -

Three across and three down -

Variations of the basic NINE-PATCH -

The sewn block will MEASURE 6-1/2” -

And FINISH at 6” -

===

BLOCK #83 - FOUR BY THREE -

BLOCK #84 - THREE BY THREE -

BLOCK #85 - LONDON ROADS #1 -

Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

BOB and contests -

BOB complained not too long ago -

About a contest that she entered -

That struck BOB as a variation of “bait and switch” - ;))

BOB entered a contest to win a book -

And got a pin instead - ;))

How disappointing!

But BOB should probably explain -

That the complaint was directed more to the “publisher” -

Than it was to the “blogger/hostess” - ;))

That pin cost her over two bucks to mail it to me!

And the lady probably had to make a special trip to the post office -
To mail all of the "prizes" -
So I sure hope that the "publisher" made it worth her while -
To host the "contest" in the first place - ;))

It sure seems to me that the "publishers" are getting a lot of free publicity -
And free distribution of their product -
By conning bloggers into hosting these "contests" - ;))

I turned down a "please review our free e-book for us" recently -
Because I thought that it was just "hype" and free advertising -
And I think that this is basically the same thing - ;))

The e-book was free to anyone who provided them with an e-mail address -
And they already had MY email address -
What they didn't have -
Was the email addresses of all of my READERS - ;))

===

As a side note -

Just for fun -

I signed up for the free e-book -

That I was asked to review -

And then declined - ;))

In two months time -

I got 43 emails from the publisher -

Hyping one thing or another - ;))

That’s a LOT of junk mail in my inbox -

So -

If you sign up -

Be prepared - ;))



But then again - it’s probably just me - ;))

Progress Report - 4/17/13

I haven’t been blogging much lately -

I have been SEWING -

Wow - what a concept!

I kept working on the Red Christmas Embroidery Blocks -
For a couple more days -

I got the table topper - 1 x 3 all laid out -
Ornament - Tree - Gift -

Then proceeded to sew them together WRONG -

First I sewed the “Gift” block wrong side up -
The heart is supposed to be to the LEFT of the gift -
And the thread knots are supposed to be on the underneath side - ;))

Then I sewed it to the WRONG side of the Tree -

Of course I didn’t realize that it WAS wrong side up -
Until I had it all together -

So - after I fixed that -
I worked on the table topper - 3 x 3 -

And sewed THREE of them WRONG side up as well - ;))

About that time I decided to take a nap -
And when I got up -
I realized that I had only sewn TWO of them wrong side up -
So I fixed them - ;))

The next day -
I added the sashes to the rest -
Decided to worry about the borders later -
And packed up all of the blocks - ;))

The next day -
I took a break and sewed a bunch of Dresden Plate twosies -
I’ll sew them into foursies later - ;))

Then I switched to LHQSQ blocks -

Block #81 - Scrappy Trip -

Block #82 - Flagstones -

And now I’m working on -

Block #83 - Four by Three -

Because I started with the simpler blocks -

And then let them get progressively more complex -

I’m at the end now with all of the more complex blocks - ;))

And because they are more complex -

And I find it easier to Foundation Paper Piece them -

Each one is taking me a bit longer to do -

Because each one of these suckers -

Is like Foundation Paper Piecing NINE separate 2” blocks - ;))

By the way -

Speaking of Foundation Paper Piecing -

I don’t remember if I told you or not -

Last year I spent HOURS playing in EQ7 -

Working up my version of the foundation -

For Bonnie Hunter’s “Wild and Goosey” block -

Only to find out that it was a standard - public domain block -

Already INCLUDED in EQ7 -

EQ7 - 01 Classic Pieced - Five Patch - #38 - Geese in a Row -

So I chose a size -

Printed up some foundations -

And made four of them - ;))

Since then I have been waiting patiently -

For the Quiltmaker magazine to come out -

To see how close I came - ;))

When my copy arrived last week -

I checked -

And -

My foundation is RIGHT ON!! - ;))

Who knew?? - ;))

Now BOB is wondering -

If she can print out four foundations -

Of a standard - public domain block from EQ7 -

Set them together with a center strip going both ways -

And a center square -

And then have Quiltmaker publish it -

As an original block - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Tax Day - 2013

Got your taxes paid yet?

Hope so -

'Cuz they are due TODAY -

Unless you got an extension - ;))


Just for fun -

I thought that I would show you a photo -

Of my "Tack Shelter" - ;))

Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

TUSAL - 4/10/13

I have joined hundreds of other stitchers in Daffycat’s TUSAL 2013 - HERE -

It's a Totally Useless Stitch-A-Long - ;)) -

To play the game -

I have to fill my glass container -

With saved thread clippings -

Or ORTS - Old Ratty Threads -

Fabric trimmings -

Stitching cast-offs -

And then -

On (or about) the New Moon -

Take a picture of the ORTS in my jar -

Post it to my blog -

With a link back to her TUSAL post - HERE -

And label the Totally Useless posts with “TUSAL” -

It's EASY -

It's TOTALLY USELESS -

And -

It's FUN!! - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

BOB won -

BOB read this on a blog a couple of weeks ago -

If you have not read The Giving Quilt yet, it will be available in paperback from Plume on April 2nd. I have two copies to give away, as well as a few other prizes which have been given to me by the publisher. If you would like to win one of the prizes, leave a comment answering the question “(insert question here)?” I will draw names on (insert date here).

So BOB left a comment answering the question -

And when the blogger posted a list of the winners -

BOB’s name was included - ;))

She sent me an email - Have you read the book yet?

I answered - Not yet - but it’s on my list - ;))

She came back with - I need your address to mail your prize to, thanks!

I gave it to her and said - THANKS!!

Then I get the email - Your pin is in the mail! Wear it proudly!

Whaaaaaaat?!?!

BOB doesn’t wear pins!! -

I responded with -
Pin??? - What pin??? - I thought that I had won a copy of the book - ;))

I know that it was a snarky reply -

And that I probably should have said “Thank you” -

And been grateful that I won anything at all -

But -

How disappointing!!!

If I had known that it was a pin -

I could have saved her the postage - ;))



But then again - it’s probably just me - ;))

Design Wall Monday - 4/8/13

DESIGN WALL MONDAY - 4/1/13
Check out all of us who link up with Judy L. at Patchwork Times on Mondays.
We have some awesome stuff on our walls!
Well, THEY do - ME - not so much sometimes - ;))
===

I changed my mind - ;))

I decided - rather than work on some LHQSQ blocks -

That I would “unsew” the wonky geese -

And redo them - ;))

So I salvaged what I could -

And cut the rest of the geese -

Using the Companion Angle Ruler (TM) -
By Darlene Zimmerman -

I’m still not in love with that ruler -

I can never seem to get a clean cut -

Some are always a sliver short -

Must be the glare on the edge or something - ;))

Anyway - after the geese were cut -

I decided to die-cut the wings -

Thinking that maybe if one of the parts was perfect -

That I could “fudge” the other ones if I had to - ;))

So I sewed the right wing on a string of geese -

The wing is die-cut -
So it should be the correct size - ;))

I seem to have better luck -
When I press up and out -
So here goes - ;))

Measure it - 3-1/2” -
As it should be - ;))

So I added the rest of the wings-
And will hope for the best - ;))

KatieM - HERE - had sent me 12 blocks -

And because I chose a layout -
Similar to the one Linda used on her Snuggle Quilt - HERE -

Those 12 blocks will make one table topper - 3 x 3 -
And one table runner - 1 x 3 - ;))

I decided to make the table runner first -
And chose three blocks -

Here’s what they will look like with sashes and cornerstones -

The red geese and white/green wings blend a bit -
Which is exactly the look I want - ;))

KatieM embroidered the blocks for me on a 10” square -
So that I could trim them down to any size that I wanted -

And I “wanted” to use my 6-1/2” ruler to trim down the blocks -
So I made the “geese” come out to 6-1/2” to match - ;))

Then - just line up the corners of the block -
On the diagonal lines of the ruler -
And trim - ;))

Add the sash to the right side -
Sew a cornerstone to another sash -
For the bottom -

And keep on keeping on - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -