Thursday, June 14, 2018

Blogger Bummer

Hello!  Hello??  Anyone there??  See the end of the post for my rant about Blogger.
Friendship Medallion - 35" x 35"
I finally used my paint by numbers fabric.  I love this fabric.   You can see all the quilting.  I really do like the fans in the corner. What do you think?
I will never, EVER use wool batting on a small machine quilting project again!  I fought it the whole time! Too Puffy!!  I am going back to 80/20 or cotton.  What do you recommend for machine quilting?  
I had to quilt it much more than usual and the tension of the stitching skewed it - arrrgghhhhh
marked it with Crayola Washable Markers and the Blue Water-soluble Pen.  All marks came out fine with the help of these products.  My son laughed about my Alchemy.
I gave it a 30 minute soak then lots of squeezing and squishing followed by a rinse and spin cycle in my machine.  Here is a beauty shot.
I makes a good table topper for my DR.  Maybe I'll offer a pattern for it in my Etsy Shop.
It was National Sewing Machine Day yesterday.  I sewed all day.  It was wonderful.  I'm working my way through the entire Twilight Zone series on Netflix.  They early ones are really interesting and weird.
Starbuck has been on duty chasing the chipmunks.  I'm so frustrated with them they are digging up all my flowers :(      Do you have any suggestions?  By the way, he's already brought 1 upstairs in the house and caught another yesterday and waited for us to open back door.  
 Here is a peek at what I worked on yesterday.  I'm working in a new direction with a series in mind.  It fun to be excited about something new.
I wish you all a Happy Day 
xo

Now for the rant.....
Blogger is has made a change to not publish open ID comments.  So only people with a Blogger or Google profile can leave one.  I blog to connect to a community of quilters but this is really getting in the way of that!   Also, as you all have noticed email notifications on comments have stopped too.

This is not a PROBLEM this is a CHANGE made by Blogger.  What to do now?  I am emailing commenters directly from my email since I know most of them.  I am not, however, going back to all the blogs I leave comments for follow up responses which may or may not be there.   

I recommend that you use the orange button on this screen shot and send them a message about how unhappy we are with the changes.  
this button right here 

One thing you can do after posting is leave a comment on your own blog and click the box that says "follow up" emails then you'll get them, but you still won't be able to email responses  from that.......

waaaa.  waaaa.  waaaa.  Maybe it's time to use own website domain, which I already pay for and get off Blogger or drink the Kool-aid and just post on Instagram.

39 comments:

Barb said...

Sorry to anyone who is trying to comment and can not - Blogger has changed its platform. Email me at barb.vedder@gmail.com if you have a specific question - or to just say hi.

Amy said...

Barb, I salute you for the finish (perfect for the red, white and blue holidays this Summer) and for calling Blogger out on this change. I'll let them know that they are affecting our tribe!

Loris said...

Lovely table topper!
My cats have spared me the gophers and birds this year so far. I pray that continues as I don't really appreciate the treasure gifts! Thanks for the idea about sending feedback. I did and I hope it makes a difference. I have my comments moderated because of the spam so I've been finding them by checking on the tool bar under Comments...awaiting moderation but that doesn't always mean I'll have an email to respond to them.

Karen said...

What caught my eye about your new quilt is that, after the round of squares, you used two different blue prints for the sashings around the section. Shows that you don't have to use the exact same fabric for each piece. And I do like that you used the fan shape for quilting in the corners. Unique idea.
I too am not happy with Google blogger right now. I thought that not getting the comments in an e-mail sent to me was a temporary problem but I have no direct knowledge of that.

Paulette said...

Thanks for the heads up about the Blogger changes. That is really a bummer. Love your quilt finish! Crayola markers, eh? Was there one product you think eventually worked best to remove the marks?

Janet said...

Your friendship Medalion looks wonderful with all that machine quilting :0) The texture is lovely! I've never machine quilted with wool batting before although I love it for handquilting - I always use warm and natural cotton batt for machine quilting, I didn't realize that blogger had changed emailling comments - I was just sorta waiting for them to fix it :0( Why can't they just leave things the same?? Oh please don't drink the kool-aid - while Instagram is wonderful for inspiration there is so much less information and community. I love your blog with all of the fun stuff you post about.
I have a big problem with squirrels where I live. I sprinkle blood meal around my plants so they don't dig them up/eat them. Apparently they don't like the smell of it. I don't know if it works for chipmunks. Upstairs!! Yikes!!

Ruth said...

I love the fan quilting on the corners! Great idea - that I will probably copy at some point. Did you do all your quilting with a walking foot? We used to watch Twilight Zone back in the 50's and early 60's. After DH took me to see the movie "Psycho" in 1964, I was so scared that I didn't watch or read any scary programs, movies or books for years. I'm over that now. Hee Hee! We don't have any chipmunks here that I know of, but my neighbor has seen signs of moles in her yard. The deer do eat flowers, so I'm trying to be careful not to plant things they like in the front yard, but they nibble some of them anyway.

Angie said...

Great finish for your Friendship Medallion! Thanks for the comment about wool batting; I recently discussed it with my LAQ, and she was enthusiastic about using it on the longarm. May have to do a test project! I am also frustrated with Blogger, but not sure what I will do next. Don't like FaceBook and although I'm a fan of Instagram, it doesn't feel the same for staying in touch with my quilting "community".

Pinkadot Quilts said...

Thank you for the warning about wool batting! I use all different kinds but do like the 80/20. The quilt turned out great but what a pain when the quilting is hard (-:
WHY do they keep changing things!!! LEAVE us alone already!!!

Janet O. said...

Love your medallion quilt, Barb. Yes, I have used wool batting scraps on a mini quilt and it was poofy.
I mostly use 80/20 or cotton--or any kind of scraps my friends give me that will fit a mini quilt. :)
The fans in the corners are a great effect.
Wow--it takes quite the arsenal of weapons to get all of the markings out.
Curious to see what your new series will be.
This is what I found on blogger help forum about the email/comments issue...

Kelly - Community Manager @ Google's profile photo [Google Employee]
[Known Issue] Not receiving email notifications for comments
by Kelly - Community Manager @ Google May 31
Add a reply
Hi everyone,

We are aware that there is an issue where users are not receiving email notifications for comments. We're currently tweaking our emailing system, but we expect it to be working again soon.

Thank you for your patience - we appreciate it!

Kelly
Blogger Community Manager

Chris said...

I have used wool in the past, but don't remember a problem with it. However my perennial fave is 80/20, I like the loft and soft drape. Love your quilting choices on your table topper! I love lots of quilting!

audrey said...

Your fan quilting in the corners is so wonderfully whimsical! Love it! I've never tried wool batting, but have heard good things about it. Now I will be a little more cautious about trying it.:) Blogger commenting issues is absolutely annoying. How are we supposed to connect with these kinds of issues? I read a comment by a Blogger Tech on May 31 that they are still working to address this issue, but they certainly don't seem to be in a hurry.

Julierose said...

I use Warm and Natural for machine quilting and love it. Love your quilting on this one.
I did the blogger button--did they not think we would not be outraged by this ??? Or do they even care?? Even if you leave your own comment on your blog the comment come back "NO REPLY" --so what good is that? I just am answering right on my blog once a day...KISS blogger is what I say...hugs, Julierose

Quilting Babcia said...

First your little quilt is totally adorable, and thanks for the heads-up re the wool batting. I have one that I've been saving for a special quilt, and will be sure now that it's a hand-quilted quilt! As for chipmunks, we have an army of them invading our area, barn, garage, and crawl space of the house. Thankfully hubby has good aim with a .22, as we can't use any bait since our pup is into everything. I've never had to resort to your alchemy to remove blue washout marker or the Crayola washable markers, just throw the finished quilt into the washer on a cold rinse/spin cycle, then remove and make sure the marker is totally out before running it through another cycle with a bit of soap. It's worked every time (so far). As for Blogger, I'll join the army sending them our thoughts on their latest and greatest mess.

cityquilter grace said...

such a pretty table topper...love RWB....

Sue said...

I Love your friendship Medallion, and the quilting is great! I'll try the heads up re blogger.

Lin McQ said...

I love your medallion quilt. I hope you don’t stop blogging. I truly enjoy reading your posts and will miss seeing them. So inspiring!

Quiltdivajulie said...

Please do not abandon your blog!! IG is fun for looking at specific photos but process is hard to share there. I get the open ID change but I have to hold onto hope for our emails (issue due to GDPR rules).

Kyle said...

Your friendship medallion is just delightful and the quilting adds to the whimsy of the whole quilt. I've never used a wool batting and quilted myself. I'm surprised and sorry there were so many issues. Please don't stop blogging. Hopefully, it will get fixed!

Deb @ Frugal Little Bungalow said...

Barb as to your chipmunk friends :) I went through this years ago with my squirrels and did a Google search / what turned up and worked is....get some cheap plastic forks and up-end them wherever squirrels, chipmunks etc are digging. It worked for me :)

Deb from Frugal Little Bungalow

Deb @ Frugal Little Bungalow said...

me again :) as to commenting I am wordpress / I use a template ( meaning, I suppose that if I paid someone to change things I could quote directly via my blog but i can not :) When I see someone commenting on my blog my easy choice is to just visit them back which I usually do.

If they ask a question or something I cannot go directly from my blog to answer that. I have to go to my personal email account and address them

I think that it has been much different for you folks on Blogger :)

Phyllis said...

Lovely quilt, as I do not quilt on my machine (have done so only once and it was with 100% cotton) I can not tell you anything about my experience with other batting. I love the quilt and the fan quilting in the corners.
Re Blogger: thank you so much for explaining I am having the same problems. And I really thought they were problems, not changes. Strangely enough I have contacted the Blogger peeps and they have come back to me to say they are working on it and to be patient.....What to do. I am the same as you, I blog to share, to meet (new) people (I met my best friend that way, she found me through my blog) which is one of the blessings of the internet I think..

CecileD said...

Congratulations on your Friendship Medallion quilt !! The quilting is awesome and very original !! I love a lot the corners !!
I always used Bamboo for the batting...It's heavy than cotton and the look of the quilt is always well-groomed. I don't know if it helps you.
I'm sorry for the problems with Blogger...I have read on many blogs the same problem ! I hope you will find a solution !
I wish you a lovely WE ! xoxo

Barb said...

Thank you Lin - If you add your email to your profile, I could email you directly. Thanks for the encouragement!
happy weekend

Barbara said...

I just love your little quilt and the fan quilting looks fantastic in the corners! Sorry to hear about the wool batting problem. When I bring quilts to Barbie she suggests 80/20 batting but when I hand quilt it's always 100% cotton. Blogger has really caused us problems. I didn't realize the email issue was a definite change. Not a happy camper!

Outback Crafter - Debra said...

Gorgeous quilt Barb. The blogger change is a pain.

sandi s said...

I love your quilt! The backing is wonderful and so is the quilting. I use cotton for my quilts I’m keeping. If it’s for someone else or a donation I do 80/20. I’m glad I’m not the only one who didn’t like the puffiness of wool on a small quilt. I wanted to try hand quilting with wool, it was nice to quilt thru but not the nice flat look I wanted. Hugs,

Chantal said...

What a lovely quilt Barb! I use Heirloom 80/20 for all my quilts. Instagram hit the blogging world hard with ease of posting and how quick it is. I think the changes that Blogger has made will be even worse for us bloggers. I loved how easy it was to make friends and start conversation threads through the e-mail notifications. Now, for me, it is almost just a diary of the things that I make. What a sad change this has been. I wish one had an option and a choice in the matter.

Quilter Kathy said...

I agree about the blogger issue and have used the orange button, but no reply and no repair.
Wishing there was a better option, and am searching for another platform to use.
So much of the fun of blogging is communicating with the online quilting community and they have taken that away.

Quilter Kathy said...

PS love the quilting, especially the fans in the corners!
I use warm and natural for machine quilting.

Lori said...

Your quilt and the quilting is fantastic! It's like a quilting sampler!
The blogger thing is annoying but I also think it is temporary: According to the help forum
Hi everyone,

We are aware that there is an issue where users are not receiving email notifications for comments. We're currently tweaking our emailing system, but we expect it to be working again soon.

Thank you for your patience - we appreciate it!

Kelly
Blogger Community Manager

Ann said...

Mixing several slightly different shades of fabric makes a subtle but stunning effect. I also admire your quilting. Thanks for the tip about Crayola markers. I have trouble seeing marked lines and have mostly given it up but yours looks so beautiful I'll have to try again. Congratulations on a beautiful finish.
I usually use Mountain Mist Blue Ribbon cotton or Cream Rose. Both are very light and flat to quilt but crinkle once they've been washed. I've wanted to use wool but have not yet.

Lee Prairie Designs said...

Hi Barb, wow....great quilt!! I prefer light batting and cotton. Wool is fine for a few quilts but a little to puffy for me. I quilt by hand with a group at Church once a week and have quilted on wool batting low loft batting is my favorite on most quilts..small and large.

Those squinnies are pests and persistent raskels for sure!! Try baby powder they don't like it 😊!!!

As always thanks for your inspiration.

Hugs, Carolyn

OT Quilter said...

Wow! Such a wonderful quilt! Wow! So many lovely comments! I used wool batting once--or rather, I tried to use it; I ended up taking out the quilting (yes, I did!) and now I am going to use my go-to batting, Hobbs 80/20. It always is easy to use and always looks great. For little projects I use scraps of whatever is around. Your quilting may have made you want to tear your hair out but it looks terrific.
We have two cats on a long term visit. They spend much of the day watching our resident chipmunk perform for them on the steps outside the family room. We also now have a family of foxes who cavort on our front lawn early each morning. fun!

Monica said...

The medallion turned out beautifully! Lovely finish. Believe me, I whipped out a complaint to Google as soon as I realized. Squeaky wheel gets the grease!

QuiltGranma said...

interesting tall red apartment building. What are your plans for it, a city scape?

Barb said...

It is morphing into an industrial scene - stay tuned.

FlourishingPalms said...

We sure wish we knew what they mean by "soon." That was posted several weeks ago, and we haven't heard a peep since! It's 23 days now, and counting. VERY frustrating! Linda

Wendy Caton Reed said...

technology stinks! Love that little quilt and I agree about wool and machine quilting. As you know I am no expert in the machine quilt department, but I have used wool in error on some and find that if I iron the heck out of it it does flatten out. I see no problem with yours though!