Dear Subscribers~

If you haven't seen a post from me in a few days - please click over and subscribe once again.  You may also need to update your sidebar, if you are using blogger, as the feeds have changed.  I posted a finished quilt on Thursday, and another great Featured Quilter on Friday.
Hope you are having a great weekend~
Amy
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Google Reader Tip!

Do you get overwhelmed with the number of posts in your reader?  I sure do!  You all write a lot!  I learned from my friend Amy a great tip, and I thought I would share with you :)

From google reader you can add a little bookmark, when clicked it takes you to your next unread post in your reader!  I love this because, I often avoid my reader and the 1000+ posts that ALWAYS seem to be waiting for me there - it's just too much to keep up with!  You need to have your bookmark bar visible, if you don't check your bookmark settings.  I use google chrome, firefox is also a great browser.

 In your reader, go to settings, which is in the top right corner.

 Click on the little arrow, to drop the menu.

 Click "Reader Settings"

 Click "goodies"

 Scroll down to this section of the screen, and  click and drag the "Next >" to your bookmark bar.

You can also add a "Subscribe" button to your bookmark bar, to quickly add any feed to your list :)

I love this - I love to read on the blogs instead of in the reader anyway - it's easier to leave comments, and take in the ambiance!

What do you think?  Are you going to give it a try?

Amy
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Survey Says....

Hi again!  I have put together a quick survey for you my readers - would you please take a minute to answer the questions?  I hope to get to know you better in the process.  It's completely anonymous and easy - I promise!
Click here to take survey

My bread dough is in the fridge, waiting for me to figure out what's for dinner!

Thanks for stopping by~
Amy
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On My Mind

Hi there!  I've been so glad to hear from so many of you, making the move with me easily here :)  I love to know that this space is part of your morning/daily routines, and thanks for the profile pic love!  I had my hair cut and colored by a professional.  A nice treat and I had to document it!

Last week I went to a guild meeting to share my quilts - I had fun talking with fellow quilters, and meeting a blog friend!  Emily invited me to share a while back, thankfully it worked out after my deadline, unfortunately Joe was called for Jury Duty the very same day!  Not wanting to bail on Emily, I packed up the kids and made the drive - I'm so glad I did too!

Emily put together this sweet basket of goodies :)  you should know that all the chocolate is now gone, and one cake mix was put to good use as cupcakes the next day!  But I can't bear to open those fat quarter rosettes - too cute!

Sweet cupcake pincushion - will serve as a reminder of the fun afternoon among quilters :)  Thank you for having me Emily!!
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I wanted to tell you about a slew of giveaways going on!

Kelly at I Have a Notion is celebrating one year of business with a month of giveaways - be sure to add her to your reader and check in daily to see what she's giving away!  I put my name in the hat a few times already :)

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One more thing - a few month back Joe found himself a pair of nice cowboy boots.  I laughed at first, 7 years in a small town and he finally caves, but then he kept telling me how comfortable they are!  I looked online to see what sort of offerings for ladies - just in case. . . over the weekend we were in Salt Lake, and happened on a sale.  I just wanted to try a few pair, but now these are mine!

They fit like a glove!  And don't read too cowboy :)  They have applique, distressed leather, and a nice pointy toe - what do you think?  Are you laughing at me?  Honestly, it's okay if you are :)

Hope you are having a great day!
Blessings ~
Amy
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I've Moved!

Please update your reader, and let me know you made the switch!

Amy's Creative Side is my new home on the web :)

I'm super excited - is that weird!?

Amy
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Your 'blogger' Profile

So you have been leaving comments all over blogland, waiting to be in a conversation, waiting for new friends to be made - yet for some reason the email never comes. If you ask a question it is answered in the comment thread but not directly to you - why?

For blogger blogs and profiles it is how you set up your profile, that makes a big difference. Let me show you!

Go to your dashboard, click edit profile.  From here you may elect to 'show my email address' - if that box is not checked, there is no way to contact you.  Those are the comments that show up with 'noreply-comment' in my inbox :(  and no chance of conversation.  I must say it is equaling frustrating on this end to have no way to respond to your question, or get in touch with you, say if you win a giveaway!

On the same page there you can hide blogs from your profile, like if you've started 5 different blogs but really only use 1 it may be a good idea to hide them to drive traffic to your blog without confusing readers.

Go back to your dashboard and click settings.  A few must do's in my opinion--
Basic tab - there's a new post editor!  You have to tell blogger that you want to use it, I think you will want to - it feels more like a word doc, with more options.
Comments tab - scroll to the bottom to add your email address for comments to be sent to you as people leave comments on your blog.  Also here is where you turn on and off the word verification, I've had some spammers recently, so it's on for now.  I also added comment moderation to posts more than 2 weeks old - hopefully that will help!

I hope that this is good info for some of you, and that it's put to good use!  Consider it my blogger public service announcement!  :)
Amy

PS - if you are looking to update your 'look' I posted some tips here.  

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Around the Web --

A few things that have come through my inbox recently!
From Lark --

We’re very excited to announce an online Quilt It! Contest running from October 15 to January 5. The contest will be open to the public and invites crafters to create and submit a photo of a quilt. And there’s a cool catch: the quilt has to be made with 3 of 5 elements-birds, mountains, silver, recycled materials, and paper. Sound like a fun challenge? We hope so! Read more about it here. We’re offering a grand prize as well as 4 additional category prizes.

HEN is really excited about the launch of the first issue of their new online embroidery magazine 'NEEDLE' later this month. If you would like to submit an article or interested in FREE advertising follow the links!


Remember Charlie and Lindsey at Fabric Supplies? They have opened a new and improved .com shop! They are now Hawthorne Threads. You have access to tiered pricing, available yardage, and shop by color. Of course with the new shop they are having a giveaway - just go sign up for their newsletter!

I need to make up for my lack of productivity yesterday! I'm hoping for a great day - for me and you!

Blessings ~
Amy

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Blog Tips

My disclaimer :: I am by no means an expert in coding or web design, but I am capable of making the changes that I want to my blog and thought I would share a couple of great resources!

First - Three Column Blogger has been super helpful in learning the html changes to make for three columns. I typically look through templates every six months, (google "free blogger templates") I always come back to minima. I love the simplicity of it - just me!

Second - Web Page Analyzer is a great tool to see how long your page needs to load, and it shows you each item on your page and the number of bytes it consumes. I use this to see what little extras are eating up too much space, and make sure that it loads quickly for all of you! I've noticed using this site that photos posted using html from flickr, are usually a bit larger than if I upload straight to blogger. Apparently blogger compresses the image for me - nifty! Even still I usually upload once, be it blogger or flickr and then use html as needed.

Do you all know how to paste html into your blog post from flickr?
Go to the picture you would like to use in your flickr stream. Click the "all sizes" button above the photo. Next click the size you would like to use (I use medium), then look below the photo for the html. Copy, then paste it straight into your composer box. It will remain html, until you preview or publish your post.

What do you think of my new layout? I think I'm happy with it! I've got a bit more organizing to do in the sidebars but I'm mostly there. How is it loading for you?


Meanwhile, these two are keep me busy as a referee. Being 2 years apart is a challenge! Owen doesn't understand the problem, and Sophia is all mommy, and smothers Owen. On occasion they play nice together, but usually one is taking away from the other and a war is induced.
One day at a time is the best I can do :)

I'm getting ready for the Quilt Festival! New logo/button coming soon! If you haven't subscribed already, you can get my posts in your inbox (see the box on the right) or add me to your reader - don't miss out! I'm excited :)

I hope this post was helpful to you, let me know if you have a question -
Amy
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Something New

In the new year I told you I was adding advertising to my site - take it or leave it, I am looking for a way to help with the family bottom line (and support the fabric addiction). I have learned a lot in the process, like adding filters so that stuff I'd rather not see doesn't appear at the bottom of my feeds and such! If you have questions, let me know, I will do my best to answer or point you in the right direction. :)

Today I want to share my Amazon Shop! I have added, and will continue to add, favorite books and tools. So if you have a little shopping to do on Amazon - consider linking through my shop. I'm not looking to make a ton of $$, but every little bit helps!

Maybe you need a darning foot to finally take the plunge to free motion quilting! I didn't even to think of looking on Amazon when I had to have the Dresden ruler! And they have the ergo rotary cutter I love too!

I have also included books that I own or have inspired me through our local library. Go take a peek! Modern Quilt Workshop is one I am still digesting - amazing amounts of information in this one (not just a pattern book!). And Material Obsession, will inspire for months and years - beautiful pictures too. Have you been inspired to try embroidery? It's not hard and completely relaxing. Check out Doodle stitching! She has instructions for a few projects, stitch library and lots of information to get your started in embroidery.

If that hasn't tempted you maybe the 10 yards of bleached muslin from moda will - it's under $30!


Blessings to you~
Amy




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Take a few moments -

To check out these blogs -

First is Laura from Snip and Snail, she has gotten involved in a very special project that honors mothers who have died in childbirth. As a mom with 4 healthy children, and 4 uncomplicated pregnancies it's easy to forget that things don't always go as planned.

Laura's posts are beautifully written with emotion that is real - and pouring it all into her quilts as well. Go read this one, and then this one. There's room for lots more quilting volunteers, Laura has all the links in her posts.


Second is Craft for Health. I was impressed by how many of your favorite quilts helped you through very difficult times in life. This blog is encouraging all forms of craft, and is looking for more stories of how quilting has been a source of health in your life. There's quite a bit of information shared on Craft for Health too!


BTW - I was not paid in any way to post about these blogs - just wanted to share!

Blessings ~
Amy

Guest Blogger

My dear friend "Miss Amy" from college asked me to write a post for her today :) She even went to the trouble to post pictures from school of her and I! Go check her out - and her fabulous etsy shop!

Thanks friends, and have a great weekend ~
Amy

Have you seen . . . ?

I know that not everyone uses blogger, but for those of you who do - Have you seen the new following feature? I'm going to try it out for a while and see. If you have all your subscriptions in google reader you can just add them easily on your dashboard. Or you can click over there ----> Follow me - k?

The other thing that I really like is having my email address in my profile! A few months ago I was emailing other bloggers trying to figure out how they got their email to come with the comments they left. I was a little crazed trying to figure it out, until I realized I already did! I set up a separate gmail account just for blogging, and added another account in my Thunderbird inbox. With my email address attached to my comments left - I am able to hear back from my comments and feel even more connected!

We took mom back to the airport yesterday. It was a lot of car time for the baby, but I promised him that we would be staying home mostly today, so he can nap in peace and run around at will :) I need the day at home as much as the kids do! And I want to quilt - I have my boarders cut for the cancer quilt and hope to be able to sandwich and quilt it this week.

I hope that you are having a great day, week even!
Amy

Good Info

One of the many blogs I subscribe to is 5 minutes for moms. They (twin sisters) have good info on blogging, fun contests, mr. linky to promote each other, and lots of other good stuff. One of yesterday's posts included a pdf doc with tons of info. Go check it out, and be a more informed blogger!

One more for today =)

I have been so bloggy today! I have gotten other stuff done around the house, I promise, but just wanted to share a post I ran across today and thought was worthy of passing along. Have a great night and check out this link.

On Leaving Comments

Amy