Blogger Header

ear steaming annoyances!

Calling all blogger savvy ladies (or gentlemen) out there:

Try as I might, my blogger header/banner has continually defeated me. I need some guidance and can't seem to find any anywhere. My images are too big for the banner....then they are too small. Then I size them exactly to the banner specs and they only take up half the header 'frame'.

I'm sure I must be doing something wrong. I'm sure it's pretty basic and has passed me by. If anyone knows how to do this, please let me know. I would appreciate any guidance: it does need to be blogger specific though. I have uploaded banners to other formats without difficulty, its just something here that is frustrating me!

I have found blogger to be pretty good on the whole, but some simple things like this do frustrate me. I was thinking about moving house to WordPress.com (easy peasy headers, neat frames, very stylish) but have been scared off by the amount of people I hear from who are still ARGH-ING in angst after making the move themselves.

Surely it's not supposed to be this hard.

Please help!

UPDATE: 15 May 2010:

Thank you so much to everyone for your kind offers and helpful info...I have just discovered Blogger in Draft (where have I been?? I don't know) and have neatened up my blog as best as I know how at this stage of my technical skills.

First Blocks

Raewyn Barge has made my afternoon by sending in a pic of her first block. It's so nice to know that someone somewhere is selecting and cutting away. Nice colours Raewyn!

There are going to be plenty of beautiful 'spring' themed beds in 6 months time...

Block 2 is just a few days away

Block 2 will be launched on the 15th

So you have just a few days to download block 1 for free. After the 15th, you will need to purchase any missed blocks.

Has anyone out there completed this months block? I'd love to see it.

I've been re-organising myself (arent I always??) in the hope of being more organized so I can tackle the upcoming BOMs I have designed and am planning to make in the coming months.

Conversion Chart

There's been some confusion over yards and meters...so here is a chart I think will help. Double click to see a larger image or click on my added 'Conversion Chart Page' for more clarity.

Laughing Leaves Workshop

I was lucky enough to attend Frieda Anderson's Laughing Leaves workshop here in Melbourne last week. I have long admired Frieda, so being able to take her class was a real treat.

This is my work above - I love it. It's not quilted yet, but I already have a spot for it at home. I'm so happy.... Why am I so happy? ...because the design is 'free' no rulers, no measuring, no pencil lines...no marking....you just trust you eye and go for it. If you have the opportunity, I recommend that you take this class...and if you don't, you'll just have to make do with visiting Frieda's blog and website where she sells kits. http://friestyle.blogspot.com/

Thanks Frieda, for a great day

AQC Melbourne 2010

Well it's been a bit quiet on my blog here in the last week or so. Right after launching In The Pink and my long overdue website, it was time for AQC and I have spent the last week having a lovely time in classrooms and on white glove duty. I'm so glad that the AQC is in my home town of Melbourne as I would have hated to miss out on attending this event.

What a week!

I was lucky enough to meet so many of you, it's always great to put a face to a name...and catching up with everyone who is usually so far away.

My UFO list also haunted me a little as I met up Lizzie from the Civil War Bride Quilt (which I am a member of...and absolutely taking part in...I'm just taking my time about it...still choosing a colour scheme actually)but its great to see how everyone is interpreting this quilt.

I waited for all of the girls to start on their quilts so that when I started my own it wouldnt intrude on what everyone else was doing - yes, I have decided to make mine entirely in red and white with a few dashes of black. It was on the agenda, but seeing the progress has made me want to get this one out and I have finally settled on using up (I hope) the rest of my red stash.

I will be following the pattern and have spoken to Lizzie about my 'colour intentions' and she has no qualms about it. The rest of my progress and participation will be revealed in the Civil War Bride Quilt Blog (link on side bar). Are you making this fascinating quilt yourself? Have you checked out this blog? it's a must see.

So, I'm back at home. Newly inspired, and thinking about how to organise my time. I have a suprise new BOM which I have to finalise fabric for...yes another one, it's coming soon.... and a studio in serious need of a bit of a tidy. When you start quilting you aquire much 'stuff' and I've reached the era of 'simplifying' I think. Mind you, I still have some wonderful Westalee Rulers I havent managed to get around to using...there's just never enough time.

Wow, I've been a fan of Frieda Anderson for some time (photos above)....and I was lucky enough to meet her in person this year as well as enjoy taking her class. I had a great time and I will be blogging about that tomorrow as it's too dark to take a photo of what I made at the moment.

What a liberating experience it was.... more on that tomorrow!

As you can see, I am still struggling to make Blogger behave and these pics are just doing what they want!

And of course, my banner still has me defeated....urgh! computers!

New EQ7 coming soon!

EQ 7 is being launched soon. That's right. The best Electronic Quilt designer software has been upgraded. Now, I know what you're all thinking....am I computer proficient enough to work with the new EQ7??

Well...I hope so. I have EQ6 and I have gone through periods of trying to teach myself the basics, because if I managed to master it ...it would make my life -so much easier-. With the new EQ7 being launched soon...I think its time that I took some serious lessons and came to terms with using this great software.

You can visit the Electric Quilt website here: http://www.electricquilt.com/

In The Pink is launched

In The Pink is launched!

Red Delicious was so rewarding, I thought I'd do it all over again. In The Pink is a bed quilt, inspired by tulips, released in 6 parts. (87 x 87 inches). As with RD, each installment is free during it's month of 'currency' and is then replaced with a new block.

Each installment will be released on the 15th of the month.

Being a 6 month BOM, there's plenty of time to make this quilt by Christmas....and it's also a perfect stash buster as well as being suited to new modern prints. Applique and pieced. This time around, I've learnt a few things about BOMs and hopefully will be able to bypass the previous issues many of you encountered with Scribd.com.

All blocks are available from my BOM Yahoo Group or my website.

Hopefully this will allow access to run as smoothly as possible. Any feedback would be most welcomed. For more info, visit my website.

I am already toiling away on my next BOM...