The last two blocks were finished Friday night. On Saturday, Mr. Q.O. found a flannel-backed vinyl tablecloth at a dollar store and since then I’ve been playing with the placement of the blocks. Here are the first three layouts.
When I started these blocks back in May of last year, I didn’t realize they would become the Memories of Smudge quilt. For the longest time I couldn’t work on them. While it may have been a long time since that first block was shown and it didn’t have the same name at that point, I firmly believe there’s a time to work on certain projects. And this was the time to work on Memories of Smudge. Now to finalize the setting and start sewing them together. I’m looking forward to seeing the top put together. And deciding on a border treatment.
The first layout really had no plan to it other than ensuring that the same fabric didn’t touch. After leaving it up for a while and then looking at this photo, I decided I didn’t like the blocks with the light piece just being scattered about.
Mr. Q.O. suggested putting those blocks in a V shape. So that was layout two.
Then I started moving other blocks around, trying to balance the blocks containing the darkest pieces. And that’s where it’s at right now. I’m leaving them up and will probably move a few more around yet. I’m finding that looking at the photos is more helpful than standing looking at them up on the design wall.
We have a vet appointment today for Baxter. He needs his annual check-up. But we think he must know — look at what today’s special is at the kitty aroma therapy shop!
When I was putting the design wall up, I had to move the pile of quilt tops off the quilt rack. For a moment, they were on top of the loveseat. And in the blink of an eye, Baxter had found them and was happily perched there.
Now to the question part of the post.
I’m still undecided about this truncating of posts. Unfortunately, making a truncated post appear in a reader (which is apparently where the scrapers tend to grab content) also means that those that have signed up to receive posts by e-mail also get the truncated version. I’m going to work on it a bit more and see if I can sort out a solution.
A couple of people asked how I was truncating my posts. In WordPress it’s quite simple. There’s a great tutorial on using it called The More Tag on the WordPress.com Support pages.
That said, I may revert back to the regular posts. I hate giving in to these scrapers. There are ways of trying to monitor if one’s content is being taken, I think. I was pleased to see that upon requesting them to do so, the scraper’s web host took down the offending pages very quickly. But that brings me to the question – would you want to be alerted if your blog posts were seen on a scraper site? Maybe if we all work together we can go a long way to getting those sites pulled down. I’d love to hear your opinions on that!
Quilt Obsession 
I don’t have a blog but I imagine I would be very annoyed if someone, without my permission used my content. It seems to me with technology, that we stop something from happening that we don’t want, only for some opportunistic person to find some other clever way of using technology to do something dishonest. It is good that the server removed that scrapers content. But I can’t help think it will happen again.
Thanks for your great blog
Di
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Memories of Smudge is looking wonderful Cathi. Here’s thought/idea, how would it look if the lights made the letter S through the quilt top? The darks being placed in the curve spaces.
I don’t mind having the posts come into my email box truncated.
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Love the quilt, such rich colors. I would want to know if someone was snagging my content. I don’t mind the truncated posts, I always click through anyway so I can see your pictures better! Although, some other blogs I follow I don’t click through unless their opening content is very catchy. So frustrating that such issues even exist!!
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Have to say, I like the light blocks scattered through the top, but then I like random placements. I’m sure Baxter will enjoy his visit to the vet…..maybe…….perhaps…….you can do it, Baxter!
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Cathi, I love, love, love the lights in the shape of a “V,” it really gives a wonderful flow, it’s a catchy but very subtle look. I love your number two layout (the first one with the V), as it seems there are more darks around the V, makes it stand out a bit more. Very good eye, Mr. Q.O.! And a VERY cute Baxtertoon, it’s just darling–they are always so clever! Yes, if I saw my/your blog or a Baxtertoon on someone else’s blog, I would be incensed! Flabbergasted first, though, to think that someone would even do that! (And I still think Mr. Q.O. should publish these precious cartoons!) Hugs!
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The Smudge quilt is wonderful! I am sure Smudge would have loved this quilt in his memory.
Poor Baxter just has to be brave and get through the process, that Baxtertoon is funny!
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Not a fan of the trunkating – usually not enough in the 3 lines to make me click over & read the whole post… But its your blog not mine.
I’m rather ambivalent about the scraper issue… (I’m not trying to make a living or any money at all for that matter for the problem to effect me. I also do not look & see where my traffic – if I have any – comes from to notice anything fishy.)
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I really like the randomness of mixing up the light blocks with the dark ones, just seems more natural and pleasing to look at. I love how Baxter relaxes on your pile of quilts…now there’s a cat with the right idea. How would we (readers of your blog) know if we were at the scraper’s site? I hate the whole idea of someone stealing your content for their benefit and if I knew that I was at their site and not yours, I’d leave just as fast as I got there. Is there anything that we can do to help you? If we landed on a scraper’s site, do you want us to let you know?
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I have never minded clicking on a simple link to “read the rest of this post.” I do it in nearly every other blog I receive. I say fight them, and if this is how you have to fight them, your fans are never going to mind performing one, simple little keystroke to get to your fabulous content. I don’t respond enough to your blog. (Very rarely) But its beauty impacts my life, and I want to see you succeed. Stand up to the thieves of this world. Don’t let them win.
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Cathi,
I’m stuck on those 5 blocks with the light patch. Did you try 1 in middle and 1 in each of the 4 corners?
Pat
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I love the idea of being alerted to scrapers. There must be a way to keep our content our own. I don’t mind folks that maybe want to save an idea I’ve shared for inspiration in the future, but for heaven’s sake – if someone wants a blog, they should take the time and effort to do so on their very own.
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I love the blocks and the ‘V’ shape created by the lighter pieces but also love Elly’s suggestion of creating an ‘S’. I have no idea if my blog is being scraped and posted somewhere else but think I’d like an alert system, as long as the offending site then removed the content at my request…
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Hi Cathi: I love these blocks in this colouration. Might I suggest you think about light hitting the surface of the quilt and how the lighter blocks would appear? For Instance: if light came from directly above, the lightest blocks would be in the centre with progressively darker radiating outward; if light came from the upper left, then the lighter blocks would be at the top left and get progressively darker with the darkest at the bottom right. You may find this gives a more “organic” feel and a sense of light/shade that’s more pleasing and less rigid than the V.
However you arrange them, this will be a beautiful quilt!
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t, too, do not mind having to open your blog further to see wonderful photos and “toons”, and have you thought of having the lights arranged in a circle in the centre? Great idea to take photos and look at them, and as for scrapers, they should be ashamed, banned, and fined. Petty thieving at its worst. Cheers from Jean.p.s. I love the smoky shades in ” Smudges”.
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Sorry, no help from this corner on how best to arrange the smudge blocks. Brown is not my colour so I can’t get my mind to click in and be creative 🙂
Baxter on the quilts is so cute – if predictable. Macros does that too – mostly with pillows though 🙂
The scraper issue is a tricky one. I don’t monitor my traffic so I wouldn’t know if it were happening to me. I can see how annoying it would be to have your blog posts stolen but I just don’t have the time to keep an eye on that sort of thing. Do these scraper blogs work anyway? I mean, who would actually end up stumbling across the thief blog. I imagine it’d take a pretty specific google search. So I don’t see that they’d make any income if they did steal my posts. You need to decide what’s best for you though. I do lready get a few truncated blogs in my reader, another wouldn’t make that much difference
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