Returning to the Shadows

"Don't think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. It's self-conscious and anything self-conscious is lousy. You can't try to do things; you simply must do things."

~Ray Bradbury

Quilting

While I disagree with Ray's statement as far as thinking goes, the last sentence is a reminder that was even echoed by Yoda, "Do or do not. There is no try." We see that in our own lives as the things we 'do not' pile around us physically or mentally. Hopefully we tackle some of them each day. Speaking of which...

Who remembers the Shadow Star blocks? Who knows why I set them aside? Certainly not me although I suspect it involved baby quilts... with which I am constantly in arrears.

Shadow Star quilt blocks with centers being sewn

At least I appliqued all the centers to the stars before setting them aside. And I pinned and labelled the columns so it's easy to pull them out now that they've been flashing through my mind. The next step is to choose the sashing.

As far as I recall my great-aunt's quilt didn't have sashing. Or at least it was the same muslin as the stars. But mine seems to need something in the corners. Should it be a tiny post of color or something that extends into the sashing and corners of the blocks? Flowers? Circles? Stars? I tested some ideas previously so at least I know red is not the answer and an eight-pointed star is too heavy.

One benefit of setting this aside for a while is the extra time to simply think about it. The shadowed stars work because they sit on a darker background that fades to white. Your eye gets a glimpse of the shape and continues it when contrast fails. So foreground and background are important. And the posts/sashing are not foreground.

What about these very light compass points? The fabric is a pale green on cream. Audrey wrote about a similar issue with her tulip quilt.

Sashing choice for Shadow Star quilt

It would need a different post fabric. Here are brown, medium blue, and a flower on purple cut two different ways. While centering the flower in the post repeats the circles of the stars, it makes the post too light. {Those white petals conflict with the tiny space.} Quartering the flowers puts a bit of color right in the center. Plus, I think those arcs look good.

Possible posts for Shadow Star quilt

And that's how the week went. Thinking can take a lot of time.

Yet Another Plea to Make the Internet Safer
I sound like a broken record but... After six years, there are still people who haven't set their blogs to https. What a shame. There's a simple way to start if you use Blogger. Look at the top right of your blog and click Design. Then chose the Settings tab and then Basic. Toggle "Yes" on HTTPS Redirect. That will send people to this much, much safer way to access your blog.

Http is an outdated protocol allowing hackers to change your content, redirect people to a bogus site, and steal identity and credit information. {Some of us have clicked a link and gotten a porn site instead.} Here's more information on why you should definitely switch to https.

How do you tell if a website is secure? It has a lock icon before the address. Keep yourself and your readers safe. Don't go to any site {including the famous quilters who haven't addressed this basic safety issue} unless you are willing to risk exposing your personal and financial information to every malicious hacker in the world. I NEVER go to any site that hasn't got this simple, effective safeguard.  Whether you're selling something or just writing, if you want me to read your blog, it has to be https.

Enjoy the day, Ann

Putting the Top Together and Switching to HTTPS on Blogger

Another week, another disaster. This time California wildfires. My brother helped with some in Colorado earlier this year. There are opportunities for each of us to help somewhere. This planet is our only home; everyone is a neighbor.

I moved the blocks to the design wall as I sewed the diagonals. Arranging blocks in front of the oven won't work two days in a row. ;-)

Blocks sewn and transferred to the design wall

Switch to HTTPS

As we use technology we need to keep our hardware and software as secure as possible. Fantastic programmers are constantly finding solutions to weaknesses in the system. They report how to plug those holes. With phones, tablets, and computers it's frequently added to the system updates but we still have to push the button. Not to update is like refusing to wear your seatbelt.

We are all aware of the recent Equifax hack that stole millions of records. Current reports suggest hackers got in because Equifax failed to update a security patch for over a month. Through the years bloggers have been hacked; their links suddenly point to porn sites or their entire site sends you to a scam page instead. Fortunately there's an easy fix if you use Blogger. Simply switch to HTTPS, that's Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure.

The "secure" is the important part because data can't be altered during transfer (your links won't be hacked) and users are sure they are communicating with your website (no man-in-the-middle attacks where a hacker redirects your entire site.

In Blogger, go to Settings then Basic. Click on "Yes" under HTTPS to HTTPS Redirect.

Hooray. You're safer already but you're not done. You'll probably see a "mixed message" note. This is a tedious but important repair. Get some coffee and expect to spend some time. How much time? That depends on how many links need fixing. Google has a page explaining how to repair mixed content for Blogger on Chrome. (This is what I use; I'm not a programmer.)

The first part reads:

Here's where you find JavaScript Console:

Here's what a mixed content message looks like. It's color coded. No, I don't know what all the other stuff means.

You must find that code in on your site and fix it. {Google has more information on discerning whether it's coming from a single page or is on multiple pages. Read the link above for that information.} If it's someone else's gadget, send them an email asking them to repair it. I could repair some; others need someone else to fix. I've given them a deadline.

Once you finish your old posts and pages, it's easier to avoid these errors in future. Here's how.

Yes, that code looks like the foreign language it is. But we can learn to understand the parts we need to repair. It's like learning to use SpellCheck. Good luck and "let's be careful out there."

EDIT: I prefer to create and edit my posts in Chrome. It and Blogger are both Google products so I expect fewer interface issues. You can check JavaScript in Safari. It's in the Develop menu.




If you can't find Develop, turn it on by going to Preferences...




and then clicking the Advanced tab.

JavaScript appears at the bottom of the screen. The correction process should be the same as with Chrome but I'm not certain of the details.

Enjoy the day, Ann