Saturday, June 6, 2015

How to add Tabs to Your Menu Bar in Blogger

This was probably the most frustrating thing for me to figure out when I first started my blog. It's actually really easy. So without further ado –

STEP 1

In your Blogger Dashboard go to the Overview Screen and click on the “Pages” link on the left side of the screen.


STEP 2

Your Pages Screen should now be up. Click the “New Page” button. IMPORTANT: Don't click the little "Compose/pencil" button at the top of the screen; this will create a "Post" not a "Page."


STEP 3

The screen for creating a Page looks a lot like the screen for creating a Post. IMPORTANT: Give the Page the title that you want to see as a Tab in your menu bar. When you are finished writing up the body of the Page, hit “Publish.”


 STEP 4

You should now be back at the Pages Screen and your new Page should be listed. Now click the “Layout” link on the left side of the screen.


STEP 5

Now you should see the screen for your blog layout. Click the “Add a Gadget” in the horizontal space below the Header.


STEP 6

A Gadget menu will pop up. Scroll down until you see the option for “Pages” and then click on the plus sign.


STEP 7

A Configure Page List will pop up. You should see a list of the Page/s you created earlier. Check all that you want to have shown as Tabs in your menu bar. NOTE: I leave the title blank because I don’t think a menu bar really needs a title. Click “Save.”


STEP 8

After you click save you will see your Layout screen again. You will now see a horizontal “Pages” box where the “Add a Gadget” box used to be. IMPORTANT: At this point make sure that you click the “Save Arrangement” button! I have forgotten this step before and lost a lot of work, yikes!


STEP 9

View your blog and see your beautiful new Menu Bar!!!!!




I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! If you are still stuck or if you have any other tech questions, please let me know!

Monday, June 1, 2015

I’m a Small Blog!


Today is all about being part of the “Small Blog” Community. What I mean to say is that I signed up for the 2015 New Quilt Bloggers BlogHop! (It also means I spent all day stalking new-to-me blogs rather than getting anything done!)

2015 New Quilt Bloggers Group

Hooray! Holy cow…? I feel like I’m definitely going out on a limb here, a fairly sturdy one but a limb nonetheless. I remember seeing the blog hop hosted by Plum and June last year and thinking that I really needed to get in on that. I SO was not ready at the time and I’ve spent the better part of the last six months stalking blog land in hopes that there would be one this year. And there was! It starts today! I’m so excited! (Can you tell?! Lol.)

I’ve already posted a little intro/about me post on the group’s page but I thought I’d post something here too. My name is Sarah and I’m part of the thirty-something crowd. I think that’s a big part of why I consider myself a “modern" quilter. I definitely love clean, fresh designs, and lots of color. Right now I’m really focused on sewing up my older stash and trying to flesh out older quilting ideas. It’s hard because I constantly have new ideas and I want all the new fabric collections. Oh the trials of life, right? ;)

Anyway, I look forward to meeting lots of new bloggers and having some fun on this blog hop!

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Did you know that Lily’s Quilts hosts a new blog meet up/link party on the first of every month? I’ve been meaning to link up for the past few months but I’ve missed it every stinking time. Not this time. This time I’m on the ball!

Small Blog Meet

Friday, May 29, 2015

Friday Finish #2 - Simple Celestial Mini

Here's a little mini to brighten up your day.


I blogged about this little guy here, so I'll keep this post on the short side. Or perhaps it'll be a "mini" post...? Lol, I crack myself up.

I mentioned before that I loved this block so much that I was going to turn it into a wall-hanging. Enter some FMQ, some quick binding and BAM! A finished project!


For the FMQ, I did a micro (a mini? Lol, again) stipple in the white fabric to really make the prints pop.


Stats:
Name: Simple Celestial Mini
Pattern: Simple Celestial by Diane Bohn of  FromBlankPages
Materials: Unknown print, white solid, Warm and Natural batting, Essential Thread by Connecting Threads in White.
Date: Started/Finished - May 2015
Size: 9"x9"

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Linking up to:
- Crazy Mom Quilts - Finish it up Fridays
- Confessions of a Fabric Addict - Can I get a Whoop Whoop?

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Bloggers' Quilt Festival - ROYGBIV


Hello and welcome! If you are stopping by for the first time from the Bloggers' Quilt Festival, please stay and have a look around. For those of you that don't know me my name is Sarah and I love color, design, and fabric! Here are some of my past projects.


I've really enjoyed the BQF in the past years but this is my first time actually entering a quilt! I'm entering my Rockstar mini in the ROYGBIV category.


Rockstar is a paper pieced pattern I tested for Diane Bohn from FromBlankPages. You can read my thoughts on testing the pattern here. It really works up beautifully.


I kept the quilting simple because I wanted the rainbows to really pop. I did do a little FMQ in the center square though. When I say "little" I mean that literally! This is a mini after all and I had to do some micro quilting in that center. The design is meant to mimic the shape of the rainbows. 


Quilt Stats:
- Name: Rockstar Mini
- Size: 12" x 12"
- Pattern: Rockstar by Diane Bohn
- Materials: a variety of solids, Warm and Natural batting, Essential Thread in "White" and "Stone" from Connecting Threads

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out all the other amazing quilts in the BQF!



spring 2015 BQF Button

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Simple Celestial - Pattern Testing

I really do enjoy testing patterns. I’ve tested a few patterns for Diane who blogs at FromBlankPages and I’m happy to announce that I’m waiting in the wings to test for some other people as well. Anyway, here is the latest.


This is Diane’s new pattern called Simple Celestial. It’s a simplified version of her Celestial Star pattern; so if you feel intimidated by the complexity of that pattern, you can easily get the same look with this pattern. Make sense? Good.

I love the versatility of Diane’s patterns and Simple Celestial didn’t disappoint. I spent many, many (way too many) hours creating different designs and coloring in the coloring pages. I think I came up with 14 different designs in total, and some of those had multiple color schemes! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – the hardest part of Diane’s patterns is picking a design!

I really struggled with picking a design on this one. I liked all my options but I wasn’t happy with my fabric pulls or I didn’t have the right fabric for a particular design. Do you ever have that problem? Finally I spotted this fabric.


This ¼ yard of no name fabric had been sitting in my pile of ‘”uglies” for a few years. You know the “uglies,” the fabrics that you just don’t like and can’t for the life of you figure out why you ever bought them in the first place, but you don’t want to get rid of them because maybe one day they will be perfect for a project. I figured I’d give this one a chance because, hey, it had the right number of colors I was going for.

I wasn’t sure about my choice as I started fussy cutting and I was even less sure when I started sewing.


I think it was right about this point that I knew this fabric was perfect for this project. In the end it felt like fate, destiny …kismet?

As it turns out, I LOVE this block. I’m turning it into a mini wall hanging which is something I never do; that’s how much I love it, lol.

Until next time,

- Sarah

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Linking up with Freshly Pieced's WIP Wednesday!

WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

Linking up with Sew Fresh Quilts Let's Bee Social!

Sew Fresh Quilts

Friday, May 1, 2015

A Friday Finish


So, here's the deal. I've been tediously working away at this Stack N' Whack/One Block Wonder quilt for a few weeks now. Just when I finally get all my hexies put together, I realize that I don't love what's happening here. There's no gorgeous watercolor flow, no amazing psychedelic swirling happening. Sadly, I have to admit that my fabric for this project was crap from the get go.

Rather than admit defeat and condemn this one to the UFO pile, I decided to "make it work" Tim Gunn style.


So I powered through and finished the top. The thing is, I know that there comes a point in every quilt I make where I just don't like it. Maybe you know what I'm talking about, maybe you don't. But there is always that moment when I question myself and wonder what could have possessed me to choose this pattern or that fabric selection, etc. To date, that feeling of "Oh, what have I done?!" has generally been fleeting and I've ended up really loving the things I made, or at least being proud of them. This one though... This one has yet to turn that corner; to go from distaste to a mild liking (I don't dare hope for more than that!) 

If you know me at all, you will know that I always try to find a positive. So, I have to say that I'm very pleased with how beautifully my points came together. That's it, that's all I've got for now. In the meantime I'm going to let this one sit for a while and ruminate on it a bit. Maybe it will be the quilting that pulls it off for me, maybe I'll just sell it or donate it. Anything could happen. 


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Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts Finish it up Fridays! (for the first time!)



Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Testing a Few Patterns

Thanks to my new Instagram addiction, which may require an intervention soon, I got the opportunity to test a new pattern by Diane who blogs at From Blank Pages. The pattern is called Rockstar and it is amazing!
This is actually the second pattern I've tested for her; about a month ago I tested her Star Gazing pattern… and then started writing a blog post about it, and then got distracted and never published it. Oops! More on that later. Here is my little Rockstar block.


I LOVE it! It’s the 6” pattern so it’s pretty small but totally doable. I believe the pattern will also be available in 9”, 12” and 18”. There are a couple different blocks in the pattern and they all mix and match so you really get a lot of design options! Consequently, I have added about six more quilts to my quilty bucket list. Oi!


Okay, seriously, be still me heart. This is how my block looks when repeated. It is so different from any of the design options Diane provides and I’m so happy about that. Not that Diane’s suggestions aren’t gorgeous (they are!) but I really wanted to challenge myself with this one. The last time I tested a block for Diane, the Star Gazing block, I made one of her design suggestions in the exact same color way she used. Here it is. I love this one too!


Like I said though, with the Rockstar block I really wanted to stretch my creativity. I think I pulled it off. :)

Until next time...