Daily Blog

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Time to talk about "stuff". As you can imagine we have been getting a lot of input from you. These issues seem to come up over and over, so here you go:

1. How do I enlarge the image to full screen? Simply right clique the middle of the picture with your mouse and hit zoom in. This will diminish the quality, but some of you with smaller screens like this better than clarity. As Ricky explained in an earlier blog, we have pushed the size to it’s fullest ability – thus the environments.
2. Regarding listening – Many have found it beneficial to use ear phones. On my laptop this works splendidly.
3. Regarding Lighting and Sound – We hear you and we agree. These issues are being addressed. This is why we taped just six shows for the first shot out of the barrel.

We appreciate all the comments and look forward to making YOUR site the best it can be.

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We still get the occasional request to have the video larger. We get comments like, "I think the environments are fun, but I'd reather see a full screen video." Viewing video on the web is really very complex. The larger the image, the more bandwidth that is required. Also because it is streaming on the web, the videos MUST be compressed in order to play effectively. There is a fine balance in order for us to get the best possible mixture of image size and sharpness. If you watch other videos on the web, you'll notice most are smaller than what we are offering - or significantly more 'fuzzy.'

Without being overly technical, we want you to know that we have pushed the envelope to create a video image that is larger than normal. All of this relates to the environments. We built the environments around the video image size. No one would prefer a full screen more than us - but technology does not allow us to do that and provide a smooth playing video with a sharp (by web standards) image. By the way - what we are serving up is designed for both PCs and Macs.

Here are two things you might like to know:

1. Flash, the program used on the video pages that enable you to interact with the remote and accessories - and also delivers the video - has an enlargement feature. For PC - right click to get a zoom option. If your browser allows it (Ricky's Safari does - his Firefox does not)- it will zoom. For Mac folks - Hold "Control" and click on the video and you'll also get a zoom option. If your browser allows it - it will zoom. However, please be aware that by zooming the image is greatly pixelated - or fuzzy.

2. The bottom left tab on the remote control opens to allow you to customize your screen - adding cars, lamps, new wall paper - a different theater - etc. You can create a blank environment by selecting the Living Room and turning off the items by using the pull out tab on the remote control.

Hope this helps you understand a bit more about the limitations of web technology. Also, remember, high quality DVDs of the series wil be available at the end of the year enabling you to watch the episodes in all their glory.

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No, not The Quilt Show (we're moving ahead, steady as she goes) It's YOUR show and it needs to go ON the website for everyone to know about! Look and you'll see that we now have EVENTS in the menu bar. It is the link for you to post all quilt shows, events and activities. Is your guild having a show? Are you affilated with the county or state fair? We encourage you to make sure that your favorite event is listed here.

When you post an event here, World Quilt Community members will be able to find it. Just imagine, you are planning a trip to Florida in March. You select Events or Search in the Menu Bar - select Find An Show/Event and do a search for Shows that will be held in March in Florida. - Wow! You can make plans to attend an event you might not otherwise even known about.

But what if there are shows and you dont' find them on our site? Well, that is because nobody posted it. You can post upcoming events even if they are way out in the future. We hope you'll enjoy and apprecaite this fetaure and that you'll take adavanate of this new feature and get your event or show listed right away.

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All database content on this site is member driven. That means YOU submit it. Every Star Member who is a teacher (on any level) or owns or manages a shop are urged to go to Update My Profile and submit the additional listings. This feature, available to Star Members, is at no extra cost.

Recently we got an email from a member who had searched her state and found no shops. The simple fact is the shops won't be found unless they are submitted. It only takes a minute to update the profile and submit the information and a photo of YOUR shop! In time we hope thousands of shops and teachers will be in the database.

There are only a few shops/teachers currently listed, but you can test the system by selecting SEARCH in the menu bar. Then select Find a Shop. Then put CO in the State field. Hit submit and you'll get a list of Colorado shops that are currently in the system. Click on a shop name and you'll go to the full shop profile and have the opportunity to get directions from Mapquest. - How cool is that!

Each of you should urge your shop owners to join as a Star Member and post their shop. It is the cheapest advertising they will ever get! It's up to you to get the information in the site.

Finally, please remember to upload a photo of yourself in your profile page - it is much more personal than the static male/female icon.

What's Next? List your quilt show/event. - Find a Quilt Show/Event.

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FIND A SHOP FIND A TEACHER

ADDITIONAL PROFILES WILL HELP MEMBERS FIND TEACHERS/SHOPS

We have a two new resources available to Star Members. If you own or manage a quilt shop you can post your shop profile at no extra cost. The same is true for teachers.

If you are a Star Member, Log on and go to Update My Profile. Then select Professional Teacher or Quilt Shop Owner/Manager to enter all the information requested and upload a photo of you or your shop. This information goes to our database and now, when members select Find a Teacher or Find a Shop (locasted under SEARCH in the menu bar), they will be able to find you.

Shops have the added bounus of having a Mapquest link and members can print driving directions right from our site. Each shop can have only one listing and it should be associated with the shop owner or manager's profile page.

All of this content is member driven so if you are a teacher - local, regional, national, or international, or if you own or manage a shop anywhere in the world, we need you to put in your information in order for the World Quilt Community to find you.

If you would like to see how it looks -go to SEARCH in the menu bar, then do a search for screen name RickyTims (no spaces) and look under Additional Listings for this Member. You can also see this example if you choose Find a Teacher and search for teachers in Colorado or Find a Shop and search for shops in Colorado.

We are VERY excited that these features are now available and ask that you take time to participate in creating the world's largest database for finding quilt shops and teachers.

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Did you know Star Members can search? Search for what you ask? Well, right now you can search for Members and Quilts. For example. If you click on Search, you'll see the option to Find a Member. If you click that, you can then put in all sorts of information and submit it for a search. For example, as of this posting, I was able to enter All Members - in Oregon - who condiser themselves Contemporary Quilters - I found 19! I then searched for all Male members living in TX - and found 8!

Why is this an advantage? Suppose you are planning a trip to Sweden and would like to meet a quilter while you are there. You can search for them on the site - click their profile - email them from their profile page - start a email/pen pal relationship and perhaps meet them when you go for your visit. The site is all about connecting us to each other. The information you provide in your profile is what drives the database. Please take a few minutes to update your profile and post your profile pics.

The Find a Quilt works just the same. I just did a search for quilts in Canada that were Totally Original Designs -there were 8 listed! By clicking on the quilt you can read more about it and see a larger image. But you have to post your quilts and enter accurate information in order for our community to find your quilts. If you see a quilt you like, you can email the member directly from the quilt page and tell them how much you admired their work. What a shot in the arm that will be for them just to get a bit of praise when it is least expected.

The search feature just sort things into more managable groups. So - - start seaching.

By the way - we have 12 members from Sweden!

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The first 24 hours of using the forum has been a HUGE success. So much information is being passed around! As you continue to use the Forum, please follow these two simple guidelines.

1. Please don't advertise your business or online business. We don't mind you posting your website or mentioning your business in your profile then directing folks to check out your profile page. I think you'll agree the Forum will feel less commercial if members are more subtle in their approach. If you have photo images posted on a site like WebShots - that's fine, we just ask that you respect the entire community by not 'trolling' for business. Thanks for understanding. All in all, please just use good sense and respect the non-commercial aspect of the Forum, Blog and Chat.

2. Please try to create topics in the category that is most appropriate for them. If there is not a good place, then use the Suggest a New Category area and if enough interest is generated - we'll give it a separate place.

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Hey World Quilt Community Members! Your forum is LIVE! We are considering these first few days a 'test' mode to see if there are any technical issues with it. Web Guru Bob has fully integrated the forum into our site so that it accesses your profile information and enables you to utilize the menu bar to navigate to other features on the website.

If you are not familiar with forums or message boards, just browse around, click on a topic to read posts, add a topic of your own that relates to that main category, and DON'T FORGET TO HIT "SUBMIT". You can type a great post, but if you don't SUBMIT it, it won't post.

There is etiquette for posting. Do not post adverts for your business. The forum is not an appropriate place to do so. It is a place to share ideas, comment on issues, ask questions and get advice from others. Please remember, the advice and comments posted on the forum are not necessarily the views and opinions of The Quilt Show. Additionally, the advice posted can be good advice or 'bad' advice - you'll have to decide for yourself. The Quilt Show is not liable for any 'bad' advice you may receive.

We also ask for now that you don't use Tech Support to learn HOW to use the forum. We need you to contact Tech Support for issues where your forum feature is not working.

ENJOY!

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One: This weekend at Road it came to my attention (thank you) that basic members couldn't post their quilts. Shame on us for not catching that! The good news? Now you can. We, along with the world, want to see your work. Together we will build the world's best online quilt show.

Two: Bugs, bugs, bugs. Bob and Paul have been burning the midnight oil for quite some time getting things all ironed out. It seems that those of us with AOL (as browsers) had a few strikes against us. I don't know the gobbelie gook techie details, but Bob is fairly confident it has all been solved. We apologize for any frustration, but at least the code has been cracked. Thanks Bob!