Keeping your Computer Healthy....

now why on earth is she sending us this? I hear you ask. 
Well, simple really, I got a distressed phone call last night from one of our group who thought she "had been scammed".


Scamming and Viruses are part of what we are exposed to on the net, same as 'snail mail', we get junk mail in our post box, and SPAM in our inbox which may or may not contain a virus.

I well remember the worry of my very first virus.............watching the pic on my computer screen decay into oblivion before my eyes. (Not unlike an old masters painting of rotting fruit really - wonder if a virus still has the same visual effect?? -  sorry I digress)

Anyway, in the interests of keeping us all online and happy, I thought I would pass on some info that I have come across in the years that I have been fooling around on the net.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not professing to be an expert, to have all the answers or anything even remotely like that..........these are just some of my own experiences, and most of you will have had the same experiences, this post if for those of us who haven't or who worry about breaking their computer. 


Some of us have received the type of mail referred to above,  or at least heard of it......basically it goes something like this......
friend/relation is overseas, lost everything and is in dire straights and needs you to send money NOW.....

The wording in these e-mails is a bit of a dead give away........obviously written by someone who has the right words but the syntax is all wrong! 

As with any request in life, you get your facts straight before you re-act, make sure the rellie really is travelling, and scrutinise the e-mail carefully, quite often there is a giveaway, such as in the one below

 The To: section, my e-mail addy is not contained in there........this e-mail probably went to every yahoo account holder in cyberspace, and don't you just love the beady little 'eyes' just before the 'Good day'<g>


These are the ones that promise you 40% (always 40%....go figure) of some millions that need to be transferred to your account - from Africa it is the long lost rellie who died intestate....Russia, the oil tycoon who has been arrested for political reasons, poor innocent boy he, and you must help out such a poor soul.  Just send your bank details and you will instantly be rich, rich, rich.


And before you think that no one in their right mind would be silly enough to respond...........know that it happens, so many of these types of e-mails go out and less than 1% of e-mails received are replied to........yes, actually replied to and bank details given, enough replies to make it financially well worth while for the scammer.Which is why we get so many of them.......check out your SPAM box, bet its full of them!

There is also a lot of fear about e-mails containing viruses, e-mails cannot contain a virus, they are made of words only, o.k., sometimes the words can worry.........
However, a virus is actually a computer program and can be attached to an e-mail, but it has to be downloaded to infect your computer, and only you can do that. 
The attachment will look something like this in your e-mail inbox,the paperclip icon is the attachment that may or may not contain a virus.

 or if you have opened the e-mail, the attachment will show on the body of the e-mail, again the paperclip!

Just delete the e-mail, don't click on the attachment unless you trust the sender.
Of course, all attachments are not viruses, we all use them every day, your newsletter comes to you as an attachment.

Another trick is the hi-jacking of actual e-mail addresses, imagine my surprise when I got an e-mail from myself promising me Viagra at wholesale prices!!!!.  Yes, I have several e-mail addresses.

When you open these e-mails, you confirm that the address is active, which opens the address up to lots of SPAM, now SPAM is not necessarily a bad thing, it's just junk mail after all, you just need to be careful and if you get an offensive e-mail from someone you know, don't tear into them, find out first if they did actually send you the offensive e-mail, remember the Viagra?!

I was also witness to one poor unfortunate lass who was a member of an online quilting group, she was being flamed for sending inappropriate e-mails, she was innocent of any wrongdoing and the flamer then had the embarrasement of having to publicly appologise.

Then there is the dud internet site, when you click on the site link, up pops a rather alarming notice claiming that you have Malware, a worm or virus, all words aimed at scaring the pants off you and making you panic. I got this sign on a google search, and while taking the time to grab the camera to take a pic,

it morphed into this, that green 'download' bar was travelling at a great rate of knots I can tell you!, again designed to scare and startle. 

 Although this looks very much like the page you visit to see the disc drives and hardware on your computer it is actually just a video animation, but it has some alarming claims on it the red 'Your Computer is Infected!'  the Risk Levels of 'Critical', again in red and at the bottom of the screen the 'Security' box.with all its tricks.

From the 'Turn off messages about virus protection', what a good idea that would be, NOT!, onto what the whole scam is about,  that little box on the bottom right, looking so comfortingly familiar outlined in blue, 'Find a program online', click on that and the virus is IN.


 I shut the site down, but not the computer, so up pops this little beauty, 'Your computer remains infected by viruses....etc, Return to System Security and download it to secure to your PC'.  Well of course if you click that little blue 'OK box', you're a done dinner.....

Get good security on your computer and trust it.....never panic.....never follow links thrown up on your screen.
To get rid of this pest I had to re-boot.......only takes seconds but....

Now, enough of this cr...er....stuff, go, the internet awaits, I really do need to find that quilt pattern! and if you have read to the end, I hope there has been some comfort in there for you.  

Grandsons Birthday Quilt.....

and lots of other lovelies, but first this wonderful quilt Ailsa has made for her Grandson's upcoming Birthday

Black silhouettes on backgrounds with pieced blocks in between makes for a stunning quilt.
Ailsa is also wearing a vest she created in a class some time back.  Lots of lovely 3-D applique, front and back,  makes this vest another stunner.

 Closer views of some of the vehicles, lots of debate as to which one will be the Grandie's  fav. Collectible or maybe the Ferrari?

Winnifred, shyly hiding behind her W.I.P.,  is working on a small version of 'tumbling blocks' that she is hand piecing, hand quilting and then will be turning the finished panel into a cushion.

And yes! neatness does count! tiny neat stitches and quilting.

Fran is also up to her ears, figuratively speaking in W.I.P.'s, she is working on 4, yes 4 of these lovelies, ribbon embroidered hearts, one of which will be turned into a needle case for a lucky family member, the other 3 are to be framed.

Each heart shape is formed with a different selection of embroidered flowers with an appropriate colour scheme, Fran is showing the lovely soft pink roses.

Beryl bought along a quilt that she did awhile back in a class with Jan T. Urquhart, using Jan's own invention, a fast piecing system that also teaches colour value, that she has named 'Listen With Your Eyes'.

Jan has a wealth of information on her web site and blog, including Free Quilting Lessons and Free EQ7 lessons as well as info.  Pop over here to visit with Jan.
Beryl choose an all over quilting design of four leaf clovers and swirls.

Wendy has finished her 30's fabric quilt that she started on our recent retreat (It's still recent, isn't it? less than 6 months ago!)  "All those little squares" she told us, all to be cut and then stitched back together!

When Beryl was packing up, this wonderful carrier was spied, one of the first things she made at the beginning of her quilting journey, The tutor advised against quilting the bag, something that Beryl now regrets, nevertheless it is a stunning carrier.

lots of lovely blocks showcasing not only patchwork techniques, but some lovely stitching as well.

There are sunflowers appliqued onto both ends of the bag.

Arvo Tea was wonderful as usual with an assortment of sangers, a mud cake and two lovely tea cakes, snaffled a slice of the apple one - bottom right, lovely and moist and subtly spiced.  Yummo

Words for today...........Delicious and Exciting

......they cover it all!
There was a wonderful blue and white quilt hanging up on display, I did a double take........surely I had seen this quilt before???? in a book even already????

 Yes! we have been given a pre-owned Lee Cleland quilt!, circa 1992,  one that is pictured in her excellent book 'Quilting Makes the Quilt', it is Number 5 of the Single Wedding Ring design on Page 90, and as much as I have drooled over the wonderful quilting that Lee has done in her book, I gotta tell you girls, the quilt is on another plane altogether, it was such a thrill to actually be up close and touch such a wonderful quilt........oh and the Delicious bit about this quilt....(as if there wasn't enough already....) we have to make a decision on what to do with it!, Raffle it?, in house?, at the quilt show next year?, auction it? the only criteria we all agree on is that it has to go to a quilt lovers home.  A decision will be made, I'll let you know what the group decides to do.

Val presented another wonderful tessellation quilt workshop from the book of Tessellation Quilts by Christine Porter, another great book full in inspiring and wonderful quilts. Val had two examples to inspire us at last weeks meeting, one of which is the cute gold, purple and pink number in the pic below.

There were moments of intense concentration, lots of laughter, and the odd 'how the heck did I do that'??!!

 Looking forward to seeing some lovely finished quilts in the near future.........and the lassie with the mistake, well, the piccie has been compared to the book, not seeing any mistake.  You're just gonna have to fess up and kill the curiosity!

Sue made another bag for us, for our upcoming workshop,  this time showing a geometric pattern fabric, very Bollywood in colours - lush.  No background spaces needed with this fabric as is in the botanical fabric on the left.  Lots of choices for this wonderful bag workshop.

After a wonderful trip overseas, Lyn is back home with us.  Sheila presented her with her 3rd Prize Certificate and goodies bag for her winning entry in the Lyn Ballinger Challenge.
It didn't come as a surprise to Lyn, she spotted that she was a winner while in her Instanbul Hotel, catching up on e-mails and group news via the Blog.
And yes, just had to use such a wonderful quilt as backdrop.  

Sue needed to created a cushion for a friend, friend's colour choice and out of Sue's comfort zone.  Sue came up with this wonderful creation, vibrant, and fresh.

A closer view of some of the appliqued fabrics Sue has used.

Now more of the 'Delicious'.   Arvo Tea was just to to delicious, there was a chocolate mud cake and Catti had made us a Linzer Torte!, such warm spices flavouring the pastry and also the cutest little Palmiers.  Major Yummo folks............(hanging head in piggy embarrassment)....I ate 5...yep 5 of those palmiers and a slice of Linzer Torte.  The Darling wanted to know what was for dinner, Dinner??? had mine mate!  (Not to worry, fed him and he is happy   ;o)

Bon Voyage and Farewell

 Groups are fluid, members join and members move on, for a myriad of reasons, sometimes the group members keep the ties, sometimes not, but quilters seem to be more inclined to keep the ties, and although it is with some sadness we say 'Bon Voyage' as well as 'Goodbye Friend' to Lorraine H, we feel sure that Lorraine will keep in touch with her Buderim Patchwork friends with the odd piccie of her trip, especially if the hunt for a special Antique quilt is a success, and her new life in Tassie.
Lorraine is off on a wonderful trip to the US but on her return to dear old Oz, will be settling down in our southern state of Tassie (Tasmania).
I would like to thank Lorraine in her role as Thursday Night Group leader for her reports on the Thursday night gals achievements, and of course the great piccies.  Hopefully another lovely lady will step forward to continue this vital part of sharing our group's news.

As it was Lorraine's last night with the Thursday night group, Marleens's daughter Maureen, made a special trip to Buderim to bring along her completed Row x Row Challenge quilt from last year. 

 Marueen chose a 'William Morris' theme for her quilt, and all the girls were delighted to see all their individual contributions to the quilt now that it has come together so well.  The quilt was custom quilted by Fiona, and it really looks beautiful with lots of fussy cut applique.

Maureen also brought along her latest quilt which contained several horse theme panels and interesting log cabin construction. 

The quilt is for Marueen's 15year old daughter who absolutely adores horses.  This lucky young girl has already received several horse themed quilts from her talented mother over the years.  Fiona also did the quilting on this quilt for Maureen.

For Lorraine's last night, the girls all brought along lots of yummy cakes and slices, and Janice's mother made Lorraine's favourite - a 'Wobbly Cake' which was delicious.  Debbie presented Lorraine with a farewell gift and chocolates, and everyone had a great time demolishing the supper.

More to the story.....

Remember this quilt??

of course you do, 'Roses and Magnolias' is in yesterdays post, but there is more to this quilts story, lots more,  Lorraine I continues Lorraine H's story.

Lorraine H. is taking 'Roses' to Arizona to give to her friend as a gift, she is a quilter who likes bright quilts.

Lorraine and her friend will be celebrating Lorraine's 60th birthday and 50 years of being penpals.  The quilt will travel in a suitcase so there will be a nice big space left to come home - hopefully filled with an antique quilt Lorraine is hoping to find in her travels.

News from our groups...

...bit of a catch up for the Buderim Patchwork Group, with two Lorraine's giving us the low down on what the girls have been up to.  Firstly, from last Thursday, some words about the Thursday night group from Lorraine H.

Thursday night this week was a hive of activity with 4 large quilts all being pinned ready for quilting.  

Our newest member, Ivanka, bought along her gorgeous applique quilt and her the whole group are admiring her beautiful hand stitched work and lovely soft colours.

Many hands make light work, and with lots of help, we all managed to get four large sized quilts pinned ready for quilting. This pic is shows three of these - Ivanka's applique, Marleen's black and white scraps, and Lorraine H.'s latest - Roses and Magnolias which is destined for USA next week!

Thank you for the lovely pics and your words Lorraine, your beautiful quilt will surely be greatly admired when it reaches it's destination. - Andrea

Lorraine I,very kindly took these great piccies with her phone!.....are you old enough to remember when a mobile phone looked like and weighed about the same as a house brick??....and now you can take a pic, a video, and surf the net with a tiny little thing you can hold in your palm! - Forget about Dick Tracy and his wrist phone, we have gone way way beyond that!

From Lorraine I, ....

It was a small group today. Maybe the wet weather kept people away, although we really need the rain.

The Queensland Quilters raffle tickets of a quilt designed by Jennifer Chivarini (Elm Creek Quilters fame) were snapped up very quickly.

Sue Andrew was seen to be busy searching through books looking for some scrap quilts.  Is she trying to empty out her stash or just researching for a workshop she has promised to run?

Janice brought in the bag she will be showing in the workshop in a couple of weeks.  Not quite finished but it sure looks good.

Lorraine Hunter showed us the quilt 'Roses and Magnolias' made with a new fabric range from Moda.  It is a very American style quilt but that will be fine as it will be off to America next week.

Catti has made a gorgeous baby quilt with farm animals embroidered on it.  A bit of trouble reading the labels until Catti told us the animals were labelled with their Latin names.  Catti doesn't have anyone to give this quilt to yet but is hoping for a grandchild in the future.  Hoping for an early start in botany maybe?

A couple of close ups of Caitti's quilt for you.  Cropped from the pic above, the phone did a great job of capturing the detail of those ever so cute little animals.

Thanks for the pics and words Lorraine - Andrea

Shepherding.....its in the Genes

Just chatting to Lorraine, about animals...dogs in particular and she mentioned about her 'little' boy Max and his penchant of herding everything, including the chooks and more recently these cute newly hatched Guinea Fowl.
Lorraine promised me some piccies and they are so cute I thought you might enjoy them too....

Max spent hours just laying by the cage, protecting he new hatchlings, you can imagine the excitement when Lorraine and her Darling moved the cage!

Staring 'em down, I am the Boss!

And what am I up to?, quilting the blob?, borders on the Disappearing 4-Patch? Housework??yetch!
Nope, I am working up a tutorial to make these cute folding shopping bags with a pretty wrap to disguise them.....courtesy of Fran and Marcia.......that is, Marcia bought one for Fran.....Back to the drawing board...

Tinsies in our quilting world..........

Yep,they've gone and shrunk the hexies..........take a look at these little darlings

That coin in the top piccie....with the fussy cut hexie resting on it, thats our 5cent coin, measures about 7/8" diameter, or 2cm if you are in the metric world.  The bottom pic shows the pattern and a finished flower, and who I hear you ask is making these tiny little blocks....well Julie is, as relaxation!  Mind you she is going through all the stress of building a new home at the moment, so maybe tinsy hexies are a relaxation.

Took the piccies and feeling a little gobsmacked showed them to the girls at the table where I sit, we were all gobsmacked! and then Marcia decided to share a 'little something' that she has been making, tinsy tinsy Suffolk Puffs.....

Aren't they darling?  The Coin is our $1 coin, 1" diameter, or close to 2.5cm, its also what Marcia is using for a template!
Anyone out there ever made anything smaller than either of these??!  I'm speechless....sort of....

Gwen is teaching a series of hand piecing classes.  We are learning the basics from the beginning of creating templates, hand piecing the block and eventually, hand quilting, all very exciting and wonderful.  Marcia, Catti and Christine have finished their first blocks.

More template creating with concentration, curved piecing was today's lesson.

Sue has assembled her Friendship Row x Row and bought it along to show, lots of lovely Japanese fabrics

 There is a row of 3-D folded Kimonos, 3-D folded flowers and what quilt with a Japanese them is complete without fans?

 Marie made this deliciously soft little quilt to donate to Project Linus, made from pale pink Minkee with applique hearts and a soft flannel backing, soft and pretty, just right for a little princess needing comfort.

 Val will be teaching another Tessellation workshop on 18th August, this time using strip piecing, and bought in two flimseys to give inspiration. The body of these quilts is a two colour design.

 Julie has been working on the stitcheries and this quilt for a little while now, she has made it to hang in her sewing room of her new home.  Probably right next to those tinsy hexagons she is currently working on.

Some of the beautiful blocks in Julies quilt, 'Dragonflies and Daisies'.  Julie has used some lovely brooches/pins as well as beads, notions and buttons in these lovely blocks, don't forget to click on the pic for a larger view.

Arvo Tea was a wonderful selection of cakes, slice and a lovely assortment of finger sandwiches, Yummo.