Dirty Little Secrets & Guilty Pleasures

Internet privacy. It's a modern day concern. People post pictures on social network sites of their chihuahua Bruce in a standoff with the great dane Snooky from next door or crazy Uncle Frank who got drunk at the bar mitzvah and fell in the pool or little Timmy dressed as a Klingon at Halloween. All their friends & family oooh & ahhh. So cute, so funny, so adorable. But, of course, they forget that those pictures are now swirling around in the ethernet. And once you put something into the ethernet you pretty much lose control of it. Oh, one can watermark stuff (whatever the heck that is!) and plaster copyright statements in bold print but that doesn't stop the photo snatchers. I should know. I'm a snatcher. I'm not interested in Bruce or Uncle Frank or little Timmy. What I snatch is pictures of quilts.

Yep, I'm guilty. I have a bulging folder full of pictures I have stolen from the internet. In fact I have several bulging folders. I'm constantly on the prowl for scrap quilt ideas and whenever I see something that floats my boat I hit the "print" button. I make notes on my printed pictures; where I found it, the dimensions, the original designer's name or the book used by the maker. Otherwise I'll forget and if I ever make a quilt like it, I want to give credit where it is due. My pilfered pictures will never be posted by me anywhere. I am never going to start a business using these ideas. I will never reproduce those pictures on tote bags or use them to advertise anything. They are simply my file of inspiration.

Sometimes when I have the urge to start a new project, I'll pull out those folders and while away an entire afternoon dreaming of a house full of all those beautiful quilts. I get all jazzed to start cutting fabric and always have a hard time deciding which one to make first. I usually wind up starting at least 2 new projects.

And while I'm cutting and sewing I "watch" movies on Netflix. Lately I got to thinking that it's a shame I can't read and sew at the same time. Reading is my other favorite thing to do besides quilting. But you really can't read and sew at the same time. Unless someone reads the book TO you while you sew. Then I discovered Audible. They have a free trial offer so like a true sucker for a free offer, I signed up. So far I've listened to 2 books.

Stone's Fall by Iain Pears is a long book. My book club chose it for December & I probably would never have finished it in time for the meeting if I had to actually read it. I had too much sewing still left to do to finish Christmas presents. But since I could listen to someone else reading it I could happily sew to my heart's content. The story was interesting and the writing well done. It has a bit of a twist at the end but I sorta figured it out so it wasn't a huge surprise. Lot's of intrigue and atmosphere made it fun.

The other book was recommended by a friend, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. It is on everyone's book list this year. I don't usually jump on the bandwagon to read the current best seller. I made that mistake with 50 Shades of Grey (bleck!) so I was hesitant to read this one. But I'm glad I did! It was a fun book. The 2 main characters are so yuppy and self centered. They truly deserve each other. You love to hate them. Gone Girl is certainly not high brow literature but entertaining escapism. I made this jacket for my dear Mom while I listened.

Happy Holidays everyone and thanks for all the inspiring quilt photos you have sent out into the ethernet.