Slide Show Poll

The poll about which slide show Blog readers prefer ended yesterday morning.  Eighteen people (thirty-three percent) prefer the fancy graphics of Smilebox's embedded slide show while thirty-six folks (sixty-six percent) prefer the clickable URL of Picasa's slide show software.

However, there are serious problems with both type of slide show.  The pretty graphics are very very slow loading and also cut off the top and bottom of my photos. Quite a few people were never able to access the clickable URL.  (I wonder if that's because they don't have some type of Google account but I don't know.)  The clickable URL shows off canvases in such detail that they could be copied, which worries some Blog readers.

In other words, neither option is great.  Why look for a slide show, then?  Why not post all the photos one by one in a blog article?  The reason I don't do that is because Blogger allows me to have 1024 MB of photos here.  I have used 51 percent of my allotted space in the five years Blog has been using Blogger.  Slide shows are a way of conserving space since they are hosted elsewhere.  I delete all the Canvas of the Day photos each week and also delete the thumbnail photos used in the header and in the right hand column when I change them.  I also use smaller photos of some blog entry photos when the larger size doesn't matter because it won't show much more detail than the smaller size.  I want to postpone deleting images from articles as long as possible.

I think the clickable URL slideshows are exceedingly dull and I don't like the fact that I had to download and install Smilebox's software which then opened a window every time I imported photos to my computer, asking if I wanted to create a slideshow from them.  This doesn't matter to Blog viewers, but it is important to folks who are also thinking about what slide show they want for their blog. So I'll keep looking.

If you know about any slideshows that work well for almost every computer user, that are free, and that play nice with Blogger, please let me know.


Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

Taking Up the Challenge

Interested in a painted canvas challenge? Ruth's got one about to start.  Of course the canvas is from a line she distributes but it is still very interesting to see what folks do with the canvas/stitches/threads that are specified.
http://www.notyourgrandmothersneedlepoint.com/2012/02/we-challenge-you-to-step-outside-and-be.html


Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

Long and Short Plunging

If you do any needle painting (which is basically using long and short stitches to create realistic plants and animals) you have to figure out whether to plunge your needle down into the previous row of threads OR bring your needle up from the back through the previous row of threads.  I know folks like Tony Minieri tell students to come up from the back, but why is that better?  Is it better?  It is things like this that keep me awake at night.  (Hey, it's better than worrying about ill health, roof leaks, the mortgage or any of a zillion other worries we adults have on our plates, right?)

Mary Corbet decided to explore the question and has come up with the answer--It Depends!  To see what she discovered and figure out what is best for your project, visit her site.
http://www.needlenthread.com/2012/02/split-stitch-direction.html




Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com