Google Removes Another Important Page

Google has removed "Tutorials and Tips" from the section of important articles at the top of Blog.  I updated it with a new tutorial I found for textured hair, which triggers the "removed for Community Guideline violations" message.  No idea why this happens, but I suspect that Ai does the vetting now and it doesn't like old articles being updated with new information.  How to create hair using Tent Stitches on a Stick isn't violating any of the rules!  

Please be patient.  I've appealed the removal.  Normally it takes anywhere from 2 hours to a day for something to be restored but this is a holiday weekend.  Eventually it should return and you can learn how to do another hair style with your threads and canvas.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright May 26, 2025 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Covering a Painted Canvas Entirely With Squares

Since Google has decided to remove this article for "violating community guidelines" after I added Mary Legallet's information to it, all I can do is attempt to rewrite it.  Sorry for the inconvenience.  I will continue to protest Google's decision but if they don't answer me, this is the best I can do.  If you have any idea why this would violate any rules, let me know.  

UPDATE:  Google has allowed this posting but not the (identical) posting in the tab.  ????

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Bobbi Sher's "Orcas,"  printed design by Sandra Greba

The first person I saw do this technique is Brenda Hart.  A very creative stitcher, Brenda probably invented this technique before 2000.  (It is possible that dede Odgen used this technique early on as well but I don't know who was the first.  It could have been either of these inventive stitchers or it could have been they decided to do this simultaneously.) 
http://www.notyourgrandmothersneedlepoint.com/2012/02/too-much-detail.html

You can find the stitch diagrammed as "Squares and Rectangles" in various sizes in Brenda's Stitches for the Millennium, pages 69-70.  

UPDATE:  Mary Legallet has diagrammed a version of Brenda's stitch on her blog.  She does a straight stitch between boxes.

https://www.whimsicalstitch.com/whimsicalwednesdays/2024/07/31

Ruth Schmuff's posting about the technique on her blog includes a stitch diagram but you will have to adjust the size of the boxes to fit in your design.  You should not compensate at the edges.  You can find this stitch diagramed as "Squares-in-Square" in Ruth's iStitches Vol. 3.  "Four Way Hungarian" in Ruth's iStitches Vol. 4 is a much simpler version.
https://bedeckedandbeadazzled.com/2016/10/bunny-bunny-bunny-2/

You will need a canvas with a lot of detail and a thin thread.  I believe Brenda Hart used gold Madeira  or Lacquered Jewels, but Ruth Schmuff has used Accentuate.  Other folks double the Accentuate to use two strands or go with size 4 Kreinik very fine braid.  You could also use a ply of silk but I don't think the look would be as interesting with a matte thread.  Bijoux might create a more muted sparkle.  In the portrait of her dogs below, Liz used four colors of Accentuate, each doubled in the needle.

Liz Watson's custom dog portrait from Nimble Needle, Atlanta

And of course any stitch will work in this technique, but the regularity of the boxes appeals to a lot of people.  It also looks great used on a set of canvases!   Amy Bunger shows off three Leigh Designs tropical fish done in this technique at the bottom of page 18 of her October/November 2017 shop newsletter. 
http://www.amysgoldenstrand.com/uploads/7/2/3/6/72364657/1017.pdf

Courtesy of The Needlepaint Nook

The Needlepaint Nook in Merrick, NY has a customer who did this airplane portrait all in one strand and color of Splendor.
https://www.facebook.com/TheNeedlepaintNook/photos/a.470083973113570.1073741835.371945012927467/1374103826044909/?type=3&theater

Many thanks to Linda and Bobbi and Liz for allowing me to post photographs of their designs using this technique!

You don't have to use the square within a square stitch.  Many others work just as well.  Proof courtesy of Ruth Schmuff of Bedecked and Beadazzled!
https://bedeckedandbeadazzled.com/2018/05/its-all-in-the-interpretation/

Amy Bunger takes this technique further just like Ruth did when she used an all-over leaf stitch for a giraffe canvas.  You can see the diagram here.   You don't have to stick to boxes for an all over stitch, in other words!  Do what Amy did and choose a stitch than refers to the subject matter of the design.
http://www.amysgoldenstrand.com/uploads/7/2/3/6/72364657/0818.pdf

Amy Bunger followed up on her August 2018 newsletter (above) with a more in-depth exploration of using one stitch to completely cover a canvas.
http://www.amysgoldenstrand.com/uploads/7/2/3/6/72364657/1018.pdf

Ruth Schmuff of Bedecked and Beadazzled worked a Kimberly Santini canvas of a little hamster trying on a crown.  Ruth used several open stitches on the canvas, each perfectly suited to their area.  It's a master class on using more than one open stitch on a design to enhance the original artist's intent.  Although this is more than one stitch, it's a good lesson on what is possible.
https://bedeckedandbeadazzled.com/2018/08/the-hamster-has-her-tiara/

Sandra worked this design with the squares turned to make a diamond and put a Smyrna Cross in the center.  Worked in size 4 Kreinik braids.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/NeedlepointNation/permalink/2213284882081991/

Nimble Needle shows off some Judaic canvases that look good covered in a patterned stitch and some blackwork books to help you choose the right pattern.
https://nimbleneedlenj.com/love-it-but-too-much-for-my-current-stress-level/

Sometimes the border needs to be done differently.  Linda handled it beautifully.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3615445115138896&set=gm.2909549872455485&type=3&theater&ifg=1

Barbara had a series of three Melissa Shirley designs covered in a blackwork pattern.  It looks fabulous.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/NeedlepointNation/permalink/3309625155781286/?comment_id=3312574878819647&reply_comment_id=3319092214834580

Mary of Whimsical Stitch used this star pattern on a leopard canvas, changing colors in the Soie d'Alger and Petite Silk Lame Braid picked to stitch it.

https://www.whimsicalstitch.com/whimsicalwednesdays/2022/06/01

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright August 2, 2024 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Google Strikes Again (AND AGAIN AND AGAIN)

Yesterday morning I added a link to Mary Legallet's latest blog article to my summary article on how to cover a painted canvas entirely in one stitch.  Here's the link-

https://www.whimsicalstitch.com/whimsicalwednesdays/2024/07/31

In response, Google removed the article entirely, claiming it violated their policy.  Mary, have you been a very bad girl? 

Seriously, this is beginning to be a serious problem.  Google doesn't like educational articles with a lot of links and information, which is really what Blog is all about--educating needlepointers with information and links to articles that cover the issues needlepointers want to learn about.  

I have, as usual, protested this removal.  So far, I haven't gotten a response so if you click on "Covering a Painted Canvas Entirely With Squares," you'll get a notice that this article doesn't exist.  

Sorry, but Google is a huge bureaucracy, with odd rules and no accountability.  All I can do is try repost the article as a regular one and see if that works.  UPDATE: I tried that and Google removed the reposting a second time for "violating community guidelines."  ?????

I am protesting this.  Again.  

UPDATE:  I have deleted the original Cover a Canvas Entirely in Squares and added it as a new tab.  It was immediately removed.  I have protested that.  Again.  Sigh.

UPDATE #2:  Finally Google has decided that there's nothing that violates their community guidelines and allowed the new version of the Covering a Painted Canvas Entirely With Squares to go live.  I think the problem was the link to ask Google to review such a determination didn't work when I tried it originally.  In that case, copying the offending article, deleting the original, and reposting it again in an identical form was the only way to make the review happen.  It took nearly three days, mind.  I am still annoyed!

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright August 2, 2024 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Warning

For the fifth time this year, Blog has gotten a message from Google, the owner of this free blogging platform, that two of my postings has been flagged for review by Google for violating their Community Guidelines.  In these instances, Google removes the posting.  So if you click on a tab at the top of Blog or the CH Stitch Guides blog and there is nothing there, that's one of the flagged postings.

The two removals this morning were both for malware or viruses in some of the links.  Since there is no way I can check thousands of reference links for issues, all I can do is appeal the removal.  This morning the Monthly Clubs and the list of Stitch Guide Writers' contact information were removed.  Since I found the issue and appealed both removals, both articles have been restored.  

Since this is happening so frequently, I assume Google is now scanning blogs looking for malware or viruses or a troll is flagging my blogs to cause trouble.  All the postings that have been involved have been reference ones at the top of the two needlepoint blogs I maintain.  After I appeal the ruling, they have been restored which makes me think a troll is trying to cause issues.  Still, you should maintain anti-virus and anti-malware software on your devices as there could still be a problem lurking that I cannot detect.  

So far, all the flagged articles have been restored after I appeal, but I can see a time coming when Google will make it impossible for me to continue to maintain reference articles with links to many websites, videos and tutorials.  Stay tuned.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright June 16, 2023 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

RSS Reader Alert

Mary Corbet speaks for all bloggers whose readership keeps up with the news via RSS readers.
http://www.needlenthread.com/2013/05/needle-n-thread-technical-stuff-rss-readers.html

If the term "RSS reader" means absolutely nothing to you, then you can skip the article, but just so you know,  an RSS reader is a website that lists all the sites you follow in one place so you can log in there and read everything that's been updated.  Google has a site called Google Reader that a lot of people use but that Google (for their own mysterious reasons) has decided to remove Google Reader starting July 1st so folks are looking for alternatives.

Like Mary, I have switched from Google Reader to Feedly.  I've heard good things about Bloglovin but  I like Feedly better.  It seems more natural for me to navigate.  Like everything else, one size does not fit all, so use Mary's article to find a replacement that suits you.

I don't think the list of blogs I maintain at the bottom of this page will be effected as I was careful not to import my Google Reader feeds to create it.  I built it by hand, adding each link manually.  But not all blog lists were done this way so you may find your favorite blog's list of favorites impacted by Google's decision.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
@ Copyright 2013 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Google Bans Stitching Bloggers

Last July 15th I got an email from Google stating I've been banned from using their AdSense advertising program.   The email went on to state they had "detected invalid activity on your site" and my account had been disabled.  The reasons you can be banned are stated in the link below.   The reason Google tossed me appears to be in the first group, which is about manipulating advertising to gain additional revenue.
http://support.google.com/adsense/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=2660562

Google says they won't tell you why your account has been suspended as that reveals how they monitor their advertising program.  I have not committed any of these violations but of course someone could be constantly clicking on the ads that appear on Blog, driving up the revenue and causing me to be banned.  You can appeal but not knowing why you were banned really limits what you can say, and Google turned my appeal down.  But I are banned from ever using AdSense again.

I'm not the only one  I just got an email from Stephanie saying she'd just been banned.  Stephanie is a new blogger but her site is very popular, driven by her happy personality and the fabulous stitching she and her SWAN group do.  If you are not familiar with Stephanie the Master Criminal, you can visit her blog here.
http://stephsstitching.blogspot.com

Stephanie thought she might be banned because she was close to a payment from Google.  She did some research and found many complaints from people who said they had done nothing but were banned very close to a payment time.  Google only pays advertising money once you have earned $100, so you are only paid periodically.  That didn't happen to me.  I can't access my AdSense account to check but I believe I've been a member of the program for five years and earned roughly $430 over that time.  It's not a big money proposition for sites like Blog.  Still, it hurts to be called out for something you didn't do.

Before I heard from Stephanie I wondered if my new tabs that list Trunk Shows/Sales and Monthly Clubs the stitching shops run was the direct cause of my being banned.  After all, that is a sort of advertising that competes with the places that are paying Google to display their ads.  It also means Google is watching us bloggers a lot more closely than I realized, which is rather chilling.  That can't be the reason Stephanie was banned.  I don't believe she's ever mentioned sales except in passing to say she picked up this or that during a sale or trunk show.  The other alternative is even more chilling--some vicious person is visiting NP blogs and clicking mindlessly on ads to cause us to be banned.

To figure out what's going on Stephanie and I need data.  If you have a stitching blog and you've been banned from Google's AdSense program, I'd like to know.  The rough date this happened (Stephanie and I were banned about two weeks apart), the reason Google gave (either "Invalid Activity" or "Policy Reasons") and whether you were close to a payout date are all things we'd like to know. I'd also like the URL to your blog. If there is a pattern of popular stitching blogs being shut out of Google's program, I want to tell Google about this.  That means there is someone exercising deliberate malice and Google might be able to detect a pattern and protect further abuse of needlepoint bloggers.

Either leave a comment here or leave a comment with Stephanie's blog or email me directly at chilly hollow at hotmail.com.   Thanks!

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