I’ve been asked about how to join the Free Pieced Quilting group at Flickr. I posted the instructions some time ago, but I think it’s time for an update for the benefit of everyone who has discovered Tonya’s weblog and instructions for free-pieced letters.

I’ve created a Free Pieced Quilting group photo pool at Flickr so that we can all share our work with each other. In addition to viewing photos, there’s a message board where we can discuss technique, introduce new quilts, and encourage each other.

Flickr is a very user friendly web site, and I’ve posted the instructions below for creating an account and loading your photos. If you have any problems with getting started, submit your questions through the comments section. If you can’t load the photos yourself, I’ll be glad to help you out by loading the photos for you – refer to the second part of the directions for mailing instructions.

OK, first a few (very few rules):
1. Please post only completed tops and quilts to the pool. You are encouraged to load informative progress photos to your personal photo set. That way, if someone clicks on your top in the photo pool, they can view the rest of your photos and see how you did it.
2. Please use the tags “free pieced quilting” and “lazygal“on the photos you submit to the pool. This helps people to find our quilts when they search. (Tags are explained in the directions below.)
3. Kindness matters. It takes a lot of courage to put a personal creation on display for the world to see. Therefore, the tone of the message boards is expected to be encouraging and supportive to quilters of all skill levels. Unless a quilter specifically asks for a critical evaluation of the top, keep negative comments and opinions to yourself.

Join Flickr:

1. Go to Flickr.com and click on the “Sign Up!” button.
2. You will be prompted to create a Yahoo ID. If you already have a Yahoo ID, you can use that.
3. Once you have signed in with your Yahoo ID, you will be taken to Flickr.

Join A Flickr Group:
1. Select “Groups” from the tab bar at the top of the screen.
2. Enter “free pieced letters” in the search box and press the “search” button
3. Our group, “Free Pieced Quilting” should come up as the top result. Select that group.
4. The group photo pool will come up.
5. Scroll down the page. On the right hand side you will see a text hyperlink, “Join This Group?” Select that, and you will be taken to a confirmation page to join the group.

SHORTCUT: Enter this url into your web browser: http://www.flickr.com/groups/lazygal/ and you will go directly to our group.

1. Upload Your Photos:
2. Look at the tab bar at the top of your screen. Notice that there is a grey down arrow next to the word “You.” Press it and a drop down menu will appear.
3. From the drop-down menu, select “upload photos”
4. From the upload page, select the “browse” button. This will bring up a screen for you to select the file you want to upload from your computer. Click on the file name and it will automatically be entered into the upload form
5. Once you’re done selecting photos, scroll down and look for the box that asks you to enter tags for the images.
6. Enter the following tag: lazygal.
7. Make sure your privacy setting is set to “public”
8. Press the “upload” button.
9. You will be taken to a new page where you can edit the title, description, and tags for each photo. Additional tags might include: free pieced quilting, challenge, quilt, etc.
10. Once you’re done, select “Save”

Note: For new accounts, it may take a few hours before your photos appear in public. Flickr reviews new accounts for inappropriate content. Be sure to enter at least five pictures to your personal photo set so that the Flickr staff can view your account and approve it.

Submit your photos to the pool:
1. From the tab bar at the top of your screen, select “You.” Your photos will appear at the top.
2. Click on a photo you want to submit to the pool. The photo will come up individually.
3. Look at the list of icons across the top of your photo. Click on “Send to Group.” A drop down menu will come up that lists the groups you belong to. Select “Free Pieced Quilting.” You will be asked to confirm. Select “yes” and you’re done!

I want Kim to submit my photos for me! To submit your photos to me to be posted on Flickr, please send your image to me here. I’ll do my best to get them posted within a day or two.

To create a Flickr badge like the one in my sidebar: go here and follow the simple instructions. **UPDATE: For some reason, the Flash version of the badge interferes with the ability to bring up comments on Blogger. If you experience this difficulty with your own blog, try the HTML version, which is what I now have displayed in my sidebar.