Blog ⋆ Page 17 of 26 ⋆

A Boost from a Friend!

Posted on March 9, 2019March 9, 2019 by ihaveanotion — 2 Comments

For I Have A Notion™! from Wanda of ExuberantColor.com. Wanda is a friend both online and in real life, and she is also a quilter. No surprise there I’m sure.

Meet Wanda

You may already know Wanda through her blog ExuberantColor.com, or her Colorwash 360 class and quilts. For the record Wanda blogs daily. Mostly about quilting, but she includes some birds, critters, food, plants, friends, and family are thrown into the mix too. However, most days it is about quilting. What she is working on, how she does it, sometimes her inspiration, and always fabric and color! I drop by nearly every day to see what she is working on.

Wanda of ExuberantColor.com at the opening of her one-woman show at the Ciel Gallery in Charlotte NC — Wanda Hanson at the opening of her one-woman show at the Ciel Gallery in Charlotte NC

Wanda of ExuberantColor.com teaching her Colorwash360 class — Wanda teaching her Colorwash360 class.

Recently, one of us posted a comment to the other, (I can’t remember which one), about the Richard Hemmings #10 Milliners needles and how it is our favorite needle for hand stitching down quilt bindings. I also know some hand stitchers that prefer this needle for ‘needle turn applique’ as well. Anyway, we also continued with a discussion about some other things we like for particular sewing tasks that are more difficult to find.

Wanda mentioned in our conversation, that a couple of items she prefers are difficult to find, and is often asked by her readers where they can be found. Aside from the Milliners Needles, we talked about John James Long Darning Needles and Mettler White thread for basting.

What Makes Them Must Haves?

Wanda likes the John James Long Darning Needles for hand basting her quilts for quilting on the domestic machine. The long darning needles allow for making large stitches with less hand fatigue than with smaller shorter needles. Wand also uses a different stitch for her basting, which helps keep the sandwich from moving while quilting.

Wanda also likes the Mettler White Thread for basting because it breaks easily when pulled. A big benefit, if it was caught in the quilting stitches. Wanda has written several posts on hand basting a quilt; this post, and this post, and several more are listed under ‘Basting’ in the Labels on the right side of the page.

So THANK YOU, Wanda, for the boost and for all the quilters that have visited I Have A Notion from the link on Wanda’s post! If you have not visited Wanda before you are in for a treat at www.ExuberantColor.com

Beth

And Action!

Posted on March 6, 2019March 6, 2019 by ihaveanotion

Lots going on here at I Have a Notion. Not really active action, unless you call being the ‘Set Director, Lighting Director, Set Dresser, Photographer, and lastly and Editor’ action.

Although this isn’t a movie, it is a major undertaking. Lots to learn. All those terms above refer to one person… Mou!

When I set up the new web site and store… I was in a hurry. A big hurry. In addition, the learning curve was daunting. Some of the issues with the old site were causing lots of difficulties. So in haste, some of the product pictures were either too small or over large or just plain bad. So of course, that had to be remedied.

Furthermore, product photography is not as easy as one would like to think. Very different from nature photography, my first photographic love. Landscapes, flowers, animals, and bugs!! (https://www.flickr.com/photos/beth-near_chicago/albums).

The Difficulties…

It is picky and painstakingly slow. It starts with the lighting… Since much of the product packaging is in cellophane or plastic, there are reflections to deal with, and in some cases, the packaging had to be removed. Then, the equipment has to be evaluated, (lens length, filters, and positioning. In contrast, we are pretty good on the equipment front, yay. And then the staging or setting the item up for the shoot. Oh and the number of corrections. Some you see at the time and correct and the ones you find in editing that require a reshoot!!!

Another bit of luck is we have a relatively unused room with great indirect lighting, that has now become the photo studio. So goodbye to the dining room and the table! Of course, the next obstacle was the weather. Dark gray wet clouds do not produce great light. But they did offer a few lessons in lighting naturally. This was pretty quick as time goes.

It is the editing that is mind-numbing. One of the reasons I find that nature is a better subject. It is the imperfections that make nature so viewable. Not so much with product pictures!

The End Result…

Will be worth the investment. So while things have been quiet on the creative fiber front, the behind the scenes ~~creativity~~ needs have been blossoming.

Beth

MIA – Quiltcon, Quilters Day Out and Family

Posted on February 28, 2019February 28, 2019 by ihaveanotion — 2 Comments

Yes I have been Missing in Action… seems to be all or nothing. Since the last post it has been Go Go Go!

Quiltcon

With it being just a couple of hours away, I had to fit it in. Filled up the car, both the gas tank and the seats with some quilty friends and left at 8:30 am… stopped for breakfast on the way and arrived just as it opened on Thursday morning. Since we change from EST to CST we gain an hour going down and lose an hour coming home.

This was our parking space at Quiltcon. So we didn’t have to remember I always take a picture… We saw some awe-inspiring quilts and some ‘huh’ quilts, but I think you see some of that at every show. Visited with some new vendors, very refreshing! Photos of some favorite quilts next post.

Parking space nunber at Quiltcon — Parking Space number

Closer to Home

Friday was setting up a booth at the Louisville, KY Gathering of the Guilds and Quilters Day Out. Louisville has lots of quilt guilds. I think more than any metro area I have ever lived in. Saturday was the DAY and from 9 am until 3 pm, it was fun! And then take it all down and home again.

Quilters Day Out booth space — The booth!

So Sunday was get it all back in place. Nuff said!

Monday on the road again

Monday was off to Indianapolis for a little family. This little one turned 1. Just abot a year ago, found me baby sitting her in a hospital room while mom recovered.

1 Year Old with a Smash Cake — Smash Cake!

At Home Again

And then the rest of the week was picking up all the things let go for the going and going and going! Guild meetings, vet visits, groceries, you know regular mundane things that go with living. I did manage to play with some threads, but can’t show much of that as it is still in the planning stages… but soon I hope.

What has kept you busy?

Beth