Wednesday’s Word

The Daily Press’s weekly word challenge is: Beneath your feet.

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Well, under B’s feet, actually.  Imagine the years of monks stepping over these stones from Bolton Abbey.

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I, on the other hand, carried the camera equipment over the bridge.  Would you have removed the sign from this picture?  I like the pop of color, but it is rather incongruous.

I am so into walkways, it is hard to pick one spot under my feet.  Here I am in Sodermalm.  This is the island where much of Steig Larsson‘s Millenium Series took place.

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And…

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Happy feet!

P.S. Does the use of so many links indicate I’m in a lazy mood?

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Millie Monday

Millie is wearing this today: IMG_2453   It’s a BUSY, bright, traditional and kind of crazy DBYB quilt.  I’ll be getting this onto Millie and quilting it.  I’m using the plain red for the backing.  Thread color choice is up in the air at the moment.  If you click on the photograph, you’ll be able to see the subject fabric better, or see it in my prior post.

Happy quilting.

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Wednesday’s Word

Wednesday’s word is inspiration.  As inspiration can come from so many different places, I concentrated on what I was doing today.  My Don’t Bore Your Baby quilts start with the character fabric so I guess my inspiration often comes from that.   It is difficult for me to find fabric that I always love because I have requirements that the fabric industry does not produce that often.  The jury is out as to whether I like this character fabric or not.  Nonetheless, it is or must be my inspiration.

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So cute little sea creatures are my inspiration today.  Also, this color combination is a possibility, but the jury is still out.  Maybe there is further inspiration here:

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Or here:

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Happy Inspiration!?

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Millie Monday

Millie actually finished this quilt on Saturday so she’s formally dressed today:

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The binding is on and I just need to bury some threads and add the label.  I usually add the label while I bind a quilt, but I was out of the printing fabric.  I have it now and will add my label.

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This is the same pattern and essentially the same fabrics of my last quilt, except I changed the turquoise out for orange.  I’m going to move on from this pattern and fabric for the next quilt, but I really like the result, so I know there will be many more in this pattern.

What a cluttered studio, but all is necessary…cleaning rags as this is a serious machine, tools, and wooden assisters (These help hold the backing during quilting when there isn’t quite as much as I would like) so I can get close to the edge of the quilt.

So that’s Millie today.  Happy quilting!

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Product Photography

I am still learning about my camera’s settings and how to best use them.  On my most recent trip, the camera was too often on a low shutter speed resulting is some blurry photographs.  This was not visible on the display, but certainly was on my computer.  I was reading my histogram, but that didn’t help this problem.  Fortunately, I took so many pictures that I could work around the blurry ones.  Considering my general lack of expertise you can imagine how difficult it is to take decent product pictures for TheQuiltifyShop.  I’ve been told by those who are better at product photography that I need to do better. Here’s a photograph that someone else expertly edited for my shop: il_570xN.799837433_9u2i Here’s the same photograph before it was expertly edited, but after I edited it: IMG_1732 Obviously, the first version pops more than mine.  It’s brighter and stands out from the background better.  I need to figure out how to do this.  I also need more than one background, which isn’t so easy in my woodsy, low upkeep urban/suburban yard. I’ve essentially ignored my shop.  My quilts have sold before they were uploaded to the shop, by word of mouth.  It was easier to handle these sales directly.  Consequently, the shop does not reflect activity.  I’ve decided to change this as I would like a more active, organized shop containing a wide selection of Don’t Bore Your Baby quilts reaching beyond local sales.    With this in mind and the need to improve my photographs, I had a product photo shoot (tongue in cheek). I took my latest quilt to Peacefield, John and Abigail Adams’ manse.  Here are some of my photographs from this ‘shoot’. IMG_2218 IMG_2219 IMG_2240 IMG_2230 Photographs number one and four have been edited by me and are on the shop.  I still don’t think they particularly pop, but I think they are better than older ones I have on the shop.  Photographs two and three have not been edited. IMG_2215 And I just like this one… How would you make these photographs better?  What do you do to take better product photographs?  Please let me know. Happy Quilting!

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Wednesday’s Word

Half & Half

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“We’ll each carry half”.

Briggs Beach, Little Compton, RI

Daily Post

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Millie Monday

Millie is dressed today.

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I made a basic Don’t Bore Your Baby Quilt©. In this particular quilt, the deepest contrast is between the dark brown and white. It will be interesting to see what feedback I get regarding the baby’s focusing on the brown and white versus the feedback I have received on the black and white.  Does dark brown and white captivate the newborn as quickly as black and white?

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I am deciding on which Omni Superior Thread color to use. Usually I blend the thread into the background, but I am thinking of going bold with the chocolate brown for a change. The Back of the quilt is white with orange polka dots. Any preferences? If I can decide on which color to use, I might get this quilted today.

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Aren’t these dinosaur eggs adorable?  Have a happy Monday and happy quilting!

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Quality and Function

You might remember Baby Nora from a prior post.  Nora is now five months old.  Isn’t she adorable?  Her style this day appears to be on the preppy side with the casual over the shoulder throw.   Nora is having some belly time on her brother Sal’s quilt.  If my memory serves me correctly, Sal is 2 1/2 to 3 years old. 11054313_976808860800_4732612780712812657_o There are two things I’d like to point out about this photograph and my Don’t Bore Your Baby quilts.

1. Nora is in the stage in which she is working on depth perception.  Note how she is trying to pick up the bike.  Her father had previously told me her brother did the same thing with this quilt at about her age.  Again, this is another example of how these quilts support baby’s visual development.

2.  This quilt is in a family with three children under the age of four.  This family uses their quilts, hard.  Notice how nice this quilt still looks.  There are some people who are hesitant to wash quilts for fear of ruining them so I wanted to show this picture.  I make quilts to be used.  Washing actually enhances a baby quilt by making it soft and cuddly.  If you buy a well made quilt, the quilt will far outlast inexpensive, mass produced versions, and buying the right quilt will assist your child’s development.  Click on the picture to get a clearer picture of this quilt.

Quilts made with high quality fabrics and individually made with quality in mind, wear extremely well.  Have your white or pastel nursery if you have to do so, but throw the baby a quilt that will stimulate her/him.  Use it for belly time, bottle time,  or even throw it on the back of the sofa so the baby can stare at it, but use it! Stop boring your baby.

This lack of thought for the baby’s visual development has been a pet peeve of mine for many years.  (I was an art major in college.)  While friends and relatives were excitedly discussing their pastel colored, themed nurseries that the baby couldn’t see, my daughter’s room was a strong red, navy blue and white.  And let me just say, the colors and contrast worked.

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Wednesday’s Word: Symbol

This week’s Daily Post’s word is symbol.  There are obvious symbols.

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I have mixed feelings about national flags, and I’ll leave it at that.

Here is a symbol that is personally meaningful to me:

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Lilacs have been my favorite blossom since a I was a child.  There was a large hedge of lilacs between our summer home and my grandparent’s summer home in Rhode Island.  Lilacs symbolize to me family, summer and carefree days intermingled with the aroma of lilac and salt air!  It also represented our family’s longstanding New England heritage.

But now, it also represents my Swedish side because blossomed lilacs were ubiquitous in Sweden:

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So cultural symbols versus personal symbols…Happy Summer!

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Wednesday’s Weekly Word: Door

The Daily Post’s weekly word is “door“.  I love doors, so this is an easy word or not so easy as I should only use a picture or two…

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This is one of my favorite doors.  This pretty door got me to thinking about how doors are presented.  This door is a beautiful bright blue surrounded by flowers.  This is an Yorkshire door, Britain.

Here is a sample of doors in Stockholm and Eksjö Municipality, Sweden.

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These doors are quieter.   Although you couldn’t prove it by me, the Swedish people have a reputation for being reserved, like me.  I’m not sure I agree.   These doors are  subdued as well, but very detailed.  The subtlety is lovely, hiding the true complexity.

And then there are family doors from which you can just feel the history of one’s family.  Here are some of my ancestor’s doors:

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So I was swept up with this word, but there you have it.  Doors aren’t only about color and design, but about their history as well.  Happy photographing!

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