Monthly Archives: September 2013

Quilt Portraits–please comment

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A straight-on picture of a quilt is great if you need to see the whole design, but I’m aiming for quilt photos with personality.  Here are a few first attempts.

#1 This is made with bright batiks and templates from Elisa's Backporch Design

#1 This is made with bright batiks and templates from Elisa’s Backporch Design

I live in a beautiful part of the country (I’ve said that about every place I’ve lived) so there should be lots of photo ops for my quilts.  I also live in the woods, which limits opportunities at my house.

Improvisational piecing using a bundle of Bold Over Batiks

#2: Improvisational piecing using a bundle of Bold Over Batiks

Luckily, some friendly neighbors let me borrow their setting for a few of these shots.  One thing I found out right away is that full sun washes out the colors in a photo.

#3: This is a traditional design taught by Augusta Cole; I added a border to make it a little longer

#3: This is a traditional design taught by Augusta Cole; I added a border to make it a little longer

I need your help!  Which of these quilt portraits sets the best mood for the quilt?  Which makes you say, “I MUST have that quilt!” so you would be tempted to make it, buy the pattern, buy the quilt, ask me to give you the quilt for your birthday (I KNOW who you are)?  And why?  Please comment!

Twinkle, a pattern by Swirly Girl Designs, was made because I had some fabulous leftover fabric

#4: Twinkle, a pattern by Swirly Girl Designs, was made because I had some fabulous leftover fabric

If you’ve never commented on a blog post, here’s how: Folks who get the post by e-mail need to click on the title of the post and that will take you to the blog online. Online, you’ll see a dialog bubble next to the title, like the bubble that appears over the head of a cartoon character. Click on that and you’ll be taken to a screen where you can type your comment. Thanks for your help!

#5: I love concentric squares! This is similar to the Hip To Be Square pattern.

#5: I love concentric squares! This is similar to the Hip To Be Square pattern.

Improving My Quilt Pix

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Another version of “Turning Twenty Again”, this time with my improvisational border

So, this is what a typical picture of one of my quilts has looked like in the past:  Yes, that’s my husband’s head, and the edge of the rug in the TV room…well, you get the idea.  And in fairness, most of these pictures were taken years before I ever thought of having a blog and publishing them.  Let’s just say they’re less than perfect!

Since I started the blog, I’ve tried to improve the old pictures with editing software.  Most of the quilts are long gone to friends, customers, or both, so I don’t have the originals to make new photographs.  After photo editing, the quilts were a bit easier to see, but the photos still weren’t exactly professional looking!  See below.

This is a slight variation on Birthday Presents, by Atkinson Designs; it made a great baby quilt

This is a slight variation on Birthday Presents, by Atkinson Designs; it made a great baby quilt

I looked at a LOT of quilt pics on Flickr; most weren’t any better than mine.  I looked at books and catalogs.  The best quilt portraits I found were in the Keepsake Quilting catalog.  They showed the quilts in nice settings, not just a straight-on picture of the quilt.  I like this approach because it shows the mood of the quilt, not just the design.

Concentric Squares Batik

I love batiks and love making variations on concentric squares, so I enjoyed making this quilt

I started trying to make better “quilt portraits”, showing more than just a straight-on shot of the quilt.  I’ve found that a picture taken with the recipient is very nice.  This next picture was sent to me by a friend who bought one of my quilts as a gift.  Although it is clearly a snapshot rather than a professional photo, I think it does a nice job of being a portrait of the quilt (and the recipient).  It has personality, which is lacking in the straight-on shots even if they show the whole quilt better.

I’m off to make some quilt portraits of my own, having learned a thing or two that I hope will improve the shots for my blog.  Check back next week and see what you think of my “quilt portraits”.