It pays to procrastinate.  Sometimes.  Two years ago I saw the Winterberry line of fabric by Maywood.  Love at first sight.  Bought a fat quarter of everything Fabric Town had.  At the same time, Friend Betty bought FQs of the same line — but in Arizona!  Betty has her blocks made; my FQs are in a little tote with a pattern, patiently waiting their turn.

Last week Betty and I went to Mill End Fabrics, which is pretty much what it sounds like.  Leftovers and overruns.  You can get great buys, but don’t go with something specific in mind because that rarely works out.

They had probably ten (or more) new bolts of the Winterberry line, some still had the paper band around the bolt.  So I bought (ahem) two more fabrics I didn’t have plus the backing.  Add 8.25 yards.

On the usage side, I used 3 3/4 yards on a new reunion quilt that is in the works, and 7 yards for challenge backing/binding/sleeve.  10.75 yards out.

Slowly but surely, I WILL reach a negative number!

Sue

If you were here last Friday, you know that I’m doing mini learning-about-your-camera posts on Fridays for a while, and this is Week # 2.  (If you ever want to go back to previous camera posts, scroll down and on the right side, click on “Photography”.  I’m not an expert on photography, but I can help you get to know your camera better; get  to know your camera better, and you will be taking better pictures!  Okay, get your camera out (and if possible your user guide) and let’s have some fun!  Sorry, lots of words today.

A note for today:  On digital cameras, you can choose how much information is displayed on your little screen.  Look for a “Display” or “Disp” button, and you can go through your camera’s options for display settings.  I like one that shows a little more information, and it will be helpful for you as well, now that you are learning what some of these symbols mean!  You will be able to see on the display if close focus is selected (there will be a tulip), flash settings, how many photos you have left, etc.

On my Canon SD1100 IS, if I press the flash icon, two icons appear on the screen, and I can toggle between them.  One is the flash icon with an “A” (for automatic), the other is the flash icon with a line drawn through it.  Pretty self-explanatory:  automatically determines if you need flash or not, or you can choose no flash.  Why would you want no flash?

I’ve been in museums, quilt shows, weddings, etc., where I’ve wanted to take a picture and either no flash photography was allowed or it would be a distraction.  Also, if you’re shooting through glass (through a window in your house or on a bus, etc.), you don’t want to use your flash because of the glare you’d be sure to get.

A note on taking pictures with the flash suppressed:  You might not have quite enough light, but the camera will compensate by making the exposure a little longer to gather in more light.  The longer the exposure is, the more important it is to keep your camera still or you will get a blurry picture. 

If I’m not using a tripod (and if you’re reading this post I am reasonably sure you probably don’t have a tripod, although you might want to consider one), I steady myself as best I can.  For quilt pictures, I will rest my hands on the top of the high back of one of our dining-room chairs.  For window shots, I will steady my hand and arm against the window frame.  Even with Image Stabilization (that’s what the “IS” is for on some cameras), you still have to be VERY STEADY and use the half-squeeze to focus, then squeeze the shutter button down the rest of the way to take your picture.

Every digital camera I’ve seen has a little lightning bolt on the back or top of the camera.  This will bring up some flash settings.  On my Canon, it’s pretty simple — flash or no flash.  However, if I press the “menu” button and select “flash settings”, I have a couple more options:  Red-Eye Correction (on or off) and Red-Eye Lamp (on or off). 

If you take a lot of people pictures, you may want your red-eye correction on.  That is when you have that double burst of flash that people don’t like so much, but it does get reduce red-eye in photos.  (The first flash constricts your pupils, the second flash  is when the picture is taken.)

My Lumix settings are different, and yours are likely to a little different from either of mine.  I am going through the settings on both of my cameras in the hope that something is similar to yours, however, if you can put your hands on your manual (keep it in the camera bag), take a look at the “Flash” page for your specific info.

On the Lumix, I have a flash that manually pops up, and pressing the flash icon doesn’t do anything until I pop up the flash.  Then instead of giving me choices to toggle through, it changes the flash settings every time I push the flash lightning bolt button.  The four main options are lightning bolt alone (forced flash — it WILL flash), lightning bolt with an “A” (the camera will determine if there’s sufficient light or if it needs to flash), one of the previous options with the eye icon means the addition of the red-eye reduction extra flash, adding an S with the lightning bolt and the eye icon means “slow sync”.  You would use this setting when taking pictures of people in front of a dark background or in the shade outdoors.  On a lot of cameras this is referred to a “fill flash”.  Wouldn’t that be a great name of a photographer super hero?  Phil Phlash.

And a little bit on zoom.  There are two ways your camera zooms in on an object:  optical zoom and digital zoom.  Optical zoom is zooming that is achieved by the elements of the lenses and is your best quality zoom; digital zooming ends up being the same as if you cropped a picture and lose some definition that way. 

For example, on my Canon I have a total of 12 times zoom — 3 times optical, 4 times digital = 12 times.  The Lumix DMC FZ20 has 48 times zoom — 12 times optical, 4 times digital (secret to good bird pictures is a lot of zoom and a steady hand, and patience).

Have you noticed when you’re zooming in, it zooms part way, then stops, and you can then zoom all the way?  On my cameras, it stops when at the point between optical and digital.  If photo quality is really important to you, that is a good place to stop and take the picture.  If getting in closer to your subject (like a bird) is most important, go ahead and zoom as much as you need to; just know that you will lose picture quality past the optical stopping point.  That was probably clear as mud.

One more note on zoom, and maybe I mentioned this last week, but just be aware that zooming reduces the amount of light available for your image.  On a bright day, it won’t matter; under other circumstances, you might notice a difference.

There’s still more to talk about on zoom, so we will cover that another Friday!

This week: 

• Check out the flash options on your camera.  If you have a fill flash option, try taking a picture of someone in the shade using your fill flash.
• Take some pictures using the suppressed flash selection, maybe through a window (shoot at an angle to eliminate glare).  Or a photo of a quilt where you don’t want flash.  Or inside — pretend you’re in a museum!
• Take a photo of someone using the red-eye reduction feature.  Not too close — you don’t want to blind them and wash out the picture.  Not too far away — flash only reaches so far.  I remember reading somewhere, if your subject stretches an arm out to you and you stretch your arm out to your subject so your fingertips touch, that is a pretty good distance.  Adjust for children!
• Practice your zoom — check on what you have for optical versus digital zoom.  Take some zoom photos for fun and play around with it.  Become a tripod yourself — hold your elbows against your body to hold the camera more steady.
• It’s the weekend — take some fun photos and post them to our Flickr album; if you’re new this week, Flickr will prompt you to set up a free account; then I will approve you and you will be able to upload photos.

Have Fun!!!  If you have any questions or need clarification on anything, feel free to e-mail me via the “Contact Me” button at the top of this blog.

Sue

I finished quilting a friend’s quilt.  The front was very busy, and I knew quilting wouldn’t show much on the front.  She just wanted it quilted and done.  So I reached for “Feather Feather” by Kathie James.   Here is a shot of the back:

Two rows of feathers = 13.5″.  It makes for a nice soft drape to the quilt.  Here’s what’s on my machine today.  It’s another customer quilt, and I like what I’m doing in the center blocks.  Just loops, leaves, curls, and flowers.  Another case of, do whatever you think is best, I just need it done.  About an hour left to do on it this morning.

 I don’t think I’ve shown this quilt before.  This hangs over the staircase in our house.  I made this quilt in a class several years ago with Celine Perkins (Perkins Drygoods) before she was quite so busy with her own designs.  (She is a wonderful teacher, by the way, and try her patterns!  They are fun, easy, and her instructions are impeccable.) 

The pattern is a Kaye England design, and I really enjoyed making it.  The quilting doesn’t show, but I decided to do sampler quilting, and each block is quilted differently.  There was even a block of the dreaded applique’, but it was worth it as it is the focus of the quilt.  My color scheme was that each block would have a black print, a cream print, and a color, and they are civil war reproduction fabrics.

I like it so well, I turned it on its side and it is today’s puzzle in a Tetris cut:

Sue

Judy Laquidara always has such fun ideas, and I find it’s impossible to resist particating!  Click on her name above for her post with her latest light-bulb moment.  She is suggesting those interested post a picture of what’s on their design wall on Mondays (with a link on her site), then the following week we can see what kind of progress we’re making on our projects. 

I don’t have a design wall, so I’m substituting a dining-room table.  Works better than the other way around — you can’t eat off a design wall!  I tend to line up what I’m working on on the DR table.  Works for me, but I really would love a design wall (hint, hint).  I guess the DR table is appropriate, because this is what’s on my plate this week:

* The upper left-hand corner shows a bit of the Asian blocks I’m doing with our guild; I have May’s block to make by mid-June, and am otherwise caught up.  Just above those blocks is a peek at the block I did for someone else’s block, due in June.  I only have about 6″ of ribbon to add.

* Upper right-hand corner is our family reunion autograph quilt; needs to be done by June 27th; I’ll probably be binding it in the car on the way there!

* Lower right-hand corner is a Minnesota Quilters challenge quilt, as much of it as I can show right now.  It will be quilted and bound by next Monday.  Below that is one sock that is longing for a mate.  Maybe in July.  2010.

* Lower left-hand corner, next customer quilt for the LA.

Now for the Goldfinch.  I’ve had so much fun (I know, you’d never have guessed) with our hummingbird feeder, yesterday we put up a finch feeder.  Today we had our first guest…

I know, he looks headless with his head in the feeder.  

Isn’t he beautiful?  He forgot to wipe the chaff off his mouth.

What lovely tail feathers.  I’ve been wanting to make a black and white quilt with a pop of another color.  Maybe this is a sign — it should be black and white with yellow!

Sue

Twenty-one weeks are gone of 2009?  How did that happen?

I have to hurry and get my stash report done before Betty picks me up in a half hour to go to Mill End Fabrics!  Any purchases later today will go no next week’s report.  What a plan!

Bought this week:  4 yards of a navy blue for my 9-patch garbage buffet quilt.  Used this week:  4 yards of navy blue cut into sashing strips for aforementioned quilt; 5 yards into my Minnesota Quilter’s Challenge for the flying geese and the borders + binding.  YTD totals are:

Which leaves me still in the red, but if you think about it, in the world of fabric, red is as good as black. 

I’d also like to mention that I started a little photography class last Friday called Photo Fridays.  Each Friday for a while (how is that for specific?), I’m going to go over a couple of features on digital cameras for any of you who threw your manual in the drawer, or if you read the manual but don’t take enough pictures to remember how to use the features.  I’m not an expert, but I do use my camera literally every day, so what I don’t know, I can figure out.  If you’d like to join the fun, click here for last Friday’s lesson.  You can join in any time, or like some others are doing, you can also just work on your own.

And I don’t feel like a post is really complete without a photo. . .

Gotta go — Betty will be here in five minutes!

Sue

Today we are going to cover a photography basic as well as a setting that is on most (if not all) cameras nowadays.  Remember, I’m assuming you bought your camera, tossed the book in a drawer, and have been pointing and shooting with reckless abandon!  If you’re comfortable with your camera,  just come back tomorrow and hopefully there will be something of more interest.

Focusing:  Cameras aim their focus in the center of the view finder or display.  You will usually see a little box (or some other marking) in the center, and that’s where your camera will be focusing.  Let’s say you’re taking a picture of crab apples.

If this is what I saw in the view finder and just took the picture, the apples wouldn’t be in focus because the odds of the focusing beam hitting that nearby stem are pretty slim; something in the background would be in focus and the apples would be blurry.  

To get around this problem, go ahead and center your subject in the middle so it’s behind that box in the center (in this case, one of the apples lined up with the box), and press the shutter half-way down and hold it there.  You can then re-frame your shot, placing your subject where ever you want, and your camera will hold your subject in focus.  In the photo above, I basically pre-focused on one of the crab apples, readjusted the shot the way I wanted it, and the crab apples are in focus. 

So your finger has the button pressed half-way down and you’re ready to take the picture.  Finish pressing down gently — don’t punch the button with your finger.  A smooth pressing will help eliminate blurring.  Actually, pre-focusing helps prevent blurring as well, so it’s a good practice for all your pictures.

Tulip:  Look at your camera and see if you can find a tulip on a dial or button somewhere. 

The tulip (at least that’s what it looks like to me) allows you to bring the camera much closer to the object you’re photographing and still be in focus.  And I mean close!  You should be able to see in your view finder when you are in focus and when you are too close or too far away.  In your manual, look in the index for “macro” to find more specific information on your camera. 

On one of my cameras (the Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS) you press the dial on the tulip icon, select the tulip (up close) versus the mountain (for distance).  My other camera (Lumix DMC-FZ20) I turn a dial to the tulip.   (The photo above was taken with the Lumix on cold winter day.  The photos below were taken with the Canon.)

Why use the macro close-up feature rather than zooming in on something close?  Any time you zoom, you lose light; any time you zoom digitally (as opposed to optically), you lose picture quality.  Don’t get me wrong — I LOVE my zoom!  If you’re taking a picture of something near you that you want to close in on, zoom isn’t the tool you want.  (We’ll talk more about zoom another Friday.)  So if you’re taking a picture of a flower, a bug, a diamond ring to sell on e-Bay, or anything else you’d like a high-quality close-up of, try using the macro (tulip) button. 

Here’s a wild flower from our walk today.  First I was just standing normally, looking down and taking a photo (really, it’s there in the middle of the picture):

And here is a close-up photo of the same flower with the camera in macro (tulip) mode:

It’s so much fun to use the macro feature and get picture quality you couldn’t get before.  Try it on your quilts:

And I’m sure most of you have taken dozens of quilt photos.  I’ve found that I get the best light on my living room floor in the morning.  I get the WORST pictures at night with artificial light.  The side lighting in the morning seems to work best.  (And I don’t like using flash on my quilts — it washes away the shadows so you can’t see the quilting as well.)  Here is a photo with the camera in the macro setting:

If you’d like to play along and do a little homework, practice pre-focusing and play around with the macro feature.  And I’d love it if you posted some pictures in our album on Flickr.  Flickr will prompt you to set up a free Yahoo account if you don’t have one, then you can join the Flickr photo group. 

If you want to e-mail me, you can go to the “Contact Me” button at the top of my blog and send me a note with any questions or problems you might have.

Take lots of pictures!!!  That’s the wonder of digital cameras.  This afternoon on our walk I took 75 pictures, came home and deleted all but about 15! 

Have fun — it’s a holiday weekend!

Sue

Tomorrow is my first Crack-a-Lackin’ Photo Friday!  (See, Kerry, I can be cool too, in an old-lady sort of way!)  This is very casual arrangement.  You can check it out on Fridays and see if it interests you.  The level of involvement on your part is up to you.  You don’t need to sign up, you can jump in or out at any time, and maybe only one or two or no topics will be of interest to you — we’ll just take it a Friday at a time!

Here’s THE PLAN.  Each Friday I will go over two different things:

1)  A feature or setting that’s on most digital and film cameras, what it means, and how and when to use it.
2)  A technique or effect in photography and how to get it.

To the best of my ability and understanding. 

Then I will give you some suggested homework, because you’re going to learn and remember best if you spend some time trying it out, working on it, and see how it works with your camera!  Your little bit of homework for today is . . . find your instruction book for your camera, if possible.  You’ll be okay without it, but all cameras are somewhat different.

Don’t be offended if something seems pretty basic.  I’m going to start out assuming you just got your camera, threw the book in the drawer, and have been pointing and shooting away (and I have done that).  That is the wonder of today’s cameras – you can do that and get good pictures!  The thing is, the camera designers have built a ton of features into these cameras, and that’s what we are going to explore.  I think it will be fun, and I expect to learn a few things along the way myself!

I’ve set up a photo album on Flickr where you can post your photos to share with the group – and hey, you’re sharing them with the world, so make sure they are Rated G!  That’s the only rule for posting photos in our group album.

Questions?  Ask them here.  The fun starts tomorrow!

Sue

This has to be the first time anybody ever posted about this combination of subjects!  First, it’s getting to be the time of year when a quilter’s thoughts turn to the Fair!  At least in our Wednesday circle, it does!  Last year the Minnesota State Fair added a new category — Quilts on a Stick.  Since most of you don’t live in Minnesota (and certainly everyone who lives in Minnesota didn’t go to the MN Fair and visit the Activities Building last year), I thought you might like to see what quilts on sticks look like!

They are 8″ x 9″, machine or hand quilted, and you must make a vertical sleeve on the back to accomodate a paint stick.  Last year there were over 140 entries.  Pam B. of our quilt group made the one with the small quilt hanging on the clothes line below, and it earned her a second place.  Yea, Pam!

Margaret, another member of our group, made this three-dimensional ear of corn:

We have some talented and creative people to inspire us!  So this is a reminder to start thinking small and get your entry ready for this year’s fair.  They added a theme requirement this year — and it’s a State Fair theme. 

A weather report:  It was NINETY-SEVEN DEGREES today in the Twin Cities.  We jumped from cool and windy to sweltering and windy.  That’s why I’m up late doing this post — it’s too hot to go to bed and too early in the year to turn on the air conditioning!  And since Wednesday is Puzzle Day in my world, I chose a nice, refreshing picture.  This is my favorite photo of DH.  (He will be so flattered.)  This was taken a couple of years ago in Port Aransas, TX, while we were walking on the beach early one morning.  It was a really hot, sticky September day (actually week), so we were taking our walks in the early-morning hours and I remember how cool the Gulf was.

I really was going to give you a break from any more hummingbird pictures for a while, but one I took today surprised me.  After I put them on the computer, I always go through each one at 100%, which makes it huge and you can only see part of the picture, but I can really tell which ones are a little out of focus or any little detail I would miss otherwise.  An example:

Upon closer examination. . .

. . . she’s sticking her tongue out!  I wasn’t sure that’s what it was, but I found lots of photos on line that show hummer’s tongues are much longer than what we see here.  She made so many visits to the feeder today, I had to refill it.  It was either because of the heat, or there may have been more than one hummer.  I think it was the heat.  And check out the teeny, tiny toes on this one:

I’ve read that a hummingbird’s feet are only good for perching, not for walking.  If they need to just move a couple of inches, they have to fly there.

Stay cool!

Sue

This is the first year I’ve gotten photos of a hummingbird in our crab tree while the tree was in bloom, so I just have to share some photos.

This last one is a little out of focus, but I posted it anyway because it really shows how irridescent their feathers are in the sunshine.  They really are little jewels.  And they fly around 25 mph, so no wonder they are hard to see in flight!

Sue

ZERO in this week!  Very little used — 1.5 yards — this week, but I’ve been concentrating on wrapping up some almost-done projects that were starting to pile up. 

It’s been a good sewing week, a great bird- and bee-photo week, and a lousy battling-allergies week *sniff*. 

And a Crabby Alert:  I officially jumped off the bakery truck and back onto the dieting/exercising wagon.  Why is it that the things that aren’t so good for you are so much more fun than the things that are good for you???  Figured I better do something now before I put my swimsuit order in with Omar the Tent-Maker. 

Robin, (and I love that someone named “Robin” responds on my bird posts!!!), you asked about the hummingbird photo.  He stayed at our feeder for maybe 15 seconds, and last night he was coming by every 20 minutes, but it was getting too dark to get any other pictures.  I have noticed other years that he seems to make rounds and actually can be somewhat predictable.  I haven’t seen him yet today though, so I hope he didn’t move on to another neighborhood!

I have two cameras I leave out all the time, and hopefully one is at the end of the house I’m at when I need one.  It helps if you set your camera mode to “action” or “sports” to freeze the movement a little bit better, if you have that kind of setting available (I didn’t do that last night — didn’t have time). 

I also have a setting on my camera whereby I can hold the button down and fire off up to four shots in succession.  That really helps in bird pictures, because sometimes you just can’t respond fast enough to their movements to get more than a first shot.

You’ve inspired me, Robin!  Starting Friday, I am going to do Photo Friday posts, and cover a little bit of photography and especially how to use your camera’s features each Friday (and maybe give you a little “homework” assignment).  I’ve been wanting DH to get to know my cameras better, and this will be a good way to get him acquainted with Miss PowerShot and Mr. Lumix!  I know I don’t know everything on this subject, but I have learned a bit through trial and error that I can share.

Well, I’m off to do some sewing!

Sue