Category: Photoshop

My New Background for Photos

8/15/2020

I currently have a gray flannel design wall that I attach my quilts to take photos. The only problem with that color is that I have been working with fabric that is similar in value around the edges of my quilts. When using software to remove the background it would invariably remove part of my quilt. I would then have to manually try to remove around the edge of the quilt. Not fun. (I used to have white but that didn't work all that well either. Mostly because of white fabric in the quilt, threads, lint, etc attaching to the flannel, and then it was hard to edit out in the photo edit software.)

So I decided to pick a color that neither David nor I have used on the edge of any of our quilts to use for my photo wall when I needed to do a shoot. I went online and selected sheets in a size that would also fit our guest bed (kill two birds with one stone). Walmart had a great deal on these 1500 thread count sheets and I am excited to try them out the next time I need to shoot photos that I will be editing to put on the website.

What do you think? Will guests be able to sleep with my photo sheet?

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Work, Work, Work

8/10/2020

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I spent yesterday and today updating both of David's and my gallery area. That means I took pictures of our most recent quilts, put them into Photoshop to crop and clean the background out and do the write-ups.

I got to measure them, do all the calculations for pricing, and put all the information into Artwork Tracker. That was the easy part. Once I had all the work done it was just cut and paste the text, link the photos, and fill out the form. Most of the options are already in drop down boxes since I tend to use similar fabrics and supplies.

Remind me not to wait so long, (and this is a big one), DON'T put in lace or netting that doesn't have a quilt background behind it. It was a pain in Photoshop to remove the one in Talisman II. I was also reminded that I need a few different colored backgrounds for shooting the pictures. It will be much easier to select something that doesn't blend in with the edge of the quilt. Lesson learned. Hopefully, I will remember it the next time I start shooting the next quilts.

Let me know what you think of the new pieces. You can find them on our main gallery pages. Click on the one you want to see and 'as if by magic' you will be whisked to the page.

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Publishing Software & Bookwright

1/22/2016

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Inside books: Hardcover & Softcover

So I did promise to tell you about the software I used to create my book. As I mentioned before I used Blurb and their Bookwright program to create the book. For me, it was pretty easy and intuitive. A lot of drag and drop with some page layout options to choose from. Several font choices for getting just the right look for a project. There are other options available as you can use Adobe's InDesign if you have access to that as well as actually designing your book online.

For the graphics I used two different programs. I used Adobe Elements 10 but any Elements will work as I did not do anything fancy. Cropping, removing backgrounds, etc was about all I did. Depending on the pixel count and size of the photo you took you may need to use another program to resize your file. Elements does an OK job if it is close to the correct size, but if you have to crop a detail and you are not able to take a new photo this is a software you should check out: On1 Perfect Resize. This software uses Genuine Fractals powered algorithms for optimizing clarity and detail for different image types. Get the best quality enlargements for your photos, whether taken with a DSLR or your mobile device. (from their website).

I have used this software and their other suite of products for several years. On1 does an amazing job putting out a quality product and if you are focusing on improving your photos this may be something to check out.

Do you have a favorite software that you use for your photo editing? Would love to hear about what you use and why.

Back and front covers.

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Calendars and Book

1/8/2016

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2016 Calendar and Blurb Book

I created calendars again this year and was able to hand them out to the family and friends for Christmas. I started a bit earlier this year and had most of the photos of our work all ready for the printer. My peeps all tell me that they look forward to getting them. This is the second year so I am going to be busy trying to get 12 new art pieces ready for next years calendar. I have used Costco both years for their large 11 x 17 calendar that has generous date squares for writing.

I also got a kick in the pants and finally did my first book with our quilts. This is a project I have had on the back burner for a couple of years and got a nudge towards the end of November. Since my word for last year was "Focus" I figured it was time I focused on getting this book done.

I like the paper and the quality of the overall book. I found one thing I want to change and think I will add a couple pages for some additional work.

I used Blurb and their BookWright program and found it very easy to use. One hint: Don't change the size of your book after you start. It creates extra work re sizing text and text boxes. Ask me how I know!

Have you created your book yet? What program did you use?

From Edge 2 Edge Blurb Book

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Working on my Tranquility quilt for SAQA

11/29/2015

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I have been sewing frantically the past few days over the Thanksgiving weekend to try to get this piece ready for more "color work". I want to finish the base quilting so I can overlay more color. I can then decide if it needs more stitch work. This is a very small detail of the whole piece. I want to finish this before the end of December so that I can start on the companion piece for the Turmoil exhibit.

This piece was started in Photoshop and printed at Spoonflower in grey scale. Using a variety of paints and inks I layered in the base colors. To increase the depth of the piece I will layer in colors with more inks, paints, etc. I love doing this technique although it is a bit scary adding the additional paints as there is no going back.

I have been having a lot of fun stitching out with a variety of colored threads. The Baby Lock machine I have makes changes threads a breeze and I no longer avoid color changes like I used to.

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My New Background for Photos

Work, Work, Work

Publishing Software & Bookwright

Calendars and Book

Working on my Tranquility quilt for SAQA

David & Patricia

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