In the over 40 quilting patterns that we've published since 1997 we've made extensive use of diagrams. Now, with the advent of digital photography, we've started to use photos, too.
Sometimes the simplicity of a diagram gives clarity to a quilting or knitting direction. With photographs, the setting can get in the way of the process that is being illustrated. Diagrams are usually black and white line art. I have been known to spend several hours on one diagram, just trying to get the sense of the drawing correct for the quilter who will follow the diagram. I like the sparseness of a drawing; it can focus on a particular step in a set of instructions in a way that a photo cannot.
Photographs, on the other hand, are wonderful for showing an overall sense of a quilt or table runner or knit hat or our little Knitcushion project. You can see the shape and color; one gets a broader idea of the ambiance of the work that is being created. Detail can be captured with a photo, too. Don't we all love seeing quilting stitches up close and personal. Photos can give us this sense of immediacy and reality that can't be obtained in a drawing or diagram.
The challenge in writing instructions for both quilting and knitting is knowing when to use either of these methods.
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Monday, March 5, 2007
First Musings on a Cold Night in Michigan
Such a cold night it is here in Michigan! Temps will hover around zero, says the TV weatherman who calls himself "Chief Meteorologist."
These posts from our studio and office here in Michigan's Thumb will chronicle the work that we do designing quilting & knitting projects for our publications company -- Graywood Designs. Right now we are working on a new quilting book that features holiday patterns for the Christmas season.
We're calling this new book "Glad Yule." Our master piecer has been busy since January getting several projects for the book ready for the quilting expertise of our favorite long arm quilter. (Only one or two of the book projects will be long armed -- the rest we do on standard domestic sewing machines, just like most quilters do!) The piecework is completed for "Ode To THANGLES" and both versions of the tree runner. The cover quilt, "O Yule" is part way completed; one more quilt, "Dairy Stars," lies within piles of yellow and gold fabrics at the studio. Yes, this book will once again feature THANGLES for the half square triangles. You'll read more about that as our blog continues.
Work on the book has been slowed considerably due to my mother's death in January. By this time I had hoped to be in the final stages of page preparation. Instead, studio work is progressing slowly, but surely, on samples. I'm learning that work can't be hurried when there is grieving to do. The pace on this book, though different from our first book (Fours & Nines: Quilted Placemats with Classic Blocks) is progressing and that is what counts on a cold winter night in Michigan!
Written by Wanda
March 5, 2007
COMING POSTS
About Quilting:
How THANGLES and Graywood are related
To Applique By Machine or By Hand?
About Knitting:
The Continuing Saga of the Bib Pattern That Doesn't Get Finished
About Publishing:
Why Writing Good Directions for Quilting and Knitting is So Important
We Know a Picture is Worth a Thousand Words, So Why Be Wordy!
Color vs. Black & White
These posts from our studio and office here in Michigan's Thumb will chronicle the work that we do designing quilting & knitting projects for our publications company -- Graywood Designs. Right now we are working on a new quilting book that features holiday patterns for the Christmas season.
We're calling this new book "Glad Yule." Our master piecer has been busy since January getting several projects for the book ready for the quilting expertise of our favorite long arm quilter. (Only one or two of the book projects will be long armed -- the rest we do on standard domestic sewing machines, just like most quilters do!) The piecework is completed for "Ode To THANGLES" and both versions of the tree runner. The cover quilt, "O Yule" is part way completed; one more quilt, "Dairy Stars," lies within piles of yellow and gold fabrics at the studio. Yes, this book will once again feature THANGLES for the half square triangles. You'll read more about that as our blog continues.
Work on the book has been slowed considerably due to my mother's death in January. By this time I had hoped to be in the final stages of page preparation. Instead, studio work is progressing slowly, but surely, on samples. I'm learning that work can't be hurried when there is grieving to do. The pace on this book, though different from our first book (Fours & Nines: Quilted Placemats with Classic Blocks) is progressing and that is what counts on a cold winter night in Michigan!
Written by Wanda
March 5, 2007
COMING POSTS
About Quilting:
How THANGLES and Graywood are related
To Applique By Machine or By Hand?
About Knitting:
The Continuing Saga of the Bib Pattern That Doesn't Get Finished
About Publishing:
Why Writing Good Directions for Quilting and Knitting is So Important
We Know a Picture is Worth a Thousand Words, So Why Be Wordy!
Color vs. Black & White
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