November 25, 2008
I keep meaning to post, but never get around to it! <g> I'm feverishly working on several things at once again... The Pro-Q CIAB is well underway, patterns for November and projects for next year.
"Among Comrades" received two teachers awards (I've only entered one show other than festival - so for one of the ribbons it wasn't even entered in the show! <g>) and made it into the Houston Quilt Festival. I got good comments on it - both from the judges and from people who have contacted me afterwards. It was REALLY exciting as my goal was to have as many people see the quilt as possible. What I REALLY had wished is that they could have seen the story too...
Do not duplicate these images without permission.
If you are having a show and would like "Among Comrades" to be part of your quilt show, please contact me at ellen@munnichdesign.com for information. PLEASE MAKE SURE AND READ THE STORY behind this quilt which is below the main picture.
Among Comrades
Among Comrades - The Story (2 pages - design of label and story)
Among Comrades - Detail 1
Among Comrades - Detail 2
Among Comrades - Label
July 7, 2008
So, the Pro-Q help system is done and I can start on the rest now! <g> I've started a Monday night QOV group for our guild and we have a few folks who will be coming to the house twice a month to get some work done!
I'm often asked to comment on whether or not computerized quilting should be judged WITH regular long arm quilting. I very adamantly say yes, but there are some qualifiers! What follows is some of the reasoning behind that.
The big difference should be whether or not you are using patterns from someone else, or if you have designed your own! The notes below are regarding folks who HAVE NOT designed their own patterns, but it still applies to those who have. This is just a short comparison. I suspect I will elaborate more in later posts.
Following a panto takes a specialized type of motor skill, yet it is STILL following a panto (or a chalk marking on the quilt). While row spacing is important, it is not as critcal because as a "manual" quilter you can make the tiny adjustments necessary to fill in blank spaces. You can also cut the panto apart and draw new lines to create a corner based on the physical space left. In short, it is relatively easy to adjust and adapt.
Computerized quilting has a different challenge. You do not have feedback that you do when you are steering your sewing head by hand. You can not make adjustments to compensate for draw-in or to fill in a little blank space. Placement becomes critical as well as planning ahead. If you need to custom design a corner, you need to be very skilled with computers and be able to adjust and re-digitize the corner. It also takes longer with computerized quilting than following a panto because it is a complex issue. Pattern placement is tougher as there is no forgiveness. Just TRY doing a clamshell or a baptist fan with a computerized system and let me know how you make out repeating the rows.... It's HARD!
In short, a skillfully designed and executed quilting job requires huge amounts of skill using either method. Computer Quilting is NOT "cheating", nor is a stitch regulator or following a panto with a laser. The latter two are sometimes discarded by purists (THIS IS NOT my opinion - just a sample of what I've heard) because a stitch regulator shows a lack of fine motor control and following a panto shows that you aren't a true artist. HUH????
I would personally like to see PAINTED quilts in their own special category. I would also like to see embellishments only allowed in a certain category. This is because neither of these REALLY have anything to do with the quilting, but often sway judges. It's probably not going to happen though...
In closing, there are huge challenges in both types of quilting. They are not so unique that they need to be judged separately. Both require high skill levels and should be judged according to the the FINAL product, not how it was arrived at.
As always, JMHO.
June 1, 2008
Sigh, well we all know I have good intentions. I didn't get to post last week, but I did end up getting patterns out on time.
June is catch up month. I'll be working on Pro-Q help system, the MQR manual and planning the new Pro-Q Quick Start Guide. I'm pretty tired. I wanted to post my special "rant" about computerized quilting vs. free motion but that will have to wait.
I keep thinking today of what I'm really thankful for... my health, my business, etc. At the top of the list is Rocky. For those of you who have met him, he is the most loving and easy going dog in the whole world. When I feel like choking someone or am flipping out, he comes over and calms me down... What ashame I can't bring him to show.
May 16, 2008
I feel that weekly "check-ins" are important. We've had a GREAT week at MQS but are happy tomorrow is the LAST DAY! I still haven't had a chance to look at all the quilts, but MAYBE tomorrow. <g> The good news is that this is the first night I might get more than 5 hours sleep in 2 weeks. I'm intending to take a couple of days off and "goof off" when I get home.
It has been WONDERFUL meeting with some old friend's and making some new ones. Special thanks go to all my booth buddies: Sher AKA "My Embroidery Partner", Barbara AKA "My Other Embroidery Partner", Conni AKA "Quilting Fairy", Chris (Welder and Fabricator) and our special vistor Vic. Mike Gilomen from the Machine Shop also joined us for a few days and helped us get over a few humps. His help is always more than welcome and he is DEFINITELY my favorite SMG.
I have some REAL special thank yous for the staff and other vendors - especially the ladies in the booth across from us who helped us get 2 of our 3 booths setup in a mere hour and a quarter when we arrived horribly late (names coming after I write them down tomorrow). I cannot help but recommend MQS to any and all as a GREAT show. We WILL be back next year.
May 9, 2008
I felt like entitling this "what I want to do before I get old", but I decided I'm never going to be old. Old being when you can't learn anything new. For those of you who know me well, you know I CAN'T stop learning! Now, we all know that I have too much to do and too little time... Not like this BLOG is going to help - BUT there is power in writing things down. Not only that, but y'all will KNOW when I'm playing hookey and hopefully why! <g>
So, all in all, this BLOG is probably going to be more of a diary. It might refer to other things, have some links, be a bit commercial (products I recommend), or just be a bit personal. This is after all a PERSONAL BLOG, and since my business is so much part of who I am personally, it's all intertwined in here.
At this writing, we're getting ready for MQS. I'm relieved that I have been able to get SOMETHING done with the computer problems I had. So here's the links and a bit of a story behind things:
ACS Data Recovery - is one of the top data recovery specialists in the world. They extracted my info within 48 hours of getting the disks. It was a tough job and cost me $3500. They are local here in Temple Texas. If you have something you need to get back off a harddrive, these are the guys that can do it. They even make new parts for the drive, etc. to restore the hardware because often times most of the disc still has the data on it! They even do stuff that has been through fires and floods.
You probably noticed the link for Carbonite below the shopping cart button on my pages now. These guys offer a GREAT service and it's CHEAP - under $50 per year per computer. You can back up as much as you want. I have over 30 gig with them. It also incrementally backs up whatever files you specify while you sleep (or are working). I have sent back 2 external drives in the last month to be replaced on warranty. I'm SICK of them. They are unreliable. They also don't always work. The software keeps messing up and I didn't get backed up what I needed to! I must have redone my backup 10 times as MEMEO kept losing the record of what I wanted to back up. Carbonite is great. It also means that I can get access to the data from anywhere if need be AND that I don't have to worry if my whole business is destroyed.
OK, these folks are my first choice for virus, firewall and spyware protection. They are Vista compatible. The have a free product called HOUSECALL that I use on machines that I KNOW have a virus. It is an online checker that will clean a virus and leave the minimum amount of junk on your system. I like the price on this. The FULL suite is just under $50 for 3 computers per year. I buy two licenses a year to protect 6 computers. I am promoting them because I LOST two systems that were activated. When I reused the serial number for the 4th time it asked me what computer to deactivate! I was THRILLED that I didn't have to buy another product. Other companies haven't been so nice...
