Process Story

This is a story about having an objective to make a thing that will disappear.

Well, not disappear exactly, but become totally unobtrusive. It's a photo backdrop.

When I began my photography journey I wanted to take nice pictures for two purposes:
    1. To take close-up photos of flowers
    2. To take photos of my crafts and stitchery that would look good on my website.

To that end, I began gathering photo equipment to make that photography easier and more enjoyable. One of my favorite pieces of equipment is my photo cube. With it I have a nice blank background so that the objects in my photos take center stage. 

On top of the plain white background, I add colored or patterned photo backdrops. I've got a great collection now. But I didn't have a purple backdrop.

Last year I found a roll of thick purple felt at a thrift shop. I wasn't sure of the size, but it seemed like I could do something with it. It turned out to be long enough, but quite narrow: 66 inches long; 16 inches wide. My photo cube is about 25 inches wide.

So to make a usable backdrop, here's what I did:

Folded the felt in half lengthwise. 

 Cut it. One of these pieces is the center of the backdrop.

The other piece was folded in half, cutting it to make two long narrow pieces. These are the sides. I wanted the center of the backdrop to be the widest part so that if I'm photographing smaller projects, I can avoid seams showing in the background.

Then I made a chalk line 3/4 of an inch away from the edges on both sides of the wider/center piece.

Since the felt is so thick, I didn't want to make a traditional seam. Instead, I layered the narrow/side pieces on top of the wide/center piece up to that 3/4 inch chalk line.

I pinned the two side pieces in place, overlapping the two side pieces on top of the center piece. I wanted to make sure I could keep that center section as wide as possible.  

Then on to the sewing machine. Since the felt is quite thick, I needed to loosen the tension on the foot of the sewing machine. This way the felt would have an even stitch rather than being pinched or bunchy or slightly gathered. 

I changed to a zipper foot so that the foot could line up right to the edge of the fabric. I sewed both seams, then flipped the fabric over and sewed down the other side of the seams on the other edge of the fabric. This way the seams lay nice and flat.

Then I trimmed off the top and bottom into a nice straight line. Since felt doesn't ravel, I didn't need to finish the edges in any other way.

Done!

Though I've experimented quite a lot with lighting my photo cube, I still have some trouble getting nice pure lighting. Part of the reason is because the cube sits on a dresser that has a window up and to the left. Depending on the time of day, the lighting gets quite wonky, like in this overall photo.

So here's my latest setup. The test photos came out quite nicely yesterday afternoon.

There's a dowel across the top/back that sits in two Velcro hoops (built into the photo cube). Along that dowel I've draped an LED light strip. With it, I can brighten or darken the back lighting behind the object I'm photographing. I can change the color of the lighting, too with the strip's color changing ability.

Onto the dowel I've attached three clips with adjustable Velcro straps. This particular backdrop is not as long as I'd hoped. But I can stretch out the clips to allow the backdrop to hang lower and give me more fabric beneath the object being photographed.

My computer desk sits right next to my photo cube, along with the ring light I use during digital conferences. I experimented using my ring light on TOP of the photo cube to bring in consistent light from above. So far, this is working well!

If needed, I also have a couple small LED spotlights I can use to focus light on the subject from the front. (Not shown in this photo).

Here's the final shot. Rozalie's helping me out again. 

If you look closely you can see one of the seams in the purple backdrop, but it's not very obtrusive. If necessary, it'd be easy to remove in my photo editing program.

So ... I took plenty of time thinking through the process, some creative engineering, and a lot of doodling to make the photo backdrop that, if working correctly, will disappear. It allows the object being photographed to have all the glory while it patiently does it's job - being part of the supporting cast in the photo setup.

Knock Knock

 Whose's there?

Artie

Artie who?

Artichokes when he eats too fast

I've been watching this artichoke plant growing all Spring. I walk by it on my usual route through the neighborhood. It was fascinating to watch the sturdy stems get bigger and bigger as the "flower" swelled in proportion. This particular plant had four artichokes. A few days ago, they started going to seed. Then they got their vibrant dandy spikey top hats.

Diddle, Diddle, Dumpling

 While babysitting our granddaughter yesterday, I asked her if she'd like to go on a walk. In an unusual move, she grabbed her shoes and readily crawled up into her stroller. I buckled her in and put on the first shoe. Then, "No!"

After several tries, I conceded to her way. She fell asleep while we were out and about. We let her sleep in her stroller for a while when we got home.

Jodie's Hydrangea

The hydrangeas in my daughter's front yard are glorious again this year. The two bushes are easily six feet tall and wider around. All these colors appear on a single plant.

Vivid pink. Some with white centers.

Rich purple with sky blue centers.

The deepest true blue with white centers. In the background there's a blue and yellow combination.

And these yellow and lilac beauties.

Seems they're a lucky place to make a home.

The Perfect Strawberry

Look at this pretty gem

This year our five strawberry barrels grew full and lush and green. They flowered and the pollinators helped them out. The "strawberry rocks" kept most of the bugs away.

We got around 3 dozen little berries this year. They tasted terrific on top of vanilla bean ice cream. This was one of the last I picked. 

We probably won't get many more berries this summer since the plants have sent out their runners. But, oh! We savored the few we grew!

Friends and Flowers - Fini

She's a cutie, alright!

She gave me some heartache and trouble wrestling her into her final form, but she's worth it.

This 12" x 12" pillow took me a full three months to complete. I'm out of practice. Sigh

Yet I'm pleased with the outcome.

Luscious

I took a longer route through the neighborhood on my cloudy morning walk and received this lovely surprise.

When I got in close, the roses smelled divine. 

Decisions, Decisions

I'm like the old woman who lives in a shoe.

I had so many children crafts, I didn't know what to do.

All the surfaces in my Studio were cluttered up with partially done projects. So I decided to create a little order today. Layer by layer, project by project, I cleared my work surfaces. I put each project in a pile on my bed. Now I can tackle them one at a time.

These are thrifting finds I bought last week. Some are gifts for my granddaughters. Some is geocache swag. I've washed the fabrics. Now everything needs to be put away. 

This box is a card-making kit. I want to make a bunch and send them out to "my ladies" to let them know they've been on my mind.

Here are a couple pen-pal letters started for my Idaho grandkids.

I've done some measuring, so will cut these boxes to size, line them, and work on my "fat quarter project" wherein I sort my fabric, fold each identically, and organize them in boxes that will fit their shelf. This way, finding an appropriate fabric will be much easier than the current toppling stacks. This project is one of my 25 Goals in 2025.

And, of course, I still need to finish my cross-stitch pillow. I haven't worked out all the math yet.

So ... tomorrow? I tackle the first project tomorrow? 

One small problem: where do I sleep tonight?

First of Its Kind

 I planted morning glories from seed this Spring. The first bloom has arrived.

Our hope is to have the entire back fence covered in these blooms.

#manysmalldreams

Pillow Progress

I washed and dried the stitchery. Then I picked the fabric for the pillow cover -- a petit yellow and white gingham.

I found a suitable zipper in my stash. It's got be be at lease 35 years old. I enjoy finding ways to use old supplies. Though the zipper is only 7" and will be used on a 12" pillow cover, I should be able to make it work. 

I made a 12" x 12" pillow insert from an old sheet and some polyester fiberfill.

Now comes the math part ... turning a rectangular stitchery into a square pillow.

Say, look! I have crystals hanging in my Studio window. Today they gave me a rainbow!

Happy Pride Month, y'all.

Summer of Stars

Summer decorations are going up. I decided to make some new ornaments for our LED entryway tree. Among my stash, I found a dozen white stars. That was my jumping off point.

I need 20 ornaments for the tree, so I made eight more white stars from cardstock. They're a slightly smaller size for variety.

I used foil star stickers for a pop of color. Half the stars have a blue star sticker, half have a red star sticker. All the star have a gold foil star sticker on the back.

As I put them together, I was afraid they might be slightly too large for the tree. But no! Just right!

The entryway is nearly ready for Flag Day and Independence Day now.

The local temperature is telling me Summer is well on the way. As I type, it's 85°. The sun will set at 9:53 pm. Feels like Summer to me!

The Next Wave

I've been a little frazzled for the last six weeks. I can always tell something's up with me when I start missing consecutive days of blog posts. I enjoy keeping this running record of my life, and I tend to let my photos and writing slide when my brain is slightly rough around the edges.

However, I have been exceptionally good about getting outside for my neighborhood walks. Today, I was out quite early ... before the kids were on their way to school, before there was traffic. So I took a little extra time to appreciate the quiet and pay attention to the second wave of flowers that are in bloom. Here are a few:

Flowering flowers. Flowering bushes. Flowering weeds. Each has its own beauty.