I know that we use our cameras to show off our work, but a note in another thread just solved a huge problem for me.

jaciqltznok wrote a suggestion about putting a HST quilt together, but the thing I'm holding on to is ... take a picture of it laid out, then sew.

THE PROBLEM is I'm working on a quilt for my husband - I have it laid out on a spare bed and keep it covered with some backing material. I take a few blocks at a time back to the sewing machine (have to go through the living room where he's sitting to get there) and then sew those few together. BUT I sewed 8 of them together WRONG. I can't remember how they go once I get to the sewing machine. Even though I picked them up very carefully - one set was right and the next set I've had to totally rip out. Now I'll take my camera back there with me, snap a shot, pick up those blocks, go and sew!

So ... what else do you use your camera for? This little hint just saved me on this particular quilt! (AND I should have thought of it myself!)

What a great idea! Sure would save a lot of ripping.

I have my quilt laying on the floor next to the sewing machine, picking up one row at a time and sewed the row wrong. What could I use for an excuse?? Ripped it out twice only to discover I had dropped one piece and that was the reason it was wrong to start with. I shut everything off at that point and walked away.
I use my camera to take pictures of my china cabinet so when I remove things to clean the shelves I can get it back the way I had it.

Absolutely! I can be distracted easily, so I always take a picture of what I'm doing or follow the picture on the pattern. Here's an example.

I take a picture of the quilt laid out on my design wall before I sew it together. Quite often the camera shows something that just does not go together better than I can see with my eye

I made extensive use of my camera for a watercolour quilt I just made. Made it really easy to check the values (in black & white) to make sure I had the arrangement right. Plus, I often snap a picture just to have something I can see from a distance, as it were. Gives a different perspective on the quilt than looking at the design wall, and has helped me decide on borders and block placement in the past.

My design wall hangs in front of my machine, so if I can't keep pieces straight when I move from the wall to the machine, a camera wouldn't help me much :)

I label my blocks.

When I lay a quilt out I pin the pieces as I pick them put to sew. Even if you only put one pin. I might sew 2 together and then go back and lay the sets of 2 down and then pin again. Of course I do all of mine in my sewing room.

Aren't the digital cameras great!

I also use a digital camera to help when I'm putting the blocks together on my design board. If the design is one where I am playing with which way I want to set up the blocks, I'll take pictures of each set up and then review the pictures when my mind is fresh.

When I was making my daughter's quilt, I use EQ5. I had a lot of the same blocks in about 6 different colors. It took a lot to figure out how to set the blocks so that the same colors were not too close to each other. After I finally had it figured out, I printed the quilt out and pinned it up on the design board so that I could refer to it whenever I needed to do so.

I do use my camera quite a bit to tell me if I have a block laid out in the wrong position, but I don't use it to help me actually sew the blocks together. I make up a set of papers numbered with the block position, using numbers for the columns and letters for the rows (or vice versa) - A1, A2, A3,....B1, B2, B3... etc. I pin the appropriate label to the top left corner of each block. (That part is important - it must be to the same position on each block, and top left makes most sense to me.) Then I can stack the blocks row by row and always get them in the right order when I sew.

I take pictures to see how I like certain colors together and to test the layout of a quilt to see if it's what I like. I think digital cameras just make my life easier when quilting. I take mine with me to class so that I can take a picture of the block of the month to have as a reference point if I need it and I've used it to get a picture of directions for blocks instead of writing them all down; they were on a large board w/large writing so this made it easier.

Wow. These are all great ideas. I never thought about using my camera for these kinds of things. It probably would have saved me from ripping out the same thing 3 times. lol

ummmmmmm,,,no....that's just part of quilting....
we who photograph also rip.

not a camera, and maybe everyone knows this, but I use binoculars - look through the big end to see the whole quilt at once, as if from a distance. You can see instantly if some blocks are in wrong.

I would agree with CoriAmD on this one. If I am having issues in my mind about how I have a quilt laid out, I will take that picture and look at it. I then tend to send it to my mom for advice. Now I have the board to ask also. Of course I use the camera to take pictures of the kids and everything else. Another good idea is to take pictures of your items in the house and save them somewhere else. You can then always reference them in case an emergency has happened, i.e. fire, theft, flood. Can not hurt to document everything since we have not spent a lot of money in our sewing/quilting area ;) Would hate to have to replace some of those stashes out there without help from the insurance company :lol:

I use my camera during the design process, as others have said. I also take pic with my phone and text to my best friend and she helps me move things around and gives me input. A fun way to plan a quilt with a friend 1000 miles away! :)

what a great idea!!

if you can take a black/white pic with it, you can lay out your fabrics, snap a pic, and tell if the values are in the order you really want them.

The original suggestion was for a black and white photo. That thread is called "When to Call it Quits (or How Batik HSTs Kicked My Butt)".

My sewing room is my dining room which is attached to the piano studio where I teach 22 private piano lessons. Can't leave things too spread out or messed up. So ... spare bed is my "Design Wall" and I troop back and forth. Usually not a problem, but trying to keep him from seeing the very distinctive train fabric I'm working on IS a problem!

Pinning would have worked ... didn't think of that either. This is really the border - just blocks wide but about 16 blocks long and pattern must be exact. Problem solved now!

Now that's what I call inventive! Great idea.

As for moving your blocks, Jan, after you take your photo of the whole layout, use something light & portable to make a small design wall (foam core covered with flannel or batting). Lay out a section you want to stitch together on it, and transport the whole thing to the machine. You can cover it as you pass by him so he can't peek. You can work right off the board, and place back sections as you finish.

I'll bet that was clear as mud. :?

This is a fabulous tip!!!!!

I mark every block with a piece of masking tape and name them First row:
A1...A8 then B1...B8, etc. Then I take a pic of each two blocks together
in the right order, plus I take a few pics of the whole display then I have all
this on my computer for reference in case I lose my tape or something.
Double insurance so to speak.

Sometimes I will take a picture of my quilt before I quilt it.
I mark up the picture with the design I think would look nice before I start. This is helped me save hours of ripping out stitches.

All good sugestions. I wish I could remember them when I am working on a project instead of when I have the seam riper in my hand.

Often, taking a picture of the quilt when it is just laid out before sewing the blocks together, can show up any imbalances of design or colour that one doesn't see with the 'naked' eye. I do it for this reason, and save myself a lot of grief.

I tell my students to use their camera as a quilting tool. I think I use it most as described above, it really shows an unbalanced value or border. I must have taken 24 photos of my one block wonder I put together last week. Each photo showed which block stood out and needed to be moved.

Great idea to use the camera. always learning great tips.

I use my camera for this all the time. I'll snap a pic then rearrange the blocks & snap again, etc. Usually going back to the 1st arrangement but not really remembering what it was :lol:

Last year I had a good save because of a camera. Batik drunkards path on design wall, nicely laid out. Took a snap. Wild Wind goes through, (AKA cat) and knocks half of the pieces off. Printed the px, and was soon back in business.

I use the phone camera all the time. I am still a newbie and use some tools that I used when I was working (retired and lovin' it) and graph paper and markers work well also. I take pictures of all stages of my quilting. From the stack of fabric, to the blocks as I lay them out, my flannel board, my practice layouts of the blocks, I just grab the phone and take pictures. As a new quilter, I find that uploading them to my iPad or computer helps me to remember exactly what I had in mind when I started. Also, change things after I look at a picture and go "wow, that doesn't work". Find the new technology works well with the old technology of quilting.

This is a great idea. I also go between 2 rooms when putting quilt blocks together. Thanks for the tip.

This is a great idea.

I take it to quilt shows to keep patterns I like in mind, memory often full so it becomes storage.

A few years ago I discovered how quilt tops look through the camera lens helps me in my quilting. If I'm undecided about how I want to layout my quilt blocks, I try several layouts and photograph each of them. Looking at the layouts in the photos help me "take a step back" and I find it is much easier to decide on the direction I want the quilt to go. Many a times I had an initial layout in mind only to discover that once I used my camera to "step back" I hated the layout. Before I began using my camera I'd found myself at least halfway done with the top and not happy with it. That meant my seam ripper got commandeered to get me back to square one so I could lay them out in a different manner. Believe me, this has saved me from many hours of ripping blocks apart.

Great idea. I have been putting a number on each block to keep from sewing wrong.

I never thought to use my camera to take a picture of blocks going together! GREAT IDEA!! Thanks!

Wow....that's a great idea!! I never would have thought of that! Thanks!

I have that same problem ... really quilt-stopping serious! I've made 2 small boards on which to transfer block pieces from my cutting table or design wall to my sewing machine. They are about 1"-thick styrofoam (came to our house as packing); I've covered them with white felt from a bolt I bought many years ago. I pin my block pieces on them to take to the sewing machine. They allow me to get the pieces sewn together as they should be. Without those boards, I would be in real trouble.

JUST PIN YOUR BLOCKS TOGETHER AS YOU PICK THEM UP. I DON'T USE A CAMERA FOR PIECING, BUT ALWAYS TAKE A PICTURE OF THE FINISHED QUILT.

Sorry caps button on.

I have done this for years. I always use my camera to take a picture of how I lay the blocks out for the final quilt. It's funny how you can see where you have something wrong when you view it through the camera and can't seem to see it otherwise. I have my camera charging right now and am going this morning to my Church to lay the finished blocks out on the floor of the Fellowship Hall to see if I need more or have what I want already. Use that camera ladies, sure helps to rearrange things. Plus with my digital, I don't have to keep the shots permanently, or print out the pictures unless I want to.
Another thing I do is I make one block the way it needs to be currently a non traditional log cabin block, with all creams for several rows and creams are going vertically when used with the darks which are going horizontally. I keep the one correct block with me at the sewing machine, so I know I am putting the other blocks together correctly