Photographing Fabric for Fun!

It's been a long time since I dusted off the camera and took pictures for the sole purpose of creating images just for fun.

During my former (corporate) life, I was always too busy and most of the photography demands in our family get passed off to the husband (he happens to be a professional, so hey, if the shoe fits...) When I did snap a pic in the past, every photo had a purpose: Capture a moment. Remember the scenery. Document life.

I recently found a quilt photo workshop / link-up on the Plum and June blog, and I got jazzed up!  I decided to see if I still have any creative photo skills left in me.  As side benefit to this challenge... I got to play with all the amazing 'fabric-in-waiting' I've collected over the years.  (Some of this fabric had actual dust on it, but that's another story...)

I took dozens of images. These are the best of the collection.

To start the fun, I brought out some very special textiles I collected from a lovely shop in Tanzania... and I styled these fabrics alongside my grandmother's Singer.

Next I dusted off a reproduction fat quarter pack that I've had front and center on a shelf for years. These are so cool, I haven't even untied them yet. These also seemed to be a natural blend with my grandmother's sock monkey.

 

The last one is the back of a huge quilt I made from a Kim McLean pattern called Hearts and Flowers.  It's kinda funny that I spend hours selecting fabric for the back and preparing it, then I never seem to display it, or even pay it much attention after the quilt is finished. This quilt was made using all hand-applique and is hand quilted and I especially love this image because it shows off all my tiny hand-quilted stitches (hopefully the "web" version of this photo still shows the detail).  And if not, well then, you have to admit this fabric is just awesome.

These 3 pictures were taken with available light from the windows in my tiny sewing studio, plus the ubiquitous Ott light substituting as my back light (aka hair light). The fabric is sitting on my cutting table with a make-shift white back drop to give it that clean look.  So fun. I might just do this again!

 

Here is a link to the quilt photo workshop: