Monday, November 14, 2011

Digital Quilt Portfolio

I make a lot of quilts.  Sometimes I even forget what I've made.  I made the Storm Windows quilt years ago.  It's still one of my favorites.  I sold it in the gallery show and I miss it.

Last week I had a furniture design store owner ask me to see a portfolio of my work.  I hung my head a little and gave her my card knowing that she really didn't want to see pictures of Bruno or my kids and I didn't have what she wanted. While I love this blog, it's not just about finished work.  It's about process, and family, and screw ups and making lots of things. My flickr is more like a dumping ground for pictures than a place to go to see quilts.

I'm going to show her my quilts in person next week, so maybe she'll forgive the gratuitous cute dog photos that she had to wade through to get to the quilts, but that experience motivated me to create something new.


I wanted a place where all my finished quilts would be in one place with just a few words to remind me how or why I made them.  I've barely started putting this together.  It's not in the right order or even close to complete, but it's a start.  I have loads of pictures to go through, more pictures to take and quilts to find.  Bottom line, I think it's a great idea and I'm excited to work on it some more.

It's times like this when I wish I took better pictures.

Even though I don't have many of these quilts any longer, my digital portfolio will be a place where I can drop by, visit them and remember.

49 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a great idea. I really love your portfolio.

Vicki said...

That's a great idea! Have you seen that Tia started something similar? I have a "finished quilts" set on flickr but I like the idea of an online portfolio that's its own thing, too. Hope you're doing well in your new place!

Artfulife said...

You inspire me to keep on quilting even though I have no idea what I'm doing most of the time! Always a joy seeing your work & your dog pictures ;)

Ina said...

I LOVE this quilt!! Elegant. Understated. Beautiful! ;0

Judith, Belfast said...

Hi, I've just discovered you on Flickr. Your quilts are stunning. Great idea having a digital portfolio - shows off your quilts wonderfully! Jxo

carol said...

Awesome idea having a portfolio! You of all people MUST show your work! Can't wait to see them all (again) once you find all your pictures.

Angela Nash said...

Very nice! Your gallery looks fabulous.

stitchinpenny said...

I made a printed book with my quilts when Winkflash had a 100 page flat rate special. I got all of my quilts in and the 8.5 x 11 cost me less than $35. The quality is generally very good as long as you send them what you want printed - they don't do adjustments for you and I'm happy with what I have gotten from the. My husband and I don't usually add a lot of text, just pictures.

Tina in Boston said...

Your quilts are fantastic! Congrats on being contacted by the store. Having a digital portfolio is a must these days. You could have a great presentation on an iPad!

Cindy said...

What a fabulous idea. A simple digital portfolio! And every quilt is fabulous!

Sequana said...

I'd forgotten how much I absolutely love Outside In.

Thx for the reminder.

Suzanne said...

It is so good to have a process blog and a product (blog) portfolio. The clean lines really reflect your style.

Aliceart said...

It's such a good idea, and such an important one too. Beautiful works. Thank you for sharing it; I will keep looking.

Lynn said...

What a professional and elegant blog. It really does justice to your quilts, and should impress anyone who is already familiar with your work.

Carolyn S. said...

Thank you for sharing your wonderful quilts. I was already a fan, but am blown away by Storm Windows, and by Tin Ceiling (2nd time of being blown away on that one!).

Rachel said...

LOVE it! Now if I could only remember to take pictures...LOL...Yeah, a little slow here...

pklaw said...

Great idea - a beautiful showcase for beautiful quilts!

Patty said...

Wonderful portfolio. And good luck sharing your work this week. It will blow her away seeing it in person!

Shelley said...

Great idea! Such a lovely way to review all your amazing work. It's fun to read the day-to-day also, but a gallery of quilts is so inspiring to view!

Kritta22 said...

Oh I love it! Some of your quilts are my favoritest!

Sonia B said...

What a stunning collection! Great idea to collect them all in one place.

Elsa said...

I think this is a great idea ~ not only do you get to see what you've made but also your progress in design. I've been taking photos of everything I make for a while now and I can see how my color palette has changed and how much better I've gotten at whatever it is I'm doing.

Livie said...

I know it's still a work in progress, but I have one suggestion. If possible, it's nice to have some sort of date for each quilt as well. I like this for personal use, so you can see how your craft, taste, skills and overall style have changed over time. I've kept a personal (and very disorganized) record of finished projects, but have yet to formalize it into something worthy of professional use. Thanks for the inspiration to take it to the next level!

jacquie said...

great suggestion L...i've got dates for everything so that will help me put them all in order...lots of work for sure!

em's scrapbag said...

I think your pictures are wonderful and it is so inspiring to see your quilts. Will you have a link on your side bar for future reference?

Basildon Kitchens said...

What a great job - your quilts are wonderful

Amy said...

Great idea! Putting together a portfolio is a lot of work, but it looks like you've made a nice start.

MariQuilts said...

what a great idea....your quilts are beautiful.

the Campfollower said...

I started a new blog a couple months ago with the purchase of my Long Arm for JUST quilts and I am pretty happy with it. You are so smart! I miss you Jacquie!

FlourishingPalms said...

"...take better pictures." Really? Are you kidding? I'm sure I'm not the only one who wishes she could take pictures as nice as yours.

Christine L said...

I have to say that I agree with Linda above... REALLY better pictures. Your pictures are amazing, and inspirational! I love your digital portfolio.. I have a page that I added to my blog showcasing my finished projects each year. Just so I have them in one place as well. Great job on yours! We blog as a way to talk about our process, frustrations, inspirations, and accomplishments. Don't change that, it's how we learn from each other! Thank you for all your words!

EG said...

What a great idea - good for you!

Archie The Wonder Dog said...

I love the look and feel of your portfolio as well as (obviously!) the quilts in it - stunning!

ellen said...

Such a good idea! I do disagree on one point; I think you take very good photos.
Your quilts are so beautiful.

Cheryl Arkison said...

I did the same thing with the launch of my new website. Loads of work, and still not done. Added in my writing portfolio too. Phew...
Good luck!

Elsie Montgomery said...

You have done a superb job - I am so impressed!

CitricSugar said...

The portfolio looks great, Jacquie. I'm sure it will help you showcase all your work to those people who just want the quilty bits (though I've come to adore Bruno, and love the life bits of blogs as well as the creative parts. I've bookmarked it - it'll be a lot handier than sifting through ALL the posts I've bookmarked from your blog as inspiration.

Patty said...

Your digital portfolio is lovely and really does look like it fits your style. I love the clean, uncluttered presentation and your photography looks great to me! Makes me want to take a little more time and give more thought to the pics I take. Congrats on the new business prospect, with hopes that it moves in the direction that you'd like it to, whatever that it is!

Scrap,Quilt, Preach said...

I like what you have done. Simple clean and easy to work with so you can keep your quilt journal up to date. Now you only need to pass on a business card to a prospective client with the blog address and you are good to go. Thanks for the inspiration. And the photos are fine.

folksmith said...

I need to do just what you did. I'm starting to forget where or when i did them. I want to also keep a record of who quilted them. Good idea, I will have to start keeping a record of my creations.

Esch House Quilts said...

What a great idea! I love the idea of a concise record of what someone has done over time.

Good luck with the furniture store owner!

Paula said...

I've collected pics of most of my quilts. Scanned those not digital (I've been quilting a LOONGG time), and use them as my screen saver. The screen saver also lists the year and name of each quilt (the file names). I've also downloaded them to a thumb drive to carry with me. Neat to have them on a quilt. That I will think about. Thanks for sharing.

Marg M said...

Thanks thats really great and lovely for me (as I'm selfish) to look through and admire at my leisure. I love your work, thanks

mascanlon said...

I love this idea. I don't blog but often wish I had better documentation of my quilts to catalog and show (off) I loved going through your portfolio Jackie.

Promosyon said...

Thank you for sharing your wonderful quilts work, which you did after a long time. I was already a fan, and never forget to comment of quilt blogs.

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Kathy said...

I like this and plan to do a similar site as a record of my finished quilts. It will take me a while to "get organized". I have photos (film kind) to scan and quilts to re photograph for a better view. Thank you for sharing. I am in awe of your quilts. They are wonderful.

Greta said...

NO FAIR! Bruno is sweetly endearing when he slobbers, but your new portfolio just made me drool all over my keyboard. You need to post a warning for those of us who get slack-jawed by such an intense, direct shot through the optic nerve to wherever it is we know what is quite simply nakedly beautiful. Like an "R" rating, or something.

But seriously. Thank you so much for sharing!

car54 said...

Every one of your quilts makes me catch my breath. Thank you for making a place to see them all at once.