Welcome to the Spiromaniacs Blog!

Welcome to the Spiromaniacs Blog!  I hope you find your visit inspiring. 

To look at finished spiral quilts, click on the Inspiralling Quilts and TA DA! pages listed at right.  Then, if you’d like to learn more about the individual quilts, click on the quiltmaker’s Work-in-Progress page.  All of the quilts (except for mine) were made by people who had never made a spiral quilt before.  Quilters of all levels accepted the challenge to learn spiral quilt techniques, then design and make a quilt of their own.  I think you will agree that the results are simply amazing!  And if they can, you can!

To purchase the book Simply Amazing Spiral Quilts go to the Store, or click on the link under “Blogroll” at right.

For Spiral Quilt workshops (both in-person and online): To see course offerings and register click here or on the link under “Blogroll” at right.  To learn about how online classes work, click on Classroom at right.  Also check out the student gallery page.  If you’re registered for an online class, look for the class name and your name at right.  Schedule now for your show or guild so you’ll be first to present these great new designs!

To sign up for the newsletter and receive a FREE PATTERN click here or on the link under “Blogroll” at right.

For current Spiromaniac news scroll down below this post.  (This one is “sticky” so it stays at the top of the page, while current news posts below it, with the most up-to-date at the top.)

To write a comment to a post (here on the main page), click on “Comments” below the title.  To write a comment to a page, scroll to the bottom of that page and write in the box.  (Your comments come to me automatically as emails.) Or, send me an email at ranae@ranaemerrillquilts.com

If you find errors in the book, check the page Corrections to SASQ.  If you find one that is not listed, scroll to the bottom of the page and write a comment.  (Apologies, and thanks, in advance!)

I look forward to hearing from you and sharing the exciting world of spiral quilting!

RaNae

 

New Year, New Look

Hey, Spiros, I just launched my new website so surf over and take a look: www.ranaemerrillquilts.com.  The address hasn’t changed, but EVERYTHING else has.  The online store is now set up and working too!  This is a HUGE milestone, something I’ve been envisioning and planning for several years.  Kudos to Mary Wagner, my designer, who seemed almost psychic in her ability to understand what I wanted, and to Joe Chellman, our programmer, who said “yes” to virtually every “can we . . . .?” question I threw at him.

One of the new things on the site are ONLINE CLASSES.  Check out the listings on the Teaching page and register online.  For in-person workshops, the page also has booking information and a downloadable contract.  In the next few days I’ll be putting the final touches on the course descriptions, then will send an email out announcing them.  If you want to see how online classes work, just look at the Work-in-Progress pages here on the blog.

Wishing you a wonderful new year as we face the challenges ahead!

RaNae

 

Kudos from Checker Distributors — THANKS!

What a nice surprise this morning — Checker Distributors, the biggest of the big guys in our quilting industry — featured Simply Amazing Spiral Quilts on their newsletter blog.  Penny Haren does a great job of describing the book — clearly she really looked it over well and understood what was going on. 

If you want to read the whole article, the address is:

http://www.checkernewsletter.com/?p=901

Thanks Penny!

 

Interview with EQ

Spiros, Electric Quilt featured Simply Amazing Spiral Quilts and some of the original Spiromaniacs in their newsletter this month.  Check it out!

http://www.electricquilt.com/Users/News/2008/2008_10_3.asp

If you haven’t tried Electric Quilt software yet, you’re missing out on a TERRIFIC tool for designing amazing quilts of all varieties.  Personally, I begin just about every quilt I make these days in EQ (even when sometimes I have to export and finish in Adobe Illustrator or PhotoShop). 

And I love EQ Printables Foundation Sheets for spiral quilting.  You can see through them (a must!) and you can either leave in or remove them when you’re done.

Thanks to Penny McMorris, the head of Electric Quilt, for her enthusiasm and support!

 

Great news just keeps on coming!

Ladies, it has been so much fun to open my mail and answer my phone in the last few days — the good news is just POURING in!
 
Devi Lanphere had her quilts Midsummer and Midwinter juried into Pacific Interional Quilt Festival (PIQF)!
 
Jamie McClenaghan had her quilts Photo Op?! and Starry Night (along with another quilt as well) accepted into PIQF!!
 
Kathy Oppelt had her quilt Do You See?! accepted into the Georgia Juried Quilt Show!!!
 
Joan Garland had her quilt Flying Tumbleweeds accepted into the Georgia Juried Quilt Show!!!
 

 ATAGIRLS!!!!!!!!!

 
Book update: they are on the boat and the expected warehouse date is September 23. (That’s this week!) It will take a few weeks to get them settled in and sent out, but it won’t be long now!  Every time I look through my advance copy, I’m so proud of the work that you have done!
 
I saw Rhona Triggs at the Empire Quilters guild meeting on Saturday and she was the first Spiromaniac to sign my book.  WhooHOO!!!!

 

Scanning Images for the Blog

If you are scanning images to send to me, here is how to get them to the right format for the blog. (Remember, that is JPG format, 4″ wide at 75 pixels per inch, or in other words, a total of 300 pixels wide.)
Most scanners let you preview an image and crop only the area you want — do this before scanning to cut away any empty or distracting areas around your image.

You can set the pixels per inch when you scan — set it at 75 ppi.

Scanners read at full size but will allow you to output to the scanned file at a different size — this is the “target” size. Even though you are reading 8″ wide, set the “target” size to 4″ wide. Set the target size AFTER you crop.

Scan the image and save it as a JPG file.

If you find that your scanned images are dark, you can increase the brightness and contrast of the image either before you scan it or when you open it in your graphics or photo program, but that is another lesson — one that is probably better learned from your instruction manual.

If you can’t figure out how to set the target size to 4″ wide, scan at full size, then open the image and resize it to the specifications above before sending it to me

These steps will yield a JPG image 4″ wide at 75 ppi, or 300 pixels wide. This is what I need for the blog.

Thanks for learning yet ANOTHER new skill!

 

Format for Sending me Pictures

Spiros, when you want to send pictures to post on your WIP page, here’s how to do it:

First of all, you must send the picture to me in an email — the blog doesn’t give you access to post your own.  Sorry!

Second: If your file is too large, I have to spend a lot of time downloading it and resizing it before I can post it.  I would really appreciate it if you would send me your pictures in blog-ready form.  Here are the specs:

 4″ wide

75 ppi (pixels per inch)

Or in other words, 300 pixels wide
(if your image resizing program asks for actual number of pixels)

JPEG format
(If the program asks you for type and quality,
tell it “Baseline”, not “Progressive,” and use quality level 5 or 6)

Any photo maniupation program will allow you to change size (It’s usually a function or a menu selection called “Image size”).  And EQ will let you choose the size and format of an image when you export it. 

To export an image from EQ: Go to File –> Export and follow the instructions from there.  It will ask you what size you want it (follow the quidelines above) and where you want to save it on your computer.  Once you have saved it, you can attach it to an email to send it to me.

With 58 of you sending me images, this will save me a LOT of time to — oh, I don’t know — WRITE?

Thanks for understanding!  R.