Why Do I Feel the Need to...?

 

There are many things that I do in Life that are not strictly necessary but somehow I feel the need to do them anyway. I wanted to make a couple of instructional videos this week that may benefit say, 2 people (max). As per usual, I wasted a lot of time fiddling around with cameras and mics. This time I would not be filming the quilting frame and instead wanted overhead shots at the cutting table or sewing machine. This is not as simple as it would seem. You-tubers must have all sorts of “rigs” that you can’t see to hold their gear. I have, ahem, quite a lot of gear but the cameras would droop or be shooting from a weird angle. If only I knew a friendly carpenter to build some sort of framework or ceiling rack.

As well as getting the view right, sound is important too. It took me ages to notice that I could not get my mic to pick up sound because I had not plugged it in correctly - I blame it on the lack of clearly written instructional manuals - ie. no manuals at all!

Of course, I had to practise what the video would be about before I could start filming. In the case of the Goosey Guddle block this meant taking step by step photos for reference. I used my phone, which has a good camera but the proper camera would have been better if I could have angled it correctly, sigh…

The case of the quilt machine zips was different. In the USA you can buy finished open-ended zips at exactly the right size. Here in the UK, I bought continuous zipper and could not source plastic end stops to stop the zip head from falling off. I had to faff around with a sample piece, working out an alternative which turned out to be inserting some spare teeth at the bottom end of the zip and melting them with a soldering iron. To be able to write clear instructions, I will have to know exactly how much zip tape to cut to get both sides to fit together nicely.

In other techno news, the fancy clacketty computer keyboard that I use won’t light up any more. It is not that I need to light up - just that it should and I don’t see why I should put up with something that is only working 50%. To the list of gadgets that need fixing, I must work out why the washing machine is leaking, phone someone to mend the dishwasher and complain that my microphone’s fluffy “dead cat” windshield won’t stay on. 

All in all, it’s no wonder that I feel that I have gone around in circles all week!