Storm Clouds, 8-3-18. SMD.
From early this month, a storm on the way. Thought I had posted it. Thought I had posted period. It’s been turbulent indoors as well. Computer issues. Photoshop. Ughh!
“Could not transform because the scratch disks are full.”
“Low Disk Space. You are running on very low disk space…”
Turns out, I had almost NO disk space. Took a full week to figure things out. Save files, and regain the use of Photoshop. That sent me down the rabbit hole, cleaning files and deleting. I still need to buy a portable hard drive and I am researching those. Suggestions are welcome! I am planning to replace my system in October. Fingers crossed. Now if I can just get through September. Fingers and toes crossed, and prayers said!
Mingus Tower, 8-3-18.
Still enjoying the monsoon season. Which I think is nearing the end. Rain is forecast the next five days. That could mean a downpour, or a few minutes of sprinkles.
Goodbye Zazzle?
I am thinking of closing my Zazzle shop. I am very disappointed in the quality of their fabric printing. I have seen different products, purchased by friends and family. And the quality on those items is great. So maybe, I just won’t offer fabrics for sale on that site.
A few months ago I ordered fabric samples from Zazzle. I compared those with swatches from Spoonflower. There is no contest. Both sets are on the basic fabric offered. For Spoonflower that is “Basic Cotton Ultra” and for Zazzle, “Custom Combed Cotton”.
Swatches on Spoonflower are 8 x 8 inches for $5.00. Zazzle 9 x 9 inches for $5.60. It might be hard to see on-screen, but there is a huge difference in the quality and feel of the fabrics.
Comparing Spoonflower and Zazzle custom printed fabric. Designs by Sheila Delgado.
It’s been a few months, but I am certain that I ironed the samples. They have sat on my desk, folded. You can see the wrinkled Zazzle swatches. That fabric is stiff, and makes a crinkly sound when you move it. I wouldn’t want to wear it. Makes me think of the crinoline skirts my Mom remembers.
The Spoonflower swatches are soft and pliable. You can also see the difference in printed details. On the sailboats, a large-scale print, the quality is nearly the same. But on the feathers, you can see that the fine detail is lost. The Zazzle feathers is even printed in a larger scale, and still, the fine detail is blurred.
Unfinished Projects
I have missed painting. And the shadows on Mingus make me want to paint even more. Hard to believe we are already at the end of the month, and I have yet to put brush to paper. There are a few more projects that need attention, so that in September I can be free to paint daily.
I have dealt with a Lupus flare this month as well. Just bone tired. I had an Esophageal manometry on the first, and it seems I have been in recovery mode ever since. It was a very quick and simple procedure. It required fasting, and it was an afternoon appointment in Phoenix. So I think the mix of not eating, not taking my meds and a long drive (3 hours there and back) just zapped my energy.
Luckily, I was able to do the test quickly. My cough did not interfere. It seemed I was in and out in less than 20 minutes. I even arrived early, and within five minutes I was taken back to start the test. WOW!
Pushing through. Napping when I can. Crossing tasks off my list. Just at a slower pace than I would like. Hope all is well in your neck of the woods!
I hope things are settling in for you and that you are feeling better. Gorgeous photos! Thank you for sharing. Big hugs and blessings, Sheila! There is always JOY to partake in, if you just smile. Peace.
Gave thanks just now Trang. You are so very right. always something to be grateful for 😉 Glad you enjoyed the post my sunny friend. ALWAYS a JOY to hear from you! Hugs and Blessings right back 🙂
It sounds like you have had a rough month Sheila – hope things improve for you. Super photos btw. I agree with your assessment of the fabrics – Spoonflower is definitely better. As for the computer problems – I hope things get resolved in time for the Sept. challenge as I would hate to miss your posts. Take care.
Thanks for that Val, I will be there. 😉
Thanks for your confirmation. Glad you enjoyed the photos!
Hope you are enjoying the season, and happily creating 🙂
testing, testing, using http:// laughing that I never thought of that!
Neither did I, until someone told me. Sorry I can’t remember which someone, ‘cuz I am pretty sure they might see this. LOL 🙂
Sometimes things happen that force us to slow down and take a breathe. Sorry to hear that you were not feeling well and glad that you are slowly regaining your strength. Hope to see you in the 30 x 30! I have a WD portable hard drive but I don’t think I am using it correctly. Maybe I will format and start over. Don’t know what your system is but I keep the C-drive mainly for programs, have a few other partitions for saved work etc.
I’m impressed Carol. 🙂 I don’t have partitions. I don’t think. LOL. Need to look that up. My desktop is OLD. A refurbished, it runs on XP!! So I have issues with Google because they no longer support it. And I can’t switch it to a newer OS. So it is time for a newer computer. And the laptop (both were gifts) is showing its age as well.
Using a portable HD is new to me, and a little scary. I’m used to having everything in one place. But we know that is not good for security.
Thanks for your well wishes my friend, and I WILL be in the 30 🙂 I would hate to miss it, and everyone 🙂
When you get your new computer with a HUGE drive and lots of RAM, have them make at least 3 partitions.
Thanks Carol, I will tell my tech friend! 😉
Sheila, so excited to see you in my inbox—I’ve missed your art and blog, and I was JUST thinking about you because I’m about to head off to a vacation on Monhegan Island, a teeeeeny island off the coast of Maine, with my dad, and will be bringing only a few bits of paper with me and some watercolors, with which, as you know, I have next to NO experience. I’ll be learning by doing, and flying even blinder than usual!
Love your photos here, and the Zazzle/Spoonflower discussion. Sorry about your computer issues, and sorrier to hear about the Lupus flare. Naps and slow pace sound just right. Crossing fingers and toes with you, and keeping you in my heart and prayers.
Eager for September to arrive so I might see lots of new paintings from you!
Aww thanks so much Dotty :o)
I am so excited for you Dotty! You will have a blast with watercolor! Just play, and see what happens. Try throwing some salt on wet paint. Try dropping one color into another. Try adding wet paint to drying paint.
Flying blind is your forte my dear!!
Nice to see a post from you this morning, Sheila. I missed you! First, external hard drives, before I came to Spain I researched it quite extensively and bought one for slightly more than $100 by Lacie. I have been quite happy with it, although you have reminded me that I need to backup. It’s been a while. I’m certain there are better, cheaper ones out there by now. I did buy it through Amazon.
I haven’t heard anything about Saeta challenge except that one confirmation by Leslie when I emailed her. I think something has come up because there has been no notification; so it is very possible the September challenge will not be until October, giving you and I even more time to get ready. The weather conditions of your area are sure producing some amazing skies. What a beautiful scene of Mingus!
I would definitely stop selling your products on Zazzle. Your beautiful designs must always be thought of as quality. Have you tried an Etsy shop? I have been working on a website and it is up but still needs tweaking. I was hoping to link Saeta challenge with it, but….
I hope Pete is closer and closer to full recovery. And for you, dear lady, stay strong and well!
Aww, thanks Laurelle 😉 I need to post an update about Pete! Hmm, I am beginning to wonder, it is late for an announcement about next month. Well, October would be better for me this year too. LOL.
I wanted to paint ahead, but I think I have said that for each event, and only done it once maybe, LOL 🙂
I do have an Etsy shop, partially set up. LOL. I need to add items to it. And I am hoping to be able to start selling prints in October as well. Fingers crossed.
I will take a look at Lacie. One of the best things about Amazon is being able to read the reviews 😉 I think 1T is enough for me, so 2T would last for a while. I don’t need more than that.
I am loving the skies Laurelle! And the shadows on the hills 🙂 And the booming thunder 😉
I’m sorry to hear you’ve been under the weather.
Regarding external hard drives. I’ve been using a pair of 4 TB Seagate Backup Plus drives to rotate backups between my home and office so I always have the good stuff stored away from home in case of loss by theft or, even worse, fire. THey go for ~$100 each. I saw that Best Buy had them for like $60 for 2 tb and ~$100 for the 4s last week.
I use them in conjunction with dropbox to upload all my raw photos in the cloud as I add them to my catalog.
Lightroom has some awesome tools to clear out files as painless as it can be to go through thousands of files! lol I deleted about 50k files from a ~110K library and want to go through again.
WOW Dave!! I thought I had tons of photos, but my stash is piddly next to yours. LOL. 🙂 Thanks for the recommendation Dave, Seagate keeps popping up. Good to know ;o)
I keep avoiding the cloud, not sure why. Well Yeah, I just want my privacy. But it does make sense to have them stored that way, in case of fire or theft at the house. I will check out Best Buy!
If you’re going to be upgrading in October, now is the perfect time to delete away! don’t carry any junk to the new house and all that.
Make sure you when you delete stuff that you go and empty the trash too, so it actually frees up the space.
Ha ha ha, love that Dave! I am trying to. The only folder left is, well a few, Mingus and mountain photos. But I am down by half I think, so getting close. I am good about emptying the trash 😉
Thanks Dave!
And maybe I should wait until Black Friday.