Embroidery and textile art with IPEVO Document Cameras

Kathy Andrews is a textile artist and embroidery teacher who works with students of all abilities, teaching them the techniques and the joy of hand embroidery.

With her enthusiasm for stitching and encouraging classroom atmosphere, she is a sought-after teacher of embroidery. Her teaching has included online courses, Embroidery Guild of America local, regional, and national seminars.

“One of the things I like most is that the IPEVO camera shows what I see when I’m embroidering. This means that the student can see from the same perspective that I do as I work. It’s as if they were sitting beside me as I work.”

She is a member of the Cedar Valley Chapter of the EGA, the EGA Fiber Forum, Textile Society of America, the Minnesota Needleworkers Guild, the Stan Hywet Needleworkers Guild and the Columbia Fiber Arts Guild.

In addition to teaching, she is available for lectures. “Elizabethan Embroidery And The Trevelyon Miscellany Of 1608” and “The Unbroken Thread Sampler Collection: The Samplers And Their Makers”

“My IPEVO camera is part of my embroidery setup. It’s always right beside me when I’m stitching, so it’s ready to use when I need it. As I work, the camera is right there to take both still photos of my progress and short videos for instructional purposes later.
When I am creating a new piece of embroidery, I use the IPEVO camera to document my design process. This includes taking photos of stitches and color choices that I am experimenting with as I work.”

“The other invaluable use of the document camera is when I am collaborating with someone on a design. Because I can be connected to both the IPEVO document camera and Zoom at the same time, I’m able to talk face to face with a collaborator and show them the piece we’re working on in real time. It’s almost as good as being in the same room together and, best of all, I can collaborate with other embroiderers from all over.”

Before acquiring IPEVO doc cameras for her work, Kathy says she used to take photographs of her progress using a cell phone camera. No matter how hard she tried, the photos would sometimes come out blurry. She also needed to remember to upload them onto her computer and put them in the correct files, resulting in many of her photos getting lost among other personal pictures.

Taking a close-up photo or video with her cell phone was problematic, she needed to ask her husband to help and never got the close up she needed because their bodies would get in the way.

“The IPEVO camera’s zoom function is fabulous, taking close-up pictures is no longer an issue. It sits beside me, and I can snap a photo whenever I need to or take a video without any additional set up. The camera is sturdy and has a heavy base which means there’s no wobble when I want a close up of my work.”

When Kathy taught embroidery at seminars and classes, the usual way students would watch her demonstrations was to gather around her chair, lean over and hope they could see her work. Naturally, this didn’t always work very well, especially with any student who was in a wheelchair or needed a walker to get around. Especially now, with Covid, it’s just not safe to get so close together anymore.

She can now use her IPEVO document camera “live” connected to a projector to demonstrate. She can also take a video at home and play the video as a demonstration while she narrates in real time.

“Reviewing the process of doing embroidery wasn’t possible when doing demonstrations live; once you’ve embroidered an area you can’t really take it out and do it again to demonstrate it again. My students can request to watch the same video over and over in class as I explain it and they can ask questions.”

About recommending IPEVO to other professionals like herself, she states:

“Absolutely. If you are serious about chronicling the progress of your work, the IPEVO camera is a great addition to your tool kit. Being able to take steady, close-ups of your embroidery is so simple and the quality of the image is outstanding. The IPEVO Visualizer Software is very good and super easy to use; it didn’t take me very long to feel confident using it.
The camera is perfect for teaching embroidery; it’s safer because the students can stay seated and at least 6 feet apart. No one has to move to see the demonstration, which makes it much easier for any students with mobility challenges. Additionally - and most importantly - when the image is projected on a screen, it is many times larger. It’s a true close up.”

Learn more about Kathy:
https://www.theunbrokenthread.com/
Facebook: The Unbroken Thread
Instagram: @theunbrokenthread

Fiber Talk:
https://wetalkfiber.com/2021/12/09/needle-art-and-breast-cancer-with-kathy-andrews/
https://wetalkfiber.com/2021/11/21/fiber-talk-with-kathy-andrews-2/
https://wetalkfiber.com/2018/04/29/fiber-talk-with-kathy-andrews/