I wrote out a set of goals on Tuesday, quite detailed ones. Too dull to post, but I needed to write them down to help me commit to them.
One of the goals was to have all my self-drafted patterns scanned and stored by 15th October. The driver for this was that I needed to find a particular pattern piece, as I wanted to check the bust dart drafting on my original Sure Fit Designs body blueprint. I wasn't sure where I'd stored the originals, and I'd found stacks of things when I had looked for Miss Teen's pattern folder.
I thought that it would be very helpful for me to scan them all, once and for all, so I wouldn't lose them again - and, more importantly, so I could print a copy to play with, rather than having to manually trace it. Exactly the rationale for me buying a scanner, and wanting to trace my pattern pieces.
I got the scanner down (it's big, I need to use the breakfast bar as I need lots of space either side), got the a load of pattern pieces from my drawer upstairs, and yesterday I was ready to get started (after Pilates and a late breakfast). I found a USB stick to use. I did a test run with one of the pieces. Scan. Move USB to laptop, copy file onto laptop, plug projector in to laptop, project scan, compare projected scan to original pattern piece. Yippee, it worked! The scanner calibration was correct!
The first few scans took a while. I initially scanned each piece twice, once as a PDF and again as an image file. I wanted to see if I could import the image file into suitable software to edit it electronically. Every two or three pieces, I'd go and check them, and then I'd stack the pattern piece in a specific pile.
I stopped scanning for a while so that I could investigate converting the JPG image into something that U could use in pattern software. I was struggling to find something I could use to check that the image was a true size.
I couldn't quite get that to work. I mean, I scanned the image, but I couldn't convert it accurately enough, I decided that this was an unnecessary diversion, and I decided to scan just as PDFs.
I went off to see if I could find the original blueprints. I found them in a helpfully artists A0 portfolio, I leafed through the pieces in there, and found the one I wanted. I gt a little side tracked studing the front blueprint, I was sure that i'd got an error in that bust dart. What I needd was a copy that I could try manipulating! How exciting!!
I decided that I'd finish last few from the non blueprint ones first, to get them out of the way and put away. That way, I wouldn't get (any further) distracted. I loaded the carrier sheet with the next piece, and found the scanner had stopped working. It was dead.
It had ceased to be.
I tried it in a different socket. I turned it off and left it off for ages. Nothing worked,
DH came home and did a test on the power supply, and that was OK, so it seems to be a fault with the scanner. I found an online troubleshooting guide, but in order t use it, I needed the service manual. I found a service manuak for a related scanner, but then I realised that I would be faffing around in the dark - and I had no spare bits to try swapping anyway,
How very disappointing.
I've contacted the company that did the recalibration for me, I hope that they can help.
