email Youtube

Home
Galleries
Blog
Workshops & Calendar
Store
Resources
About
Contact

Author Archive

Merry Mistletoe, a new free project

Wednesday, December 16th, 2015

Hi all!   At long last the new laptop has arrived, the nearly-deceased one is retired, and I’m scrambling to catch up.  So first things first!  Janome has published my freebie table runner pattern on their website and blog as part of the holiday celebrations. As always, thanks to Janome America for having me in their Artist and Teacher program for lo these many happy and productive years.

A table runner I made to feature the Janome 15000's beautiful embroidery

A table runner I made to feature the Janome 15000’s beautiful embroidery.  And no, my table is NEVER this tidy.  My laptop lives where the lower left corner is and there is always a pile of “to do” stuff!

I used a Lonni Rossi embroidery design built in on the Janome 15000 I am currently using.  I altered the colors of the built-in design to a wintry, holiday palette of red, green and golden tan.  Honestly, I never thought I’d like machine embroidery (the wanting to do my own thing stuff), but this design is so gorgeous and even *I*, a soul who doesn’t like uber-computerized machines, was able to stitch this out nearly perfectly the first try!

To see the project on the Janome site, go here and scroll down to December 14, 2015 or go here.   To download a PDF including full color photos with some neat tips for getting those skinny red strips to be perfect, go here.

The plain old vanilla photo of the table runner.

The plain old vanilla photo of the table runner.

Here’s what the project looks like in the original color selection on my 15000.  Quite a difference, eh?  And here is the boring, straight-on view of the table runner.

The Janome 15000 open to the Lonni Rossi block in the original colors.

The Janome 15000 open to the Lonni Rossi block in the original colors.

Close up of the original color way on the machine.

Close up of the original color way on the machine.

I’ve got one more version/colorway, but it is a gift (as yet unfinished) for Christmas, so I’ll just have to share it and add it in here later!

If you don’t have this machine, never fear–you can just insert your favorite embroidery or fabric instead of doing this beautiful design.

 

 

Hullooo Out There

Tuesday, December 8th, 2015

No, I have not dropped off the face of the Earth.  My rather abrupt departure from regular blogging was due to a crashing and dying laptop.  I am happy to say that Apple tech support went so far above and beyond the call of duty it is amazing!  I did have to buy a new (kaCHING) laptop, but it is up and running.  So as soon as I get caught up on everything, I’ll make up with a multi-week Foto Friday and some other regular blogging, too!

And just because blogposts need pictures,

Minor adjustments in LR.  Cropped in PS, contrast increased, then a major tweak (100 percent) to highlights.  Love the surreal effect.

Here’s a fun photo I took this past week that I didn’t submit as my class photo, but I liked anyway.  Thanks to the DH (Hubby) for driving me around for half an hour so I could take “drive panning shots.”  Minor adjustments in LR. Cropped in PS, contrast increased, then a major tweak (100 percent) to highlights. Love the surreal effect.

Photography in 2016–the new Ricky Tims 52-Week Challenge

Sunday, November 15th, 2015

Hi all: the best news first:  you can now sign up for this class in its 2016 version at Ricky’s new website https://www.photoclassforyou.com/

Anyway, for about the past half the year, I’ve been sharing each week’s lesson results with you here on my blog. My photography education this year began this way:

In December of last year, I saw Ricky’s post on Facebook announcing a photography challenge for 2015.   I promptly signed up, knowing that I needed the push to learn more about my DSLR and really USE it, since it is heavier and more complicated than my Panasonic SuperZoom.   I’ve always loved photography, and the class also included learning to use Photoshop (PS).  I was a bit leery, since PS used to cost a fortune–like $300+.  But now Adobe sells it as a subscription of $10.54 per month with a free trial month (or is it two?).  So I figured over three years that cost equals each edition of PS but in manageable monthly payments.  Now that I have used it, I wouldn’t be without it.

These mushrooms/toadstools in the yard are HUGE—at least 6 inches across when opened.  They seem to scream “ do NOT eat me!”  Smart sharpen, slight adjust to brighten.

One of my better recent shots.  Right click to see larger. These mushrooms/toadstools in the yard are HUGE—at least 6 inches across when opened. They seem to scream “ do NOT eat me!” Smart sharpen, slight adjust to brighten.

Now you can sign up for NEXT year [2016 R. Tims photo challenge part 1 sign up and info] to take a similar version of this course (Ricky has re-formatted it from 52 weeks in one swoop into a 26 week and two 13 week segments).  He asked for blurbs, I was happy to provide, and I’m so pleased he included my testimonial on his new website for teaching photography.

Right click to see larger.

Right click to see larger.  Here’s that hotlink again to take you to the page pictured above.

Your photography skills—composition, knowing your camera, and processing—will grow exponentially over the course.  Best of all, each lesson’s scope is a do-able “bite-size.”  If you have more time, you can go deeper, learning from fellow students’ work.  Recently, I took my son’s Senior (HS) portrait and the comments were “looks professional!”  That’s thanks to how much I have learned this year.

Here are a couple more of my recent photos that I think represent what I’ve learned.

More autumn decay with blueberry barrens, decaying stone wall and birches in autumn in Maine. The usual edits:  smart sharpen, tiny bit of vibrance, crunching levels.

More autumn decay with blueberry barrens, decaying stone wall and birches in autumn in Maine.
The usual edits: smart sharpen, tiny bit of vibrance, crunching levels.

 

Eli's choice for his yearbook photo.  They also do something utterly cool...see next photo....

Eli’s choice for his yearbook photo. They also do something utterly cool…see next photo….

Foto Friday, Week 44: Panorama

Friday, November 13th, 2015

Hi all!  Just a quick post to share last week’s quick effort at our Ricky Tims’ 52-Week Challenge lesson on how to “stitch” together photographs in PhotoShop.   Honestly, the software does all the work.   The photo below was created from five photos taken of the view from our house, then I did a few edits to get the colors captured to equal what it really looked like.

Did the panorama merge. Lightened the very deep shadows on the lawn, the row of scrub along the stone wall and the small woods on the left. Minor enhancements to get it to look more like it really looked to the eye (had to meter for the bright spot in the center) with the low 3 pm-ish afternoon light. This is the view from our house/lawn! We live in a town called Hope (Maine), and in the distance can see the towns of Liberty and Freedom (along with Appleton, Morrill and other spots). On a good night the Milky Way runs over us and is visible. The far ridge is probably 40 miles away to the North. The only drawback is the house faces North, and we have woods on the other three sides, so getting early morning or late afternoon “golden hour” is problematic as the sun is behind the trees or hills. We have wild turkeys, porcupines, skunks, foxes, deer, birds of all sorts, and a sheep farm behind us.

Did the panorama merge. Lightened the very deep shadows on the lawn, the row of scrub along the stone wall and the small woods on the left. Minor enhancements to get it to look more like it really looked to the eye (had to meter for the bright spot in the center) with the low 3 pm-ish afternoon light.
This is the view from our house/lawn! We live in a town called Hope (Maine), and in the distance can see the towns of Liberty and Freedom (along with Appleton, Morrill and other spots). On a good night the Milky Way runs over us and is visible. The far ridge is probably 40 miles away to the North. The only drawback is the house faces North, and we have woods on the other three sides, so getting early morning or late afternoon “golden hour” is problematic as the sun is behind the trees or hills. We have wild turkeys, porcupines, skunks, foxes, deer, birds of all sorts, and a sheep farm behind us.

Since this photo was taken we have had wind and rain and wind, so we are no in the bare, brown and gray phase of the year.

The great news is that Ricky has opened sign-ups for a repeat of the 52-Week Challenge for 2016.  I’ll blog about that in a couple days, but since this is my second post today, I want to take a bit of a breather!

Janome’s 100 Blocks project, Nine Squares

Friday, November 13th, 2015

Hi all!  Janome’s 100 blocks project is bubbling along, and today they are featuring my second block as one of today’s two blocks:

Screen Shot 2015-11-13 at 9.40.48 AM

9-Squares Applique block by Sarah Ann Smith

To get a PDF download with the instructions for my 9-squares blocks, click Sarah’s 9-squares block.

I am really enjoying seeing the blocks come to my inbox every day.  Just click on the hotlink in the first sentence and follow the links/instructions to sign up for notifications (optional) or just get to the PDF instructions.

100QuiltBlock

Doesn’t this quilt look fabulous photographed against that colorful wall? My blocks are the first one ( nine circles, Row 1, top left), Row 4 last block (the nine squares), Row 5 (bulls-eye with decorative stitching in the center…will publish next week), Row 6 (last block, wavy inserted skinny strips), Row 7 first block (mini checkerboard) and Row 7 rainbow log cabin in center). I’ll announce each time my patterns post.  Right click to view larger.