This week’s photo assignment was decay.   I kept wondering if non-organic items can be said to decay, but decided for my class submission to stick to this image of a hosta leaf right by our front porch. Please note all photographs are (c) Sarah Ann Smith 2015.  To see a photo a bit larger, click on it!

Cropped square, increased contrast a fair bit, levels to lighten a tad.

And that truck I think is so fabulous, just slowly disintegrating near the old stone wall.   I can tell how much I’ve learned in this class:  I was able to get it sharp, deal with the extreme dark/light, bring out the details in the shaded areas, adjust the color so the photo looks like what the eye perceives and not what the camera thinks it is…. really enjoying and learning from the class with Ricky Tims.

The usual tweaks, plus dodge to lighten the old tractor part in the lower left, which was initially a black hole! I keep wondering if this fits the theme…want an inanimate object decay?

LOTS of edits and fiddles, including major crunching on Curves and Levels, B&W Dreamscape, etc.

And because I simply can’t resist the colors of autumn and those spectacular shades in the blueberry barrens (these are the real, wild, low-growing tiny Maine blueberries–so much better than those big marble-sized things in the grocery stores across America!).  Yes, one of these days there WILL be cloth dyed in the barrens colors….

The usual adjustments to sharpen, levels, shadows, tiny vibrance to get it to look like it really did!

SWOON:

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.

Among other things I’ve been doing, I have been making some clothing!   Several months back I fell in love with the Philip Jacobs (for Westminster Fabrics, he’s part of the KFC:  Kaffe Fassett Collective of designers) petunia print in the blues.  I was able to order it from Glorious Color (on Blue petunia fabric by Philip Jacobs, for as long as it is in stock!).  Philip designs (gloriously) for both Rowan and for his own line, Snow Leopard.   See his Westminster fabrics here or visit his Facebook page here.  He also has a horse named Neddy who approves his designs (grin!).

Sarah in her new tunic. The opening is deep and requires a camisole or decorative something underneath.  I lengthened the sleeves so I could wear a long-sleeve T under it in winter.  It gets cold up here in Maine!  By adding 6-8 inches you could make a lovely dress (or if you have shapely legs and don’t mind short, wear as a short dress as is).

I used a pattern I have had in my stash for a while and that is wildly popular:  the Schoolhouse Tunic by Sew Liberated.  You can find it in many quilt shops including Alewives Fabrics (one of my great local shops).  The direct link to the pattern on the Alewives site is Schoolhouse Tunic.  An alewife, by the way, is a type of fish.  They are common in the area and they spawn by going upstream–just behind the shop.  You can always tell when the Alewives are running in spring because every sea bird, gull, cormorant in a many-mile-radius is squawking and flying about!

The pattern I used.  My friend Kate has made this in a lovely natural linen and in some shirtings and it looks great.  Flatters many figure types, too.   Notice the 3/4 length of the sleeves.

with sleeve on left of photo turned up.  I made the hems really deep so that I could turn up the sleeves in summer and still have it look pretty.

I have some jersey (t-shirt type) fabric–another splurge purchase at Alewives–that I want to use to make another one.  For that one, I will not use such a deep hem.   My size, alas, has increased somewhat.  I had thought by using the next-to-largest size I would have ample room for a shirt underneath.  I have room, just not ample room.   So when I make it in the jersey, I don’t think I will do the usual “go down a size to make up for the stretch.”  I can easily fine tune the fit by taking deeper seams on the sides if I decide I need to do that.

This top was one of the projects I sewed on Janome’s new Skyline S7 machine, which I will review on Monday, October 26th.   I used the blind hem stitch to overcast the edges.

Seam finishes in my tunic: bias facing, on the top, overcast edge at the armscye (set in sleeve seam) and French seam (enclosed raw edges) on the side seam.

Next up:  a review of an “App” for one’s iOS device (iPad etc) and the top of the line Janome 15000 on which I usually sew.   The App is incredible…that post will be up in a couple of days.

So besides photography, what have I been up to these past six months and more?  Well, a lot of teaching, a lot of work, and not a lot of free time.  And oh yeah, being exhausted from the thyroid stuff (which is FINALLY improving…we may finally have the right RX…will see in a month).  So I have neglected the blog plain and simple.   I’ll try to fix that!  Today just a brief tease:

Lonnie Rossi embroidery design available from Janome, included on the Janome 15000.  The red and green will be part of what I plan to do with this block.  Sorry the photo is a little blurry–I’ll fix that by the time I get the project done! 

Can you believe that I, the “never do anyone else’s designs” person and “embroidery really isn’t me”, have enjoyed learning about embroidery on the phenomenal Janome 15000 that I currently have on loan (thank you again Janome-America).  Most of the included designs are, well, why “embroidery is not me.”  But Lonni’s designs ROCK!   The one above was done in a totally different colorway–soft greens, some peach.   Well, not me.   Has opened up a world of possibilities, including perhaps some of MY designs finally getting refined and submitted for consideration by Janome!  [Taylor, I promise, I really have stuff for you! I just need to make it good enough to send in!]

As part of the Janome Artist-Teacher loan program, I make stuff that Janome can blog about or use in their booths to show what can be done with their machines.  I thought the flowers looked like poinsettia as well as chrysanthemums, so I changed up the thread colors to reds, green and gold (not metallic).

I am also not someone that loves fiddling with computerized stuff on a machine.  I have to say, this machine has made it SO EASY.   Another thing that has helped immensely if an App from Jim and Diane Stutsman, available for iOS devices (iPad and iPhone), that teaches you everything but everything about the 15000.  I’ll review that in my next post.  It costs only $59.95 US, and all I can say is that if you have this machine, you will NOT regret spending that $60.  Totally worth it.

Anyway, when the winter Janome project is made with this design, of course I’ll share here.  The pattern will be available for free (here or on Janome or both…I’ll let you know), along with exact thread colors, yardage, etc.   Stay tuned!

Gosh it feels good to be back in touch (and have a functioning brain and body…now, to do something about the pudge and lack of fitness….)!

This tablerunner was featured at the Janome Institute late this past summer and it is now featured on their blog, here (scroll to October 15, 2015) and here on their projects page.  And I’m sharing the pattern with you here as a Halloween Treat!

Spiderwebs table runner (c) Sarah Ann Smith 2015. Featured on the Janome America website/blog on October 15, and on Sarah’s blog. Photo (c) Janome-America; used with permission and thanks!

For many years now I’ve been fortunate to be associated with Janome America.   I have been sewing on their machines since late 2004, moving up the product line so I’ve had a chance to test machines at all levels.  And in about a week  I will review here my test-drive of the reasonably priced Skyline S7, a brand-spanking-new machine (and to spill the beans–I can’t believe how much you get for the price!).  Anyway, I occasionally do projects for Janome.  Although this tablerunner was made on a top of the line Janome 15000, all you need is a machine that does a straight stitch.  If you have the triple-straight-stitch also, that’s good because it gives you a “bold” line on the spiderweb, but it isn’t necessary.  Even the most basic sewing machines (as long as they are not straight-stitch only) have this stitch (look for three vertical lines next to each other).

Most of my work is very involved and advanced, and the projects Janome features tend to be easier, so I drove down to one of my favorite local shops, Alewives Fabrics (here).  I found the fabulous Halloween fabric, and I’m not usually a major fan of decorating for this holiday.  But I love the ghostly dresses and the “polka dots” on the black that are really little skulls!   I also adore spiders (anything that eats mosquitoes is a friend of mine) and spiderwebs.  The green cotton-linen blend was perfect!

Detail of the spiderweb block.

Spiderwebs for Halloween Table Runner  is the PDF for the pattern (also available on the Janome projects page, see link above).  Yep–this is a total freebie, including a full-size page of the spiderweb design which, of course, doesn’t need to be just like mine!   A friend had a great idea which I wish *I* had thought of:  to include a line of glow-in-the-dark thread with the stitching on the web!   If I were to make this again, I would feed the two threads together as if one (Thanks Lutra!)  through a large needle (size 16 or maybe even 18) to do the spiderweb stitching.

I always love the backs of things:

The quilting on the back of the tablerunner, so it is reversible if you want.

The fabric requirements on the pattern are SCANT–they are what I had, and I used every tiny little bit!   If you find you need to square things up a lot, buy a little more than I suggested.

Spiderwebs table runner (c) Sarah Ann Smith 2015. Featured on the Janome America website/blog on October 15, and on Sarah’s blog. Photo (c) Janome-America; used with permission and thanks!

An extra thanks to Taylor D. and Janome America for letting me use some of their photos (the nicely staged ones on the table)–I forgot to take nice photos before I sent it off to them for Institute!   And as always, thanks to Janome for having me in their Artist-Teacher program for so many years.  I truly appreciate it–and best of all, for making such great machines.  Yes, I’m affiliated, but I’d say the same things if I paid full MSRP!

What a concept, Foto Friday on a FRIDAY!    This week’s theme was Autumn.  Since autumn is at its glorious peak around Hope, Maine, that was easy.   And needless to say, since it is my favorite season, I got carried away!  Please note, photos can be clicked to view larger.  All photos are (c) Sarah Ann Smith.

Crunched levels a bit, smart sharpen. I don’t know why, but I really like this shot!  This was my class entry.

A misty, hazy, rainy morning at the boat launch on Megunticook Lake on Route 105 (on the way home from town). Yes, I get to live in this gloriously beautiful place! Smart sharpen and crop, but not much else.

Not a brilliant photo, but this truly says autumn to me: Cross Country team in full swing. It is Homecoming at Camden Hills, it is raining, cold and dreary. Eli is rounding the bend (#135) into my favorite view of the course alongside his friend since first grade, Ben. Ben has FINALLY grown—now nearly as tall as Eli, who outweighs him by 45 pounds! And still as fast and sometimes faster (proud mama!).

Removed a couple distractions on the left of the sign, smart sharpen.
Hope Orchards is a you-pick and small commercial orchard on the way home. It was a ZOO today (the Sunday) with more cars than that crossroads usually sees in a full day! Glorious autumn at its finest in Maine.

At Hope Orchard. Should have bought a pumpkin the day I stopped for photography!

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.

A few slight edits moved this from drab to contender for class image. Minor adjustments to vibrance, crunching levels at both ends.
I call the deer and turkeys our Grounds Crew. They come and eat the windfall apples every day. We must have 23 apple trees, 21 of them very old, on our 11 acres. They old farms always had apple trees for horse and pig feed over the winter. We have two clans of turkeys—17 in total this year. They are so much fun to watch—unless they are up in the two GOOD apple trees with scrumptious Macouns. They are then politely asked to please move on to the other 21 trees! This shot is at the bend in the driveway.

Smart sharpen only.

May I just say how much I love content aware fill???? Fixed several raindrops on the lens! Cropped to eliminate extra sky and parking area. This is at the boat launch on Lake Megunticook, Route 105. A sure sign that autumn is well under way is the removal of all rafts and docks from the water. They are stored on the other side of the road, cloaked in snow, until they migrate back across the road and into the lake. Ice out is usually mid-April, so in the water in May sometime. Not a typical shot of autumn, but it is OUR autumn here in mid-coast Maine.

And one last uber-autumn-y shot:

Slight tweaks to vibrance and levels. I’m having a VERY hard time deciding which photo to use this week. I guess that means I’ve learned a lot so far this year! I’m getting more candidates along with the flubs!

I’ve been working  a lot on various volunteer stuff–my high school alumni council, SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates, a couple committees plus just took on a coordinator job), and making clothes and testing the Janome Skyline S7, a brilliant new machine on the lower price end.  I have to stay I am astounded at how many features it has!  I hope to actually BLOG about some of the things I’ve been making…what a concept.  Stay tuned…I know I keep promising, but between thyroid issues (being tired), Eli being a senior and doing college stuff (and us doing the financial stuff), the volunteer stuff, making things, I’m pretty much tapped out!    One of these days I’ll return to more frequent blogging (too funny, typed blobbing….maybe that is more accurate.)  Anyway, off to enjoy the crisp autumn air!