Tag Archives: purple

two new pillows

I can’t seem to move on from the sunny circles…I guess frayed-edged circles and me aren’t done yet! This time on my favourite purple Ikea fabric (don’t go looking for it in the fabric section…it’s a bedsheet that I cut apart).

And this one isn’t technically new, since I made it for a friend and she received it some time ago but I haven’t shown it on here yet. The fabric is a bright red jersey, so no finishing edges, yay!
It’s pretty quick and easy to whip up, I might do a tutorial if anyone’s interested?

light and shadow – photography tips II

I’m feeling like another photography tips post today, this time on using light and shadow effectively. Not that I’m the expert (far from it!) but there are some very simple things to keep in mind in photography.
One of those is: shooting in direct sunlight is hard! As in: so difficult I hardly ever attempt it.
You will get nicely lit, nicely coloured results much more easily if you stick to shadow!
And because this is illustrated more easily in pictures here’s an example. These two shots were taken within minutes apart and are both SOOC (straight out of the camera, zero processing except resizing):

direct sunlight: brilliant colours but harsh shadows, hard to avoid blown out areas, looks like an average snap-shot.

the same object, taken in my own shadow (with my back to the sun): evenly coloured, no areas drowned by shadows, looks bright yet dreamy. It’s a little dark, so my first step in post-processing would be to lighten it up slightly.
Shooting in the shadow can mess up your white balance, so your photos might look a little bluish. Check if your camera has different white balances to choose from. With mine ‘shadow’ or ‘cloudy’ work best in these situations.
That said, sometimes direct sunlight and the harsh contrast it provides can be used as a tool itself. I’ve seen professional photographers take breathtaking shots in which light and shadow play the predominant role.
Try it out some time on a sunny day and look for the shapes and opportunities direct sunlight presents:

It may only be a purple wall on your way to the bus station which you’ve passed a hundred times before and never noticed 😉

more pillows

These little scrap / embroidered / appliqued (seriously, what’s it even called) pillow cases are so addictive and so much fun to make! As promised, here comes the second Sunny Circles Pillow:

and I made another Circus Elephant Pillow as well, this time on a deep purple base, which I think offsets the gorgeous scrap colors even more:

With this one I have finally figured out the perfect size for a 35x35cm pillow (and it’s not 35×35!) and I will stick to these measurements from now on. It’s a snug fit and looks better than the first one I think. I’m even contemplating making the other one just a tiny bit smaller, but I’m worried about the seams looking funny on the inside then. I have to say, I do miss having a zigzag-stitch.
Both of them are up in the shop now.

circus elephant pillow

After all those photo posts at last a little sewing again! This little pillow was inspired by Sara Gruen’s great book ‘Water for Elephants’. The idea just popped into my head one day and I already had the little elephant stamp which I had carved out of lino. The scraps are mostly a selection of Anna Maria Horner’s Good Folks line (my love for that collection will never die!) and are handstitched on a piece of white fabric with red embroidery floss.
The gold fabric is a satin-woven Ikea cotton, which I love to use for almost anything, because it’s so silky and I’m in love with that precise colour so much 🙂

The combination of gold and bright reds and purples feels totally ‘circussy’ to me!

It’s up now in the shop and I will probably make another one or two when I find the time. If they don’t sell I’ll just keep them all for myself 🙂
I’m also working on another Sunny Circles Pillow, which will also go to the shop in a couple of days (I know that one is a favourite among my friends so I thought I’d give heads up here…talk about lame excuses for shameless self-promoting!)
Wishing you all a day full of colour and sunshine 🙂

and another high-waisted skirt

I am really loving these and had to make another one. This time I made the skirt a full circle and added pleated pockets (tutorial by Rae). Of course I messed up a little again and it came out too big, so I had to add two pleats each at the front and the back. I didn’t have a zipper foot for my old treadle machine (though I’m getting one now!), so I stitched the zipper in by hand. Next time I think I’ll try an A-line shape.
I’m not too fond of these pictures, but it’s freezing and dark outside and I didn’t want to wait till the weekend to take new ones. Those gorgeous shoes are Dino Bigioni by the way (friends of mine).

(click to see these slightly larger)