Many Thanks, and a Rainbow

I appreciate all of your kind words regarding Ghost. Our animal companions do touch our hearts, and I'm glad that you understand that bond. Our other cat Smudge has been a comfort. He has a much different personality and still remains kitten-like even though he's an old man of eleven. It's likely that another cat will be coming into our lives later this fall after we get some travel done.

We had some amazing weather Monday evening, so I thought I'd share a few quick shots I took from the back porch. The sun was coming out even while the rain was coming down, resulting in a gigantic full double bow.




The pictures don't do it justice, just take my word for it! Anyway, it was a pleasure to see such beauty after such an emotionally trying day.

Farewell, Ghost

Ghost, 1990-2010.

Ghost started feeling bad on Saturday. I was out most of the day but realized something was wrong when DH told me she had not moved from a favorite chair all afternoon.



She continued to decline yesterday, refusing water and food. We decided that I should take her to the vet today. Due to her age, we knew it was unlikely she would get better and did not want her to suffer needlessly.



Even though she was very weak, she crawled into bed with me last night. We were able to comfort each other.


I made an appointment for this morning at 10:30.



She died in my arms, at home, at 10 AM.



I'll miss her very much.


Goodbye my little sweetheart and friend. You were the best cat anyone could hope for, and you had a great run. Thank you for being a loyal companion for 18 years.

Q and A

I received some excellent feedback on my photography issues so I thought I'd share those as well as a couple of other remarks. I'm glad you all liked the pictures and clothes! I'm not used to modelling so it's a bit of a stretch for me. I appreciate the positive feedback very much.

Mary commented: "I think the key might be morning or evening light with an artificial fill light off to the side."

Believe it or not, that was morning light! It gets bright quickly here, probably because we have a 10,000 foot tall mountain on the east side of town. Once the sun peeks over, it's pretty high in the sky already. It stays very bright into the evening since there are no mountains to the immediate west. I'm not sure what to use for fill light, will need to give that some thought.

By the way, the new header photo was taken between 6:00 and 7:00 yesterday morning. It's now 7:05 AM here and the sun is fully up and bright. No soft shadows.

Anonymous suggested: "Try opening the fstop by 1/2 to 1 more stop. That will give you more detail in the foreground (you) and wash out the background a little. Backlighting calls for a little more aperture."

I use a Samsung TL220, which is a great little 12 megapixel point-and-shoot. So I'm limited in those types of adjustments, I think. Something to consider with the next upgrade, however.

I also received a suggestion via e-mail about working with my computer's photo software. Great suggestion, and why didn't I think of that? Thanks, iPhoto has great capabilities in this regard. I've already played around with some samples and they're much better.

SewingLibrarian commented about the backdrop.

The backdrop is in my backyard, which was landscaped last fall, reusing mature xeriscape plants we already had. The posts and bench you see in the photos are part of an existing structure (ramada? lanai?) that shades the patio.

gwensews asked about the weather: "I wonder how does one survive the climate of NM? I am dying here in MI with this miserable summer!"

As the saying goes, "It's a dry heat." We've been ranging from the low 60's to the mid 90's recently, so we do get a break at night. In addition, the low humidity means we don't feel the heat like in more "temperate" (ha!) regions. We do experience the sun's rays a lot, but what we don't get is the stickiness of high humidity. And if all else fails, everyone has either a swamp cooler or refrigerated air to cool off inside. We typically use it from mid-May until late September. I grew up in Louisville, so I understand that Midwestern summer heat. Yuck!

Pictures!

As I mentioned yesterday, I've been experimenting with the self timer on my camera. I thought I had everything in order and ready to go. However...

I live in New Mexico, where the sun is very bright and the shadows are sharp. My initial set up was done in the afternoon and I wanted to take pictures this morning. That part of the backyard was mostly in shadow so it wouldn't work at all. The patio seemed to be ok, so I went with that. Still not seeing as much detail as I'd like but this set is better than the last one. I'll keep trying.

The first picture is of me wearing the HotPatterns Bossa Nova skirt that I posted about here.


The next one is Hearts Fluttering in Vogue, the morph of Vogue 8241 and Hearts a Flutter that was my original wedding gown concept. I went another direction with that but I did go ahead to finish the prototype which went to Kauai on the honeymoon.


The last one for today is the TSW Mixit Tank worn with the Easy Ageless Cool cropped pants. Both pieces are great to wear and perfect for August weather.


I do love taking the pictures in natural light but I need to keep experimenting. The sun is brutal and I'd like more detail (yes, I tried it facing into the sun too--note that those shots didn't make the cut!). And the Weber isn't flat on top so placement can be a problem. You can see that in the second picture, where the camera was tipped up slightly vs. being level.

But you try things, right? And so far, each attempt has been better than the last, so I'm learning.

TSW Mixit Tank

I had some fabric left from the Easy Ageless Cool Pants, so I decided to use it to make a Mixit Tank.


Basically, I wanted to test the fit and recommended techniques. I barely had enough fabric, and only because I cut one of the armhole bindings off the true bias. Shh, I won't tell if you don't. Fortunately it worked out.

I can't say this is one of my favorites, mainly because of the fabric. The green isn't my best color, and it's a little blah. It's going to take some styling for this to look like much. However, the basics of this pattern are good and I can see it becoming a TNT.

I played around with my camera yesterday, and I think I've come up with a technique for shooting photos of myself. It involves the self-timer, a tripod, the small grill, and iPhoto. No promises, but I hope to do a photo shoot this week so you can see clothing on something other than Ms. Acme or a hanger.

On a Roll

I made another Simplicity 9505 today, so I have enough nightgowns for the time being. I also got well underway on a border print skirt. I didn't use a pattern per se, but it's pretty close to the Textile Studios' Brussels Skirt. I also cut a TSW Mixit Tank from leftovers of the Easy Ageless Cool pants I made earlier this week. The sewing mojo has returned, I'm on a roll!

8/8/10 Addendum: I finished up the border print skirt this morning. All that was left was the waist and pressing. I'm wearing it to church today! Hopefully there will be enough left for a little top: the t I'm wearing with it is ok but a tank top/shell would be better.

Office Progress

As you might recall from the Kokopelli post, I've been doing some decorating and organizing around the house. The valance isn't complete yet, it's still pinned onto the pole. Really, it doesn't look bad (but it would look better completed!).

Instead, I've been hanging pictures in our home office so it looks more put together. Here's the shrine to chiles:


Sorry, it's a little blurry because I was taking pictures without flash to minimize glare off the glass in the frames. Chiles are a big deal in New Mexico!

And this is a shot of the loveseat area:


I won the picture at the "Go Red for Women" luncheon last February. I'm a sucker for silent auctions. The little pony on the back of the loveseat is from my former employer, the bank. Every December, they're part of a new account promotion and my department always got a few to give to customers. I think he's much happier stripped of his corporate garb. I had planned to re-cover some pillows for the loveseat but decided not to when I discovered the Laurel Birch pillow and the ikat pillow really fit into the Southwest theme.

DH also encouraged me to hang up my diplomas, which were at the bank until recently. I was feeling hesitant about doing it, residue from the job I suppose, but in the end I put them up. A tile with a skeleton Kokopelli is at upper left. DH's birthday is November 1, dia del los muertos, so it was appropriate. Lower left is a photograph of Albuquerque's annual Balloon Fiesta.


Another view. This area is just left of my desk, a corner of which shows in the bottom right of the picture.


This picture of Georgia O'Keeffe with an Alexander Calder mobile had to have a place in the room. Georgia is an inspiration for me, while Calder was an alumnus of DH's alma mater. So it's perfect for "our" office. Of course, there have to be kitties. This little print is from a Northern New Mexico artist.


The office transformation is well underway. There are few remnants of Florida in the room; many of those items have been relocated to the sewing cave. The last two big things are painting the closet door that's still primer-only after blankety blank years and finishing off the valance. I almost mentioned the messy desks as a project, but that's probably going to be their normal state.

Cutting Line Designs Easy Ageless Cool Pants Part 2

I've been working on these in dribs and drabs since the last post, and I finished them up a couple of days ago. Who knew being out of work would be so time consuming?

These took a little longer than expected due to tweaking the fit of the crotch. It was crazy long, so I ended up adjusting the casing 3 times. Part of that issue was operator error, but perhaps the sizing in that area is also a bit generous for my taste.

At a result of the waist adjustments, the pants ended up an awkward length. Too short to be a satisfactory ankle length and too long to be considered cropped. So I shortened them by 3" and I'm much happier with them now as they're a definite length.

I whipped together a quick Simplicity 9505 nightgown yesterday, and I'm planning on cutting one more out today or tomorrow. I've been culling my closet and donated all of my sleep T's to charity, so I needed a couple more nightgowns to tide me over. They're basically just little cotton shifts with drawstring straps, really simple, and they almost make themselves. DH didn't say anything until after I'd already commented on how tatty they looked, but he's happy that the sleep T's are gone. He's learning!

I need to post some pictures of garments on me. I hope to put together a photo session soon. I'm still learning the whole tripod/self-timer set up, so bear with me. In addition to Easy Ageless Cool, I think there are two skirts and a dress that you haven't seen except on a hanger or dress form.

I'll be in summer mode for a little longer. It'll be hot for at least another couple of months and I still need more clothes for the season I'm in. Perhaps I'll follow my old Florida trick of sewing warm weather fabrics with cool weather colors so I can transition into fall. I just don't feel like handling heavier fabrics right now.