Sewing

ok, so i know the red thread is hideous (i ran out of white! can you believe it? who runs out of white thread???)
I made a little quilt-sandwich to practice "stippling" upon. Stippling is the meandering top stitching on quilts. Well, mine is pretty wonky (feel free to laugh) and I think i'm going to have several wackadoodle potholders going-on before I get this stippling thing down well enough to to something larger!

The nice thing about stippling is once the quilt goes through the washer & dryer it will be all nice and crinkly and my jagged stitches will be less noticable.

It's fun to do, I certainly hope to get better with practice. :c )

{I Love faces} submission: Autumn Beauty

(A repost as my submission to {I love faces} weekly contest)

I would have PAID HER... just to look at me... ONCE!
she wouldn't do it.
How could I blame her, with the woods ablaze in color...
but to me, at that moment, in those woods, there was nothing more beautiful than her.

Gianna Pout w texture

Gianna Pout w texture
Originally uploaded by Carolyn Gallo

experimenting with texture on this overexposed photo.
(my husband would hate this photo. he's of the "Subject should be smiling in a nice pose with perfectly combed hair" club, whereas I like to capture moments.
Perfection is not a requirement for me.

florabella texture.

Quilt: Work in Progress

Quilt: Work in Progress
Originally uploaded by Carolyn Gallo

more sewing today,
camera club group shoot tomorrow...

that's what I'm up to. :c )

Mommy Shots

I don't get out a lot now that I'm a mom. So I mainly take photos of my little world: stuff in my garden or the woods, my daughter, my home.
Every now and then when I post something for critique to my camera group I'll get a comment like : "It looks like she's [my daughter] sitting in a carseat and you just snapped a photo." (refering to THIS photo)
or "I HATE the background! I'd eliminate it entirely!" (when refering to THIS portrait of my husband.)

Well, I DID take the photo of her while she was in her carseat! I DID take this portrait of my husband in a garage!
I'm not taking formal portraits, I'm documenting my own personal world. One of the club members told me he didn't like the was the hood on my husbands portrait was jutting out. Well, THAT'S WHAT IT WAS DOING!

I don't expect everything to be perfect. I like to find beautiful things in the everyday imperfections. I like people with quirks, with interesting faces. I'm not trying to create a masterpiece, I'm documenting my little life :c )

It doesn't upset me when I get comments like this... I consider the comments but I think I prefer a more journalistic approach. I think I need to learn how to make the whole composition work as a whole: backgrounds, subject, details. I want to learn how to tell a story with a photograph, to make a viewer WANT to explore the story of that photograph. Even if it is "just a mommy-shot".

But I don't want it to look cliche. Or amatuerish.

That's my thought of the day,
hope you are having a good day yourself :c )

Patchwork scarf stage1

Patchwork scarf stage1 WIP
Originally uploaded by Carolyn Gallo

I decided to start a new sewing project: a patchwork scarf inspired by Malka Dubrawsky in the Holiday issue of Quilting Arts magazine.

Here I've started laying our patches of fabric, next I'll sew them together.

I've been planning on making a few of these for months now... no time like the present!

I hope it comes out as cool as the ones I'm seeing in the mag, on Flickr, and elsewhere :c )

Recent Faves

Recent Favorites from some of my favorite artists on Flickr. :c )

1. close-up of the mobile, 2. fruits, 3. Almond Eyes, 4. Rock Star, 5. Buttahfly on Auburn Ave., 6. art.journal in progress....., 7. wildly imperfect, 8. Fall Fire, 9. Kate's bird, 10. Sun, 11. Peace, 12. HBM- Happy Bench Monday, 13. Funky Lady with Chalk Pastels, 14. g o s s i p, 15. YIP 365.121 :: Patchwork Scarf, 16. cup of tea and a chat, 17. Mobile Home, 18. create away...., 19. Painting Area, 20. "The cover of the Sports Illustrated", 21. Gazing, 22. red haired witch atc - pencil on paper, 23. smoke invert, 24. Petal Curl - close crop, 25. White bougainvillia II

Created with fd's Flickr Toys

Happy Halloween

Wishing everyone a Happy Fun-Filled Halloween!

Leaves

I love this photo. LOVE IT I tell you!

I was surprised how good it looked straight out of the camera... I kind of took it as an after-thought during my walk in the woods, the sunlight was dappled, I was afraid it was going to come out looking flat as a pancake.

I think my PS skills are REALLY improving. It wasn't long ago (less than a year ago) that I started using it. I am not a pro, and hey, I'm still using Photoshop Elements, not even the REAL thing yet. But I'm REALLY pleased with how far I've come, and hope my photography skills improve just as quickly!

As for this photo, I think I'll have it printed and slap it up on the wall somewhere here. :c )

golden forest

It rained last night, so I wasn't sure if I should take a walk through the woods.
I'm glad I did.
the sun soon began to break through the clouds, and hundreds of leaves fluttered down around me, making soft patting noises as they landed on the forest floor.

I felt like a was a hundred miles away.
:c )