Hellebores

Our city lot is generously shaded by large trees, so I'm always on the lookout for plants that thrive in shade and in our North Texas soil and climate. Hellebores fit the bill, although, alas, they are both slow-growing and a bit pricey. You can't just plant a few and expect them to spread. There are, however, enviable swaths of them at the Dallas Arboretum where I snapped the original photo.

 

One of my Christmas presents (from me to me) was Topaz ReMask, a masking plug-in for Photoshop, so I tried it out on the hellebore image with great success. I played around with just the hellebores on a transparent background, using two other Topaz plug-ins, Adjust and Simplify on separate copies, then Akvis Sketch on another copy. I also enhanced the pinks with a Selective Color adjustment layer.

The background consists of soft, cloudy neutrals on one layer, a deep purple layer over that and two copies of a photo of ferns, one filtered with Topaz Simplify and one with Akvis Sketch. The real magic happens with the blending modes, and there are so many possibilities producing such different effects that I often find it difficult to decide which looks best. (And also find it difficult to stop tweaking.) I finally went with this result which I think makes the ferns look as if stamped or printed on a slightly metallic surface, and they ground the hellebores without distracting from them. There are also a few light touches of gold on top on the background image.

It's been a while since I've done anything “creative” in Photoshop. Because isn't it easy to put aside unessential pursuits for things that “need” to be done. But the satisfaction and pleasure that comes from those pursuits indicate that they are indeed essential, even if the world (or Flickr) isn't breathlessly awaiting another of my oeuvres.

The Texas road map vest

I should really call this post The obsessional saga of the Texas road map vest. First, here is the result. 

 

And now I'm sure you're dying to know how and why it I made it.

To begin at the beginning (but skip on down if you'd simply like to know more of the how and not the why)...  Anyway, the beginning was my discovery via Meetup of The Dallas Area Fiber Artists.  I went to the October meeting which was attended by a large and diverse group of women (and a couple of men).  Liza Mackinnon gave a terrific presentation on her intricate paper clothing sculptures, several of which she brought to show. And they were what I had in mind when I started thinking about creating something Texas-themed for the November meeting and holiday party. 

Those free road maps you get at the welcome station to each state – how can you just throw them away? Pinterest has boards full of clever ideas on how to use maps. And I thought it was entirely possible that I could assemble a simple vest, wearable on one occasion, out of my Texas road maps. But as the idea evolved, it turned toward printing the map on fabric, and I was even able to find a pdf of the current Texas road map online, eliminating the need for scanning. 

New fabric, old pattern

The last thing I need is more fabric, which, of course, doesn't keep me from buying more. Anyone who sews understands the difficulty, the near impossibility, of passing up something that is just perfect for a certain pattern, that will “go” with something else, or, in this particular case for me, has colors I like to wear. As you can see, it's sort of a stripe on a very fluid rayon. I was determined not to let it languish in my stash, so began the hunt for the perfect pattern.

  

One thing I have more of than fabric is patterns. Several years ago I organized them and, using a page layout program, made a pattern catalog. So now when I want to look through my own patterns, I don't have to actually go through my pattern boxes. Instead I simply scroll through the files on my computer. And, as I'm sure I've said before, I keep old, even old old patterns because of certain design elements that I can see looking completely contemporary on a new garment.

I remember making this 1970s Butterick pattern in a plaid gauze, much like the illustration on the envelope. I could see my new fabric made up in this because it's a simple silhouette, so undemanding on stripe matching. And I could cut the yoke with the stripes running horizontally and the body with the stripes vertical. Plus I liked its looseness for the fluid fabric.

Alas, I am no longer a size 8, but this was a very easy pattern to enlarge. On the yokes I added 5/8-inch to both top and bottom seams. I also scooped out the front neckline a bit more. Both these changes required drafting new facings which is basically just tracing the new neckline. On the body, I increased the side seams by 5/8” at the top, widening to 1¼ inches at the hem, keeping the same curve as the original pattern pieces. They were also intended to be cut on the bias but worked just as well with the lengthwise grain running up and down.

 

  

 
































I wish I could say that thanks to promptly sewing this, I did not add more fabric to my stash, but unfortunately, thinking I would have to do some stripe matching/maneuvering, I bought too much fabric for this simple top. Too much to relegate to the scrap box. So I give myself -1 for buying more fabric, +1 for promptly sewing it, +1 for reusing an old pattern, and -1 for having too much fabric left over. It's a draw. But I did get this very nice top out of it.  

Almost Very Easy Vogue

Okay, I admit that easy-breezy sewing is not my thing. If I'm going to spend my time making something, I want it to be in my wardrobe for more than one season. That doesn't mean I turn up my nose at Very Easy; I just want it to also be Very Well Made. I want it to keep looking good (especially if it turns out to be a fave that I reach for over and over).

So, on Very Easy Vogue 8534, I was not satisfied with the raw edge neckline that's only finished with top stitching. I know raw edges and the deconstructed look are trendy, but I also know that a neckline needs stabilization or it will stretch out of shape. No problem, I'd just give the neck edge a different, better finish, like a self-binding. But no...that wouldn't really work on the front because the neckline drapes and then goes on to become the two bow ends that need to be fluid. I tried a rolled edge on the serger which I liked for the front but not for the back which should lay smoothly against the neck.

After too much trial and error, I ended up binding the back neck edge while turning under about a 1/8 inch on the front neck edge and bow ends and zig-zagging over them. In retrospect, I see that what I should have done was finish the front and back neck edges separately before sewing the garment together. Which I'll do when I make it again, because I like it well enough to want an autumnal version with the longer sleeves. The bow neckline is flattering and the front darts and center back seam give it some subtle shaping. I also appreciate the cut-on sleeves, which, like raglan sleeves, are a blessing for those of us who normally have to narrow the shoulders for set-in sleeves. 

This is an OOP pattern from 2008, but you can still find it on Etsy or eBay. It's for moderate stretch knits; mine is made from my seemingly endless stash of old cotton interlock. You can read a bit more detail about it on Pattern Review.

 

Illustration Friday - Mushroom

For a number of reasons it's been nearly a year since I've participated in Illustration Friday. I usually do glance at the topic, and for this week's Mushroom, I had just the pics I wanted to work on. Here's what this mushroom looks like from a normal perspective. On the internet I discovered that it is Leucocoprinus birnbaumii, common in potted plants and greenhouses, but this was growing in a neighbor's flower border. I thought it was lovely and snapped several pics of it, including these from underneath which have received the usual intensive Photoshop treatment here. 

Down in the Treme

I have to confess that I'm not sure this little house was in the Treme, although I do remember walking through it when we were in New Orleans in 2013. Anyway, I like to think it was, because Mr. C and I both loved the Treme series, recommended to me by an ami in France. At the end of 36 episodes, we felt like we knew the characters, that we had been there with them. And, oh, that Treme Song!

The Photoshop alchemy on the rather bland original photo included a technique for turning a photo into a line drawing from the Photoshop Artistry course I've embarked on. I also used Topaz Adjust on another copy of the photo. And I've layered two of the terrific textures that Cheryl Tarrant generously offered for free on her Flickr Photostream. As usual, lots of layers in various blend modes adding up to this effect. All in an evening's work. Although I really can't call anything this enjoyable work.

Early morning rain

Here in Dallas we've been deluged, drenched, and generally damp for most of an entire week. Early one morning I peered out of a bedroom window to see the street lights reflecting golden on the rain-slicked streets and sidewalks while the sky was just beginning to lighten in the east.  It was a scene worth saving, I thought, perfect for some Photoshop alchemy.

For this picture, my original photo was duplicated several times, and I used the Akvis Sketch plug-in filter on two of the copies. Interspersed with those various layers are three different textures which were bonus content from the Photoshop Artistry course I'm taking, as is the Roman-numeral clock face on the lower right side.  All put together with lots of different blend modes and masks.  Voilà!

White Rock Lake boathouse

A couple of days of pure Photoshop pleasure enhanced the view of the 1930 Art Deco boathouse on the western edge of White Rock Lake.  

I took the original photo on January 2 last year from the pedestrian bridge across the little lagoon that extends just behind.  The red wing blackbird, not in my photo although common around reedy shore areas there, came from a Creative Commons search of Flickr.

 

"Sociable" reading

In a recent New York Times review of The Social Life of Books by Abigail Williams, the reviewer likened the 18^th century practice of books being read aloud to a group to the phenomenon of best sellers which millions read more or less simultaneously, a contemporary example of sociable reading. It seems to me that an even better comparison would be with the reading and sharing of books by a book group or club

According to The Reading Group, a UK-based website, book clubs have shed their fusty image and become trendy as well as ubiquitous, meeting everywhere from libraries and living rooms to online. In addition to helping readers sort through the huge mass of books being published today, a primary reason for their popularity is that participants ...“are finding being a member of a book club to be fun and rewarding, transforming the personal and private experience of reading a book into a shared one of discussion and appreciation.”

Or as another New York Times article on book clubs elaborates: “Reading is a solitary act, an experience of interiority. To read a book is to burst the confines of one’s consciousness and enter another world. What happens when you read a book in the company of others? You enter its world together but see it in your own way; and it’s through sharing those differences of perception that the book group acquires its emotional power.” Yes, indeed.

Further delving online unearthed an interesting 2015 white paper report on book clubs from BookBrowse.com. A lot of the statistics are no surprise; my long-time book group could be the poster child. A majority of members are women, and they tend to be older, empty nesters, often retired, seeking intellectual stimulation and personal connections. Higher education plays a role but income a bit less so. They also are more likely to use their public library. (Ah, we know it's probably us when all the copies of a relatively obscure book are checked-out or on hold.)

That report also defines the ideal book. “Overwhelmingly, book club participants want to read books that expand their horizons—windows that allow them to see into the lives of others or mirrors that let them reflect on aspects of their own lives. Above all else, books need to have plenty to discuss.”

We hope that we have chosen books for 2018 that fit that criteria. So without further ado, here are our selections. I invite you to join us in person if you happen to be in the Dallas area. Or read along with us and send any comments from wherever you may be.