Experimenting with Photo Editing Software

So with my new fun camera, I’ve been experimenting a bit with photo editing software. I decided to have you people (you people!) help me out. I like simple and I like cheap inexpensive. What do you guys use?

 

Here’s a typical picture for me. It’s inside with no flash. I hate the flash but what do you do? Alaska has very little natural light most of the time so it’s hard to get decent pictures with natural light. Original picture taken inside with no flash.

 

 

Here’s the same picture using the autocorrect on my software that came with the camera. I think it’s actually pretty nice. It’s cumbersome software though making me save separately every time I crop, edit, etc.

 

Here’s Adobe Lightroom (I have the 30 day free trial) and the autocorrect. The skin tone may be more accurate in this photo than the one above.

 

Adobe Lightroom again with a few tweaks from me. I changed the exposure, contrast, and added a gradient filter to the bottom left of the photo to give the cards a little more detail. The problems with Lightroom? Well, it’s expensive (not too bad, about $200), has a pretty big learning curve, and I can’t easily add lines and text when I need to (or maybe I can and don’t know how).

 

 

Here’s Paint.net which is free and I’ve been using it for years. The autocorrect feature is bad though and I never use it. I can add lines, text, and adjust most things easily.

 

 

Original : Canon Software : Lightroom Auto : Lightroom with tweaks : Paint.net

 

Any suggestions? I don’t have time to learn Adobe Photoshop. I want something easy and fast and preferably inexpensive. What do you guys use?

Burda 8/2012 #121 Seamed Dress

I loved this dress in the magazine when I first saw it. I’m not sure what was holding me up; maybe all the pattern pieces? There really aren’t that many. I really love it in this red but I’m trying not to buy fabric and use what I have. I’m not on a silly fabric fast or anything, that would be silly.

 

Let me see, what changes did I make to it . . . I shortened it but left everything else alone. It’s pretty hard to photograph being that I was inside at about 3pm and the fabric is a darker color. 

 

It looks equally nice and fitted without the belt (in my opinion).

 

The back has an invisible zipper to my mid butt. I know it’s hard to see everything with the bad lighting. It’s Alaska, gah. It’s twilight most of the winter.

 

It has cute little darts in the sleeves that I love.

 

This is where all the seams in the front meet. This is a nubby wool that kind of more of a gray-navy than anything else.

 

How fun is this lining? I love that it’s so bright and vivid inside this relatively dull dress.

 

Here's my inside finishing of the invisible zipper.

 

I used a lace hem facing and handsewed the hem.

 

On the sleeves and hem, I just hemmed the lining up and out of the way. The sleeves flare quite a bit and I didn’t want to deal with trying to get everything to ease the right way with all that flare.

 

Other notes of interest: this is a tall pattern but seems to fit me fine with no adjustments, the neck is really high and almost claustrophobic, I love it!

February Burda Challenge - 02-2013 #109

I wanted to get my February Burda Challenge garment out of the way and I’ve been wanting to make this cute top from the February 2013 Burdastyle. Double score. I really like several of the garments out of the magazine this month. I also like the skirt pictured with the shirt.

 

My son was helping me and taking pictures. “Hey mom, look grouchy.”

 

“Mom, show me double thumbs up and look happy.”

 

“Hey mom, I think someone is falling down the stairs.”

 

Back. Boring. I do like how the sleeves are so different in the back.

 

Here’s a close-up of the front. I ended up putting on two rows of topstitches because the faced edge wanted to curl out away from the gathers.

Let’s see, overall, it’s very fitted. Um, very fitted. Luckily the material is very stretchy. I’m not sure I love it to tell you the truth. It makes me look very busty (score!) but also very hippy (anti-score). I’m also not loving the length. Oh well, you can’t love them all. Don’t get me wrong, I do like it though. I think it would make a cute dress in a different fabric and a bit more ease through the torso. I made my typical size 34. Maybe I’ve gained weight since yesterday? Maybe this one is just clingy. I do really, really like the gathered shoulder. I think it’s a neat look and it’s super easy to make. I think I have only an hour or so into this top and that includes the tracing and cutting.

Kwiksew 2605 Kid Swimsuits - Again and Again and Again

I’ve made this swimsuit too many times to count. The first time I made it was in 2009 when my girls were four and I sized down the pattern to a size three (skinny kids). Now, I’m making the size seven (seven! how did they get so big?). The version I have only goes to size 7 but I was lucky enough last year to stumble across the larger version too so now I can make lovely swimsuits al the way to size 14. This is a great Speedo-like swimsuit. There is a second version with contrast panels. I’ve never made that but I think it would be great if I could find some contrasting fabric that looks good together.

I made four swimsuits; two, one-piece suits and two, two-piece suits. I was afraid they would be too big because the girls are a bit on the small side and not yet seven. Here are awesome Vogue poses. I covered their faces because there are some weirdo creepers out there. I bought this fabric a long time ago from eBay.

Weirdo kid pose #1.

 

 

Weirdo Pose #2
The twinleys love them. We had Swimsuit Dance Party.

 

Weirdo Pose #3
The two-piece version seems to cover everything nicely.

 

I used my sewing machine to do all the stitching because the serger threads seem to break all the time and the zig-zag stitches seem to never break.

We are gearing up for our March cruise!!!! I need some swimsuits too!!!!!

BAM. Leopard Print Dress. January Burda Challenge

I really meant it when I said I was going to make a leopard print dress. There are some big changes from the original pattern to what I did with it. First, it was meant for a woven and I was using a knit. So, I decided to go down a size. The smallest size of this dress, as drafted, was a size 34 (my real size) so I graded it down a bit to a 32. Also, the original dress has a zipper (gone!), lining (gone!), an underarm gusset (gone!), and numerous facings (gone!). I’m really happy with my version. Where will I wear it? No idea. Maybe on our cruise in March. Probably to school with flats and a cardigan. Only I will know it’s a glaringly school-inappropriate outfit.
Well, this was an easy dress. It’s only two pattern pieces and it’s super easy to make. I’m not sure I’m even wearing it the right way. The back and front pattern pieces are so close that I’ve tried it on both ways and can’t figure out which is which. Now, where is my Tarzan? Sassy pose, GO.


One side is almost completely ruched down the side (it’s the side without the sleeve, my left side below). The other side has no ruching at all. There are also gathers on the shoulder piece.


I almost always make shorter (above knee-mid thigh) length dresses but I really like how this one is long. I always use the rule: Short, Tight, and Shiny, pick ONE. I chose tight and the print puts it dangerously into shiny-land. I think it’s just knocking on the door to Crass-ville but maybe not through the door yet. Well, at least I think it’s okay. Some may think it’s over the top. I’m okay with that.


I used 1/4” clear elastic on most of the seams as I was serging it. This is the only time I’m successful with this stuff. I can’t seem to use it with my regular sewing machines even when I use all the tricks.


Here you can see me feeding it through the little slot on top of the serger foot.

Other technical stuff: I coverstitched the bottom hem, sleeve, and top of bodice, I left off the underarm gusset because I thought it would add too much ease to the bodice. I’m very happy with it. It adds some fun to winter doldrums.

**edited to add these fun Fabric.com links. I just got an email saying that ITY knits are 30% off. How fun is that? Want some of your own animal print knit? I might have to buy some more too!**

Burda 02-2013 #127 - Raglan Top with Gathers

There are so many great tops in the new February Burda that I had a hard time picking just one. It’s too bad that I didn’t just wait a few days and then make this in February. Then I would have been on track for the Burda Challenge. Drat! Oh well, there are many other options for this magazine.

This is a simple raglan top with sleeves that have gathers.

I made mine out of two different fabrics (obviously). I used a dark gray double knit for the body and a fun stripey sweater knit for the sleeves. I made sure to cut this out carefully so the stripes were exactly the same on both sides.

 

I think the gathers are slightly easier to see on the back. Not only is it a fun design feature but it gives the raglan top some room to move too. There is a seam in the back of this shirt only because I didn’t have enough fabric to cut it on the fold. I love the stripe fabric. Well, and the solid too. I just love the shirt together. The length is longer like a tunic length. I made a straight 34 with no adjustments and it fits really well. I could have made a teeny swayback adjustment but I think it’s good anyway.

 

Here are a couple of close-ups of the gathers in the front.

I’ve been sewing like crazy lately. I need to make the January dress before I run out of time too! That will be this weekend’s goal.

Burda Challenge - January - Leopard Print Knit Dress

I decided to participate in the Burda Challenge. You make a Burda garment each month. I decided that I will not be bound by silly thing like years. Instead, I will make a January garment out of whatever year I want. I have about four years worth of magazines to look at. I think for this month, I decided on a January 2012 dress. Why? Do I have a fun party to attend? Am I headed to Vegas? No and no. It’s winter in Alaska, people. I need some entertainment.

What’s funny is that I totally don’t remember this from skimming through the magazine last year. I do remember some of the items in the magazine but not this. This is why this challenge is good for me, makes me go back through and look through my old magazines!

 

What’s worse, is that I’m going to make it out of gray leopard print knit. Classy, no? This is the Designer Leopard Print knit from Fabric.com (the picture is a link). It’s fun, don’t you think?? Perhaps a tad trashy but overall fun. I plan to use this knit when the pattern calls for a woven. I think I will use a size smaller than I normally do and maybe lengthen the torso on it. I’m worried that the ease for the woven will make the knit just hang off of me. Any ideas from those who have done that in the past?

And hey, I didn’t pick this one. Give me some credit.